Burns Books

As Lawton Robert Burns explains so well in the Foreword, "This book provides the first systematic treatment of [the] `thorny issue' of managing the supplies that medical professionals such as physicians and nurses order and use in treating patients], covering both external and internal management of the hospital's supply chain. Appropriate, the book focuses on the managerial processes that need to be managed: sourcing, purchasing, distribution, value analysis, and standardization. The book not only provides a rich conceptual framework for managing these processes, but also supplements the authors' conceptual work with rich studies of hospitals and health systems that have implemented process improvements in these areas."

Eugene Schneller and Larry Smeltzer carefully organize their material within eight chapters which begin with "Framing the Repositioning Management of the Health Care Supply Chain" and conclude with "Building Supply Chain Leadership and Resources for the Future." I mention these "book-end" chapter titles because they correctly indicate that (a) Schneller and Smeltzer see all manner of significant insufficiencies in the strategic management of most health care supply chains but that (b) what they recommend in this volume should not be viewed as a "silver bullet"; on the contrary, any supply chain must be constantly and rigorously evaluated and, when necessary, re-framed and perhaps even re-positioned. Although supply chains such as those in health care inevitably have a "weak link" (if not several), that will not necessarily result in a total breakdown system wide. However, if links are viewed as business relationships, it is highly desirable to have strong ones...especially during difficult times as when sudden and substantial cost increases occur.

In this context, I am reminded of a valuable insight that Patrick Lencioni provides in one of his business narratives, Silos, Politics and Turf Wars. Here's the situation. The main character, Jude Cousins, is a talented, energetic, and ambitious young marketing executive who, with his wife Teresa's support and encouragement, decides to leave his secure job after the company is purchased by a competitor. He establishes an independent consulting practice and almost immediately obtains three clients: The Madison Hotel (San Francisco's oldest, largest, and most prestigious independent hotel), JMJ Fitness Machines (a manufacturer of high-end consumer and institutional exercise equipment), and Children's Hospital of Sacramento. Over time, Cousins struggles without much success to help his clients to improve communication, cooperation, and (especially) collaboration between and among their senior-level executives. Because this is a business narrative, complete with a plot and cast of characters, its storyline builds to a climax that, in this instance, is the valuable insight to which I referred earlier. Cousins has an epiphany: He realizes that the ER at Children's Hospital offers an almost ideal model for efficient, effective, and productive teamwork. Everyone involved must concentrate entirely on the given medical crisis that may have life-or-death implications. There is no time for "silos, politics and turf wars."

It will be interesting to observe the extent to which supply chains in health care change in months and years to come. What will the next paradigm consist of? Schneller and Smeltzer make no predictions, although they correctly suggest that communication, cooperation, and (especially) collaboration will become progressively more important if both the quality and costs of health care are to be managed properly.

Those who share my high regard for this volume are urged to check out two books which Burns and his Wharton colleagues have written: The Business of Healthcare Innovation and The Health Care Value Chain: Producers, Purchasers, and Providers. Also Michael E. Porter and Elizabeth Olmsted Teisberg's Redefining Health Care: Creating Value-Based Competition on Results, Regina E. Herzlinger's Consumer-Driven Health Care: Implications for Providers, Payers, and Policy-Makers, Shoshanah Cohen and Joseph Roussel`s Strategic Supply Chain Management: The 5 Disciplines for Top Performance, and Supply Chain Excellence: A Handbook for Dramatic Improvement Using the SCOR [Supply Chain Operations Reference] Model co-authored by Peter Bolstorff and Robert Rosenbaum.

Stressed? This book is for you! Are you achieving your full potential as an educator? This guide provides you with the resources you need to grow and thrive in your classroom and in your career. Written by an educator for educators!

I found this book wonderfully written and filled with ideas. I give it my highest recommendation - 5 STARS.

John Cooper - Editor THE LAUGHING TEACHER NEWS...

You may have been eleven once, but you were never their age. Thanks to the Internet, graphic images in the media, and their "know-it-all" friends, kids today grow up earlier than ever. They have questions, and as a parent, your responsibility is to clear up the mixed messages and lead them to a healthy, value-centered view of sexuality. Sure, conversations with your kids about sex and their changing bodies can be uncomfortable --- but they don't have to be. Jim Burns gives expert advice on how and when to talk with your children, and he provides answers to the most difficult questions your kids and teens might ask, like:

How far is too far?
If you do "everything but sex," are you still a virgin?
Is self-stimulation wrong?
I think I'm addicted to porn. What can I do to get help?
Is a boy/girl sleepover okay if there's a chaperone?

The world's culture may have cheapened sex, but God's view of sexuality is wonderfully made. Talking with your kids at a young age will help them make more godly decisions along the way, but they'll need conversation with you at every age. This is your opportunity to establish in them a lasting sexual integrity that will extend throughout their lives.

Finally, a book that focuses specifically on elementary music technology. This book features plans that are tied to MENC and Technology Institute for Music Educators standards. Many concepts and plans can be modified for middle/high school classes. The lesson plans are a compilation from other music education technology professionals.

The Texas A&M Guidebook is the funniest and most genuine college guidebook I have ever read. It was written by a former student, giving the lowdown on the university--not just the cold facts, but the real personality of the school. It highlights the good, as well as the bad parts in a clever wit that will keep you engaged from cover to cover. I highly recommend this and all other College Prowler books for students deciding on which university to attend.

This work is absolutely brilliant! It is one of the most thorough commentaries on St. Paul's writings that I have ever seen. It is completely faithful to the Magisterium, so it sticks out like a sore thumb when lined up against the modernist rubbish that passes for scholarship in contemporary circles. Of course, some of the material here is dated so this work should be supplemented with something that covers recent work/material/discoveries. (Familiarity with the original languages is assumed.)

This book represents the painstaking effort of a great mind. An excrucriatingly detailed critical review of the economic literature pre-dating Marx is undertaken. Anyone seeking to understand the history of economics must carefully review this epic work. Historians too, will appreciate the extensive treatment of the contexts into which generations of economic ideas were born. Marx's revolutionary new theory of class emerges clearly from his critical reading of the great and not-so-great works which provided the foundation on which his break-throughs were built.

Nichols has written yet another fine work, this time on the theological thought of Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI. Written in the late 1980s, Nichols does not go into much of Ratzinger's work as head of the CDF, a Roman congregation whose purpose it is to defend and clarify the Faith. However, he does go thoroughly into Ratzinger's pre-conciliar work, his work at the Second Vatican Council, and his work in Germany afterwards. An absolutely wonderful book; it gives the reader less of a biography of Ratzinger and more an overview of those things which have influenced the way he thinks. A must-read.

This book is a good introduction of the differences between the old (traditional) and new (progressive) dispensationalism. The first essay of the book (by Bateman) deals with the origins and historical developments of dispensationalism. Bateman goes through the revisions that started after the Darby-Scofield-Chafer era, and through the middle of the Century (McClain-Pentecost-Ryrie-Walvoord days). Those wanting a good historical background on the developments of dispensational thought should consult Bateman's essay.

The first section deals with the hermeneutical differences between traditional and progressive dispensationalism. The difference being that progressives use a complementary hermeneutic which takes into account extra-biblical literature during the post-exilic era. Progressives have changed the structure of dispensationalism due to the realization that a wooden literal hermeneutic cannot be taken for granted, and that the practice of exegesis must be understood in the historical and cultural context of the period when the OT prophetic books were written.

The second section deals with the Abrahamic, Davidic, and New Covenants promised in the OT and how they relate to the Church. Both traditional and progressive dispensationalists agree that the Abrahamic and New Covenants have been partially realized in the Church today; the question is how much of these covenants have been realized in the Church. However, both camps agree that the OT covenants cannot be totally relegated to Israel during the Millennial Kingdom.

The third section deals with the differences between Israel and the Church. Both groups share the belief that Israelites were saved by grace through faith alone. That salvation has always been by God's grace and sovereignty. That there is no distinction between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven. The only differences between both camps is that progressives believe that there is more continuity between Israel and the Church spiritually, and that the Church is not an interruption in God's soteric purposes. However, both groups tend to have more similarities than differences since both agree that Israel still has a place in God's redemptive plan.

Overall, a good debate between traditional and progressive dispensationalists on key theological issues.

Being a fan of all things film, I was naturally overjoyed when my girlfriend recently presented me with this book. Having seen the three great films featured in it, I approached the text with high expectations and was most definately not let down. My favourite part of the book is the introduction by Burns, wherein he writes openly of how he came to be a film-maker and also how he eventually made his debut feature and finally got it distributed. The standout of the three scripts is 'The Brothers McMullen', which presents an amusing look into family life and relationships that just about everyone can identify with. The film, which won the Best Picture Prize at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival, is equally amusing to read as it is to watch, as are the other two scripts, 'She's the One' and 'No Looking Back'. As a film student myself, I found this book to be great reading and count it as one of my favourite script compilations (along with 'Clerks & Chasing Amy : Two Screenplays' by Kevin Smith). I thoroughly recommend it for anyone who has any kind of interest in film, as it certainly a great read.