Practice Management Books

This is a serious book about a serious subject, and reading it makes it clear how much we lost when we lost Graeme Caughley. This book is suitable for an advanced undergraduate or first-year graduate class in conservation where you are dealing with students who have at least some background in basic ecology and data analysis. Written in Caughley's iconoclastic style, with a strong Southern hemisphere emphasis in terms of examples and case studies, the book is a welcome relief from the conservation-lite type texts that litter the booksellers inventories. Caughley pulls no punches when he criticizes some of the more sweeping generalizations that have captured the popular imagination, and he expects his readers to be able to deal with math if they are going to mess around with survival curves, MVPs, or whatever. I found the writing to be clear, lucid, and to the point. Caughley gives an excellent review of theoretical aspects of conservation & then delvs into a series of case studies that illustrate points made in the first half of the book. Some of these will be familiar to most readers, others are more exotic, more intriguing, and each delivers useful lessons-of-practice to ponder over, argue about, and learn from. Even though this text is now 7 years old it is perhaps a mark of Caughley's foresight that it still has a very contemporary feel to it. Anne Gunn is to be commended for making sure that this book got out in a relatively intact form, and i would STRONGLY encourage professionals, teachers, and students to get it & keep it on your desk.

In the current debates over resource management and environmental degradation, the role of government and its interaction with its various constituencies is very important. A Conspiracy of Optimism effectively examines the multiple mandates of the United States Forest Service since World War II and how under increasing political and economic pressure it has chosen to satisfy the demands of politicians, the logging industry, and outdoor recreationalists. What emerges from this well-documented and cogently written monograph is a portrait of mismanagement, confusion, and overharvest taking place beneath and behind the oft-stated and repeated mantras of sustainable yield. Anyone seeking to understand the logging controversies of the current day must read this book.

The authors of this book have been instrumental in the founding of the ABA certified Paralegal program at DeAnza College and education of paralegal students there. This book serves as an excellent introduction to the concepts of Constitutional Law. It is very well-written and the online companion (with the nifty quizzes) are a superb benefit. This book is well worth the money.

The publication, while a bit dated (i.e., circa 1998), provides a particularly good mix of general overview of the overall government contracting process and on-point detail with respect to such issues as FAR/DFAR rules and regulations, cost accounting standards, disclosure statements, cost and pricing data and a plethora of other relevant topics. The book was a very good resource, particularly for anyone who is in need of a one-stop guide to a very broad topic.

Having been a high technology recruiter and Certified Personnel Consultant for over twenty (20) years, and knowing that industry has an urgent need to learn how to recruit and retain today's scarce technical resources, I had planned to write a similar book for business. That is no longer necessary, as Ms. Ritu Agarwal has conducted the in-depth study for which the Software and IT industry has been yearning.

Based on the objective study of thirty-two (32) successful companies, the stunning and succinct analysis and subsequent categorization of four (4) main "types" of companies based on their state of evolution and specific goals, clearly lays out for the HR professional, a roadmap upon which to refer for empirical help in architecting and implementing recruiting and retention solutions peculiar to their needs.

Fact wins out over opinion in this first erudite study of our SW industry's employment issues, and with the current US shortage of Software-IT people being 1.4 million, Ms. Agarwal's work is "in the red zone" of being a "must have" for professionals in the field.

Copyright For Teachers And Librarians by Rebecca Butler (Associate Professor in the Educational Technology, Research, and Assessment Department in the College of Education at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois) is a no-nonsense guide to copyright law. The principle of fair use defined and explained, the procedures one should follow when asking permission, the specific applications of copyright law, particulars with regard to copyright law and CDs, DVDs, videos, or television, and much more, including a sharp focus on how copyright law relates directly to the needs of teachers and librarians, all make Copyright For Teachers And Librarians a hands-on practical resource. An absolute must-have for any teacher or librarian not intimitely familiar with America's copyright laws, Copyright For Teachers And Librarians is also useful to general readers as it presents basic facts in a highly readible manner.

This is a disturbing, but eye opening book. I knew there has been much corporate crime, but I was not aware of the extent of it nor of the many forms it takes. With the rapidly growing power and wealth of corporations in the world today, public awareness of this large scale hanky panky is essentail. All responsible citizens of modern democracies should be aware of what is so well presented in this book.

I truly enjoy this book and would recommend it to anyone in the profession or interested in becoming a part of it. While the book is very informative,including many facts and figures, it reads like one is having a session of "shop talk" with the author and telling war stories. I rarely have a hard time putting nonfiction down, but this book is truly a gem.

I agree with the following endorsements:

"A thorough and thoughtful guidebook on the governance lay of the land."
-Professor Charles M. Elson, Woolard Chair in Corporate Governance and Director of Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance, University of Delaware

"Frederick Lipman provides a comprehensive approach to best corporate governance practices for all organizations, which is current, thoughtful, and practical. Directors and corporate governance personnel of public, private, and not-for-profit organizations must read this book."
-Professor Raphael H. Amit, Director of Goergen Entrepreneurial Management Program, Wharton School of Business

"Fred Lipman is considered by many directors and CEOs to be the preeminent expert on corporate governance in the country. His advice on this important topic, which impacts the boards of all types of organizations-public, private, and not-for-profit-is required reading in this day and age."
-Frederick (Ted) Peters, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Bryn Mawr Bank Corporation (aka The Bryn Mawr Trust Company)

"Boards of directors must be aware of best corporate governance practices in order to be effective in their oversight role and that is true for all not-for-profit organizations, including universities, as well as public and private companies. Frederick Lipman has authored a practical and comprehensive guide to 'best practices' for all boards of directors, which is required reading."
-George P. Tsetsekos, PhD, Dean, Bennett S. LeBow College of Business, Drexel University

"In a world of 'good,' 'better,' 'best,' where 'good' and 'better' may not be good enough, Fred Lipman's new book is a straightforward, and even comforting, compendium of BEST governance practices for serious directors. It is a handy and reassuring tool for the conscientious."
-Allen R. Freedman, Audit Committee Chairman, StoneMor Partners LP,Founding Director, Association of Audit Committee Members

Professor Vallabhaneni's latest offering is a comprehensive yet concise guide to the very best in best practices in enterprise management. This book is the logical follow on to Vallabhaneni's pioneering leadership in founding the Association of Professionals in Business Management (APBM) and the Certified Business Manager (CBM) professional designation. Clear and well organized, Corporate Management, Governance, and Ethics Best Practices is an absolute must read for every business executive and management student.