Enterprise Books

Accessibly written by Robert E. Anderson (an economic development expert who has 10 years of experience with the World Bank working on development issues in more than 15 countries), Just Get Out Of The Way: How Government Can Help Business In Poor Countries is a "tell it like it is" account that warns against helping developing countries by pursuing policies that are used in rich countries. Instead, Just Get Out Of The Way stresses that policymakers should pay attention to the specific institutional weaknesses of developing countries, with an especial watch and guard against corruption and cronyism, as well as much simpler market-oriented policies. A timely, expert, seminal, and intrinscially interesting work, Just Get Out Of The Way is a very highly recommended contribution to International Economics Studies collections and a "must read" book for private, corporate, and governmental policy makers in the field of international economic development.

A trenchant discussion of the usefulness of government (or lack thereof) in creating sustainable economic growth. Solid, well-written, practical and entertaining. The portions on the privatization and the moral hazards posed by IFA lending were particularly good. If you're a student of economic development, a private sector development professional, or just looking for a primer to help you understand why so much goes so badly wrong in the world's poorest countries, this is the book for you.

I think that this is a great book because I wrote it. If you want more information about the book, see my website at privatesectordev.com.

For a down day, you are lifted up.... for an up day you are lifted up higher! Thank God that a book like this is available! Excellent!

Sarah Sox
Lutheran Church Stephen Minister

I am writing this review for my 89 year old grandmother. She likes this book very much. No matter where she opens it up it seems to hit what she needs that day.

This little book is loaded with short prayers, thoughts, and meditations that speak to my heart and soul. I've found it useful for my own meditations and also for church groups.

King Joe's Garden has colorful illustrations and "easy-to-identify-with" information that's excellent for young learners. This book grabs the attention of the students and propels them towards striving to find the answers on their own. The flashcards are great for getting a teacher and/or parent involved in the learning process, as well as re-inforcing the information from the book itself.
The author did a great job preparing and presenting this learning package. Two thumbs up.

I have read the first two books in the King Joe series with my kindergartener. She simply loves King Joe and his group of friends. She is learning mathematical vocabulary as well as the uses of the same. I think every second grader in North America should have access to King Joe!

King Joe's Garden is a great book that makes education fun. The vibrant pictures and flashcards reinforce the vocabulary used throughout the story. The story is very ingaging and exciting, with King Joe and his sidekick Leonardo the Lion getting themselves in and out of trouble.

This book is a must read for analysts, their managers and analytic solutions developers.

Ed Waltz's newest book "Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise" capitalizes quite handily on the theoretical and practical aspects of "information theory" as presented in his previous book "Information Warfare Principles and Operations" and his extensive contacts and experience with the U.S. Intelligence Community.

Waltz's book provides a comprehensive reference that readily marries the technologies, techniques and latest theories and practices of Knowledge Management with the priorities, real-world evolutionary pressure, culture and tradecraft of the U. S. Intelligence Community. He artfully covers the complex trade offs between organizational culture, social trends, real-world realities and analytical innovation.

There are more good ideas and success paths identified within its pages than any other book that I have read in the Knowledge Management field. His insights and prescribed solutions warrant close study and contemplation by anyone involved in developing, fielding or using advanced analytical methods whether they are in government or private industry.

This book is not a "coffee table" book or a Clancy page turner, but could easily serve as a graduate level text book for developing, fielding and using advanced analytical methods against a wide range of challenging problems. His writing style is very methodical and concise. He is rigorous in citing authoritative sources and his writings are extensively footnoted. (The extensive footnotes and associated hyperlinks may well be worth the price of the book alone.)

Mr. Waltz is currently the Technical Director of Intelligence Systems at Veridian.

The information in this book is applicable to a wide variety of organizations. It is packed full of visual models and tables. The literature is cited appropriately and not excessively. It is a small book but not a quick read. It contains insights that I have not seen in other places, such as a brief reference to the relevance to Jungian personality theory (as implemented by Myers and Briggs) to the design of a collaborative culture. I think the book is worth the price because of the number and quality of the insights it contains. The author writes clearly. There is some use of symbolic logic and formulas. Most of the ideas are communicated in text and/or by visual models.

Ed Waltz has produced a book that is far more useful and important than its title or intended audience suggest. It is perhaps the single finest soup-to-nuts how-to manual on how an organization can design its decision-making processes to maximize utility, whether this takes the form of national security or profit or anything in between.

Waltz covers knowledge management (KM) encyclopedically, from the intake of data on the external and internal environments (e.g., the market or the battlespace and the organization's own capabilities and situation), through the processing and assessment of the data, to its finished state as an input to rational decision-making. Topics include the basic principles of intelligence in the classic national security sense, through the epistemology and methodology of knowledge-creation and -management, the characteristics of a learning organization, analytical and synthetic methods, and the IT implications -- what network, data and computational systems and tools are required to implement advanced organizational learning, and the power these can confer.

The unexpected importance of the book lies in its applicability across the entire spectrum of organizational planning and decision-making. In this regard, 'intelligence' is simply a rubric for information and knowledge, which can be applied to national intelligence, military planning, and in fact to all governmental agencies, private-sector corporations, law firms, hospitals, etc. -- all organizations, that is, that plan and decide based on data and analysis -- which would seem to cover most of them.

Waltz emphasizes the information-technological dimensions of KM and ideal reasoning processes organizations need to implement. The only topic that remains to be discussed involves human cognition, group processes and organizational culture and specifically how these behavioral tendencies impede perfect rationality and how management can overcome this impediment. Psychologists, however, have provided a substantial literature on cognition, while basic research and theory in the socio-cultural dimensions remains immature.

For organizational managers who have read the theoretical literature on learning organizations and knowledge management (e.g., Peter Senge and Nonaka & Takeuchi), Waltz's volume is the practical and technical handbook for actual corporate implementation. Given its value, its price, which is steep for individuals, is a pittance for those who need it most.

Moreover, for a technical treatise that warrants close study, the book is surprisingly easy to read. Although packed with complex concepts and interrelated processes, the graphics are extensive and clear and the text is engaging. The reader feels like he is receiving a personal briefing by the author, who now (2005) is Chief Scientist of BAE Systems Advanced Information Technologies.

I have never been able to make somasas that turned out right. This is the perfect recipe for somasas! I found this book easy to follow. There are enough recipes of different types to surprise your friends everytime you invite them for dinner.

Anyone who is already a vegetarian or thinking of becoming a vegetarian should have this book. The recipes are easy to follow and all of the food tastes great! And for those who have never had Indian tea, I suggest you try this recipe following your first meal. The book ends with some priceless information about vitamins, minerals, and healthy living. A special feature of the book is the wonderful drawings by Deepa Parakh -- at first hardly noticed but then suddenly memorable. I gave this book to all my friends at Christmas, for their birthdays, etc.

I've tried other Indian cookbooks and none have been as easy to follow as this one! Also, I appreciated the fact that the dishes were from Rajasthan, which is different from the usual regions represented (Punjab, the South, etc.). One of the most interesting parts of the book was the excerpt from John Robbins "Diet for a New America" at the end. Without being preachy or pompous, this book presents the benefits of a vegetarian diet and then answers the question of "What do I eat?!" Highly recommended for learning the basics of Indian vegetarian cooking!

This book demonstrates principles of Six Sigma and Lean in a quick, readable style. I first read the book within my first year of doing Six Sigma and found it nice. I recently reread the book and saw how powerful it was since my understanding of Lean AND Six Sigma worked powerfully together.

I would encourage anyone to read this before any of the larger books since the flavoring is most important.

Authors Barbara Wheat, Chuck Mills and Mike Carnell use the format of a novel to explain two major quality control mechanisms: Lean Enterprise and Six Sigma, the efficiency approach that has had a broad impact on corporate America. In a sort of parable that shows both of these processes in action, they tell the story of a consultant named Samantha. She helps a business owner named Sid who has made all the wrong choices in setting up his manufacturing operation. Sam uses Six Sigma to help Sid out of his quagmire. The volume goes into greater, more useful detail about identifying and eliminating areas of waste than many other Six Sigma books. The text links the Five S's of Lean Enterprise with the systems problem-solving methodology MAIC (measure, analyze, improve and control). In all, here are the basics of Six Sigma and Lean Enterprise in an easy-to-use volume you can read on a commuter flight. We strongly recommends this book to those who want to begin to improve their firms' efficiency and productivity.

Authors Barbara Wheat, Chuck Mills and Mike Carnell use the format of a novel to explain two major quality control mechanisms: Lean Enterprise and Six Sigma, the efficiency approach that has had a broad impact on corporate America. In a sort of parable that shows both of these processes in action, they tell the story of a consultant named Samantha. She helps a business owner named Sid who has made all the wrong choices in setting up his manufacturing operation. Sam uses Six Sigma to help Sid out of his quagmire. The volume goes into greater, more useful detail about identifying and eliminating areas of waste than many other Six Sigma books. The text links the Five S's of Lean Enterprise with the systems problem-solving methodology MAIC (measure, analyze, improve and control). In all, here are the basics of Six Sigma and Lean Enterprise in an easy-to-use volume you can read on a commuter flight. We strongly recommend this book to those who want to begin to improve their firms' efficiency and productivity.

This book is excellent both for the student and instructor. It is well written and easy to follow. Each program has it's own session filled with exercises, quizs, reviews, etc. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is learning software programs or need a refresher course.

DDC Learning Microsoft Office XP is an excelent book for use by individuals who wish to learn without attending formal class sessions or enrolling in an online course. Of course, the book is also excellent for students enrolled in Secondary Education classes or Adult Education classes. The books published by DDC provide guides to use either menu commands or keyboard commands. Electronic files are provided for all lessons to limit the amount of keyboarding required so that the student concentrates on learning. I use the materials for my personal learning when I wish to quickly get up and running with a software application.

For teachers, solution files and other materials are available. Over a period of several years, I observed both students and teachers successfully using DDC materails. I have yet to find a teacher who used these materials that did not reorder DDC material for subsequent classes. While there are a variety of good materials available, my personal opinion is that DDC materials continue to be one of the best available both for individual use and classroom use.

I'm an instructor for computer school where we teach Office at various levels - and even the most advanced students of mine really like this book.

The examples are great and straight to the point, also - if you do not know how to do something - you can actually find under the procedures quickly and easily.

On the downside - it does not have many expert topics as VBA (and not much for Macros) - but the topics it does cover are great. Even if you have used office for years - in this book you will find new COOL things you never knew about.

Covers Word, Excel, Access and Powerpoint --> Tons of practice!!

I need to know all about John R. Commons What did he do in all his life?, What was his best book? etc..

I need to know all about John R. Commons What did he do in all his life?, What was his best book? etc..

I read this book back in law school, intrigued by the title. Initially I was confused by Commons's very strange analytical style (he is quite sui generis in his analytical framework) but the final product is an excellent education in the role courts and judges in UK and USA played in the emergence of the US economy pre-WWII. Within the right frame of mind, this book can be a very valuable opportunity for coming to appreciate the law-economics nexus in a way that gets clouded or obscured by the presuppositions of neoinstitutional economics and the Law & Economics movement. Commons' empirical data in this book consisted of 500 years of court cases involving litigation of commercial questions. From these court cases, Commons extracts a frame of analysis. Commons' method often involves on the one hand, finding analogies and connections between concepts that in our daily and professional lives we treat as separate and synthesizing them into new analytical tools (such as "Working Rules" and "Transactions"), and on the other hand, taking concepts we take for granted as reflecting a certain unity, and busting them open to reveal the internal diversity of different kinds of ideas/events/phenomena that get subsumed and supressed by such a unifying concept (this is done with particularly good result with the concepts of "value", "property" and "liberty" although one is left wishing Commons had not limited himself to judges' opinions in constructing his historical studies.
I think that recognizing this methodology is a key to understanding what Commons was attempting to accomplish in this and in his later works. Commons' technique results in a polyphonic argument that moves in multiple directions at once, sometimes coming together harmoniously into brilliant insights of synthesis. The final framework of analysis that emerges is summarized in Commons' final book - the Economics of Collective Action - which one might want to read as a good sort of introduction to this and to his magnum opus, Institutional Economics.

One of the implications of Commons' analysis is the idea of collective action - it seems to become a logical, defensible, necessary next step in American capitalism from Commons' 1924 point of view. And for many years, the idea gained momentum, but was ultimately gutted and destroyed by the Wagner Act and by a massive ideological campaign launched by the economics profession about the supposed inefficiencies of collective protection and bargaining.

But perhaps one of the richer take-aways of this book for contemporary readers is that, despite the title, one gets a sense that "capitalism" is a rather meaningless word. Commons' framework serves, more than anything, to drive home the fact that our current economic, political, legal, social context - or anyone's context - is really a set of particulars, each with its own history and baggage. Lawyers, I think, understand this since a single change in law, a shift in the allocation of liabilities, or a change in the interpretation of a word, can, slowly but surely, change the entire direction of a society and its economy. In fact, "capitalism" is a rather troublesome word whose role in our language and society seems to gloss over a vast internal diversity of economic practices, institutional frameworks, and social values over time and from place to place, subsuming it all under a catch-all phrase that doesn't really stand on its own two feet in the end. The value of using such a code word is that it allows people like Thatcher to cry "TINA" to shut down opposition to the status quo. A certain popular - though misguided - branch of progressive critical thought spends a lot of effort constructing critiques of capitalism, a tradition started by Marx and the social theorists and just as strong today, as if to confront Thatcher and the rest of the TINA contingent front-on. After reading Commons, I would hope that it would be as apparent to others as it is to me that such a project is futile. We would probably be better off banishing the word from our language. Frankly, I don't think there is any such thing as "capitalism." Capitalism is always used as a sort of placeholder for the any given speaker's internalized conception of the economic, political, and social context in which the speaker finds him- or herself, but rare - if non-existent - is the critic who is able to separate the contingent, local, temporal from some underlying, enduring, constant presence that we can point to and say "ah, here is the core of 'capitalism', whether in 1855 Paris or 1990 Bangkok, or 2007 Toronto". For example, a book I just started reading, by a prominent Italian-American sociologist begins with the claim that "over the lastst quarter of a century something fundamental seems to have changed in the way in which capitalism works. In the 1970s, many spoke of crisis." What crisis? Whose capitalism? Author and reader all seem to take for granted that they all know what capitalism is. I don't think for a minute that Mexican "capitalism" is really that similar to American "capitalism" or to Korean "capitalism" or any other country's capitalism. A thorough reading of Commons will dispell such delusions. Even if we could identify some common demoniminator among countries and over time, it would have to be such a minor element of the overall economy that it wouldn't make sense to frame the debate around such. After Commons, it doesn't make sense to talk in the abstract about grandiose systems, whose internal content is presuppsosed and allegedly comes predefined. Rather, all we are left with are specific policies, practices, institutions, and behaviors, all of which are subject to forces of change and inertias - in other words, all we can meaningfully talk about is the particulars, the subtle changes in "Working Rules," the meaning of "Property", the different kinds of "Bargains" that are available to different participants with respect tot different resources in a given context - in short, who has power to do what and with what consequences. Any grandiose discourse of "Capitalism" seems naive and senseless. It would be refreshing for us progressives if we could get out of the "No Alternative to Capitalism" debates so that we can role our sleaves up and start talking about real issues, rather than discussing the how to replace Capitalism over an espresso in a coffee shop.

This book is amazing. The wealth of quotations from prominent classical liberals and libertarians is astounding. On p.443 of the second edition, there is a dialogue section in the book called "Conversation With a Statist." This Socratic dialogue between a libertarian and a statist is alone worth the price of the book. The dialogue is maieutic, but funny at the same time. The arguments for individual liberty and anarcho-libertarianism are VERY hard-hitting; namely because they are Lysander Spooner's "No Treason" arguments. Do youself a huge favor: Read and memorize this book, so that when you go out to fight for Ron Paul, you'll immediately be able to topple any statist bromide or economic fallacy. I re-read this book constantly. This book gets my highest recommendation for all you libertarian lions. Pure nitro-methane.

This is a great book. It was one of the first books I bought after reading Locke's second treatise on government and I would not sell it for anything. It gives the history, philosophy and vision of a liberty oriented society. It also shows how giving up liberty for security has made life much less enjoyable. Plus, It has lots of great quotes from C.S. Lewis and Ayn Rand to Mao Tse Tung and Washington. I have used the book extensively in writing papers, articles and in my pursuit of more knowledge. It even contains a reading list of books and pamphlets to continue your study, some of which are printed on the Internet. This one is worth buying at almost any price and now that it is out of print, it's probably worth more than you would pay for it. Happy reading!

This is an information and quote packed, readable and often inspirational first formulation of the modern Libertarian approach. Published in 1981 with the blessings of the Society for Individual Liberty, it systematically and surgically subverts major justifications for government policies and the very moral coherence of the idea of government itself, and ends with a valuable strategic overview. It was used for several years as a primer for Libertarian ideas in University courses, no doubt due to its provocative and well organized study guide at the end with numerous questions. One hopes that it will be soon re-issued.

Joyce, writes like she knows me and this is the story of me. Well written as good as her other books.

This is the third book written by Joyce Schneider that is in effect a series of "How to's" for the person looking for a peace filled life. "Life is not about perfect" is a book to help you gain insight and encouragement while in the middle of a life filled with chaos. It is as though Joyce wrote this book just for ME, but I assure you, after reading it, you will think it was written for YOU! The way she is able to draw life lessons out of the most mundane of daily obstacles is truly amazing! Thank you, Joyce, for reminding me that life is not about perfect, but rather a journey, filled with as many Blessings as I allow myself to pay attention to. This book has been encouraging, uplifting and once again you have helped re-focus my eyes to what Jesus has waiting for me......Blessings eternal!!

Joyce has a unique, God-given gift of story telling. She takes everyday incidents from her child-rearing and married life and relates them to living the Christian life. Her writing is easy to read; she relates well to all parents, young or old. The reader is taken on her journey through young womanhood, parenthood, marriage, and the search for Christ.
Joyce is able to reach people through her continuing story of struggle, sorrow, and joy. She has found her calling. Nancy Kearns

I loved this book! Joyce has been gifted by God to give us His perspective through her everyday experiences. She makes herself vulnerable by sharing her trials and struggles and gives us encouragement to stay strong and lean on God through anything we might come up against. She has a way of bringing you into her life as she shares her heart. She will make you chuckle and maybe bring a tear to your eye as she tells the story of her life. You will enjoy this read!