With Peter Drucker's five essential questions and the help of five of today's thought leaders, this little book will challenge readers to take a close look at the very heart of their organizations and what drives them. A tool for self-assessment and transformation, answering these five questions will fundamentally change the way you work, helping you lead your organization to an exceptional level of performance. Peter Drucker's five questions are: What is our Mission? with Jim Collins. Who is our Customer? with Phil Kotler. What does the Customer Value? with Jim Kouzes. What are our Results? with Judith Rodin. What is our Plan? with V. Kasturi Rangan. These essential questions, grounded in Peter Drucker's theories of management, will take readers on a exploration of organizational and personal self-discovery, giving them a means to assess how to be -- how to develop quality, character, mind-set, values and courage. The questions lead to action. By asking these questions, readers can focus on why they are doing what they are doing in their work, and how to do it better.Designed for today's busy professionals, this brief, clear and accessible book will challenge readers to ask these provocative questions and it will stimulate spirited discussions and action within any organization, inspiring positive change and new levels of excellence, helping all to envision the future of theirs' or any organization.

"Discerning Experts assesses the assessments that many governments rely on to help guide environmental policy and action. Through their close look at environmental assessments involving acid rain, ozone depletion, and sea level rise, the authors explore how experts deliberate and decide on the scientific facts about problems like climate change. They also seek to understand how the scientists involved make the judgments they do, how the organization and management of assessment activities affects those judgments, and how expertise is identified and constructed."--cover.

Applying Quality-Assurance Methods A Report on the National Demonstration Project on Quality Improvement in Health Care This book is recommAnded for managers wanting to enhance service quality and productivity. By avoiding mistakes and useless units of activity, gains in productivity occur as quality improves. -- Healthcare Financial Management Learn how health care organizations can use the quality improvement process to help regain control and hope in a time of frustration and skyrocketing costs. In ten key lessons, the authors demonstrate what works and does not work in actual practice. They present case examples of specific health care improvement projects ranging from transport of critically ill infants to quick turnaround of emergency lab specimens and to the generation of accurate Medicare bills.

In 2002, Einhorn spoke publicly about Allied Capital--a leader in the private finance industry--presenting it as an excellent short opportunity. Einhorn describes the incredible events that followed his speech and how Allied and the investment community attacked him to protect the company--and its stock price. Informative and intriguing, "Fooling Some of the People All of the Time" details how the current environment on Wall Street--and the world of hedge funds in particular-- not only allows for such behavior, but how it protects the companies and attacks those who attempt to uncover them.--From publisher's description.

Evaluation in the Planning Process examines the role of evaluation in the overall planning process and the implications of evaluation for the organization and management of studies. Emphasis is placed on the nature of evaluation and the functions it should fulfill in the urban and regional planning process, as well as the interrelationships that should exist between evaluation and other planning activities. This book consists of 12 chapters organized into three sections. The first section focuses on principles governing the use of evaluation in the planning process and includes a model of general urban and regional planning. Various methods that are available for evaluating planning proposals are considered, with emphasis on the social cost-benefit approach and the planning balance sheet method. The chapters that follow explore the role of measurement in plan evaluation and review seven planning studies to critically examine UK experience in the application of evaluation methods to urban and regional planning problems. This book concludes by presenting the principles and guidelines for the short-listing of options and assessing the influence of various practical circumstances on the planning process. Some final recommendations on the organization and structure of the planning process, and the nature and role of evaluation within it, are offered. This book is intended for specialists, planners, and those who are engaged in the task of aiding decisions on urban and regional planning problems. This text will appeal especially to those who are concerned with formulating planning processes and with the management of studies.