Organizations Books

A practical guide which maps out an excellent strategy for any organization, business, or venture. In clear and engaging style the authors show how to improve one's personal relationship to work, family, and community. Intelligible on every page, this books works for those with time for a complete, sit-down reading and also for strap-hangers between subway stops. Here is deep thinking and personal experience applied with a spiritual attentiveness to true challenges. The reader is educated to think realistically about present problems, hard facts, and tough dilemmas in the rubric of uplifting hope. Hope is investigated as the best antidote to fear, and the authors avoid all of the swamps of New Age mushiness. Hope will put us on track. Bravo!

In a time when there are more "managers" (good or bad) than "leaders"; this book offers valuable insight into providing positive and realistic motivation for any organization. Any person who considering themself a leader should read this book and think about how various principles can be applied to their organization. This should be a "must-read"!

In their book, Putting Hope to Work: Five Principles to Activate Your Organization's Most Powerful Resource, Harry Hutson and Barbara Perry identify, and help us understand the inspirational value of Hope in the work place. While often thought of in the realm of vague spirituality or wishy-washy Pollyannaism, the authors clearly demonstrate that Hope, and its value within thriving, achieving organizations is anything but wishy-washy!

Stating that the "Hopes of an organization are consolidated in a company's belief in what you're trying to accomplish," they show how Hope within an organization is inevitably linked to the company's mission and vision - and where there is no vision, the people perish. The importance then, of a company's vision cannot be overstated. It's not coincidence that there is such a lack of "hope-talk" in the modern work place accompanied by a tangible sense of hopelessness.

While traditional management theory focuses on "driving out fear," pioneering authors Hutson and Perry compel us to focus on Hope instead, to "bring energy to the more life-enhancing side of the equation, creating more vibrant, creative, collaborative and successful workplaces."

Hutson and Perry identify the five principles of Hope - Possibility, Agency, Worth, Openness and Connection - and define Hope as "an orientation to a positive future that engages our heads, hearts and hands." When these principles are present - and sustained - within an organization, individuals and their organizations succeed.

In presenting their five principles of Hope, Hutson and Perry highlight research proving the effectiveness of Hope within an organization and provide detailed examples of how to evaluate and improve your skills as a leader fostering Hope within your organization or team. You'll learn who "Hopeful" leaders are, what they do, and how they keep their own Hope alive in times of difficulty or stress.

While some management books present theory alone, Hutson and Perry provide clear, useable tools to create and sustain Hope within your organization. Relying on their many years of management consulting and research, they feature real-life examples from a variety of industries. Combined with the tangible results presented from companies with cultures of Hope, led by "Hopeful" leaders, Putting Hope to Work is an inspirational and practical guide to implementing the power of Hope within your organization or team.

As both a business executive and an MBA professor, I found Dr. Shelton's book to be extremely helpful. The blend of science, psychology, religion and organizational development created a solid research-based theoretical foundation, and the action-oriented exercises at the end of each chapter were helpful for practical application. I highly recommend this book to leaders, managers, academics and those desiring to better integrate their personal values with their organizational life.

This highly readable and usable book introduces us to the world of quantum mechanics as underlying principles of our personal and business lives. Quantum Leaps actually presents hard science simplified with plenty of examples to show that the theories work. Quantum Leaps goes way beyond cheerleading readers toward bold acts. Because each of the seven skills is actually based in the new science of quantum mechanics that shows the way the universe really works, each of us can use the described skills of quantum thinking, acting, feeling, being, seeing, trusting and knowing with the confidence of using scientific instruments. Charlotte Shelton has done us all a favor by translating the mystery of the new science into the simplicity of skills to use every day. By doing so she has given us a vital new stepping stone toward the 21st century and an evolutionary step toward quantum living. Her fresh and elegant approach paints an encouraging future for all of us.

I sincerely wish that everyone would read "Quantum Leaps". If so there would be a "Quantum Leap" in individual and universal consciousness. She explains new scientific technology in a clear and easily understandable way. Her examples and explanations are excellent and clearly point out the necessity for a change in consciousness from the old Newtonian mechanistic to the world of today's Quantum Physics. This book is simplistic enough to be read by someone unfamiliar with current technology and it is also able to captivate the mind and imagination most erudite. Warning - pleased be advised that you may find yourself buying copies for your friends and stopping strangers on the street telling them to read this book.

The recurring theme today is transformation. Corporate transformation. Personal transformation. As I see this book, it's an insightful guide to understanding and leading change. It's a full book, with helpful color illustrations---the kind of manuscript that will consume a considerable amount of time to move through. It's a deep intellectual work, not a pop management publication.

Kilmann begins by focusing the reader on current conditions, then a comparison and comprehension of "two dueling paradigms" of where we are and where we're going. The new paradigm is explored using the language and concepts of quantum physics that will stimulate and challenge the minds of organizational development readers.

Most of the book is devoted to an exploration of eight tracks, organized by sections titled Quantum Infrastructures, Formal Systems, and Process Management. The sixth chapter, on Critical Success Factors, intertwines the corporate and the personal with an emphasis on consciousness and meaningfulness. Readers will journey through tracks on culture, skills, teamness, strategy-structure, rewards, gradual process, radical process, and the learning process.

A broad bibliography and index make this deep content book even more valuable.

The author puts organizational transformation into the context of a shift from the Cartesian-Newtonian to quantum-relativistic paradigm. He places, and links together, the study of organization and change initiatives into the context of cutting-edge transformations in physics, evolutionary biology, and the study of the brain/mind that are changing our view of reality.

The quantum organization is profiled by seven attributes including: inclusion of consciousness in self-designing systems; cross-boundary processes; and, internal commitment of active participants. Kilmann presents a five-stage process for closing the gap between the old and the new (i.e., quantum) organization.

The author delves into the primary change initiatives for achieving self-transformation consisting of quantum infrastructures, formal systems, and process management. Eight tracks are used to address these three components. These tracks concern: culture, skills, teams, strategy-structure, reward system, learning process, gradual process (continuous improvement on a unit level), and radical process (cross-boundary redesign on the macro level).

Self-awareness and growth are critical in the overall scheme. This emphasis on the individual makes this a highly unique work. Stern's Management Review Online (hrconsultant) finds this book to be fascinating, eclectic, and HIGHLY innovative in its approach to deep organizational change. The liberal use of full-color, lively diagrams greatly helps convey the meaning of key concepts.

The author has tried to bring together just about everything having to do with organizational transformation into one grand design; we believe he has been successful. For those searching for a different perspective on organization, out to 'push the envelop,' this is a book well worth your time. Highly recommended.

Dr. Ralph Kilmann's magnum opus, Quantum Organizations, should seriously be considered as a watershed moment in the history of organizational change management literature.

Dr. Kilmann, a best selling author, professor, and consultant to Fortune 500 companies and the Office of the U.S. President, lucidly and systematically busts through the traditional barriers separating business, science, and western philosophical thought to create a new paradigm likely to change the scope of how we view our careers and lives in general for decades to come.

On my book shelf, I have purposely placed Quantum Organizations next to Drucker's The Practice of Management, Peters' In Search of Excellence, and Grove's Only the Paranoid Survive. More importantly, it is also not too far away from De Tocqueville's Democracy in America, Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, and Bloom's The Closing of the American Mind. Quantum Organizations is that important to our culture and how we organize and adapt our businesses and lives for optimal performance and personal growth.

It is my guess that folks who won't take this book seriously are also those who are susceptible to fads, buzzwords, and quick fixes. It is also these exact same folks who seem to end up more vulnerable than most to strategic inflection points, layoffs, takeovers, and liquidation.

An added note, although this is an organizational change management treatise, career-minded individuals struggling with their jobs and lives after the events of 9/11/01 will find added depth and meaning after reading this work. Additionally, B-School graduates can utilize this work to fill some the void left as a result of academic specialization. Dr. Kilmann is particularly adept at connecting the silos of the liberal arts and sciences with "Business 101."

Although I have read several books about Padre Pio, reading his own words gave me insight into his personality and spirituality, which I have not found elsewhere. A truly memorable experience for anyone who is interested in the life and contributions of this new saint!

I read this book in one day! I couldn't put it down. This is a very inspiring and easy to read book.

A good reading for people from every walk of life. Wonderful guidance!

Verdaderamente nuestro hermano Marco Witt, no solo es quizas uno de los mejores musicos en su genero, sino que Dios le ha entregado un talento para expresar los sentimientos de una manera que realmente nos llega. Le sugiero que compre este libro si usted quiere que su ministerio musical de desarrolle tremendamente.

Como musico cristiano siempre busque mi roll de ser musico para Dios. Este libro respondio a muchos de los problemas que confrontamos los musicos como el porque hay musicos que le sirven a Dios a medias y otros con toda pasion. Marcos Witt muestra las diferentes clases de musicos asi como las responsabilidades como salmistas que tiene los musicos delante de Dios. Este libro lo recomiendo para todo musico que esta sirviendo o desea sirvir a Dios con su talento musical.

Como Recurso Pastoral en Música y Liturgia, en vías de ser ordenado al Santo Ministerio por la Música, tengo que decir que es muy buena lectura para aquellos músicos cristianos que verdaderamente quieran ser llamados Ministros de Música. El autor se sale un poco de la superficialidad que su música contiene en ocasiones para realmente meterse de lleno en los aspectos bíblicos (veterotestamentarios y neotestamentarios) que se relacionan con los verdaderos aspectos del ministerio musical. Este libro nos enseña que el ser Ministros de Música conlleva más que tocar y cantar cánticos en nuestras congregaciones.

Founded and directed by Terry Axelrod, "Raising More Money" is a Seattle-based company that trains non-profit organizations in fundraising. A successful enterprise in its own right, Raising More Money has grown from 2 employees to 50, and has trained more than 2,000 organizations to date, with the average of $150,000 being raised by a nonprofit client group within a year of training. In Raising More Money: The Ask Event Handbook, Terry Axelrod (who is also the Director of the American Association of Fundraising Counsels; a Trustee of the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce; and a Life Trustee of the Swedish Medical Center; and the founder of three nonprofit organizations) has distilled into a single volume the complete body of "how to" information for successfully raising money at a nonprofit fundraising event. Readers will learn how to determine when to hold an "Ask Event"; how to build a powerful, emotion-filled, one-hour program honoring the nonprofit organization's mission; how to conduct one-on-one "Asks"; how to evaluate results and follow-up with guests; and how to prepare for the next year's event. If you are charged with responsibility for fundraising with respect to a nonprofit organization, then you need to give a close and careful reading of Terry Axelrod's Raising More Money: The Ask Event Handbook. Also very highly recommended from Raising More Money Publications are: The Point Of Entry Handbook ($39.95, 263 pages); The Ask Event Handbook ($49.95, 238 pages); Raising More Money Video or DVD ($69.95, 47 minutes); and the Re-Igniting Your Board ($39.95, 21 minutes). Nonprofit and community library collections would be wise to acquire all five items in the form of the Raising More Money Library ($189.95).

Imagine your organization having a development plan that includes nothing but major donors and qualified prospects. No more special event fundraisers, no more sweating grant applications, no more "moves management" from sub-$100 donors to $500 to $5,000 to endowment givers, no more living hand-to-mouth and year-to-year. Terry Axelrod presents a compelling case for restructuring the development function using a combination of revolutionary and evolutionary thinking.

In reading this book, I was finding myself alternately saying, "Wow! What an innovative approach!" and "That's a different way of saying what everyone's doing now!" The key to understanding these (seemingly) conflicting reactions is that the author proposes to: 1) treat all donors and prospects as major donors and prospects; and 2) not solicit support at any lower level. She believes that a relatively small coterie of well-cultivated, passionate "friends" of a nonprofit bring far more stability and benefit to a nonprofit than the traditional "donor pyramid."

One key to the success of her model is to AVOID asking for money until the prospect is ready to give. Many development directors would cringe at the donation opportunities the author encourages one to pass up in favor of cultivating a deeper, longer-lasting relationship. Facility tours, special events, and similar happenings are intended to be free, open, and low-pressure opportunities for the community to learn about the organization and its mission and for the organization to learn contact information on attendees and who is most likely to be interested in further contact on the donor's chosen terms.

One point made fairly early will unnerve many volunteer managers. Ms. Axelrod points out that relatively few nonprofit organizations are ready to listen to a prospective donor/volunteer and be prepared to accept what they are most willing to give. If the nonprofit makes it easy for the donor to identify a need and volunteer the time and/or resources to fill that need, then they will have made a friend as well as enhanced services. Ms. Axelrod places volunteer management squarely in the development arena and takes it out of its "unpaid employee/HR management" status. Volunteers are donors and donors are volunteers, and they need to be recognized, cultivated, and sustained in the organization for their blended, "customer-driven" status. This also means that the donor who "just writes the check" will also disappear, since the writers of the larger checks also tend to be involved in the nonprofit as volunteers.

In Ms. Axelrod's model, the lowest donor level is $1,000 per year ($83 per month), with a five-year commitment to give at that level. From there, donors may be requested to give additional gifts during the period, accelerate the fulfillment of their pledges, increase their pledges, and refer selected friends and acquaintances. Rather than the traditional "strong-arm the Rolodex®" fundraising model, donors invite friends to free, no obligation meet-and-greet/tour "point of entry" events as new entrants into the donor cycle.

The obvious advantages to this approach are that most giving is made by individuals, that most individuals are likely to give a gift, even when not properly cultivated, that properly cultivated donors will give more, more often, and longer than those not properly cultivated. The disadvantages in this approach are that it requires a fair amount of planning, absolute "buy-in" from all levels of staff, and some "front-end" investment in time and energy. However, the benefits in organizational financial stability, constituent loyalty, and independence from vagaries in grant funding cycles, political shifts, and economic trends are huge.

The book itself is structured somewhat like a donation cycle (in this case, the "Raising More Money Model"), with a few chapters dedicated to overview of the process, followed by chapters delving a little deeper into the specific steps, and ending with several chapters discussing specific strategies for specific steps in the cycle. There is a little repetition and reinforcement in using this structural technique, but that's a good thing and not at all overdone. Ms. Axelrod refers to her "Raising More Money" seminars, and it's easy to see the book's contents as components of two or three curricula, complete with the "tell 'em what they're going to hear, tell 'em, and then tell 'em what they heard" structure that works so effectively with adult learners in practical learning situations.

This book is far more than a traditional "how to" cookbook; it's both a theoretical challenge to traditional fundraising and a practical, step-by-step primer for implementation of Ms. Axelrod's new paradigm of fundraising. Even those who challenge her premise will be hard-pressed to challenge her implementation techniques.

Terry gives you practical advice on how to create lifelong donors. She encourages you to think about your donor as your customer, and advocates managing the relationship. She also encourages you to set your vision and your system in place to encourage attracting people that will be passionate about your cause. She gently reminds you that 80% of the funds that are donated on an annual basis are donated by individuals as opposed to organizations- a fact that many fundraisers forget about in their quest to raise money.

She shows effective ways to get people in the boat with you! I am so impressed I am planning on taking one of her Raising More Money Workshops. I highly recommend this book. There are so many wonderful pointers that you will want to read it slowly with a high lighter and a pen to take notes!

This is an excellent collection of essays by leading practitioners centering on the nature of human resources in the context of the new forms and dynamics of organization. Topics includes: human resources competencies; measuring effectiveness; redefining and restructuring the human resources function; the new shape and nature of organization; change management; leadership; compensation strategy; and competency-based pay. This gathering of perspectives and some case studies provides considerable insight into the changing nature of human resource management. Recommended. Reviewed by Gerry Stern, author of Stern's Sourcefinder: The Master Directory to HR and Business Management Information & Resources, Stern's CyberSpace SourceFinder, and Stern's Compensation and Benefits SourceFinder.

Butteriss describes how information technology is impacting the human resources function and how to reengineer work processes and retrain staff accordingly. She examines current hardware and software applications. The volume includes a team readiness questionnaire.

Information technology (IT) is changing the entire organizational landscape and human resource management must be in the vanguard of this transformation. Sadly, this is not the case in many (probably most) enterprises, both in the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors. Given these realities, and the consequent pressures for keeping technologically abreast in today's competitive world, this book delivers relevant information that is of substantial value. Well written and substantive, we recommended the book for all human resource professionals whose HR department is not yet keeping up with the IT curve. Reviewed by Yvette Borcia, author of Stern's Sourcefinder: The Master Directory to HR and Business Management Information & Resources, Stern's CyberSpace SourceFinder, and Stern's Compensation and Benefits SourceFinder.

"The equation of Human Resources with the processing of personel forms-payroll, benefits, evaluation, etc.-no longer makes sense to companies diven by global markets, global competition, and new technology...The rapidly changing nature of business in today's economy requires a fundamental rethinking of many HR processes...", Margaret Butteriss writes, "Thus, HR is increasingly becoming an important part of executive planning and actions and far more of an integral part of management than ever before...The HR fuction itself is increasingly being asked to take on new roles, and not all of its practitioners are equally equipped and ready to do this. We are in time when the competencies of individual HR practitioners must be developed to better support the business organization. If the HR function does not meet the challenges of today's global business environment, it is danger of being outsourced or cut out completely...(In fact), some organizations are cutting costs in Human Resources and outsourcing HR because they still see it largely as a transactional and reactive function that can effectively be done by outside organizations. Others are building more strategic partnerships between line, management, and HR experts and are creating a consultative role for HR to cope with the rapidly changing business realities. They recognize that HR can no longer be simply transactional and administrative, but must be far more proactive in assisting senior management plan for the future."

In this context, Margaret Butteriss and other contributors:

* discuss, based on a data from interviews with top Canadian executives and HR professionals, how organizations are being changed by globalization, competition, and advances in information technology, and identify seven key ways in which HR can contribute to dealing with changes in the marketplace and workplace.

* examine general and technical competencies required by HR professionals as they take on more strategic roles.

* define standard measurement ways to measure the effectiveness of HR in organizations such as functional measures, operational measures, and strategic measures.

* provide an example of a company that redefined its HR function in order to meet its current and future business needs.

* identify the fundamentals of Change Management, particularly HR's role.

* look at components of executive leadership development, including the required infrastructure, the process of talent identification, and the selection and resourcing of candidates to fill vacant leadership positions.

* discuss why most performance management systems are either questionable or fail to reach the required objectives.

* define competency and examine the history of competency, and examine the development of competencies and competency scales, both in individuals and job families.

* define the underlying principles necessary for a compensation strategy that supports business direction in a changing business environment.

* look at how individual pay is decided, whether it be on the performance of the individual, the division or department, the team, or the the entire organization.

* discuss how HR professionals can contribute to corporate success by taking a new approach to compensation, and introduce ,based on a case study, the concept of competency-based pay.

I highly recommend.

Didn't use the audiotape at all but the book gave me everything I needed to administer the IRI. I use it for tutorial purposes too.

Great and fast service. This book is great for my college class I am taking

This book has been so helpful in doing my reading evaluations with my students. I recommend getting this book if you are a teacher.

This book is outstanding! It gives enormous recommendation for the contemporary inner-city family, and does it in a practical, self-explanatory way. The substance is serious, but the writer makes available information while providing a few funny stories along the way. This book provides complete Christian guiding standard on everything from dating to desire a mate, to marriage, to the appropriate way to take care of a household and raise a family.

Easy reading but indepth. Challenging..I have hope for the community because I see where we have failed but where we can pick the ball up and keep rolling to restore our community.

This book is superb! It gives great advice for the modern urban family, and does it in a down-to-earth, easy-to-understand way. The theme is serious, but the author provides information while providing a few jokes along the way. And just because it is easy to understand does not mean it lacks content. On the contrary, this book provides complete Christian guidelines on everything from dating to choosing a mate, to marriage, to the proper way to take care of a household and raise a family. This book was a blessing in more ways than one! What more can I say, if you are considering buying this book -- DO IT. On a personal note, this book helped me prepare for my marriage, organize my finances, buy my house, prepare for the birth of my child and I am STILL using this book as a reference. All Black churches should recommend this book to their congregations. This book was a fulfilling dose of Christian guidelines, peppered with loving wit and wrapped in practicality.

"... this is a highly readable volume which amkes an important contribution to the study of East Germany's transformation."

From the European Journal of Area Studies

"... this is a highly readable volume which amkes an important contribution to the study of East Germany's transformation."

From the European Journal of Area Studies

"As a detailed reconstruction of this important transition process, this book is outstanding. It covers developments in schooling at least as comprehensively as it does vocational training and higher education; I found the chapter on religion and schooling particularly instructive"

Professor John Field's review in "Higher Education Quarterly"