It's one of the hot topics for the 1990s - how to apply quality improvement techniques originally developed for the manufacturing sector to service industries. "How to Take the Lead in Business Process Management" details how to do it, providing a step-by-step formula that helps companies improve quality and productivity in the support areas. Here, in one comprehensive volume is all the information an organization needs to start the improvement process right away: how to determine customer needs and expectations and deliver the best service; how to establish which processes drive your business; how to create process improvement teams and train team leaders; how to eliminate bureaucracy, simplify the process, and reduce processing time; how to measure progress and provide feedback to participants; how to document the levels of improvement and certify operations and activities; and how to ensure ongoing improvement. Two special features further enhance the value of this highly practical guide: a chapter of case histories, showing the results of business process improvement, and an exhaustive section that guides readers in the application of problem-solving methods, value analysis and process analysis techniques, perfection analysis, work simplification programs, and more.

《纽约客》最老辣的文字，另类解读两性关系，机智剖析男女交往心理。
詹姆斯•瑟伯让人赞叹的原因恰恰是《纽约客》的特质：针砭时弊同时具有权威的文学性，经典却总以其尖锐走在时代的前端，神来一笔的漫画更是不可或缺。
他对语言有着苛刻的追求，他优雅地把玩文字就像一位腰杆笔直的滑稽魔术师，他的聪明和幽默在字里行间流淌，有时稍不留意就溢了出来——他绝对是一流的“幽默家”。
书中文章选自瑟伯的几本随笔、小说集，文章内容涉及瑟伯对早期家庭生活的回忆、他在日常生活中的见闻和他对一些社会现象的看法，还包括他那几篇著名的短篇小说。这些文章大都在《纽约客》发表，并大受欢迎。其中有不少文章围绕两性关系和男女交往展开，读来乐趣十足。他笔下的男人多陷于困顿而无力应对，女人却凡事具有绝对的掌控权。这本书里的人物，就像瑟伯画笔下的那些人物一样，神情、姿态甚至内心，都栩栩如生、跃然纸上。

Globalization has become an inescapable fact of contemporary life. Some leaders, in both the East and the West, believe that human rights are culture-bound and that liberal democracy is essentially Western, inapplicable to the non-Western world. How can civilized life be preserved and issues of human rights and civil society be addressed if the material forces dominating world affairs are allowed to run blindly, uncontrolled by any cross-cultural consensus on how human values can be given effective expression and direction?
In a thoughtful meditation ranging widely over several civilizations and historical eras, William Theodore de Bary argues that the concepts of leadership and public morality in the major Asian traditions offer a valuable perspective on humanizing the globalization process. Turning to the classic ideals of the Buddhist, Hindu, Confucian, and Japanese traditions, he investigates the nature of true leadership and its relation to learning, virtue, and education in human governance; the role in society of the public intellectual; and the responsibilities of those in power in creating and maintaining civil society.
De Bary recognizes that throughout history ideals have always come up against messy human complications. Still, he finds in the exploration and affirmation of common values a worthy attempt to grapple with persistent human dilemmas across the globe.

Neoliberalism--the doctrine that market exchange is an ethic in itself, capable of acting as a guide for all human action--has become dominant in both thought and practice throughout much of the world since 1970 or so. Writing for a wide audience, David Harvey, author of The New Imperialism
and The Condition of Postmodernity, here tells the political-economic story of where neoliberalization came from and how it proliferated on the world stage. Through critical engagement with this history, he constructs a framework, not only for analyzing the political and economic dangers that now
surround us, but also for assessing the prospects for the more socially just alternatives being advocated by many oppositional movements.

With more than five million copies sold, Flowers for Algernon is the beloved, classic story of a mentally disabled man whose experimental quest for intelligence mirrors that of Algernon, an extraordinary lab mouse. In poignant diary entries, Charlie tells how a brain operation increases his IQ and changes his life. As the experimental procedure takes effect, Charlie's intelligence expands until it surpasses that of the doctors who engineered his metamorphosis. The experiment seems to be a scientific breakthrough of paramount importance-until Algernon begins his sudden, unexpected deterioration. Will the same happen to Charlie?
An American classic that inspired the award-winning movie Charly, Flowers for Algernon now returns to Harcourt as a Harvest paperback.

The focus, in common with other such texts, is on political economy. Economics arose in response to questions of political interest about national economy; and though economics has since found other applications as well, its vitality and development continue to stem from this central concern. The causes and effects of the way society organizes and regulates its economy-and the resulting debates over instability, inequality, joblessness, inflation, organizational incentives, and the rest-are main stuff of economics from here to China.

Dr. Francis Collins, head of the Human Genome Project, is one of the world's leading scientists. He works at the cutting edge of the study of DNA, the code of life. Yet he is also a man of unshakable faith in God and scripture. Dr. Collins believes that faith in God and faith in science can coexist within a person and be harmonious. In The Language of God he makes his case for God and for science. He has heard every argument against faith from scientists, and he can refute them. He has also heard the needless rejection of scientific truths by some people of faith, and he can counter that, too. He explains his own journey from atheism to faith, and then takes readers for a stunning tour of modern science to show that physics, chemistry, and biology can all fit together with belief in God and the Bible. The Language of God is essential reading for anyone who wonders about the deepest questions of faith: Why are we here? How did we get here? What does life mean?

Clayton M. Christensen and Michael E. Raynor reveals that innovation is not as unpredictable as most managers have come to believe. A f ollow-up to the worldwide bestseller, "The Innovator's Dilemma, this groundbreaking book shows managers how to tailor their strategies to the changing circumstances of a dynamic world.

From Steve Forbes, the iconic editor in chief of Forbes Media, and Elizabeth Ames coauthors of How Capitalism Will Save Us —comes a new way of thinking about the role of government and the morality of free markets.

Americans today are at a turning point. Are we a country founded on the values of freedom and limited government, as envisioned by the founding fathers in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution? Or do we want to become a European-style socialist democracy? What best serves the public good—freedom or Big Government?

In Freedom Manifesto , Forbes and Ames offer a new twist on this historic debate. Today’s bloated and bureaucratic government, they argue, is anything but a force for compassion. Instead of assuring fairness, it promotes favoritism. Instead of furthering opportunity, it stifles economic growth. Instead of unleashing innovation and material abundance, its regulations and price controls create rigidity and scarcity. Not only are Big Government’s inefficient and ever-expanding bureaucracies ill-equipped to deliver on their promises—they are often guilty of the very greed, excess, and corruption routinely ascribed to the private sector .

The only way to a truly fair and moral society, the authors say, is through economic freedom—free people and free markets. Throughout history, open markets have helped the poor and everyone else by unleashing unprecedented creativity, generating wealth, and raising living standards. Promoting trust, generosity, and democracy, economic freedom has been a more powerful force for individual rights, self-determination—and humanity—than any government bureaucracy.

Freedom Manifesto captures the spirit of a new movement that is questioning old ideas about the morality of government and markets for the first time since the Great Depression. Going beyond the familiar explanations and sound bites, the authors provide a fully developed framework of “first principles” for a true understanding of the real moral and ethical distinctions between more and less government. This timely and provocative book shows why free markets and liberty are the only way to a better future and a fair and humane society.

This Clay Christensen's groundbreaking bestselling work in education is now updated and expanded, including a new chapter on Christensen's seminal 'Jobs to Be Done' theory applied to education. "Provocatively titled, "Disrupting Class" is just what America's K-12 education system needs - a well thought-through proposal for using technology to better serve students and bring our schools into the 21st Century. Unlike so many education 'reforms', this is not small-bore stuff. For that reason alone, it's likely to be resisted by defenders of the status quo, even though it's necessary and right for our kids. We owe it to them to make sure this book isn't merely a terrific read; it must become a blueprint for educational transformation". (Joel Klein, Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education). "A brilliant teacher, Christensen brings clarity to a muddled and chaotic world of education". (Jim Collins, bestselling author of "Good to Great"). "Just as iTunes revolutionized the music industry, technology has the potential to transform education in America so that every one of the nation's 50 million students receives a high quality education. "Disrupting Class" is a must-read, as it shows us how we can blaze that trail toward transformation". (Jeb Bush, former Governor of Florida). According to recent studies in neuroscience, the way we learn doesn't always match up with the way we are taught. If we hope to stay competitive - academically, economically, and technologically - we need to rethink our understanding of intelligence, reevaluate our educational system, and reinvigorate our commitment to learning. In other words, we need 'disruptive innovation'. Now, in his long-awaited new book, Clayton M. Christensen and coauthors Michael B. Horn and Curtis W. Johnson take one of the most important issues of our time - education - and apply Christensen's now-famous theories of 'disruptive' change using a wide range of real-life examples. Whether you're a school administrator, government official, business leader, parent, teacher, or entrepreneur, you'll discover surprising new ideas, outside-the-box strategies, and straight-A success stories. You'll learn how: customized learning will help many more students succeed in school; student-centric classrooms will increase the demand for new technology; computers must be disruptively deployed to every student; and, disruptive innovation can circumvent roadblocks that have prevented other attempts at school reform. We can compete in the global classroom - and get ahead in the global market. Filled with fascinating case studies, scientific findings, and unprecedented insights on how innovation must be managed, "Disrupting Class" will open your eyes to new possibilities, unlock hidden potential, and get you to think differently. Professor Christensen and his coauthors provide a bold new lesson in innovation that will help you make the grade for years to come. The future is now. Class is in session.

Why is the Mona Lisa the most famous painting in the world? Why did Facebook succeed when other social networking sites failed? Did the surge in Iraq really lead to less violence? How much can CEO’s impact the performance of their companies? And does higher pay incentivize people to work hard?
If you think the answers to these questions are a matter of common sense, think again. As sociologist and network science pioneer Duncan Watts explains in this provocative book, the explanations that we give for the outcomes that we observe in life—explanation that seem obvious once we know the answer—are less useful than they seem.
Drawing on the latest scientific research, along with a wealth of historical and contemporary examples, Watts shows how common sense reasoning and history conspire to mislead us into believing that we understand more about the world of human behavior than we do; and in turn, why attempts to predict, manage, or manipulate social and economic systems so often go awry.
It seems obvious, for example, that people respond to incentives; yet policy makers and managers alike frequently fail to anticipate how people will respond to the incentives they create. Social trends often seem to have been driven by certain influential people; yet marketers have been unable to identify these “influencers” in advance. And although successful products or companies always seem in retrospect to have succeeded because of their unique qualities, predicting the qualities of the next hit product or hot company is notoriously difficult even for experienced professionals.
Only by understanding how and when common sense fails, Watts argues, can we improve how we plan for the future, as well as understand the present—an argument that has important implications in politics, business, and marketing, as well as in science and everyday life.

`Great fun ... brash, stubborn, entertaining, opinionated, curious,
`Hugely enjoyable - compelling'
`Idiosyncratically brilliant'
`A fascinating study of how we are regularly taken for suckers by the unexpected'
`A deeply intelligent, provocative book'
'Like the conversation of raconteur ... hugely enjoyable - compelling ... Beware the Black Swan' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
'The Black Swan confirms his status as a guru for every would-be Damien Hirst, George Soros and aspirant despot' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
'A deeply intelligent, provocative book ... Taleb succeeds in
bringing sceptical empiricism to the masses' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
'A richly enjoyable read with an important message' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
'A provocative macro-trend tome in the tradition of The Wisdom of
Crowds and The Tipping Point' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Fooled by Randomness is a standalone book in Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s landmark Incerto series, an investigation of opacity, luck, uncertainty, probability, human error, risk, and decision-making in a world we don’t understand. The other books in the series are The Black Swan, Antifragile, Skin in the Game, and The Bed of Procrustes.
Fooled by Randomness is the word-of-mouth sensation that will change the way you think about business and the world. Nassim Nicholas Taleb–veteran trader, renowned risk expert, polymathic scholar, erudite raconteur, and New York Times bestselling author of The Black Swan–has written a modern classic that turns on its head what we believe about luck and skill.
This book is about luck–or more precisely, about how we perceive and deal with luck in life and business. Set against the backdrop of the most conspicuous forum in which luck is mistaken for skill–the world of trading–Fooled by Randomness provides captivating insight into one of the least understood factors in all our lives. Writing in an entertaining narrative style, the author tackles major intellectual issues related to the underestimation of the influence of happenstance on our lives.
The book is populated with an array of characters, some of whom have grasped, in their own way, the significance of chance: the baseball legend Yogi Berra; the philosopher of knowledge Karl Popper; the ancient world’s wisest man, Solon; the modern financier George Soros; and the Greek voyager Odysseus. We also meet the fictional Nero, who seems to understand the role of randomness in his professional life but falls victim to his own superstitious foolishness.
However, the most recognizable character of all remains unnamed–the lucky fool who happens to be in the right place at the right time–he embodies the “survival of the least fit.” Such individuals attract devoted followers who believe in their guru’s insights and methods. But no one can replicate what is obtained by chance.
Are we capable of distinguishing the fortunate charlatan from the genuine visionary? Must we always try to uncover nonexistent messages in random events? It may be impossible to guard ourselves against the vagaries of the goddess Fortuna, but after reading Fooled by Randomness we can be a little better prepared.
Named by Fortune One of the Smartest Books of All Time
A Financial Times Best Business Book of the Year