Legal Drafting: Process, Techniques, and Exercises (Casebook) Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm a paralegal student in Alabama, and this book was our text for a transactional drafting class. While I know I will probably never have to draft a contract or agreement from scratch, this book will be on my desk if I do.
The first chapters deal with drafting in general--proper English (grammar), good punctuation, and form. The later chapters deal with specifics--ambiguity, vague references, the dreaded and/or, and lists.
The book is an easy read--I would guess the typeface is a 12- or 14-point. Some of it is a little too simplistic, but for the most part it's right on target. There were several of us taking both this drafting class and another writing class this term, and the second professor made a comment about our writing getting more concise and to the point. This book must be getting it into our heads!

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This text provides a comprehensive and flexible teaching instrument for any course in legal drafting. It contains text, examples, and exercises that deal with both contract and statutory drafting - making the text suitable for a general drafting course, or one that focuses on either of the two more specialized forms of a drafted document. Most of the chapters have an end-of-the-chapter exercise that tests the student's knowledge of and ability to apply the materials. It also contains another fifteen drafting exercises that involve drafting or revising either specific provisions or entire contracts and statutes.

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Total Quality Management: Strategies and Techniques Proven at Today's Most Successful Companies (Fast Forward MBA) Review

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(More customer reviews)he Baldrigde Quality System quantifies the quality of a company with a score from zero to a thousand points. Even the best companies are far behind the thousand point limit, but the writers found 53 examples that, at least for one aspect, owe almost the maximum of the available points. Ben&Jerry's, Ford, 3M and AT&T are just a few of the companies that have provided information for the book. Still the book is not a list of 'perfect case examples' but the writers managed to let the theory and practice explain solutions to daily problems and improved management techniques. Although none of the issues dealt with is explained in the smallest detail or with an extensive number of examples, but this books provides a broad view for new managers or managers new to TQM.

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To understand and profit from Total Quality Management, companies must pay particular attention to the first word in the phrase-total. The spectacular rewards enjoyed by top companies like 3M, FedEx, and Ben & Jerry's were earned through a total commitment to achieving superior quality and customer satisfaction across all company functions and processes.Total Quality Management, Second Edition gives you a completely up-to-date look at how 51 of the world's most successful companies put the total into TQM. Each of these companies, including 13 new additions and 23 Baldrige Award winners, is cited as a benchmark performer in a particular business function. Their examples help you set your sights on specific goals and learn a variety of ways to go about achieving each goal. Each chapter features the best practices of one manufacturing company, one service company, and one small business. Following the examples set by these overachievers, you'll discover how to:* Lead the transition from traditional management to management by quality* Identify customer needs and use that knowledge to drive the organization* Integrate strategic quality and business planning into a single strategic process* Communicate customer and company requirements throughout your organization* Recognize and reward employee efforts and promote improved quality* Establish uniform measurement systems and manage by fact, not fiction* Borrow shamelessly from industry leaders to encourage breakthrough thinking* Build strengths and eliminate weaknesses through an annual assessment process.Fully updated-the book that puts the total into.Total Quality Management.In this book, the former chairman of the Baldrige Award panel of judges teams up once again with a leading quality consultant to bring you a Baldrige-based TQM model that covers every aspect of your business. Built from the best practices of 51 companies (including 23 Baldrige Award winners) whose star performances have made them benchmark corporations, this book brings you:* Best practices and TQM applications from small businesses, huge corporations, and everything in between* TQM practices from retail stores, service companies, manufacturers, and more* Hundreds of real-world examples, tested processes, and innovative techniques* Proven ways to boost profits, inspire workers, and delight customers.Praise for the First Edition"Alive . . . vivid, entertaining, successful. . . . Even the most inexperienced can understand and implement TQM using this book."-Charles A. Aubrey Vice President, Juran Institute."If you read only one book about quality management, read this one . . . the definitive management handbook of the decade."-Lynn A. Moline Former Executive Director, Minnesota Council for Quality."A great book about a better way to run a company."-Bob G. Gower President and CEO, Lyondell Petrochemical Co."Packed with strategies that can be implemented in any organization . . . must reading for those interested in proven quality strategies."-Ellen Gaucher Senior Associate Director, University of Michigan Medical Center"Get it. This book is jammed full of practical case studies from a management and profitability perspective."-C. Jackson Grayson Jr. Chairman, American Productivity and Quality Center.Supplemented with an updated list of resources and a contact list for all profiled companies, Total Quality Management, Second Edition shows you how to lead your organization straight to the cutting edge of quality and keep it there.

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A Technique for Producing Ideas (Advertising Age Classics Library) Review

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(More customer reviews)I am not an advertising professional but in the profession of scientific research. Yet this book (which was written in the 1940s for advertising people) is just as relevant to my work as it is to anyone else who is a knowledge worker. This little book is one of the simplest summaries of commonsense---and articulating common sense is this book's greatest virtue. The book lays out a five step process for generating novel and not-so-novel ideas, articulating them, and giving them a life of their own. There are no examples, no case studies, just crisply articulated common-sense that you can put to immediate use. Everything that he says is stuff that you likely already know, so this is not one of those books that talks the lofty talk about "retraining your mind" and such obscure, undoable things. The idea in this book that most resonated with me was his comment that novel ideas are simply unusual connections among things that already exist and you might already know. The book takes about an hour to read from cover to cover (and I'm not even a fast reader).
Although Mr. Bernbach probably never intended this book for consumers like me in the scientific research profession, I'd bet my money that this little gem might be just as "duh" or "aha"-evoking to people in any other knowledge-intensive line of white-collar work. The only note of caution: This book was originally written in the 1940s and the gender bias ("the creative man," "he") is pervasive throughout its 48 pages.
If you are in a profession where your "wealth" is measured in intellectual output, this is some of the best seven dollars you can invest in your education. Highly recommended for anyone whose profession requires novelty, new ideas, and creativity. Buy---don't borrow--read, reread, and dog ear this little gem!

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A McGraw-Hill Advertising Classic

A Technique for Producing Ideas reveals a simple, sensible idea-generation methodology that has stood the test of time.

First presented to students in 1939, published in 1965, and now reissued for a new generation of advertising professionals and others looking to jump-start their creative juices, this powerful guide details a five-step process for gathering information, stimulating imagination, and recombining old elements into dramatic new ideas.

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Data Modeling Made Simple: A Practical Guide for Business & Information Technology Professionals Review

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(More customer reviews)For over a year I'm looking for a good book to help business analysts to understand data models drawn by others and to train them in creating basic data models needed to cover business needs. I found a lot of good books but all too heavy, too many pages, too detailed and very nice if you want to become a real heavy duty data-guru. There is absolutely nothing wrong with data gurus, every organization needs a few of those, but it needs quite a few more of the 'casual' modellers. This book .. not too big.. a good read.. and even better reread.. It contains exactly everything that is needed for those modellers.
So, if you're a Business Analyst, Information Manager and need a good understanding of Data Modelling, even occasionally need to make one yourself, without having to spend years in training: buy this book..


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Ever have a bad data day? If you're a business user, architect, analyst, designer or developer, then you've probably had some bad data days. It comes with the territory. Overcoming these problems is much easier if you have an in-depth understanding of the actual data. That's where a data model comes in handy. It's a diagram that uses text and symbols to represent groupings of data, giving you a clear picture of your business and application environment. Data Modeling Made Simple provides the tools you need to read, create and validate models of your business and applications.

This book contains everything about modeling you need to know but were too afraid to ask, such as:
-What are the traditional and nontraditional uses of a data model?
-How do subject area, logical, and physical data models differ?
-When do I build a BSAM, ASAM, or CSAM?
-What is the easiest way to apply normalization?
-Where can I best leverage abstraction?
-How do I decide whether to use denormalization or dimensionality?
-What are primary, foreign, alternate, virtual, and surrogate keys?
-What is the best approach to building the models?
-How can I use the Scorecard system to validate a data model?

Plus over 30 exercises to reinforce concepts and sharpen your skills!

Reviews:
"What a great book—and a fun read too! Steve has captured the essence of data modeling and made it simple. For those who are not data modelers but need to work with them, this book is an excellent primer. For those who model data occasionally but not routinely, it is an invaluable quick reference. And for those of us who are experienced (and incorrigible) data modelers, Data Modeling Made Simple is a terrific reminder that we really can keep it simple!"
David Wells, Director of Education, Data Warehousing Institute

"An excellent introduction from someone who knows his subject and knows how to teach it"
Graeme Simsion, University of Melbourne

"Data Modeling Made Simple is a must read for all professionals new to data modeling as well as those that want to ‘speak the language' and understand the concepts.Steve writes as though he is right there with you, walking you through the terminology, explaining the symbols, and telling you what you should consider doing before, during and after you have modeled your data."
Robert S. Seiner, President, KIK Consulting & Educational Services, LLC andPublisher of The Data Administration Newsletter, tdan.com

"Data Modeling Made Simple is an excellent training guide for anyone entering the data modeling field. Steve Hoberman takes the fundamental concepts of data modeling and presents them in an easy to understand and entertaining manner that I'm sure you will find valuable."
David Marco, President, EWSolutions

"How does one who is not a formally trained ‘data modeler' understand the basics of data modeling?Steve Hoberman has created an informative, fun, easy to follow, and practical book sharing data modeling concepts which are essential for any professional involved in information technology. Mr. Hoberman clearly answers key questions behind the what, why and how of data modeling and reinforces the explanations with appropriate examples, analogies and exercises."
Len Silverston, Best-Selling Author of The Data Model Resource Book, Volumes 1 and 2

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Boiling the IT Frog: How to Make Your Business Information Technology Wildly Successful Without Having to Learn Anything Technic Review

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(More customer reviews)Working as a support agent for a good number of years you start to pick things. This book points out a lot of the obvious, but goes on to explain why it is the way it is. I have and would recommend this book to anyone who is looking to progress their IT department or have a problem with their IT department. The book talks from high level, so if your looking for a technical manual this isn't your book. Great graduation present for any computer/management major.

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Driving a car doesn't require knowledge of cylinder heads and compression ratios, and you don't have to understand software and hardware to make optimum use of Information Technology. It's the people managing and using the technology who are important - not the technology itself - and this is a book about those people, their limitations in coping with technology, and how they can better deal with those limitations. This book is for everyone who is frustrated with Information Technology, and for every non-technical person who is at the mercy of a seemingly uncooperative IT organization. It's for business people who want to better understand IT, and for IT people who want to know why their jobs are so difficult and unappreciated. Every manager, executive and knowledge worker in today's world uses information systems, and most of these people have a relationship - good or bad - with some part of an IT organization. This book gives you the information you need to improve your relationship with IT.

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