Resources Books

I was never interested in reading books about slavery. But not this one. I liked it.

This book is a life of experience through a boy sold into slavery. Experience the Middle Passage, know what it is like, learn how slaves are sold, how cruel owners treat these what-they-once-called "animals." Walk with him. Run with him. And learn how a great writer put the events into words.

The historic-fiction The Captive written by Joyse Hansen is a phenomena and an anecdote to a third world country, indeed, it is a flashback into how slavery was performed and portrayed in Africa in the midst of the 1780's at the Ashanti kingdom located in West Africa. This book takes place in Africa then travels along the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas; however, it is about a young prince by the name of Kofi Kwame Paul member of the royal Ashanti family that was an inheritant of his fathers throne as a major chief in his tibe and all of a sudden he is captured in the hands of deceitfulness, vast lies, and adversity caused by their former slave Oppong. This becomes the moment when his life is transformed thoroughly from a prince to an enduring slave, and he feels like he has totally lost dignity as an inheritant of the throne, and has been stolen his integrity as an human being.

He penetrated a new world which he recognized it wasn't his home and all of a sudden he realized that his future was absolutely shattered. He was betrayed by his slave Oppong, who he thought highly of and unfortunately he killed his father the great chief and also his brother. He was taken away from his family; yet, his family had no prior knowledge of where he was. As a result, he was abducted by a slave trader; therefore, Kofi tries to come up with a strategic plan for escape. Later, he is shifted to the Americas to a farmer and learns English. In short, all he has to survive is his flute and his English speaking skill. The diverse settings of this book are the ones that give the reader momentum into continuing reading it. For the fact that is fulfilled of so many turning points that leaves you wanting to read more...
-Maria

In the book The Captive, the plot line takes many twists and turns that can be sad, or can be full of action. It takes its first twist when Kofi Kwame Paul, the main character, witnesses his father and brother get shot by their betraying servant, Oppong. This event causes Kofi and his other brother, Kwesi, to be left with a slave trader. The slave trader allowed Kofi to prove his brother and himself a part of the royal Ashanti family. On this mission Kofi finds himself escaping from a trading post he went to to get his flute back. He was caught and sent on a ship to Salem, MA with African slaves. When he arrived there it was to his misfortune that he had become a slave to a farmer. After working there he ran away to Boston, MA with the other slaves to have freedom. Although the twists and turns seem to lead somewhere different, it all ends up in one place.

Captive is a great book that is definetly worth reading. The author puts a visual in your head that makes you feel as if you are actualy there whitnessing the story.the story is about an African American Kofi who gets taken out of his home and is shiped to an owner to be his slave. his only possesions are the clothes on his back and a flute. On the ship the author describes his frusteration and confusion wtih not being able to talk to any one.He meets two other boys and they get sold to a master. his master beats him and tourchers him.The masters wife however teaches him to speak to learn and to write English. Then him and his two friends dreanm of being free again and plan to ecscape. Will Kofi and his friends ecscape?Will Will kofis dream of being free someday come true?
I enjoyed reading this book and I hope you will too.It has all the things that I like in a book action suspence and emotion. so if you are looking for that kind of book this would be a good one.

Captive is a great book that is definetly worth reading. The author puts a visual in your head that makes you feel as if you are actualy there whitnessing the story.the story is about an African American Kofi who gets taken out of his home and is shiped to an owner to be his slave. his only possesions are the clothes on his back and a flute. On the ship the author describes his frusteration and confusion wtih not being able to talk to any one.He meets two other boys and they get sold to a master. his master beats him and tourchers him.The masters wife however teaches him to speak to learn and to write English. Then him and his two friends dreanm of being free again and plan to ecscape. Will Kofi and his friends ecscape?Will Will kofis dream of being free someday come true?
I enjoyed reading this book and I hope you will too.It has all the things that I like in a book action suspence and emotion. so if you are looking for that kind of book this would be a good one.

This is such a useful tool for teachers. It is simple to use, visually stimulating, and fun!! Really great book!

This book for K-6 has a huge amount of graphics for everything from book reports, math, science, social studies and writing to great activities for all of these as well as great art projects. I am a writing teacher so I was particularly interested in the writing activities and graphics organizers. They are awesome! For example, there is one writing activity I found to be really interesting. It is an autobiography recipe. Students write about their personality in the form of a recipe. Very cute idea. I think the ideas can and will be exciting for my writing students. I also teach social studies. There are some great ideas for that subject as well. Everything in the book is great.

I bought this book, along with the Organized Teacher. Both of these books are filled with awesome printables, resources, websites, ideas, and projects for every content area from reading and writing to art and gym. I really enjoy both of these books!

This book is filled with creative ideas. It provides tweaks to assignments and projects one would already use in the classroom.

This book arrived quickly and in excellent condition as promised. Would definitely buy from this seller again!

Customer Service For Dummies (For Dummies (Business & Personal Finance))

I have several of the dummy books and this is the best of the line that I have read. Whether you are already a professional or a beginner, this will give you tips and insights rarely considered. I would recommend it in a heartbeat!

I have taught a lot of classes in cutomer service in the information technology field. This is a great book to use for reference and discussions.
It teaches on a level almost anyone can understand, provides insites to customer satisfaction, and how to achieve it. It's filled with little gems like "answer the phone with a smile on your face." This book is an easy read and well worth the money.

As a Best Buy Consumer Relations representative we deal alot with the satisfication of customers & the products that they purchase at our stores. The level of service that i recieved with the purchase of my book was outstanding & the follow up on this has been nice. I would reccommend this service anytime , and look forward to my future purchases :)

This book is a must for those who are finding themselves just put in a situation where they must speak with customers. Gives insight into customer types, reminds on proper etiquette both on the phone and in person and in general makes communication more effective. Good for a geek (like myself) who is finding himself talking with the clients that (s)he supports more and more.

This is a good resource, no matter if you have your first survey to do or have a complex service problem to fix - there is some commonsense advice on the whole range between these.

For new or infrequent practitioners of surveys and service activities, this is a valuable resource - worth reading before you buy the more complex books.

this is the best book i ever read, even though it has the part about the icky racoon!

I absolutely LOVE any Wild at Heart Books, and I can never put them down. I would strongly suggest that you buy this book for you, friend, or a family member. Anyone could find something that they enjoy in these books!!!

There are already some very thorough reviews on this book, but I just had to share how much my 7 year old daughter and I loved this book. Our cat was a rescued feral kitten, so this is an issue close to our hearts. This book does a great job of talking in language my 7 year old could understand, yet I never felt like the issues were "dumbed" down for kids. I look forward to reading more of Anderson's books.

Eleven-year-old star student, Sunita Patel, has longed to share her home with a cat for as long as she can remember. She wants nothing more than to wake up to a furry friend every morning, and bask in the sound of a feline purring. But, alas, her mother, Dr. Patel, refuses to make Sunita's dreams come true. An orthopedist, Dr. Patel is frightened of cats, and doesn't want to share a home with one. Luckily, Sunita receives her fill of feline love by volunteering at Dr. Mac's Place - a veterinary clinic that treats animals of all shapes and sizes. At Dr. Mac's Place, Sunita works alongside four other animal-obsessed friends - Brenna, Maggie, David, and Zoe. While each and every day at Dr. Mac's Place is full of laughter and tears, Sunita finds herself more attached to the case at hand, than any other previous cases she has seen in the past. When Dr. Mac's cat, Socrates, disappears after a cat fight, the vet volunteers begin a search to locate the beloved orange boy, only to stumble upon a place called Cat Land. Cat Land is located in a wooded area of a local neighborhood, where cats of all walks of life have taken up residence in an abandoned boxcar. Noted as a feral cat colony, Sunita is convinced that, with a little love and attention, these cats can live healthy, happy lives in homes with humans. But Cat Land is in danger. Local residents have become fed up with the overpopulation of wild cats, and are frightened of the oft-times aloof creatures. So, taking matters into their own hands, they contact Animal Control, and plan on having each and every one of the animals captured and destroyed. Sunita is devastated to learn this news, and is determined to find justice for these felines. Putting her head together with Dr. Mac, the two come up with a plan to use a widely-effective program called TVSR - Treat, Vaccinate, Spay, and Release. Sunita is thrilled to have the chance to help these homeless animals. But before the program is even well underway, tragedy strikes when Sunita attempts to tame one of the wild cats, and ends up in the hospital. With Sunita sick, she believes that the cats are destined for tragedy, unless she can convince her parents, as well as her neighbors, to have a little compassion, and save these cats before it's too late.

As an animal lover, I have found myself absolutely falling in love with Laure Halse Anderson's VET VOLUNTEERS series. And, after reading FIGHT FOR LIFE, I decided that Sunita was certainly my favorite character out of each of the five volunteers. So I was thrilled to learn that HOMELESS was predominately about her. Anderson has painted a more in-depth picture of Sunita within HOMELESS. While, in FIGHT FOR LIFE, we learned a bit about her character; in this installment, readers have the opportunity to get inside her head, so to speak. We have the chance to see what an intelligent, smart individual she is; and get a close up view of her compassion and determination. The fact that Anderson gives us the opportunity to learn more about Sunita's family life, and learn why she is so crazy about cats only adds to the story. As with FIGHT FOR LIFE, Anderson has targeted a very important issue surrounding animals today: pet overpopulation. However, she also provides readers with facts about feral cats, and gives us the chance to learn more about programs that are being used throughout the country to help feral cats survive and thrive in the wild, without producing more offspring. Anderson continues to shed light on serious issues regarding animals that many authors are too intimidated to touch. And, by providing this information within such an interesting, fun series of books, she gives readers the chance to want to make a difference in the world for animals today, and gives us the information we need to be pro-active in society. The article she provides at the end of the story - told in Dr. J.J. Mackenzie's voice - is interesting, and sheds some light on what cats mean when they purr, knead, and so much more. This article is a fun addition to the tale, and provides an interesting conclusion to the story. A sequel that leaves you purring.

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer

I think this was one out of the series that was one of the most exciting books. It's about Maggie's friend, Sunita Patel. Sunita loves cats. She works as a vet volunteer at Dr. Mac's clinic. One day Sunita and her friends are walking home from school and they come across an open field with a ton of cats walking around. One of the cats are feral and hurt. They take him to Dr. Mac. The only trouble is, the two kids that were feeding the cats before Sunita got here is that their mother is raving mad about the kids being around feral cats. Sunita must persuade the kids mom that not all cats are bad. Will Sunita change her mind after she is bitten by one? Find out in Homeless.

I have been a full time mediator for seven years. Before that, I was a litigator. At times, I utilized Mr. Krivis' expertise as a mediator. I recall thinking: "This man's an alchemist. He settles all of my cases, but does so in a different way each time. He truly is an improvisational genius." Now, through his new book, Krivis gives me some insight into his practice. This book should be required reading for anyone currently mediating the litigated case. It should also be read by litigators. The analysis sections at the end of each chapter provides a wealth of information for sorting out differences of all kinds. Don't wait for the jury, ladies and gentlemen. The verdict is in: Krivis is a master mediator with an inpired approach to conflict management and resolution.

What do love, money, anger and conflict have in common? Among other things, pioneer Southern California mediator Jeff Krivis. Now this legendary "closer" has written an original and engaging new book "Improvisational Negotiation: A Mediator's Stories of Conflict About Love, Money, Anger and the Strategies That Resolved Them".

Focusing on the "human dynamic" involved in dispute resolution, Krivis' book reads more like a fast-paced novel than a work of non-fiction. In 30 riveting chapters, Krivis takes the reader behind the scenes and far beneath the surface of conflicts that everyday people face and his (and others) strategies for their resolution. Given the general public's overwhelming interest in the law and what lawyers do, this book should enjoy an appeal far beyond the sphere of dispute resolution professionals.

It deserves a wide audience.

Through the gripping stories contained in this book, the reader gets a rare and highly coveted opportunity to observe the author (an internationally recognized mediator) at work in the most challenging of situations. Jeffrey Krivis, known for his skill and success in breaking through even the most difficult negotiation barriers, shares his techniques and tools for achieving resolution and does so in a fabulously entertaining and heart-warming way through these well written stories. It's a must have for every negotiator or mediator's library.

Mr. Krivis has succeeded in creating a very entertaining and resourceful book that anyone in the conflict resolution arena would find a must read, including attorneys, mediators, claims adjusters, negotiators, human resource personnel, private parties in conflict, and the list could go on and on.

I enjoyed the book because it was written with such detail and specificity in a John Grisham type style, yet at the same time it was also very educational and applicable. The material was so good and entertaining that I found myself at the end of each chapter saying, "Okay, one more chapter then I'll go to bed." Then a half hour later, "Okay, really just one more chapter."

Mr. Krivis has shared in this book many valuable tools that I have already applied in my private practice as an attorney and mediator. I can testify that they have tremendously benefitted my clients and my practice. For this reason, I find myself referring to the book weekly and frequently recommending it to my colleagues. Thanks for the great read Mr. Krivis and subsequent enhancement to my practice. This book is a must read!

I often look at reviews for practical advice, i.e., if people like me read the book and get something out of it, then I want it. Well, as a trial lawyer and as someone who would benefit a lot from doing my best at mediation, Jeff Krivis' book is a DEFINITE READ. Mr. Krivis' style is clear and very easy to understand. After setting forth various fact patterns that an experienced lawyer might see, he shows how different approachs to meditation settle the case. This is a window into how to a top mediator thinks about your case and the strategies he uses to help both sides resolve their differences. What could be better?

In case I wasn't clear - BUY THIS BOOK.

Commonsense, practical advice about what employers can do to enhance the longevity of their workforce and halt the drain and the expense of 'revolving door' recruiting and hiring.

Find out the top 5 real reasons why people leave their jobs (and it isn't for more money!).

This book is invaluable and a 'must have' for everyone responsible for recruiting, hiring, and hanging on to, good people!

Roger Herman gives us an excellent reference and guide to an important area of profitability for business. Keeping people is every bit as important as finding them in the first place. The techniques set forth in this book will benefit the employer and the employee as well. It is well organized and to the point, especially in areas of making the employee part of the overall team.

Wayne D. Ford, Ph.D., author of "The Recruiting and Retention Handbook" docwifford@msn.com

In today's job market, it is challenging to attract the best-qualified and well-suited job applicants. It is even more difficult to retain excellent employees. The cost of employee turnover is high in terms of lost productivity, lost knowledge, and financial expense associated with filling the vacancy.

Roger Herman, futurist and certified management consultant and speaker, provides an exceptional resource for any organization seeking to retain its best employees. Keep Good People is divided into three sections. The first effectively sets the stage by providing valuable insights into the competitive nature of the job market, the value of good employees, and what prompts employees to stay and leave an employer. The first section provides essential background that led to an essential, yet basic understanding of employer/employee relations regarding retention. Section two provides nearly 200 very specific and useful strategies. Each strategy is clearly defined and concisely explained. Herman does not stop with a somewhat overwhelming list of strategies, yet provides suggestions for implementation and an "eye to the future" in section three.

Keep Good People is an excellent resource for human resource professionals and managers seeking to prevent undesirable employee turnover as well for the organizations seeking to reduce turnover. Use this book as a guide to simply review current practices and development of strategic, and it will be well worth the investment of both time and money.

Finding, attracting and hiring new employees can be one of the most important investments employers can make. If don't hire good people, you'll have to continue recruitment at a high level -- a costly proposition. This book serves as a great guide and serves as a tremendous tool for employers and human resource staff.

My secretary Neicy, picked up my copy of "Keeping Good People" while I was out of the office. When I returned, she mentioned that she thought a certain strategy would help me and our business. And she was right! Full of "one page strategies," this book provides some terrific team conversation. Pick a strategy, read it and then discuss its implications on your team and how the team works together. Some random examples: Strategy 1.17 Promote a healthy working environment. Strategy 2.27 Be accessible. Strategy 3.35 Fight Boredom. Strategy 4.15 Provide incentives for for growth. Strategy 5.15 Give Away Lottery Tickets. Our team decided to discuss one of these strategies each time we meet (usually at "tea time" held at 3pm each day). While some of the strategies may not apply, it does create a space for great conversation. When given the opportunity, team members or "employees" will reinforce what's working well and tell you what they need to be successful.

I just completed Laugh and Learn and found it to be a helpful resource.

I have used humor in my training programs for a long time, but with some inconsistent results. The author's advice to focus on having fun (instead of trying to be funny) was a breakthrough for me and has resulted in improved instruction.

We teach a graduate class at Western Michigan University entitled "Humor and Fun: The Brain's Best Learning Strategy." After much deliberation, we made LAUGH AND LEARN the required text for the course. We love the sound and accurate science on humor and brain function, and meanwhile it is a genuinely funny read. In short, the book both proves AND demonstrates the central point of the course: that fun really is the best learning strategy.

Our students include pre-school, middle school, high school, and college teachers, and even administrators. In spite of the fact that LAUGH AND LEARN was written primarily from a trainer's point of view, we find that it offers good stuff for all. We're delighted to report that the response to the book (and the class) has been excellent. We highly recommend this book for virtually any teaching professional.

As a corporate consultant and trainer, I'm always looking for ways to increase my effectiveness in helping clients really learn the material at hand. Like many, I don't consider myself particularly funny, and worry that I could do more harm than good by trying too hard to incorporate humor into workshops.

Doni Tamblyn does a terrific job not only showing the reader how to easily and safely insert humor, she also references fascinating research that clearly supports why humor is so critical to the learning process. The book is written in a friendly, approachable style that makes it a fun read, and I appreciate the handy index to the "95 Ways" listed at the beginning of the book for quick reference.

I highly recommend this book not only to other professional trainers, but to speakers and presenters of all types. Personally, after trying some of Tamblyn's strategies, I not only feel more confident in front of a room, but hey, I'm having more fun too. You can't beat that!

As a corporate consultant and trainer, I'm always looking for ways to increase my effectiveness in helping clients really learn the material at hand. Like many, I don't consider myself particularly funny, and worry that I could do more harm than good by trying too hard to incorporate humor into workshops.

Doni Tamblyn does a terrific job not only showing the reader how to easily and safely insert humor, she also references fascinating research that clearly supports why humor is so critical to the learning process. The book is written in a friendly, approachable style that makes it a fun read, and I appreciate the handy index to the "95 Ways" listed at the beginning of the book for quick reference.

I highly recommend this book not only to other professional trainers, but to speakers and presenters of all types. Personally, after trying some of Tamblyn's strategies, I not only feel more confident in front of a room, but hey, I'm having more fun too. You can't beat that!

"Laughter and Learning"

I'm reading this book, and I sense it is what I have been waiting for. I believe Doni Tamblyn has really nailed it. She's given structure to what seems to be the very complex art of effective teaching. I'll start giving her methods a try by using the "smooth" vs "crunchy" approach for initiating group/team work, and by finally using some of those cartoons I've been accumulating for years.

I'm also thinking about how I could apply some of her ideas to my online distance learning courses, where teaching and learning are not in a traditional classroom. This environment lacks the needed spontaneity, but I could see what would happen if I divided my online class into small discussion teams competing for bonus points for "fabulous prizes" to be awarded at our once-per-week lab meetings.

I appreciate that Ms. Tamblyn has combined her comedic experience with Dewey's ideas, theories of motivation, accelerated learning, and optimal/compatible brain learning, the
Koran, the Talmud, famous quotes, tips on psychology and comedic delivery, and has taken the time to share her synthesis of them in a book. Her Laugh and Learn is not only a great how-to book, but also a scholarly piece of work. I don't usually find how-to books with an index, references, endnotes, so many examples, and a case study! (Her "anatomy of a creative learning module" is precious.) Thank you, Ms. Tamblyn!"

I am a 6 grader at Our Lady of The Cape School on the Port -au-port Peninsula, NL.
Jesse Aarons has 4 sisters and he is the only boy. His 2 older sisters are very snobby and he has 2 younger sisters. Jesse does all the work and his older sisters have all the fun.
One day while he was running around the cow field he noticed a tomboy on the fence . They became best friends even though she won all the races at school and is the fastest .They made up an imaginary kingdom called Terabithia. One day Miss Edmunds his music teacher took him to Washington to look at a museum. When he got back home he was all the way into the kitchen before he realized that something was wrong. I would recommend this book to all ages just because someone is different doesn't mean that you can't be best friends.

I am a sixth grade Language teacher and have been using Bridge to Terabithia as a major part of my curriculum for many years. Each year that I read this book it gets better. Each class gets a little something different from the book. The way my students engross themselves with the characters Jesse and Leslie always seems to amaze me!

I am not the greatest book lover. But sometimes I enjoy reading books, and usually if I find a book I like I can't put it down. Well this book I couldn't put down. It shows how Jesse and Leslie overcame differences and became bestfriends. They have a secret place. I think this is kind of how kids are today. This book ends sad though whaen leslie dies so don't read this if you don't want to be sad. I give tis book 4 stars because it is not the best book I have ever read but it's right up there.

It was a rich entertaining book it kept me in Suspence the whole way through it, it is about 2 friends and the decide that they will build a magical country in the forest. The two of them are the rulers of this magical place.

I am not the greatest book lover. But sometimes I enjoy reading books, and usually if I find a book I like I can't put it down. Well this book I couldn't put down. It shows how Jesse and Leslie overcame differences and became bestfriends. They have a secret place. I think this is kind of how kids are today. This book ends sad though whaen leslie dies so don't read this if you don't want to be sad. I give tis book 4 stars because it is not the best book I have ever read but it's right up there.

Life at the human resources salt mines has been transformed since reading Richard Whiteley's excellent motivational guide. He found new zest and enthusiasm in his career and so did I and his personal testimony is genuinely moving. "Watching the contestants actually getting excited being on my show used to give me a kick, but it soon palled. Slopping up this pre-primetime pap day-in-day-out was quite frankly doing my nut in and, though it may not have seemed that way, my ability to engage in on-screen anodyne banter was affected. I was in a rut. Career worries spilled out into my private life, and I wince when I think of all the drunken I-could-have-been-a-contender speeches I made to all those anonymous barflies. I'll be honest with you - I wanted Call My Bluff, and yes, I did once say that I wanted Robertson whacked." But Whiteley pulled himself back and the rest is history.

"Love the Work You're With" is about what you can do to improve your current work situation...no matter who you are or what your job is. It makes a strong case that virtually anyone who works can find more fulfillment in their current job situation than they are currently experiencing. The message isn't about not changing jobs. Rather it is about auditing your situation and finding out what you can do to improve it before you take such a step. The book has self-assessment diagnostics to help the reader determine where he/she stands on vital issues and also offers many exercises that support him/her in creating a strategy for change. The last chapter is specifically written for managers and leaders to help them create the kind of work environment the will help people who work for them to love their work.

Your job can be a prison or a palace. For most of us, work probably falls somewhere in between, but we usually don't acknowledge - or even realize - how much control we have in the matter. If you've ever wondered what you can do to improve the satisfaction and pleasure you get from work - without making a wrenching career change - this book is a wonderful place to start. I read a lot of self-help books (and occasionally even write them). This one is chock full of practical wisdom. Buy it.

The dot-gone economy has taught millions that changing jobs is not the solution to success in work or life. Love The Work Your're With provides a road-map and tools to find personal and professional fulfillment at work. Each of the six steps in Whiteley's approach provide specific assessments, tools, and strategies to increase your level of engagement and energy at work. This book is highly readable, entertaining, inspiring, and filled with great examples. It is a must have self-help tool-kit for workers in today's complex work world. As a professional coach, I find this book to be essential for both my clients and their managers. If you've ever struggled with committment at work, read this book!

An excellent addition to my growing Richard Whiteley collection, this book does not disappoint! I have used Mr. Whiteley?s strategies/thinking from his previous works to effectively shape my company?s customer experience model. While the principles in this new book have certainly helped me personally become more motivated/productive, I have begun to use the principles in LTWYW to shape a more positive internal employee culture, thus extending our productivity and enhancing our customer service experience. An excellent book with a clear purpose and applicability!

I teach courses on software metrics and do some research on software-related measurement. As Austin points out in his book, many of the well-known advocates of metrics in the software community are blind to the issues that he raises, or they dismiss the issues as social science hooey that won't affect serious engineering. They are so, so wrong. This is a useful, readable book, that teaches hard lessons.

This is an excellent book on performance measurement. Very short, simple and easy to follow. The concept of critical dimensions and its effect on dysfunctional measurement it's well worth the read. By the way, one may also want to check the famous paper "On the folly of rewarding A, while hoping for B" by Steven Kerr.

Managing engineers is very challenging; measuring their performance is even harder. This book offers a fantastic review of leading research on the subject and establishes a strong case for delegatory techniques. It's a quick read but much more academically rigorous than similar management guides.

This book is filled with both humorous and chilling examples of measurement dysfunction that make the sometimes academic approach quite palatable. Dr. Austin identifies three different types of performance measurement based on the intent of the measurement - measurement for motivation, process improvement, or process coordination. It is measurement for motivation that causes the dysfunction that this book so convincingly describes.

For example, if we record the fact that 10 widgets are produced on machine A and we are comparing this against the 10 widget benchmark for bonuses, it is very likely that other perspectives like quality will suffer in the drive to make the 10 widget goal. Austin makes the point that the discovery that every time our overall performance is excellent we have produced 10 widgets does not imply that producing 10 widgets will guarantee excellent overall performance.

If we record the fact that 10 widgets are produced on machine A while only eight widgets are produced in the same time using competing technology on machine B, this is measurement for process improvement and can be very useful - provided it is limited in scope and used purely for the stated purpose.

If we record the fact that 10 widgets are produced on machine A and convey this information to the widget packaging department to ensure that enough widget cases are ready, this is measurement for process coordination, and is also potentially useful on its own.

The idea that the intent or goal of the measurement is of paramount importance is one important lesson from this book.

Austin does make some recommendations about developing effective performance measurement systems.

Understanding the costs involved with "perfect" measurements is part of the solution. Substituting a cheaper approximation for a key measurement is bound to cause problems - witness the measurement of nitrogen instead of protein in wheat gluten used in pet food. The incorrect justification for cheaper approaches is a thread surfaces in other areas - reusing financial figures as a proxy for management accounting leads to flawed descision-making emphasizing short term financial gain - reuse of software components leads to products that are hard to use.

One effective technique is using the end customer as the ultimate judge of quality and performance - the kind of approach described 10 years later in Fred Reichheld's The Ultimate Question: Driving Good Profits and True Growth

A principal of a company once told me that the primary job of a manager is to get the employee to do what the manager wants him to do. From there to effective management in real life comes a lot of confusion.

Robert Austin sorts it all out with a suprisingly simple model, and a strong does of honesty. Managers and workers -- participants in the serious game of work in organzations -- put aside illusions and read this book. And anyone who thought they were helping by designing a measurement program, pay attention too.

Measurement and management can work, but only if you know what you're doing.