books
The Quality Toolbox
by Nancy R. Tague
The Quality Toolbox gives quality practitioners a wide choice of tools to
use on the road to continuous improvement. Selections of more than 50 tools
include a variety of matrixes and flowcharts, data-collection and analysis
tools, tools for planning, tools for analyzing processes and discovering
causes, and different forms of brainstorming and other tools for generating,
organizing and evaluating ideas. No other single book succinctly provides
instruction for such a wide variety of quality-improvement tools.
Designed to be easy to use as a reference or an instruction manual, this
book features a tool matrix that helps the reader find the right tool to
solve a particular problem or achieve a certain goal, and shows when to
use it, all at a glance.
This reviewer has studied the work of many authors over the years who provided
abbreviated descriptions of a few of their favorite problem-solving tools.
Much of the time, the descriptions were never complete enough to allow the
reader to successfully use the tool. Not so with The Quality Toolbox (ASQC
Quality Press, $33). Nancy Tague was obviously concerned that readers be
equipped with enough knowledge to be able to apply the tools. More than
100 illustrations in this 298-page book help get the message across.
Circle Marketplace No. 116
Product Innovation Strategy Pure & Simple
by Michel Robert
Michel Robert, whose previous books dealt mainly with corporate strategy,
has wandered into the discipline of new-product development with his newest
book. It is a welcome trip.
Robert labels product development as "the corporate fountain of youth"
and offers a four-stage innovation process that includes: search, assessment,
development and pursuit. For each stage, he offers a nice selection of working
tools and techniques for companies interested in developing a treasure trove
of new product ideas.
In the search stage, for example, nine areas are identified as good places
to drill for new products. These include such sites as process weakness,
converging technologies and unexpected successes and failures.
Robert identifies the common barriers to a robust product-development process.
His "Deadly Sins of Corporate Stagnation" include protecting cash
cows, the myth of mature markets and commodity businesses, the idea that
only entrepreneurs innovate and that innovators are born, not made. He ridicules
the idea that "product creation is too risky" and the perception
that companies somehow can't afford to innovate.
Interestingly, this book is not aimed at the research-and-development department.
"Lower level people manage things," maintains Robert. "Middle
managers manage people. Senior managers manage processes." And, it
is at senior management's table that the author lays his product-innovation
strategy.
Robert's best trait is his ability to identify and focus on the critical
elements in the corporate mix. He is a laser-sharp thinker who understands
how to properly deploy a strategy. This is a gift that serves the reader
well. Those who are familiar with Robert's previous books will already recognize
some tools in Product Innovation Strategy Pure & Simple (McGraw-Hill,
$24.95); first-time readers will get a full introduction.
-Reviewed by Theodore B. Kinni
Reengineering Management
by James Champy
James Champy has a very tough task on his hands with this volume. His previous
book, Reengineering the Corporation, co-written with Michael Hammer, was
the best-selling business book of 1993 and may well bear the primary responsibility
for starting the latest trend on businesses internationally. With what exactly
do you follow that kind of success?
Well, instead of a detailed guide teaching readers how to reengineer (a
component notably lacking in the first book), Champy has chosen to address
what he identifies as the greatest barrier to successful reengineering-management
itself. The real work of management, writes Champy, can be seen as a continuous
inquiry into four questions: What is this business for? What kind of culture
do we want? How do we do our work? and, What kind of people do we want to
work with?
The remainder of the book attempts to offer some answers and illustrates
them with full chapters of direct quotes drawn, the reader assumes, from
CSC Index's favored corporate clients. The answers themselves are not overly
surprising. Among other ideas, the reengineering expert champions visions,
mission and values; empowerment, communication and process orientation;
and diversity, training and pay-for-performance.
The writing is direct and not overly complex. Unhappily, the effort to
remain clear often verges on the simplistic and, again as before, the reader
often wishes for more how-to and less storytelling.
Champy is no groundbreaker. His thinking is solid and his ideas are unarguably
correct, but chances are good that if you've read the classics of quality,
you've heard everything in Reengineering Management (Harper Business, $25)
before.
-Reviewed by Theodore B. Kinni
The Edison Effect
by Ron Ploof
In The Edison Effect, Ron Ploof takes the concept of the learning organization
to its lowest common denominator: the individual. His message to employees
at every level is simple: Become a lifelong learner, or you will surely
be swept away by change.
Change, for Ploof, is synonymous with the Edison effect-the principle of
thermionic emission that Thomas Edison discovered in 1883. Thermionic emission
led to the first vacuum tube, which, in turn, allowed us to begin processing
information electronically.
In this story, a small publishing company radically reorganizes its business
based on changes directly attributable to the Edison effect. In that process,
entire functional departments and all their employees are eliminated.
Jake Hailey is an employee who doesn't make the cut. Through him, the reader
learns why learning is so important. A series of very useful tools are offered
to Jake. In addition to a full understanding of the implications of the
Edison effect, he gets easily understood explanations of the components
and processes of problem solving, and discovers the importance of identifying
and utilizing his own personal learning style.
It isn't hard to stay interested in this story. In fact, it borders on
becoming a compulsive page-turner. The Edison Effect (Cypress Publishing,
$17.95) is packed with important and practical information, but more importantly,
it is the kind of book that can reach people. It contains the power to make
readers realize that they can break away from old and threatened paradigms,
and retake responsibility for their own futures.
-Reviewed by Theodore B. Kinni
other new books ...
The Reward and Recognition Process in Total Quality Management,
by Stephen B. Knouse
(ASQC, 164 pages, $32)
This volume offers a thoughtful examination of the role that reward and
recognition plays in a TQM-based organization. The bulk of the text describes
reward and recognition as an ongoing process and maps the process using
both theory and case studies.
Accountability: It All Depends on What You Mean,
by Theo Brooks
(Akkad Press, 166 pages, $13.50)
The book covers five basic areas: what is accountability, how does it work,
how is it maintained, what enables it and when should it be enforced. A
final section offers a collection of 14 useful lists that can help managers
build their understanding and mastery of accountability.
Timeless Leader,
by John K. Clemens and Steve Albrecht
(Adams Media, 286 pages, $22.95)
This volume surveys classic works of history, philosophy and literature
in a mostly successful attempt to uncover a consistent principle of leadership.
It includes works by Plato, Herman Melville and Robert Penn Warren.
Like a Penguin in the Desert,
by Stephen Gower
(Lectern Publishing, 158 pages, $20)
In a "down-home" and catchy style, Gower enthusiastically explains
what causes the awkwardness many leaders face before they fully understand
and embrace their roles. He presents a seven-stage process for overcoming
awkwardness and fulfilling leadership responsibilities.
Improving Service Quality,
by Michael E. Milakovich
(St. Lucie Press, 258 pages, $39.95)
Aimed directly at service and public-sector organizations that are not often
addressed in TQM literature, this textbook provides an overview of customer-focused
quality- improvement strategies. It devotes chapters to construction, utilities,
government, education and health care.
Activity-Based Management,
by William Wiersema
(Amacom, 234 pages, $49.95)
Utilizing the principles of activity-based costing, Wiersema describes how
such an accounting system supplies the measures and information companies
need to understand and control internal costs. The book presents a basic
model as well as an implementation process.
Working Wisdom,
by Robert Aubrey and Paul M. Cohen
(Jossey-Bass, 192 pages, $25)
Aubrey and Cohen identify five tactics-accompanying, sowing, catalyzing,
showing and harvesting-that managers can use to encourage and enhance continuous
learning among all employees.