Organizations Books

Just as the title 'Agency and Organizations. Towards an organizational theory of society'reveals, this book offers a theory of society based on organizations. The book starts of with a discussion of Giddens, Habermas and Alexander (among others), which shows that Ahrne master the fields of sociology and organization theory well-while at the same time being able to walk outside their domains. Ahrne manages to present an intriguing view of the often troublesome connection between the societal level and individual action, without ending up in a rigid grand theory. The fascinating way to look at society with new eyes, combined with lots of examples from everyday life, makes this book fun reading, something neither sociology nor organization theory is spoiled with. The idea of a theory of society where organizations play a crucial role has been further elaborated by Ahrne in 'Social Organizations. interaction inside, outside and between organizations, which appeared in 1994 (Sage). I strongly recomend you to read both books, no matter if your interest is in organization theory, sociology or 'just' every day life.

Editors Steve L. Goldman and Carol B. Graham have done an excellent job of desribing the role of and need for agility in the health care industry. This is a well-written publication providing theoretical and practical reasons supporting the fact that agility in healthcare is an absolute requirement in order for it to survive as a viable industry. It is a must read for EVERYONE in the helath care or anyone who wants to have a better understanding of the role that the business model plays in this industry.

This book is a comprehensive study of South Asian Ag development starting with the Green Revolution. It's a must for ag missionaries. It is a very good reference book. I bought mine in Kathmandu. Good luck finding it.

Everyone working in poor country development should read this very urgently. It is a true "exposé". Although the "in depth" case studies are in Uganda and Africa, the findings apply to structured development aid organizations, government and NGO, working everywhere. Tina and her team's research shows clearly what hundreds of thousands of people who are living off the aid money in the aid organizations know deep down, but are usually afraid to admit in the open. This structure is totally inappropriate - it is just welfare for aid workers. It leaves little lasting benefit for the "customers" - the rural poor, in this case in Africa.

The research is very objective, looking at how aid is planned and delivered and how decisions are made. It looks at where the real power lies, and shows it is far away from those who know what's really needed in the field, and usually prevents them from doing anything sustainable. It shows aid organizations are using an archaic industrial business model, designed for delivering a narrow range of known products in known and stable markets. This can't work when each market is different - different needs, different cultures and different conditions along many dimensions.

The book is heavy going at times, because of its thoroughness. Each little aspect of what happens where, its impact, the reasons for everything, the supporting evidence, etc., are covered carefully and in great detail. However, it is well worth sifting through, or even just picking critical parts to start with (like the introduction, the case studies and the conclusions). The meticulous data collection and analysis serves to prove beyond any doubt how badly the aid process is broken, and begins to provide a framework for evaluating alternatives.

The book tries to be positive in its conclusion, but doesn't really succeed. Objectively it can't, based on the research, which shows that, recognizing poor results and trying to get better, the organizations driving this are going for MORE of the wrong kind of planning and management controls, taking power away from the grassroots and making themselves ever more wasteful and even less effective. Neutered by log-frames and arrogant, ill-informed hierarchical management, lots of aid workers are having nice lives living off the charity of the West, but those who care about the results are deeply frustrated. Let's hope this book will give more of them the confidence to speak out. Sadly the Africans have no chance of ever taking ownership of the right development steps for them under the weight of this approach.

It was so telling that none of Tina's sources would allow themselves to be identified, and some later actually publicly argued directly against what they told Tina privately. My conclusion based on this excellent detailed analysis was that Africa and the world would be better served by shutting down most aid organizations completely, unless they totally reinvent themselves and turn development on its head. That means putting all the brains and spending at the grassroots level, creating a model where they are consultants to African-led initiatives. Al Gore's quote of Upton Sinclair comes to mind reading this: "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on him not understanding it". Yes, different topic, but this book could very appropriately have been titled" "An Inconvenient Truth". If we don't face up to it, the effect in Africa could be just as disastrous as climate change, and perhaps more rapid.

In each chapter, the author profiles a different aircraft in the NATO air forces from the 1980's. Unlike so many other books of this type, there are no pictures. A few maps but no pictures of the aircraft. Instead, the author describes in-depth, exactly what role each aircraft would play in a NATO-Warsaw Pact conflict. He does a superb job of describing each aircraft's design, performance, and weapons systems, but he always focuses on how the aircraft contributes to the battle.

To top it off, each chapter has lengthy interviews with aircrew. The pilots and backseaters provide extensive detail on tactics, aircraft performance, and combat scenarios. There are many insightful details about weapon strenths and limitations and how aircrew use "workarounds" to get the job done.

Much of the material in this book is still relevant today. Most of the tactics, strategy, and weapons are still in use today (albeit in improved form). If there's anything missing, it is that the book pre-dates the first Gulf War and thus lacks a discussion of stealth aircraft.

As a new union member (1987) in the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) I read this book several times from cover to cover and always found something new. I also had a strong desire to learn about my roots. There are many lessons to be learned and this book is both informative and educational. It is obvious the authors spent a lot of time researching and putting together a great piece of work.

The book covers PATCO from its initial start until the end.

If you are a labor union member or just someone wanting to know about PATCO and its history, I whole heartedly recommend this book.

The entire contents of the following review are public domain, since I wrote them when employed by the U.S. federal government:

"Some officers could now spend as many as four years at a duty station before getting a new assignment.

The Air Force is now looking for ways to reduce the number of station-to-station moves for officers, particularly for those in the United States.

By extending the average assignment length for an officer from three years to four years, the Air Force believes it can reduce the number of yearly officer PCS moves. Any moves occurring before four years would primarily be for professional development reasons only, said Lt. Gen. Roger A. Brady, deputy chief of staff for manpower and personnel.

"We don't necessarily want to move people around as quickly as we may have in the past, if there is not a developmental reason for that," he said. "And there is a lot of development that can take place in your first few years of service, wherever you are."

The general said that for many young officers, lieutenants in particular, the greatest professional development comes from gaining expertise and experience at one stable location. For higher-ranking officers, professional development comes from attending schools or by taking a command position. Real professional development, the general said, does not come from simply moving to a new assignment.

"We have always been a force that wanted to develop people, and part of developing people is to give them different opportunities," he said. "But if you are not careful, you can confuse movement with development. So what we are looking at are policies that might create moves that are not necessarily related to development."

General Brady also said fewer moves for officers will put less stress on their families by allowing children to stay in a single school for a longer time and by allowing spouses to find more stable careers.

While the change to PCS policy will mostly affect officers inside the continental United States, it will also affect officers stationed overseas, especially at those assigned to European bases.

"We find that some of our traditional overseas assignments... are perhaps as stable as (in the Continental United States,) and so it begs the question as to whether or not you really need to have that disparity in how you manage units," he said.

Manning overseas units at higher levels increases PCS moves and the costs associated with them. The Air Force will now be more amenable to extending officers that want to stay longer at an overseas tour and will look closer than it has in the past at officers who want to shorten their overseas tours, General Brady said.

The Air Force has other reasons for limiting the number of officer PCS moves. One of those reasons is recouping the cost of the moves and applying that funding in other places.

"We have a budgetary issues in a lot of areas: fighting the global war on terror, high ops tempo, ageing aircraft fleets and growing manpower costs," the general said.

General Brady said more effective management of officer moves will better help their professional development, and will also free up funding so it can be applied to winning the war on terror and to recapitalizing ageing Air Force aircraft."

This book shows the reader incredible detail and information. If you are not a collecor of World War Two militaria, you will become one after reading this book. The photos and descriptions are very accurate and precise. This book is a must for anyone's bookshelf.

Very interesting book it is a series of translations of various type of communications from the top Al Qaeda leaders along with personal biographies on each of them. I found reading these communications helpful in giving me an idea of the rationalization of these murderous fanatics

One of the strengths of 'Alabadle! Hispanic Christian Worship' edited by Justo Gonzalez is that it dispels the notion that all Hispanics are the same. There is a great deal of diversity that underlies the simple descriptor 'Hispanic' - for one thing, as Gonzalez notes in the opening chapter, Hispanics come from various parts of a geographic region roughly one quarter the size of the entire world. While the largest group of Hispanics in America come from Mexico, there are significant communities from each of the Hispanic nations - and not all speak Spanish (Brazil, the largest nation in terms of both population and land mass, has Portuguese as its official language).

Also, the denominational situation is different from the dominant Anglo culture. The idea that all Hispanics are Catholic is wrong to begin with, but the balance between Catholic and Protestant in Latino cultures is different; Protestantism there tends to be very pointedly anti-Catholic, and the Catholics tend to see Protestant Hispanics as traitors to the culture as well as unfaithful to the church.

Gonzalez has a team of writers who look at Hispanic worship from denominational perspectives:

* Hispanic Catholic Worship - Allan Figueroa Deck, SJ
* Hispanic Pentecostal Worship - Samuel Solivan
* Hispanic United Methodist Worship - Maria Luisa Santillan Baert
* Hispanic Baptist Worship - Miguel Angel Darino

Also, Gonzalez highlights various aspects of general Hispanic concerns with his concluding three sections:

* The Mestizo Church - Teresa Chavez Sauceda
* Hispanic Hymnody - Raquel Gutierrez-Achon
* Worship Resources (as an appendix) - Pablo A. Jimenez

These issues are important across the board - Chavez Sauceda is a Presbyterian, and talks about the incorporation of different kinds of rituals into a fairly standard Presbyterian pattern of worship; she also talks about the difficulties of raising children in a culture that is both secular and generally non-hispanic in orientation.Guiterrez-Achon looks at the theory, history, and some practical considerations for Hispanic hymnody in the church today. Jimenez offers hymns, litanies and creeds, as well as suggestions for further research for guidance. The book concludes with a useful glossary, too.

Overall, this relatively brief book is an excellent introduction to the diversity of Hispanic worship, and through that, the culture, as it exists in America today. I recommend it for seminary students, pastors, and lay leaders, particularly in areas where there is a significant or growing Hispanic population of any persuasion, and for those congregations who are seeking to incorporate a more welcoming environment and practice for Hispanics.