Income/Expense Analysis Office Buliding 2000 (Income/Expense Analysis Office Buildings)

Book Description

This book describes the critical features of school organization plans (e.g., professional roles, organization of time, curriculum, student assessment, professional development, parental involvement) that can support or impede developing more effective educational settings.

A revised and updated discussion on reading includes the most current findings on exemplary elementary reading development and instruction and on the importance and nature of effective classroom teaching. Added highlights on using technology for both teacher and student development are included.
Readable and practical while grounded in proven practices and current research.
Includes information on where to obtain specific materials that will support changing schools for the better-even providing toll free telephone numbers.

This book offers a clear view of how schools must change if they are to meet the increased demands of education for the 21st century. Drawing on their experience as teachers, administrators, researchers, reformers, evaluators, and school consultants, Allington and Cunningham examine the policies, practices, and organizational plans that enhance or impede learning both in the schools of today and in the schools of tomorrow. This book picks up where the coauthor's other book, Classrooms That Work: They Can All Read and Write leaves off, with a focus on how to craft school organization plans that foster expert classroom teaching.

Richard L. Allington is the Fien Distinguished Professor of Education at the University of Florida, Gainesville. He was a co-recipient of the Albert J. Harris Award from the International Reading Association for his "contributions to the better understanding of reading and learning disabilities". Dick is also a past president of the National Reading Conference and has been elected to membership in the Reading Hall of Fame. He is the author of over 100 research articles and several books, including Classrooms That Work: They Can all Read and Write, Schools that Work: All Children Readers and Writers, and What Really Matters for Struggling Readers.

Patricia M. Cunningham is a professor of Education at Wake Forest University. She has authored and co-authored several books promoting literacy, including Phonics They Use: Words For Reading And Writing, Reading And Writing In Elementary Classrooms: Strategies And Observations, Teachers In Action: The K-5 Chapters From Reading And Writing In Elementary Schools, and Classrooms That Work: They Can All Read And Write.

Customer Reviews:

One of the few truly outstanding education books........2003-01-27

With over ten years as a primary, intermediate, and junior high teacher, I have read lots of education books. This may end up being the book that helps me the most in helping improve myself as an educator, and in helping the school improve itself. This book was jam-packed with great ideas of what truly makes a good school. "Schools That Work" is geared for both principals, teachers, and anyone else in the education field. After reading this it makes for a great reference book. The book is well organized into the different components that make a good school. Also, it has great book, magazine, and web resources throughout the entire book. In short, buy this book without hesitation--it is that good!

A MUST HAVE BOOK.......2000-07-17

Allington and Cunningham provide excellent insight as to what all schools need to ensure quality instruction to students. This book is a must for all educators, especially administrators. I am a Special Education teacher and a graduate student. I refer to this text often.

Insightful book on how to help all children become literate.......1999-11-08

With over fifty combined years of experience between them, educational researcher/ consultants Richard Allington and Patricia Cunningham have many ideas to offer in their new book, Schools That Work: Where All Children Read and Write. The book is a natural follow-up to their first collaborative effort, Classrooms That Work: They Can All Read and Write. It is lengthy, but highly engaging, and offers practical, research based ideas for those who envision and want to work toward moving their school or school system toward being one where all children become literate. Because American society has changed, and is changing, at such a rapid pace, Allington and Cunningham contend that the current organizational structure of schools, while being well intentioned, is outdated. Existing structures do not effectively meet the needs of all children, especially those who are at the highest risk of school failure. Therefore, they believe that educational interventions that offer "more of the same" will not work to fix the inadequacies in today's schools. Because many schools are stuck, looking toward traditional solutions, huge amounts of federal and state money are being poured into educational programs such as developmental kindergarten, transitional K-1 classes, retention, and remedial, resource and bilingual programs that aren't effective in helping all at risk learners learn to read and write. Throughout the twelve chapters of the book, examples of effective large and small-scale school restructuring efforts in real schools are described. These descriptions are very helpful in illustrating the authors' key points. Models such as the Coalition of Essential Schools, Success For All, the Accelerated Schools Model, Reading Recovery, School Power and Schools for the 21st Century are included. Chapters of the book are organized around central themes of school organizational plans such as instruction, professional roles, allocation of time, parent involvement, assessment and curriculum materials. I will briefly summarize these chapters to give an overview of their content. In the chapter on curriculum, Cunningham and Allington offer many ideas for getting real reading material into the hands of children. Popular methods of literacy instruction are also described, but it is clear that the authors do not believe there is one best way to teach reading and writing. Instead, they advocate for quality instruction delivered in a multifaceted approach. This position is similar to that taken in Best Practices in Literacy Instruction, edited by Gambrel, Morrow, Neuman and Pressley, a resource text for teachers of literacy. Allington and Cunningham then go on to describe essential components of quality literacy instruction. One of the important points of the book is that "good schools are a collection of good classrooms" and that the job of everyone who works at a school is to support and enhance classroom instruction. An important point is made that while most instruction for at risk students slows down the pace of instruction, what is most effective is accelerating their learning through more and better instruction so that they are able to catch up with their peers. Concerning the issue of how instructional time is used; a chapter is devoted to describing effective classroom management practices that maximize the amount of time available for actual reading and writing. Innovative ways of creating more instructional time such as allowing teachers to work on flexible schedules opens up the possibility of students receiving extended amounts of instruction before and after school, in Saturday School and summer school. In the chapter on assessment, strategies for evaluating literacy programs and progress are given. Ideas for utilizing authentic assessments such as observational records, writing samples, narrative comments, interviews, self-evaluations, portfolios and anonymous student testing are presented.

Because schools can change only as fast as the instructional practices of teachers change, Allington and Cunningham devote a chapter to advice for supporting the professional development of teachers. The authors believe that systems need to allocate greater amounts of their resources toward professional development, as well as offer administrative and collegial support in order for teachers to remain life long learners who continually develop new areas of expertise. As our changing society affects schools, it affects families too. Most children now come from single parent families or families where both parents work. Because the authors believe that schools cannot be fully effective without parent support and involvement, ideas for improving parent outreach programs are described. Innovative ways to improve communication between schools and families, involve parents in school decision making processes, and create family literacy programs and interagency family support services that help break cycles of illiteracy and poverty are provided. A chapter is set aside for offering additional ideas for developing the literacy skills of special populations of children, such as those with learning disabilities and those who speak English as a second language. In another chapter, a tour is given through a hypothetical school that reflects some of the basic themes in the book. Readers are then prompted to take a tour through their own school and look for examples of effective practices they would like to see more of, as well as ineffective practices they would like to see decreased. The final chapter of the book offers some relief to the reader, who may at this point be overwhelmed with the scope and scale of school restructuring that needs to be done. Allington and Cunningham caution, though, that there are no quick fixes in education, and that successful reform efforts are done gradually with the long view in mind. Restructuring often begins with a small group of people, or even with one person at a school. Is that person you? Do you believe that all children can learn to read and write, and would you like to help them do so? If you think so, this book could be an invaluable resource that gets you thinking about large-scale changes by starting small. Read it and pass it along to someone in your school, as someone in my school passed it along to me. Who knows what might happen next?

Another good one!.......1999-07-31

Because their other book, "Classrooms That Work," is such a hit with my preservice students, I ordered this one. Receiving it just today, and after browsing through and discovering on the final page reference to the the critical words, "common sense initiatives," I have a feeling we may have another winner with this book, as well.

Classrooms That Work: They Can All Read and Write + 1/2 price Schools That Work: Where All Children Read and Write, Second Edition

Average customer rating:

Classrooms That Work - They Can All Read and Write
Classrooms That Work: They Can All Read and Write
Great Reading
Great resource
Classrooms That Work

Classrooms That Work: They Can All Read and Write + 1/2 price Schools That Work: Where All Children Read and Write, Second Edition
Patricia M. Cunningham; Richard L. Allington
Manufacturer: Allyn & Bacon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Reading | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Education | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0205396364

Book Description

@HEADLINE= This two-book set includes the most popular resources from celebrated authors Patricia Cunningham and Dick Allington! @BULLET= Buy Classrooms That Work and get Schools That Work HALF PRICE! @BULLET= Engaging! Both books are written in a readable and practical style while grounded in proven practices and current research. @BULLET= Discusses recent federal initiatives including comprehensive school reform models designed to address the problems of struggling readers. @BULLET= These books provide snapshots and portraits of schools and classrooms respectively, that work better for all children.

@SUMMARY= For one low price get Classrooms That Work and Schools That Work by authors you Patricia Cunningham and Dick Allington. Classrooms That Work promotes the integration of phonics and literature based process writing and reading instruction. The book helps all children engage in meaning-centered reading by showing teachers how to foster powerful decoding and comprehension strategies. Schools That Work picks up where Classrooms That Work leaves off, with a focus on how to craft school organization plans that foster expert classroom teaching. It offers a clear view of how schools must change if they are to meet the increased demands of education for the 21st century.

@AUTHBIO= Patricia M. Cunningham is a professor of Education at Wake Forest University. She has authored and co-authored several books promoting literacy, including Phonics They Use: Words For Reading And Writing, Reading And Writing In Elementary Classrooms: Strategies And Observations, Schools That Work: Where All Children Read and Write, and Classrooms That Work: They Can All Read And Write. @AUTHBIO= Richard L. Allington is the Fien Distinguished Professor of Education at the University of Florida, Gainesville. He was a co-recipient of the Albert J. Harris Award from the International Reading Association for his "contributions to the better understanding of reading and learning disabilities". Dick is also a past president of the National Reading Conference and has been elected to membership in the Reading Hall of Fame.

Customer Reviews:

Classrooms That Work - They Can All Read and Write.......2007-01-09

This is a must have book for elementary school teachers. It gives great insight and ideas for teaching children how to read and write.

Classrooms That Work: They Can All Read and Write.......2007-01-05

This is a must read for all elementary classroom teachers. It offers research based lessons to implement a balanced literacy program. It's an easy read. I highly recommend it!

Great Reading.......2003-05-18

Classrooms That Work has a multitude of ideas that actually work in the classroom to help students become better readers and writers.

Great resource.......2003-04-24

This book is written in a reader-friendly format. It provides many useful strategies which are easily adapted to individual classrooms. The authors reference specific books which lend themselves to cited strategies. ( Some books will prove hard to come by as they are out of print, however.) Current reasearch is presented in a clear manner.
Both authors are noted in the field of education and their ability to provide a resource for teachers that is not overly dry and overrun with statistics and obscure studies makes the book a very useful tool in today's classroom.

Classrooms That Work.......2002-09-20

For any experienced teacher, Cunningham's condescending, dogmatic style borders upon the insulting. Carefully read, her "best methods" approach, "research-based" book is neither supported, cited nor properly footnoted within the confines of her book. In spite of that fact, her books are being implented as if they were "Bibles" in numerous districts throughout the USA. In fact, the bureaucrats of the state of Illinois are requiring that we teach her methods!
Most of the material covered in her books is so very basic that most any teacher does a great deal of it already while this author gets rich.
Teaching is an art not a Patricia Cunningham book.
I recommend that you save your money and buy something creative and thought-provoking to make teaching exciting and not (any more) exhausting.

Average customer rating:
On My Honor, I Will: Leading with Integrity in Changing Times

Manufacturer: Treasure House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 1560433485

Book Description

This book explores the use of simulation games as a means for experimental learning in production management, for both teaching purposes at universities and engineering schools and for implementing changes in industry. The use and effects of such games are discussed, covering a variety of subject and application areas, including the role of the facilitator, debriefing and transfer to the players' own day-to-day life. In addition, prospects and future trends of simulation games are outlined, including simulating in virtual reality and cyberspace.

Average customer rating:

nice beginner's guide

A real workbook

A handy... short guide.

CI Boot Camp
Robert L. Linville
Manufacturer: Society of Competitor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Statistics | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0962124176

Book Description

CI Boot Camp presents a concise course in the basics of business Competitive Intelligence. It provides a step-by-step system for gathering and analyzing competitive information, along with sample forms for organizing and presenting results. Topics include defining research requirements, task sizing and assessment, locating information sources, identifying markets and players, gathering data, and information analysis. The result: a workable methodology for providing value-added information to your company or client on a timely basis.

If you are a beginning CI professional, CI Boot Camp will give you the tools you need to enhance your career. If you are an experienced professional, you will learn tips on how to improve and emonstrate your effectiveness to the company you serve.

Customer Reviews:

nice beginner's guide.......2002-05-02

This book is helpful because it lays out the CI process in an easy way. I share this with others in my workplace since it can be read quickly and is easy to follow. I'd recommend this to others who are new to the field and want to get up to speed quickly about CI. For those already doing CI, you are better off picking a more advanced treatment.

A real workbook.......2002-03-22

This was my first CI related book purchase - and it fulfilled my beginner needs. This book is formatted as a working aid in content and set-up. There are no easy answers here, but providing guidelines and example templates for organizing your work is the author's strong point. Reading this is as if you are a student in his class working through a complicated assignment for the first time.

Bottom line - good for learning the basic rules and tools, but perhaps too fundamental for the experienced CI professional.

A handy... short guide........2000-03-29

I am new to the field of Competitive Intelligence and thought that this book would be a very good place to start off. For one thing, it is quite short. The pages are all double spaced and, condensed, could probably fit in 15 pages. However, the content is exactly what I was looking for. A short, concise and easy to relate to outline of the entire field of Competitive Intelligence. The "forms" that are included aren't worth much other than a general idea of what might be included in forms that you will have to create yourself. The most valuable tool of this book is its step by step approach to a topic that I was totally unfamilliar with. If you know CI... don't get this book. If you have never heard of CI... buy it and read it twice.

Book Description

Quick and easy ways to add country distinction and elegance to the home.

Home decorators can satisfy their yearning for a little touch of country—instantly. The editors at Country Living have gathered every smart and special shortcut they know for adding charming touches to every room, and creating the perfect blend of function and elegance. Throughout, invaluable decorating tips offer a variety of quick-to-implement suggestions. On every page, beautiful photographs showcase perfect and easy-to-achieve country color schemes (such as the ever-popular blue-and-white combo); fabrics and wallpapers; furniture styles; and cozy accessories. There are ideas for hiding modern gadgets, such as the TV, that don’t really fit into the country style; for displaying treasured items; for selecting just the right window treatments; for candles and sconces that create atmospheric lighting; and much more. A Main Selection of the Homestyle Book Club.

• Advertising in Country Living magazine

Customer Reviews:

Simple ideas.... great results!!!.......2006-08-14

I have a great time every time I open the book. It has simple ideas and projects that can make a change in your home. I highly recommend it.

Chock Full of Ideas & Photos!.......2005-12-31

I couldn't wait to flip through and absorb the images in this book. The photos are so inviting! Anyone who loves the textures and colors that make up the country look, will luxuriate in this book.
Then I began reading the tips which are set off in numbered paragraphs. That format made it so easy to read and absorb the ideas.
Whether your preference is for English country house or for a cottage, this has ideas to create it in your own home. A lovely book.

Book Description

This study assesses economic developments and policies during the inaugural year of Europe's single currency. It analyzes the economic performance and prospects of the Euro area as a whole, and highlights to what extent aggregate trends are shaped by convergence or divergence at national or regional levels.

The book addresses a number of highly topical issues, such as: How fast is growth picking up and unemployment declining in the Euro area? Why did the Euro weaken in 1999 and does it matter? How effectively was monetary policy conducted? What degree of fiscal prudence is needed over the next few years? And, which rigidities continue to stunt growth in Europe?

Average customer rating:
Centenary of St. Paul's church, Emu plains, 1848-1948;: One hundred years of history of the Church of England at Emu Plains
G. A King
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0007KCO0W

Average customer rating:

Kellog on Integrated Marketing - very enlightening

How to "drive the target customer perspective through all decisions"

Tools I Can Use

Good companies with innovative products

Patchy work at best.

Kellogg on Integrated Marketing
Bobby J. Calder
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Advertising | Marketing & Sales | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Marketing | Marketing & Sales | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Management | Sales & Selling | Marketing & Sales | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
All Amazon Upgrade | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books
Business & Investing | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Kellogg on Branding: The Marketing Faculty of The Kellogg School of Management

IMC, The Next Generation : Five Steps For Delivering Value and Measuring Financial Returns

Kellogg on Marketing

Kellogg on Strategy : Concepts, Tools, and Frameworks for Practitioners

Integrated Marketing Communications: Putting It Together & Making It Work

ASIN: 0471204765

Book Description

This cutting-edge book-with contributions by the star faculty of the Kellogg School of Management and the Medill School of Journalism's Integrated Marketing Communications department at Northwestern University-offers the latest thinking on the art and science of integrated marketing. A must for today's marketing professional, Kellogg on Integrated Marketing addresses the daily activities of marketing managers and helps them enhance brand equity with new techniques and strategies from the experts. You'll hear from:
- Eric G. Berggren - Stephen Burnett - Bobby J. Calder - Tom Collinger - Adam Duhachek - Lisa Fortini-Campbell - Nigel Hopkins - Dawn Iacobucci - Richard I. Kolsky - Maria Flores Letelier - Edward C. Malthouse - Francis J. Mulhern - Lisa A. Petrison - Andrew Razeghi - Don E. Schultz - Charles Spinosa - Paul Wang

Customer Reviews:

Kellog on Integrated Marketing - very enlightening.......2007-01-03

As an MBA student I found this book to be excellent reference material and although not all of the contributors are of the same excellent standards, overall there are enough excellent contributions from various academics to make this a very good book indeed. In the main the book is well stuctured and the topics covered are well sequenced and thorough. The language used is very easy to understand and for a marketing novice like me there were no learning obstacles due to language or assumed levles of knowledge.

How to "drive the target customer perspective through all decisions" .......2006-03-04

The last time I checked, Amazon and its online partner Borders sell more than 38,000 different books on the general subject of marketing. Presumably this number will continue to increase as organizations become more actively involved with marketing initiatives to create or increase demand for what they offer.

What we have here is one of the volumes which comprise a series produced by faculty members at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University or on faculties elsewhere. It was edited by Dawn Iacobucci and Bobby Calder; Don E. Schultz provides the Foreword, "Evolving Marketing and Marketing Communications into the Twenty-First Century."

I feel obligated to suggest at the outset that none of the volumes in this series is an "easy read." On the contrary, each requires but will generously reward a careful consideration of its contents which, in this volume, are carefully organized within 14 chapters which range from "Overview of Kellogg on Integrated Marketing" (Iacobucci and Calder) to "Reflections on a Great Marketing Organization" (Stephen Burnett). Long ago, I concluded that if marketing's primary purpose is to create or increase demand for whatever is offered, and, that all marketing initiatives should be "integrated" in the sense that they are comprehensive, cohesive, and cost- effective. Moreover, that everyone within a given enterprise should be directly involved in (or at least supportive of) those initiatives.

Perhaps it would be helpful to those who read this brief commentary if I were to provide a representative selection of brief quotations which suggest the range and depth of issues addressed and insights shared.

"For marketing a relationship to be developed, a brand must behave in a way that is consistent with the brand and that leads to a reaction from the customer that establishes a pattern of behavior. For example, A sports television network, such as ESPN, wants to engage in relationship marketing. The network could advertise that it is your sports partner. They team up with you to give you sports coverage wherever and whenever you want it. Is there a marketing relationship in what we have described? We think not. With whom is the customer having a relationship? There is no experience to define a relationship. Nor is there any behavior flowing from that experience for the consumer to react to." Andrew J. Razeghi and Bobby J. Calder, "Using Interaction Maps to Create Brand Experiences and Relationships." (page 52)

"The impetus for thinking about WOM [word of mouth] or buzz from a strategic point of view originated with the work of Elihu Katz and Paul Lazarfeld...almost 50 years ago. In their book, Personal Influence, they contrasted the power of consumer-to-consumer contacts with that of advertising and other types of mass communication and postulated that the process operated through a `two-step flow.' Certain individuals, termed influentials, took in information and passed it on to others with whom they were in contact. The key idea was that influentials were influential because of their links to a community of other people who would not otherwise be exposed to or absorb the information....Gradually, the notion was added that as information `diffuses' through a community, consumers pass through stages from just being aware of the information initially to finally being persuade to adopt a product." Maria Flores Letelier, Charles Spinoza, and Bobby J. Calder, "Strategies for Viral Marketing." (page 90)

Sub-segmentation "takes place after targeting a brand at a market segment and acquiring a database of customers. It divides a market segment into further subgroups. The marketing manager must have marketing plans for each sub-segment, because all sub-segments are customers. Other direct marketeers use the term customer segmentation or market segmentation to describe this activity, but the term sub-segmentation is less ambiguous (even the term customer can mean different things to different marketers)....There are two kinds of customized sub-segmentations, depending on the data-mining methodology used to find the sub-segments. First, there are `unsupervised learning methods' (obvious splits, clustering, latent class analysis). This approach yields segments of people who are similar to each other on some customer attributes....The second type of customized sub-segmentation is based on supervised learning methods like Chi-Squared Automatic Interaction Detector (CHAID) and bump hunting. These approaches yield segments using a set of `predictor' variables that have similar values of some dependent variable, such as long-term value (LTV), attrition, and so forth." Edward C. Malthouse, "Database Sub-Segmentation." (pages 165 and 166)

I realize that these three brief excerpts are taken out of context, as would be any others shared in this commentary. However, what I hope I have indicated is that those who have contributed to this volume have given a great deal of careful, indeed thought to the scope and depth of the subject each discusses; moreover, they rely upon a specific nomenclature when sharing their observations and insights, a nomenclature which should be familiar to senior-level executives who are responsible for formulating, implementing, and then managing a sophisticated marketing program.

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Kellogg on Branding co-edited by Alice Trybout and Tim Calkins, Kellogg on Marketing edited by Dawn Iacobucci, and Kellogg on Strategy co-authored by Daniel Dranove and Sonia Marciano

I also highly recommend Theodore Levitt's The Marketing Imagination (which includes his classic HBR article, "Marketing Myopia"), Kenneth E. Clow and Donald Baack's Integrated Advertising, Promotion, and Marketing Communications (Second Edition), George E. Belch's Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing Communications Perspective, P. R. Smith and Jonathan Taylor's Marketing Communications: An Integrated Approach, and Noel Capon and co-authors' Total Integrated Marketing: Breaking the Bounds of the Function.

Tools I Can Use.......2003-08-13

Finally. In a world of one trend book after another, this book gives readers a solid foundation for understanding the latest developments in marketing. The authors provide a scholarly treatment of their subject matter, while not being densely academic and therefore difficult to follow. But although not academic, it is still a serious piece of work that makes you think. Today it is easy to find how to marketing books from practioners who want to apply rules based on experience without any thought to the discipline, human behavior, and deeper issues. Yet the book is loaded with original cases. In particular, the chapter on "viral marketing" provides grounded cases and a framework for applying solid word of mouth techniques. As a VP of a Sales Organization, this chapter gives me tools that I can apply to my sales organization without having to hope that a PR campaign has the expected impact.

Good companies with innovative products.......2003-08-02

This book is well targeted to companies that are bringing innovative products to market and have to be smarter than your average bear in getting noticed and taken seriously.

This book has a good compendium of what "integrated marketing" is all about. For most of us, we can't afford expensive TV campaigns, and need to address our customers in diverse ways, and measuring along the way. For me, CPM and audiences and demographics make no sense, so I appreciated this books more pragmatic cases studies.

Particularly for high tech companies, if you need a good overview of what it takes to create communities, create "BUZZ", and get people excited about your product in a natural way; this book is the best out there (read Chapter 6). The internet is a new medium, but most marketing is still primitive (pop ups? anyone?). There are some good ideas here on how to go about it the right way.

As with any compilation of articles, there are different voices and styles; some are better than others. Skip the bad ones.

But it's still only going to cost less than 10 minutes of your average marketing consultant; so buy it.

Patchy work at best........2003-03-31

What can I say... it is extremely difficult to write a negative review against two of the most important authorities in Marketing today. However, even the best people/institutions have huge "misses". And this book, believe me, is one of them.

Because of the quality of the institutions behind the book it is easy to take the quality of this book for granted. So it is for the same reason that I thought this book merits a detailed review and explain why a simple reader like me gives it no more than 2 stars (meaning that the book is not the worst out there, but it is not quite an "average" book either).

I believe that most of the problem lies on the Editors of the book. I can't imagine how difficult must be to put together people and views from two different institutions (Kellogg Business School and Medill School of Journalism) plus collaborators from other academic institutions and independent consulting companies. What is clear is that the Editors did not succeed in creating a cohesive book: in some cases it is because of the selection of topics/subjects discussed, in some cases because of the selection of the authors and their style, but most importantly because the book lacks a common solid philosophy. It feels more like a collection of disparate work than a book.

Most of the chapters feel repetitive and disconnected. They range from a generalist view of the world (typical from business schools), to detailed discussions of technical subjects (typical from industry practitioners). These two views are not balanced in each chapter (which could be a positive thing), but actually each chapter is one or the other, which creates a mixed feeling of peaks and valleys as you read the book. So overall, the book does not achieve a compelling balance for the reader and fails to leave the reader with a couple of big ideas that help her approach the "issue" of Integrated Marketing.

A closer look by chapter

I truly enjoyed the Introduction to the book and chapter 3 (The Tao of Customer Loyalty). The article is direct, clear, and strong, with great common sense. Unfortunately, most of the good things about the book stop here.

Both chapter 4 and 5 are extremely repetitive as both build on the idea of customer-brand contact points, which should be to most readers an "old" concept already. Chapter 6 has great ideas on the need to understand different communities to achieve truly viral marketing. Unfortunately, I found the authors' style very difficult to read and the chapter extremely long. Just to give you an idea, this chapter is almost 20% of the book and there are other 13 chapters. This is again something the Editors should have spotted.

Chapter 7 on Acquiring The Right Customers is extremely basic, while chapters 8 (Database Sub-segmentation), 9 (Customer Profitability), and 11 (Scoring Models) are extremely technical and address how to look and organize data to help in the marketing decision making process. Then we have chapter 10 on Decision Guidance Systems, which feels that shouldn't belong to this book.

Chapter 12 addresses how the Web has the potential to deliver and support Integrated Marketing ideas. This explanation was needed and given by many authors 3 or 4 years ago. So while true, the chapter is pretty much a laggard in its perspectives. I don't think there is anyone today that does not understand this.

Chapter 13 (An illustration of Integrated Marketing) is simply appalling. Basically the author builds a theoretical example of what IM is supposed to look like. It is simply a waste of time and effort.

And finally, Chapter 14 (Reflections on Becoming a Great Marketing Organization) has a good authoritative tone and interesting closing thoughts. Though as the closing chapter of the book, suffers the same issues as the remaining of he book: the chapter is individualistic and pretty much ignores the content from previous chapters.

So as a closing thought on this review, I would say that this book could suffer from what was said about the old conglomerate structures: they are both worth more if sold (read) separately! The editorial value of bringing ideas and people together to create even more value is simply not achieved in this book.

Average customer rating:

Classic business but not conclusively told

Interesting cases, not well written

And how to avoid them?

Corporate Goliaths

A must read for any American business person or student

When Giants Stumble
Robert Sobel
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Company Profiles | Biography & History | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Decision-Making & Problem Solving | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0735200599

Amazon.com

Over the years, Robert Sobel (Dangerous Dreamers, For Want of a Nail, Coolidge) has discovered that you can learn as much from analyzing a business's failure as its success. In When Giants Stumble: Classic Business Blunders and How to Avoid Them, the Hofstra University business-history professor zeroes in on 15 devastating failures that either severely damaged companies or spelled their doom. "After all, medical people study diseases in order to learn how to keep people healthy. Why not apply the same logic to the study of business blunders?" For example, in a chapter on E.J. Korvette, Sobel explains how founder Eugene Ferkauf created a discount-marketing Goliath that tallied an astounding $1 million in sales when it opened in 1948--only to spiral into bankruptcy by 1980 due to poor hiring practices, undercapitalization, and ill-planned expansion. Other companies that come under Sobel's microscope include Osborne Computer, Montgomery Ward, Pan American World Airways, Schwinn, Pabst, and the NYSE. What was common to all of these companies was that their failure was preceded by great success, which should give many of today's movers and shakers plenty to think about. Recommended. --Howard Rothman

Book Description

A noted business historian presents captivating profiles of corporate blunders, with illuminating insights into the misguided motives that make promising concepts fail and industry giants crumble.

Packard, E.J. Korvette, RCA, Drexel Burnham Lambert, Pabst, Schwinn. Once industry leaders, these companies all suffered devastating--and, in some cases, fatal--setbacks because of one pivotal mistake. A renowned writer and speaker who has traced the missteps of corporate America, Robert Sobel offers a fascinating look at 15 glaring and enlightening product flops and management foibles. Rather than call attention to corporate greed or foolishness, the author reveals surprisingly sound reasoning behind some of the worst moves in modern business history.

Capturing tragic mistakes in the making, each chapter spotlights a key blunder committed by a onetime mover and shaker. Critical errors include: tinkering with winning products--or marketing "downscale" versions; getting blindsided by rivals or government regulations; striving to outdo a famed predecessor; fighting technology--or sheepishly following every innovation; and mistaking temporary industry changes for permanent ones--or vice versa.

Lively and eye-opening, WHEN GIANTS STUMBLE explores a side of business history too seldom discussed, with valuable lessons for both thriving and floundering companies.

Customer Reviews:

Classic business but not conclusively told.......2000-05-11

I like business case studies like this book and while I enjoyed it, it did not "wow" me. The studies are clinically written and as a reviewer already stated, it really doesn't address the second part of the title, "how to avoid them". I didn't learn from the book but it was mildly interesting. I particularly like the Montgomery Ward story where you have to almost laugh at the companies stupidity. Read if you like the subject and have the time but don't expect a "bestseller".

Interesting cases, not well written.......2000-04-26

While the cases referenced in this book are interesting cases to study, reading each case was difficult because much of the information is repeated and extraneous information is added. The book could be condensed to 25% of its size easily with a big red pencil.

And how to avoid them?.......2000-03-21

An interesting history of some classic business failures. However the book does not really deliver on the second part of it's title, `and how to avoid them...'. It is true that it leaves you to draw your own conclusions, but I for one would have preferred some marketing analysis and some tips or rules that might have prevented these failures. Suitable primarily for business historians or others interested in this field.

Corporate Goliaths.......2000-01-07

How to explain "classic business blunders" by some of the world's most successful companies? How to avoid such blunders? Robert Sobel answers both questions in When Giants Stumble. Sobel is a highly esteemed business historian. In a separate chapter within When Giants Stumble, he examines each of these "giants" and the primary cause of their respective blunders:

Osborne Computer (ineptitude) E.J. Korvette (hubris) Kaiser-Frazer (ignorance) RCA (nepotism) W.R. Grace (nonstrategic expansion) Packard (downward brand extension) Schlitz and Pabst (cutting corners) James Ling (fighting the government) Drexel Burnham Lambert (isolation) The Penn Central (mismatch) Montgomery Ward (stopped clock) American Tobacco (standing pat) The New York Stock Exchange (narrow view) Schwinn (multiple blunders)

Robert Sobel's recent death denies all of us any additional contributions by him to a cohesive, comprehensive, and circumspect understanding of the business world. Those who read and learn from When Giants Stumble are forever in his debt.

A must read for any American business person or student.......1999-09-26

A great read for anyone who needs to learn important lessons about business in America. Those in business who do not know the history of business failure are destined to repeat it. I am an executive in a large company and it was interesting to note the patterns of business failure that might be present in my own company. I passed my copy of the book around. Robert Sobel made some interesting picks of business failures. Hindsight is 20-20, but Sobel takes you through the history in a nonjudgmental evenhanded fashion. Also, I appreciated the fact that Sobel does not cram his point of view down that the reader's throat, instead letting the reader come to his or her own conclusions. Too often, writers have hidden agendas that are obvious. From a reading of this book, I still do not know Sobel's ideological/political views, and I respect him more for this fact.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books