Practice Management Books

I ordered this book for a class I was taking. Amazon had a wonderful first-time buyers discount through the Visa card and it seemed like a perfect way to get my book. The listing for the postage said I had two hours to order for the book to reach me next day. The book did not arrive until four days later! In addition, I directed it to go to a different mailing address but it went to my home address. I didn't get the book until a week later! Another student in the class had the exact same experience with the same book, but hers never arrived!

The book itself is good. It gives ideas for lesson planning for phonics and vocabulary which have been pretty easy to follow and implement. It is an easy read.

Dr. Gambrell has done a thorough work in "Best Practices...." and the research is impeccable. I will be using this as my guide to literacy instruction for a long time.

Time is not a renewable resource. Many people try to create more time only to find that is futile. This book is about how to set priorities to make the best and highest use of the finite amount of time available to us all. Don't try to add more years to your life. Add more life to your years.

I am a Professional Organizer and Time Management Coach. I am always reading books on organizing, time management, etc to remain current in the field. I loved this book for many reasons:
1. It was easy to read,
2. It was brief (I finished it in a day),
3. The tips were practical and useful,
4. It referenced loads of other well known books on time management,
5. It provided a great summary at the end.

Overall, this little book provided memorable quotes and great ideas for those who are just getting started and those who are well on their way to better managing their time.

Take it from someone who was toiling down in the trenches chasing the bad guys, this book is a first hand account of how the Reagan administration and Speaker Wright fiddled while the savings and loan crisis burned. It explains how, and why, the government for years did not try to stop the corporate criminals who went on one of the largest financial crime sprees in the history of the United States. This is an important work, not only for its historic value in explaining this particular outbreak of white collar crime in the savings and loan industry, but also because it carefully lays out the patterns of control fraud that will continue to recur in different corporate venues as long as people are willing to steal and lie to try and gain an economic advantage. This should be required reading for every financial regulator in the United States. Alan Greenspan, who recently argued that personal reputation in business practices should be more important than enforcing rules, should read it twice (or as many times as it takes until Mr. Greenspan can remember why he trusted Charles Keating).

William Black's book, The Best Way to Rob a Bank is to Own One,is on the one hand an act of courage, and to an excellent journey into the morass and collapse of the Savings & Loan industry. Bill Black should know better than anyone, as he was one of the inside attorney's trying to coral bankers gone wild on highly speculative ventures...

Mr. Black walks us down the chamber of horrors of the Savings & Loan collapse, and gives us a bird's eye view of bank corrupt.
What is most interesting is that Mr. Black finds the trends within in the industry itself, that it was actually CONTROL FRAUD were bankers, accountants, appraisers, bank executives and politicians colluded together to bring an already shaky and weak industry down. Everyone who wants to understand that the Savings & Loan was the first cracks in the empire, civilizations have always been brought down by poorly run fractional reserve fiat currency bankig systems.

What was the cry from people from Alan Greenspan was for more deregulation, and at the time, Greenspan, a banker who was with Morgan Stanley prior to his excellency/chairmanship/ at the Federal Reserve System, was that the Lincoln Savings & Loan, was one of the best run S&Ls in the country...

What resulted was deregulation and desupervision... Attorneys and accountants for hire, audits performed on Savings & Loans which made them look like a picture of financial health when in fact the S&L industry had terminal cancer...Massive insolvency, virtually no reserves, coverups, and famous politicians genuflecting to the Savings & Loan industry, the Keating Five; John Glen, John McCain, Alan Cranston, Dennis DeConcini, Donald Riegle..All pressuring the Bank Board for leniency...

Every American should read this book...this control fraud of the eighties in the Savings & Loan industry makes Enron look like a game of childrens marbles..We learn little, we remember little in this United States of Amnesia..

The Best Way To Rob A Bank Is to Own One, by William Black is a true sign that there is a crack in the American empire's treasury.. A recommended read if your really want to understand what happened in the Savings & Loan collapse, which the AMERICAN TAXPAYER WILL PAY FOR $200 BILLION OR MORE.

As Thomas Jefferson once said, "Banking Establishments Are More Dangerous Than Standing Armies." Hats off to Bill Black.

Barry J. Dyke, RIA, Hampton, NH

This is a really interesting book for those wishing to enter the big 4 accounting world even if it is a little bit outdated now.

Wow! Too bad this book is out of stock. When I was in college, many of my colleagues read this. I wished I had before joining a Big Six firm. The book provides insight into the cultures, the mergers of Big Six firms, and the dynamics that goes on. A must read for those in Big Six, those considering working for the Big Six (now Big Five, I think) and those working with them.

That book is difficult, but I made my way through it, because it’s the truth. And it is good stuff. And it’s worth it. She tells the truth. She explains why black children and students have such problems with Western education. Her answer is that Western education was designed and made by whites. This may be OK for Asians, who are closer to whites, but it can’t work for Africans, our race is too different, the “racial distance”(and the culture that stems from each race) is too big. I don’t mean to be racist, man, but that’s how it is, we are no whites, and whites are no blacks, and that’s fine. Seems to come close to a book I haven’t read, The White Architects of Black Education: Ideology and Power. AND, even worst, she proves, reveals that the aim of this white education that is imposed unto blacks is enslave them by conditioning them to respect white authority, to be docile, subordinate and dependent on white, and by predestinating them to the inferior lowest jobs whites need for their free-market economy. Put it clearly, man : it is still white slavery and exploitation of Africans, but it is hidden. And worst, because you don’t see it and you won’t revolt and shake off the white yoke. It’s deception. And I would had that this white schooling hurts terribly, breaks our African soul, identity , and that’s why many of us fail, our African soul can’t work out with a white identity that is unnatural to us and that enslaves us. But she has the (obvious) solution: we need our own separate schools, but not just so before the segregation, not compulsory, and above all not designed by whites for white children, but designed by Africans for black children. That’s it. The whole point is about designing black school. It should be done by Africans who have rediscovered their roots, I mean their own African cultures, religions, races and languages. Here in South Africa we got a seminal book, P. C. Luthuli’s The Philosophical foundations of Black education in South Africa. Luthuli saw that “While throughout their history Black people have borrowed quite generously in order to construct their school curriculum, the time has come for this to be done within the dictates of their basic needs” and that our schools “must be governed by the fundamental collective philosophy of life”, that is by our own African soul, not the thinking, the soul of the white race, which is alien to us. Irvine, working with the African diaspora in America has come exactly to the same conclusion. What a good book, man, that’s real black studies, black university, and it’s not baloney like some of those white racists say who would like to abolish black studies. Quite the contrary, read her book, she proves we need our own “Afrocentric independent schools”.

I highly recommend Black Students and School Failure (BSASF) to all serious educators and parents of black students. I also highly recommend re-reading it to anyone who has read this book some time ago. Simply put, this book makes the reader think.

I first read BSASF in 1991. Over the years, I have re-read sections of the book a number of times. For me, the vital and brilliantly communicated points of BSASF are these:

1. [Contrary to "Bell Curve" thinking,]Black children's capacity and potential for learning is equal to that of other ethnic groups.

2. Black children's learning potential is systematically not being realized in America's school systems. Reasons or this include but are not limited to: low expectations and self-fulfilling prophecies; lack of cultural synchronization; lack of national, strategic focus on effectively educating poor, minority children.

In other words, black student failure in school does not point to an inherent inability to learn. Rather, it points to clearly ineffective - perhaps even racist - policies and practices on a classroom, school, school system, and national level.

3. The problem of black student school failure is significantly correlated with the problem of black poverty - and the salient issues of drug abuse, violence, teen pregnancy, etc. These problems persist and will continue to persist until there is an active commitment address them with not just short-lived interventions, but long-term strategic focus on improving educational outcomes for black students.

Being a first-year teacher of math at a 90+% black high school in South Florida, I am an everyday witness of low teacher expectations and self-fulfilling prophecies for black students. This book convinces me that there would be significantly less black poverty if significantly more teachers had high expectations for their black students. Moreover, it makes me wonder if perhaps there would even be a cure for cancer!

Patrick Harper

Coconut Creek, Florida
April 20, 2003

I really enjoyed the book. It is concise with practical advice on creating new habits and organizing your business life and gear it up for success, and not just spin your wheels or cower from difficult situations. I learned how to be proactive in business situations and not just eek by. You can read this book in a short amount of time and keep it on hand for reference - or even get all managers in your company to read it.

Become the type of leader with meaning. Purpose. Intention.

... And poise.

How? Start by reading this book and you will be moved - it is another sharp and poignant work from savvy businesswoman Jane Schulte. Similar to the book WORK SMART, Not Hard!, BOLD Leadership points toward Schulte's proclivity for upbeat and distinctive concepts.

The crisp and concise language of the book allows for a quick and pleasurable read. My favorite chapter was Chapter Three: Defining Success. Schulte shares with readers the importance of defining success for yourself and not living from someone else's definition. She also writes in this chapter that it is possible (and necessary) to find joy at work and that we should strive to create our jobs into something we want to do - no matter what your job is! Chapter Four: What's Your Mission? is also a great chapter on choosing how you will live each day, which is a concept that can really change your life.

This special book helps you define yourself as a leader and offers smart suggestions on how to propel your business toward success. I definitely recommend it!

I own a small cigar company and recently wanted to increase sales and market my products and services. A friend suggested this book to me, and boy was it worth it! This book breaks down every possible problem you may have and explains in detail how to overcome situations. The title explains it all. I recommend this book to anyone interested in business, anyone who has a business, or anyone who wants to start a business. I feel confident that the skills I learned from this book will indeed help my business!

I have read a sneak-preview of this book and would recommend it highly for businesses, colleges and government use.

As a leadership development consultant working closely with China-based MNCs and top-tier Chinese companies, we frequently ask our clients the following questions:

- How many expatriate managers do you have in your China organization?
- Are they China business savvy enough?
- Are they struggling in cracking the culture code and becoming more effective in managing in China?
- Are there lessons they can learn from others so that they can avoid making certain mistakes themselves?
- Is developing local leaders on the top of your agenda?
- What gaps do you see in the emerging Chinese leaders?
- How can you fast track your leadership development to meet your business need?
- Are your Chinese leaders armed with the strategies to rise more quickly?

Most of these questions have been addressed by Frank Gallo in his book. For most expa managers in China and Chinese leaders embracing the Western leadership principles, leading effectively in China is such a huge challenge. Without an in-depth understanding of the Chinese history and culture, it's almost impossible for leaders to grasp the organizational reality and respond with a sensible strategy.

For example, Chinese employees don't always speak up in meetings because the education has always been that "the first bird gets shot;" and the Chinese employees generally don't collaborate well enough because the Chinese education system is basically based on competition and in many cases, the Chinese understanding of competition is "I win, you lose" or "You win, I lose", and win-win is something desirable but practically impossible. Frank Gallo provided his own insights on such Chinese organizational behaviors, which are deeply rooted in the Chinese history and culture.

You may also like the personal stories and insights of both the Western executives and Chinese managers scattered throughout the book. Needless to say, these personal stories and sharing help make Frank's book to be extremely down-to-the-earth and practical.

I highly recommend this insightful and empowering book to all the Western executives based in China and the Chinese managers who are serious students of the Western leadership principles. For further exchange, you can send me e-mail to gary.wang@mindspan.cn.

Mr. Gallo writes with clarity and intelligence about a topic that will become increasingly important to all business people and Americans alike. The cultural differences between the Western ways of business and China's unique business style are easily explained as are the possibilities to bridge the gap between these two cultures who must co-exist disregarding all differences. An excellent must-read.

This is the definitive book on "knowledge capital" (his trademarked term) and how to calculate shareholder value in the New Economy. In general, one should buy this book to be persuaded of Paul's brilliance, and then hire him to implement the ideas as a strategic consultant. Not for the weak-minded CEO or CIO, as it impales most corporate oxes and concludes that in general, there has been either a negative return on investment, or no discernible contribution to corporate profit, from steadily increasing information technology budgets.

Popular belief is that increased use of computers correlates with superior business performance. But the evidence I had seen has been at best anecdotal. I couldn't find anything that looked like solid scientific evidence - statistically meaningful sample sizes, random choice, proper statistical methods. Then I bumped into this book. Strassmann shows that there is NO correlation. Then he proceeds to show what DOES correlate with superior business performance. Briefly, if you divide a firm's total budget into 'sharp end' (the folks in the workshop) and 'blunt end' (management and the folks in the back office), the bigger the blunt end the worse shape they will tend to be in. If you then again split the computer related budget into 'in support of sharp end' eg ATMs, and 'in support of blunt end' eg management information systems, the sharp end systems tend to pay off and the blunt end ones tend not to. And the two tend to cancel out.

I had always suspected this, but it still shook me to my roots.

I think his 'Return on Management' measure is flawed - it looks just like 'profit' to me - but otherwise reading this was an epiphany.

Looking for useful measures of the payoff of information systems is a real challenge, and Strassmann goes far into it.

He also explodes the theory that profit is a good measure - how do we measure how well run the business is if it is a welfare society, or a public transport system?

A wonderful book.

We can know that water problem is not lying in the future but now. Especially Dead Sea basin is the source of armed conflicts over years. The Aral Sea problem shows no sighn to recover.
As previous reviewer said, this books let you blue. But it's necessary to think over the water management problem for our future.

Water is the main issue of our security in 21st century.

i bought this UN publication for research into my Masters thesis on Caspian pipelines. I was curious about the impact that such hydrocarbon exploration could have on the environment. I need not of worried the ecology of Central Asia is already beyound hope.

This book is technical yet informative - and sad to read - it reminded me of a chapter in James Critchlows book on Uzbelistan about the rape of the environment. Divided into 5 sections of which 2 focus on the Aral, and the Caspian and a third on the Dead Seas - the other 2 sections proved and introduction and a final commeentary on the role of IGOs.

There are some colour satellite image maps and photographs, useful charts and there are useful recommendations made by some contributors.

It is very useful in relation to the Caspian that until recently ecological and environmental concerns were not adequately addressed - this book is a must for any seeking a factual analysis of the water crisis that is already here. Other newer books may seek to cover topical material but this is a must for those who want regional commentary on the problem. I recommend it.