Manager

I purchased this book based on a good review in Upside Magazine, but I have to confess to being rather disappointed. Ms. Ferdinaldi never really describes data warehousing per se; the book is more of an instruction manual aimed at novice managers to help them figure out how to ask for a data warehouse. I was anticipating a review of warehouse types and technological issues, but instead got a primer for B-school freshmen about how to suck up to upper management and make nice to the "technicians". Further, it is written for an audience of Fortune 1000 type managers - she spends far too much time on dealing with bureaucracy issues that just wouldn't exist at smaller companies, where data warehousing is just as critical an issue. About 10% of the text is educational, the rest is pretty much "duh". And the writing style is repetitive redundancy - the author states the same thing numerous times. In short, if you are a businessman (read - non-techie) who wants to learn about data warehouses without getting a computer science degree, then look elsewhere.

Data Warehousing Advice for Managers is the first book I have found that really offered management an insightful look at the data warehousing process. While everyone in middle management in a company may "know" that they need a data warehouse, selling the concept to upper management can be nearly impossible; data warehouses are very expensive, can tie-up valuable personal for long periods of time, and are notoriously difficult to manage. Upper management is aware of these issues, and resistive to undertaking the project. This book offers a clear-cut blueprint for estimating warehousing costs and for selling the application to top management.

While it is not a "how to" book, it does take the reader through the process of constructing a warehouse and show him how to plan and facilitate the design, implementation and installation. It gives the manager the information he needs to help him control what could otherwise be an unmanageable project. It illustrates via example how to make the best choices at key points throughout the project's life cycle. At all times, the author keeps a sharp eye on the "bottom line", enabling the manager to maximize the return for every dollar spent. In short, the author has produced a book that delivers what the title promises - good, sound advice for managers undertaking a warehousing project.

ALONG WITH EXPLAINING the basics; from what a data warehouse is, to determining if the enterprise needs one, how to build it and what to do with it once it's built;Patricia L. Ferdinandi's readable and meaty Data Warehousing Advice for Managers also explores what a data warehouse will not do like automatically transform information into knowledge. Furthermore, she describes how business managers can eliminate unnecessary manipulation of facts and figures, combine a data warehouse with the Internet and achieve the maximum return on their investment.

Although this book is not aimed specifically at IT folk, its case studies of successful data warehousing efforts are certainly valuable, as is its glossary, designed to help business people communicate with IT. And attentive IT executives will find excellent strategies for describing the benefits of data warehouse technology in purely business terms. Read this book yourself or give it to a business colleague you love.

David Pearson:

This is a reasonable summary of current techniques and strategies for training. The writing is a bit dry, and I got the feeling that this book was oriented towards human resources professionals. There is nothing wrong with that, but my preference is for a less academic style of writing. Still, it's not a bad choice, just not one of my favorites.

A good resource that covers everything from Facilitation to Techniques passing through evaluation and personal development. If you are a beginner or you are asked frequently to help other beginner-level trainers, then you would probably benefit from this book.

The Book is written in an easy and simple style that takes the reader through the different aspects of training logically and smoothly.

The First Time Trainer is a very good and concise guide specially for those who have not had any previous training on this topic. Its eight steps are great to help you organize your way into the process of studying and getting ready to train others. It's practical, easy to read and it gives you a lot of ideas and tips to use in training sessions.

On the advice of Mr. Telford's "review," I have been trying to order this book from Samuel French in New York City for the past 8 months. Mr order was taken and I was mailed a receipt (no book) indicating that I had not been charged anything. When I called to find out what happened, I was told that my order was pending a certain quantity of subsequent orders for this same book -- when enough people ordered it, they would print more and mail me my copy. I called about two months later to check the status (no book yet), and was told that not enough orders had come in yet. I was then told that my order would be dropped and I would not be charged, I would not get a book, thanks anyway. I think Mr. Telford should know that this book is truly no longer available -- period.

This book is NOT out of print but is available at Samuel French, Inc. in New York City. It has been selling steadily every year since publication in 1983. (signed) Robert S. Telford, Author

With Robert Telford's long tenure as a community theatre director, one would expect from him a book on production that tells it like it really is. He does not let us down. The subtitle of his HANDBOOK FOR THEATRICAL PRODUCTION MANAGERS is the best testimony for this invaluable guide. "A Community Theatre System That Really Works." This is a practical guide to a way of producing theatre with amateur actors and technicians. Telford tells all in his HANDBOOK. The most impressive thing about this work is the close attention to detail. This is not a book on theory. This is something you can hold in your hand while you're engaged in the planning of your next production. You want to take some of the misery out of Tech Rehearsals? Telford tells you how in detail, even down to what to say when calling cues. You want to know how to recruit and coordinate volunteers? The HANDBOOK answers your question and provides you with a sample "Backstage Volunteer Crew Card." Wonderful detail with charts and diagrams. To those theatres that struggle through the production process each show and take pride in the mere fact that they "got it on," to those theatres that have established procedures but never change because "we've always done it this way," to those emerging theatres that have all the desire to produce a play but haven't the foggiest notion about how to go about it, I recommend not only buying HANDBOOK FOR THEATRICAL PRODUCTION MANAGERS but studying it in the same detail with which it was written. It could be the best few dollars the theatre could spend. The above is the opinion of James C. Carver, Managing Director, Kalamazoo Civic Players, and Past President of the American Association of Community Theatre.

With thousands of related terms, this is very limited. Every time I've picked up the book to look up a term, it wasn't available. This is a waste!

I found this book not that useful to me. I am no beginner. This book is for beginners who wants to know about jargons and generally general stuff related to it. I bought this book because of the author Walid Mougayar whom have impressed me. Helpful if you want to know something but not too deep. Useful for managers who wish to conduct conversations on technical stuff as ice-breakers. Even the initial section which describe different companies is too shallow. I get get better stuff elsewhere. Perhaps in-depth of a few companies would have been much more useful. Reading the book remind me of the old days when I spent my time in the libaries browsing through Britannica and researching on various subjects. As stated before what could be gained is just skin deep but could serve as a point for deeper reading. It could serve as s book on a serve for non-technical managers who may wish to do some initial reading before attending a technical meeting. I do not recommend this book for people who wants more in-depth knowledge. I recommend it to people who wants an overview.

The authors take a unique approach to help one understand the concepts of the internet and its confusing terminology. The introductory summary provides a clear perspective of how the internet and its related attributes have quickly developed into a powerful tool in today's marketplace. It then provides a conceptual look into the future of how this new technology will impact our daily lives. The business case examples (ie. Business Internet Vignettes) are a great reference point for all technical and non-technical backgrounds- even those with an existing understanding of how powerful the internet and e-commerce can be. These examples go beyond the big Fortune 500 success stories and document how mid-size business' apply this new technology. A well documented glossary of internet terms has also been outlined by the authors. This is a great feature for all readers who must grasp an understanding of this new technology and its related jargon.

Al Lopez was one of baseball's greatest managers, capable of building contenders out of teams that had pitching and power (1954 Indians) or fielding and speed (1959 White Sox). The problem with this account is the focus on Lopez's minor league career, first as a player, then after a highly successful ML catching career, as a manager gaining experience. Lopez's seasons managing Indianapolis are described in detail that is excruciating unless the American Association is your interest. If Mr. Singletary had devoted as much relative space to Lopez's great years managing the Indians and Sox, the book would be invaluable. Instead, whole seasons when his team was a contender, such as the 1952 Indians that finished 2 games behind the Yankees, are disposed of in less than a sentence. Game-by-game accounts of the 1954 and 59 World Series make up the majority of the chapters on Lopez's ML managing career. These can be found elsewhere (e.g., "59: Summer of the Sox"). The author was apparently inspired to write the book as a booster of Lopez's hometown, Tampa. This may account for the greater detail given to Lopez's early Florida minor league career.

Singletary does better than most baseball biographers in getting facts about old-time players right, though his real understanding has gaps (Del Ennis was a power hitter, while Dave Philley was a center fielder par excellence in his heyday-they were not the same type of player. GM Hank Greenberg famously disliked Lou Boudreau, a fact that had great bearing on Lopez's career, but which the author fails to note.) The author had conversations with "el senor" - would he had gathered and printed more baseball anecdotes. Good- but if only Jerry Holtzman had written the book instead of the foreward.

Play by play type of book, rather than life anecdotes. You have to enjoy the history of baseball to enjoy this book. But if you do, then it will be very good reading. If you wish to understand the persona, read a short quip on the web about his great accomplishments.

I found this book to be wonderful. While it is a biography, Singletary addresses the subject like a historian. This book examines both the positive aspects and the negative aspects of Al Lopez's life and the time period when he managed. This is not some simple hagiography extolling him. The research is thorough, yet presented in an extremely palatable manner. What sets this book apart though is the straightforward manner in which the author has written it. It is very easily read and not filled with arcane or difficult tidbits.

Another book on how the company can protect themselves, but what if the company doesn't follow their own policy? Where does that leave me? Not a very good book for the victims.

Perfect for the "novice" HR professional -- this book successfully outlines and highlights the necessary steps required for every organization. Those with an awareness of harassment issues already should investigate another (more detailed)selection.

I found the book to be very informative. It's not just a book about harassment but also about biases and personal prejudices that can influence behavior. The message I came away with was that if you know your predisposition to the things that have impacted you over time, self-control will eliminate harassment as a workplace issue.

This book offers a very cliched, narrow vision of supervising people that emphasizes power over teamwork, delegation over coordination. Other advice is very commonsensical - "Make to-do lists," etc. It is not a sophisticated analysis, but rather, the transcript of a superficial one-day workshop.

Many new supervisors would find difficulties in their new working situation. After changing to a new position, they may not know how to handle the relationship with their subordinates and their boss, and even may not know how to handle their work. If you are one of them, ¡§The New Supervisor¡¨ will give you some insights.

In this book, it suggests that being a new supervisor, new attitudes toward their job, subordinates, and their boss are needed. The authors suggest that a new supervisor must understand that his role has been changed; he needs to supervise his subordinates and work with them to achieve the goals of the organization.

In fact, I am only a university student, the recommendations to new supervisors seems not applicable and practical to me. However, I still gained some insights from this book. The suggestions about stress management are most useful to me. Authors recommend six stress management principles to readers: 1) Do not hasten to react with a matter that arises abruptly, it is better to take some time to think it in details and react. 2) Do not be a clever-clog, since others may have lots of great ideas. 3) Get along with others, and try to compromise with different opinion. 4) Do not do the work at the last minutes; this can help in relieving pressure. 5) Good planning can have a clear direction to future; this can reduce chance of getting stress. 6) Keep a happy mood can increase your efficiency and effectiveness in working. Yes, I do find those suggestions are practical not only to working people with great pressure; also students like me can apply them to manage my pressure in my studies.

After reading this book, as I know that my relative who is a supervisor having problems in managing his subordinates, so I told him what I¡¦ve learnt from this book, and ask him try to find some useful recommendations. Actually, he did not delegate the work to his subordinates properly, so he has great pressure in handling all of the jobs. When he understood it is important and it is his responsibilities to supervise his staff and work with them together to complete the tasks, in order to attain the goals of the company. He tried to adopt some recommendations from this book, e.g. communicate with other department heads and his subordinates; delegate the work to appropriate subordinates, this help to increase the morale of his staff; and he will also express his appreciation to his subordinates if needed, which improve the relationships between him and his subordinates.

After adopting those recommendations, he started to understand how to work with his position ¡V supervisor. And he enjoys his job now.

This book really gives lots of constructive ideas to supervisors, but the organization of the contents is not very well. Since the authors repeated and repeated similar ideas in the same chapters, it bored the readers and it is better to write in a simpler way.

But it is still a book which will useful to people who are the ¡§beginner¡¨ of a supervisor. You are one of them? Find new and practical ideas from ¡§The New Supervisor¡¨ You may find it useful.

Written by Ng Shuk Yee Shirley from City University of Hong Kong, Department of Marketing

If you are a new supervisor or will be promoted as a supervisor in near future, you may find this book ¡§The New Supervisor¡¨ is useful for you.

This book covered a wide range of areas that a new supervisor needs to concern and make notice, including: a new attitude toward the job, the subordinate, and the boss; supervisors¡¦ relations with their coordinates; stress management, effective communications; planning and organizing; directing and controlling; delegation; motivation; interviewing; training; good meeting; problem solving; presentations; team building; and self development. The author gives advices on each area and there are chapter summaries provided which recap the important points for the readers.

The most important thing for the new supervisors is that they need to understand their new role; they have to supervise their subordinates to achieve the goals instead of doing the job themselves. They need to trust their subordinates¡¦ abilities and motivate them to do the job. Therefore, appropriate level of delegation and motivation is good. They also need to trust their boss and share the burden with their boss and remember not to create any extra problems to their boss. Treat the boss as the way you want the subordinates to treat you. It is a good guideline for the new supervisors to think of.

The new supervisors also need to keep good relations with supervisors in different departments and have an effective communications among them. They should work cooperatively to achieve the common goals. This can help to facilitate the efficiency and effectiveness of the work in an organization.
There are some important skills that are required for the new supervisors such as leadership skill, interviewing skill, and problem solving skill. They are all included in this book.

Although I¡¦m not a new supervisor, this book still provides some insights to me. This book enhances my knowledge about what a supervisor needs to do and his roles. Moreover, I think some of the contents of this book are useful for all people and not only for new supervisors. For example, the six principles for handling stress mentioned in this book are useful for all people including me because everyone would be under stress in facing this challenging and highly competitive world. In addition, problem solving skill is also useful to me, the author mentioned eight steps to solve a problem, including 1) identify the problem 2) search useful information 3) find out the origin of the problem 4) list out all possible alternatives 5) choose the best solution 6) apply the solution to the problem 7) mark down the results 8) see whether the problem is really solved. I would try to use this problem solving skill when I face problems.

Since I¡¦m a university student, and most of my coursework are in a team base, the chapter that about the team building is also quite useful to me. The author suggests some criteria for developing a successful team and what the team members should do in a team. All these give me insights about how to be a good team player and how the team can work more efficiently and effectively.

The last chapter of this book, self-development and evaluation also gives me some insights for my personal development and understand myself better.

If you are a new supervisor, this is a useful book for guiding you. However, if you are not a new supervisor, you can still get some benefits through reading this book.

The intent of this book is commendable as its goal is to provide a quick hands on Spanish vocabulary reference that's specific to Human Resources terminology and related vocabulary however there are some serious translation errors not be taken lightly. At first glance this book seems great but as you go through it page by page the errors become evident.

Terminology in a language must be correct and I am surprised at this production by Barron's because they usually do have good educational material even in a foreign language but this one has some really bad translations which a learner of Spanish and even natives have to be aware of since English has great influence in the spoken and written Spanish on the US and Canada.

Some of the many errors include:

1) Contact persona= "la persona de contacto". This is such a literal translation and as a result is incorrect. Sometimes the long phrases are the only equivalents. It s/b "la persona con quien puede hablar"
2) Think about it= Piense en eso. More correctly in Spanish it s/b "Piensalo"
3) How long ago= Hace cuanto. It s/b "Hace cuanto tiempo"
4) Take a seat= Tome un asiento. It s/b "Tome asiento"
5) Mutual Funds= los fondos mutualisitas. Please do not repeat this one. It s/b "fondos mutuales" or "fondos de inversion"
6) Sunglasses= gafas del sol. This is a big grammatical error. It s/b "gafas de sol".

These are just a few examples but the list goes on. The editors of this book should have caught these errors because they could really jeopardize the quality of your Spanish. Even the basic command structure is incorrect. In the book "vamos a... is translated as "let's". That is incorrect. Vamos a = we are going to...." Let's" is a command and requires a special verb form. For example let's work= trabajemos. It cannot be translated as "vamos a trabajar".

All I can say in a nutshell is proceed with caution. The same way this book may help you it may very well embarrass you.

As manager of a small business, I recently needed to communicate at length with a new Spanish speaking employee. This book made it possible! I strongly recommend that EVERY English speaking professional in management invest in this outstanding book-audiocassette package. It has been a life-saver!

Finally someone has gotten it right! Every time I use this guidebook in Human Resources, I get my message across en espanol! It's perfect for anyone who needs the appropriate words or phrases to interview, train, or counsel Spanish speaking employees. And the business vocabulary is excellent. No other book out there has better translations for the words, phrases, commands, and questions that you'll need. A true MUST-BUY for anyone in management!

I will preface this review with the fact that I have about 3 years experience with Openview, mostly basic install and use. I have attended the one week HP course as well. This book provides the beginner with a great amount of knowledge not included in the manuals, but you still seem to need a good network management consultant to get into the real gravy of Openview.

This book provides a very good framework for "planning, implementing, and maintaining NNM" (quoted from the preface). The preface admits it is not a training manual, and the author himself recommends attending a training class before using this book. Therefore, the book was not really what I was looking for. It provides an excellent overview of how one would go about setting things up, but does not provide very many specific examples of how to do this. It's aim is more at the Network Manager instead of the ones actually doing the implementation. Since I have more of a development mindset, I found the lack of specific examples frustrating. There were many stories about how NNM had been set up in the author's extensive experience with the product, but not very many step by step procedures of how he did this. If you're looking for a technical manual, you might be disappointed.

Mr. Blommers book should be required reading for anyone deploying HP's Network Node Manager. While reading a book is not a substitute for real-world experience, this book CAN help anyone deploying NNM from making common (and often costly) mistakes. I have been deploying NNM since version 3.31, and I have seen most (but not quite all) of the issues that Mr. Blommers raises. However, I wish there had been a book like this one to help me avoid some of the pitfalls that I didn't anticipate. With only ONE exception, I wholeheartedly recommend taking all of Mr. Blommers' suggestions/recommendations. The sole exception is regarding using "public" as your SNMP "Read" community string. This is a grave security blunder and should be avoided at all costs. You should be CONSISTENT with your SNMP community strings, as Blommers recommends, but do NOT use "public". Otherwise, read this book cover to cover and do everything it recommends.

Note: this book best serves people who have experience with NNM AND who have read HP's (free) manuals. Blommers assumes that you have the necessary experience/training and states that in his forward. If this book leaves you behind, it is probably because you don't have the necessary prerequisites. Also, I do not know and have never met Mr. Blommers.

My credentials: I have the following HP certifications (although I do NOT and have never worked for HP):

(1) HP OpenView Certified Consultant in UNIX Server and Application Management (IT/O 5.x)

(2) HP OpenView Certified Consultant in UNIX Server and Application Management (IT/O 5.x) Level 2

(3) HP OpenView Certified Consultant in Network Management (NNM 6.x on UNIX and NT)

(4) HP OpenView Certified Consultant in Network Management (NNM 6.x on UNIX and NT) Level 2

(5) HP OpenView Certified Integration Expert in Application and System Management (track 2)

(6) HP OpenView Certified Integration Expert in Network Management

The book was a waste of money. I just took the CCM exam, and the book /CD did cover what was on on the exam.

This book was my primary study guide and I passed the exam the first time I took it. I found the book helpful and would recommend it.

The Case Manager's Study Guide with CD-ROM was the only reference book I used to prepare for the CCM exam. It is a very informative and concise manual which, unlike many books on the subject of Case Management currently on the market, is very easy to read and understand. The CD-ROM was especially helpful in preparing for the certification exam. And, I passed the examination with flying colors! Even now, I keep the manual in the office to use as a reference guide when I need clarification on certain issues.