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When a U-2 spy plane goes down in a fiery heap, the pilot's death is a tragedy?but it's no accident in this gripping military thriller from New York Times bestselling author Patrick A. Davis. U.S. Colonel Ed Coffin is sent to South Korea, the land of his birth, to lead the most important and grim investigation of his career: a secret U-2 spy plane has crashed under highly suspicious circumstances. A former U-2 squadron commander, Coffin is teamed up with his former lover, the irrepressible OSI investigator Marva "Mother" Hubbard, and together they learn that the plane's pilot was specifically targeted for death?but why? Navigating a geopolitical web strewn with murder, ambition, and betrayal, Coffin is soon embroiled in a desperate race for survival. But Coffin is also on another, more personal mission?and one way or the other, it may be his last.
Make an appointment for intrigue at Reyn Marten Sawyer'shair salon! Outrageous, flirtatious, and as colorful as a magenta mohawk, Reyn tracks twisted crimes, untangles tight knots,and never, ever leaves loose ends.Someone clearly meant business when they targeted San Antonio's hair salon king, Ricardo, who was fatally stabbed with a one-of-a-kind weapon: a sharp plastic hair pick. Reyn had loaned Ricardo the tool -- and now she's not only mourning her friend and mentor's murder: she's also a suspect. And in the eyes of sexy detective Jackson Scythe, she's one alluring stylist who should drop her insistent sleuthing like a hot roller. But Reyn's wound a little too tight to stay out of the thick of things, including teasing and taming the stubbornly single Scythe while taking short cuts to catch a killer -- and uncovering the past of a dead man, whose secrets will make Reyn's hair curl....
Making a movie may be part art and part science, but it's 100 percent business.In this comprehensive and accessible guide, Kelly Charles Crabb shares the information necessary to understand the legal and financial challenges involved in getting a film from story to the silver screen and beyond.Drawing on over twenty years of experience in the entertainment industry, as both lawyer and producer, Crabb reveals his insider's knowledge on: Understanding copyright and intellectual property law Obtaining financial backing Selecting and hiring the key players Overseeing the filming Locking in the theatrical, home video, and TV distribution Understanding merchandise licensingand everything else you need to know to make a serious run at producing and exploiting a movie. Offering hands-on illustrations from actual movie contracts to show how the basic deals for each of the many stages are assembled, the author explains in plain and simple terms what the contracts contain and why. It gives the big picture and the finer points of movie making -- from concept to raking in the last dollar after the film is completed.While it may not transform you into a lawyer or an industry accountant -- and that's not what you want anyway -- it will take you through all the business and legal principles you need to know to be a successful and knowledgeable professional producer.
The most comprehensive textbook for students in advanced social work and mental health courses is now completely revised and updated for a new generationWhen Adult Psychopathology: A Social Work Perspective was first published in 1984, this pioneering text was the first to conceptualize and organize theory and practice about the treatment of the mentally ill within their families and communities from a social work perspective. Now, in response to new developments in theory and research, as well as changes in service delivery within the field, the second edition contains updated and accessible information on how mental illnesses develop and how they can be treated within a social work framework that recognizes the importance of family, economics, and culture as well as biochemical and psychodynamic factors. Each chapter is written by the leading social work authority on that subject and includes practical, in-depth discussion of state-of-the-art technologies, treatments, and research. The book encompasses the broad spectrum of topics that social workers need to understand, including personality, adjustment, schizophrenia, suicide, anxiety states, phobias, neurological disorders, psychosexual disorders, drug and alcohol addiction, eating disorders, and others. Adult Psychopathology, Second Edition is essential for both M.S.W. and Ph.D. social work students and, as the authoritative, unequaled reference book, will aid clinicians in making more precise diagnoses in their daily work.
The future is happening today, and the most successful organizations will be those that understand the dynamics of the "big picture" in which their decisions are being made. This book describes how to understand and influence that picture. Irene Sanders pioneered the application of chaos theory and complexity to strategic thinking -- the most essential skill in today's fast-paced business environment. Now, in this straightforward, easy-to-read book, she shows how the most up-to-date strategic thinking is done, and how you can begin using it in your enterprise.Sanders' original and practical approach moves far beyond traditional forecasting, futuring and scenario-building. The new science of chaos and complexity has shown scientists and business professionals alike the importance of looking at the world as a whole system, rather than as a collection of deterministic principles. Consequently, the human mind -- through the integration of intuition and intellect -- is now recognized as the only information processor capable of understanding the level of complexity in today's global business environment. By engaging the mind's eye through the use of visual thinking, Sanders shows you how to develop insight about the present and foresight about the future, thereby allowing you to see and influence the future as it is emerging. The new planning paradigm presented in Strategic Thinking and the New Science is nothing less than a transformation of the science of business.For the first time in history, we have the knowledge, tools and techniques to develop visual thinking as the essential insight/foresight skill of the future. In addition to breakthroughs neuroscientists have made about brain-mind interactions, artists and psychologists are revealing the role of imagery in the creative process. And now, the new field of scientific visualization brings all of this information together with computer graphics to demonstrate how visual images can be used to engage our imaginations, enhance learning -- and stimulate our deeper levels of awareness.In this groundbreaking book, Sanders is the first to define the new model of strategic thinking -- a model that is bound to revolutionize organizations of all types as they begin to see and influence their futures -- today.
A Silicon Valley veteran and author of the bestseller High Tech Start Up reveals the nature of unfair advantage -- that holy grail for every company, the mysterious quality that separates successful businesses from the nine out of ten that fail -- and then shows how to create an unfair advantage, build it into a business plan, and use it to maximum effect. Nesheim's first book, originally self-published during Silicon Valley's wild west days in the 1990s, quickly moved from underground hit to business bestseller. He witnessed the incredible highs and lows of the Internet bubble, and he got an intimate look at why some companies weathered the storm while others went under. Now, in The Power of Unfair Advantage, Nesheim shows you how to bring the pioneer spirit to your new enterprise -- whether you are starting a new company or trying to breathe new life into an old dog. Unfair advantage is an enduring but often overlooked dynamic and a crucial aspect of any successful business endeavor. To show you how to attain unfair advantage over your competitors, he begins with a clear model: Outsource everything you are not good at, concentrate on those things that can be differentiated, and strive for a unique, consistent difference that cannot be copied. Integrating these maxims with other essential elements, he demonstrates, with dozens of case studies, how to orchestrate unfair advantage through marketing, sales, engineering, and operations. Unfair advantage can take many forms. Pager maker RIM rocketed to the top of the mobile wireless email market with Blackberry by employing an unfair advantage that it alone possessed -- pager technology and pager infrastructure. Alternately, an unfair advantage can come from a unique relationship with a strategic alliance partner, as when Flextronics pulled Handspring out of a life-threatening crisis. The Power of Unfair Advantage is an essential handbook for every manager who is responsible for introducing a new product or service and every entrepreneur and would-be who plans to start a company. Unfair advantage is here to stay -- learn how to lasso its power, rise above the competition, and build a flourishing, long-lasting business.
In this first comprehensive departure from the time-and-motion dictums of Frederick Taylor's Shop Management that have influenced management practices for most of this century, Kiyoshi Suzaki offers a framework for successfully conducting business at its most crucial point-the shop floor. Drawing on the principles of holistic management, where organizational boundaries are smashed and co-destiny is created, Suzaki demonstrates how modern shop floor management techniques -- focusing maximum energy on the front line -- can lead to dramatic improvements in productivity and valueadded-to-services.The role of management today, Suzaki argues, is to eliminate its own responsibilities by thinking of the organization from the genba, or shop floor, point of view. In this challenge, Suzaki claims, organizations need to collect the wisdom of people by practicing "Glass Wall Management," where organizations become transparent, enabling employees to contribute maximum creativity as opposed to blocking their potential with what he calls "Brick Wall Management." Further, to empower individuals to selfmanage their work and satisfy their customers, Suzaki asserts that they all should learn to manage their own "mini-company," where everybody is considered president of his or her area of responsibility.Front-line supervisors, Suzaki shows, must develop a mission and goals and share them both up and downstream. He cites examples of the "shop floor point of view" -- McDonald's Corporation's legal staff learning how to sell hamburgers and fix milkshake machines; Honda's human resource staff training on the assembly line -- that narrow the gap between top management and the shop floor. By upgrading people's skills, focusing on empowerment, and streamlining processes, Suzaki illustrates that an organization will realize concrete improvements in quality, cost, delivery, safety, morale, and ultimately, its competitive position.
The vastly increased level of competitive intensity faced by corporations and the increased costs of selling have radically changed the nature of the traditional selling process. Key or "strategic" accounts have now become a company's most important asset, in some cases supplying in excess of 80 percent of a firm's revenues. Here, in one powerful volume, key account management expert Noel Capon provides the most comprehensive treatment of key account management and planning yet published. For the first time, Capon introduces his breakthrough four-part "congruence model" of key account management -- a new, thoroughly researched approach to optimally managing your key account portfolio. First, the author shows how to select and conceptualize the key account portfolio; second, how to organize and manage key accounts; third, how to recruit, select, train, retain, and reward key account managers; and fourth, how to formulate and execute strategy and issues of coordination and control. This congruence model serves as a backdrop as Capon takes the reader step-by-step through the vital functions of key account management including identifying key account criteria, considering the threats and opportunities for the key account, and understanding the roles and responsibilities of critical players. Capon backs up his points with extensive research, real-life stories of successes and failures at a variety of companies, and clarifying figures. Special chapters are devoted to partnering with key accounts and in-depth information on global key account management, an increasingly important weapon for staying ahead of the competition.Timely, important, and essential, Key Account Management and Planning is the only reference handbook those with key account responsibilities will ever need.
Dear Reader,I married the wrong man. I had every intention of doing the thing right. Of saying my vows and walking out on the arm of Bertie Milburn. Nice, safe, easygoing Bertie. And that is precisely what I thought I had done.But as it turned out, I'd been tricked! Tricked into marrying Bertie's twin brother Harry, the Earl of Cambourne and (as my mother would insist on reminding me at every opportunity) future Duke of Winfell! And the shocking way in which I found out -- on my wedding night, no less...well, it doesn't bear repeating here!And the truth is that Harry, who is my husband, but should not be, makes my hands shake and my heart pound in a way that Bertie never has and never will. Vexing, dangerously charming Harry, who won't tell me why he had to marry me, why he insists on masquerading about town as his brother, or most bothersome still, why he won't stop that annoying (and rather excitingly successful) habit of trying to seduce me!What is a young lady to do? Gwen
As his memoir, The Line of Fire, makes clear, quick change has been a constant in Admiral William J. Crowe's career - a fast flight up the chain of command that began just after World War II at the height of the Cold War, reaching its apex with the thaw and the beginning of a new era in foreign relations.As never before, Crowe's memoir explains the world of political maneuvering that lies behind military decision-making.
Millions of American families have turned to The Book of Virtues and The Moral Compass by William J. Bennett for moral guidance in troubled times. Our Sacred Honor offers inspiration and instruction as well—this time of a particularly American sort.We live in a time when the practice of representative government in the United States of America is under siege from both the left and the right. Scandals abound. We are first shocked, then wearied, to learn that our national leaders have feet of clay. We live in a time, in short, which demands that we return to our origins to discover the common principles that make us essentially American. Our Sacred Honor reveals those common principles. They are articulated by the flawed but deeply admirable men and women who first wrote what it is to be American. The pledge made by the Founders to one another that hot July day in 1776—the pledge of "our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor"—has been redeemed many times in the centuries since, but the nation they founded has never failed to profit from their example. It is time to profit from their advice. In Our Sacred Honor, William J. Bennett has collected the best that has been thought and said by and about the men and women who founded America. And what a group they are: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John and Abigail Adams, and so many more that otherwise first-rate intellects such as John Dickinson, Benjamin Rush, and George Mason are relegated to the status of footnotes in the popular imagination. Not since Periclean Athens has such a small nation been led by so many larger-than-life figures. The only characteristic they shared more widely than revolutionary ardor was their talent (and inclination) for advice. The stories, songs, letters, and speeches collected in Our Sacred Honor are an inspiring celebration of American exceptionalism, produced by a collection of exceptional Americans. It is the best book of advice in more than two hundred years.
The United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire stand on the brink of war. Captain James T. Kirk and the Starship Enterprise(TM) are sent back to System 7348 -- site of a previous skirmish with the Klingons -- for a confrontation with the I.K.S. D'k Tahg under the command of Captain Koloth. Even as the two great ships face each other, trouble is brewing among their crews. On the Enterprise, Lieutenant Leslie Parrish is pregnant with a half-Klingon child and must face a critical decision about her future, while Section Chief Michael Fuller still carries the wounds of the twenty-five-year-old Battle of Donatu V, of which he was one of the few survivors -- not to mention his grief over the death of his son, recently killed in battle against the Klingons. On the D'k Tahg, First Officer Karel finds himself trapped between the scheming, dishonorable Councillor Duras and his commanding officer, Koloth. While the stakes only seem to be the possession of a single star system, the ramifications may spread throughout the Klingon Empire, as they find themselves at a crossroads between conquest and honor!
ERRAND OF FURYFollowing the harrowing events of the Errand of Vengeance trilogy, tensions between the Federation and the Klingon Empire are the highest they've been since the Battle of Donatu V twenty-five years earlier. Even as Federation Ambassador Robert Fox engages in tense negotiations with the Klingon ambassador to maintain the peace, Captain James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise(TM) sees his vessel refit from a ship of exploration into a ship of war. The coming conflict will take its toll on many personal lives as well...Leslie Parrish: The security supervisor is stunned to learn that she is pregnant by her recently killed lover, Jon Anderson -- and that Anderson was, in fact, a Klingon spy, surgically altered to pass as human.Karel: Brother of the Klingon agent posing as Anderson, and responsible for his death, Captain Koloth's new first officer faces a crisis of faith as he sees the Klingon Empire falling into dishonorable ruin.Michael Fuller: Father of Enterprise security supervisor Sam Fuller, who was killed in a battle with the Klingons, his son's death reminds him of Donatu V, of which he was one of the few survivors. Has Fuller reenlisted in Starfleet and joined the Enterprise security team out of loyalty -- or vengeance?The first in an all-new series!SEEDS OF RAGE
A Star Trek: Original Series adventure!Before James T. Kirk, another captain stood on the bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise, spearheading its mission of exploration into the uncharted reaches of the galaxy. He was a man driven to perfection, a brooding soul whose haunted eyes reflected the burden of the impossible standards he set for himself, and for whom his longtime science officer, Spock, one day would risk everything. Yet, little is truly known about the enigmatic Christopher Pike, the events that defined him...or the secrets that consumed him. From the embers of his early childhood among Earth's blossoming interstellar colonies, to the terrifying conflagration that led him back to the world of his birth; from the mentor who would ignite young Chris's desire to return to the stars, to the career he blazed in Starfleet that would end in supreme sacrifice—the path of Pike's astonishing life leads through fire again and again. But even amid the ashes of Talos IV, the forbidden world on which he would live out the remainder of his days, the dreams smoldering still within his aging, radiation-ravaged breast fan the flames of Pike's spirit to accomplish one final task...
The college town of Windale, Massachusetts is proud of its colonial heritage -- including the legend of a dark witches' coven dating back three hundred years. No one in Windale actually believes in witches, or imagines that the blood-chilling history of the Salem era could repeat itself. But three people, unknown to one another, are experiencing vivid nightmares of palpable horror. They alone can sense that a dreadful presence is working its way into their waking lives -- and is coming for them.On a crisp autumn night deep in the New England woods, a young woman's harmless channeling ritual unwittingly opens the floodgates to terrifying forces that have, until then, lived only in dreams: a breed of demonic creatures with the power to shatter an unsuspecting town.
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Reckoning comes a thrilling novel about the dangers of obsessive love and a battle for ghostly revenge as Hugh Glass finds himself amidst disaster on the sunlit walls of Yosemite. Hugh Glass once found glory on El Cap—the same place he would meet the woman he would marry and lose. Now, thirty-five years later, half a mile up the walls of Yosemite, a rope breaks and sends a young woman plummeting to her death, catching Hugh Glass in the rescue mission from hell on her way down. Plagued by fire, ice, and old demons, Hugh finds himself drawn into a dead vertical race against time. Reaching the wreckage of disaster among a team of women high above, the rescuers become the victims. Caught between the golden summit and terminal velocity, they cannot retreat, but their survival is not guaranteed as they face the harrowing mystery of the wall. "An atmospheric, aggressive thriller… A hurtling, gripping read." — Publishers Weekly
An ancient vampire, beautiful beyond words.A young man drawn to her by a power beyond his understanding.A father searching for his lost son.New York Times bestselling author Whitley Strieber continues the legacy he began with The Hunger and The Last Vampire in an extraordinary new novel of everlasting life, undying love, and Lilith -- first wife to Adam in the Garden of Eden, and matriarch of the vampire race....
Defense lawyer Marty Nickerson struggles with her ethics throughout two cases, one involving a US senator suspected in the disappearance of a female staffer and a second client who is on trial for the murder of a priest in this courtroom thriller by the award-winning author of Maximum Security. What does a lawyer do when she discovers her client may be a liar, or worse? Charles Kendrick, the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, has been named a person of interest in connection with the disappearance of his twenty-five-year-old spokesperson, Michelle Forrester. Represented by Attorney Marty Nickerson, Kendrick incriminates himself as Nickerson soon finds that parts of his story don't check out. Meanwhile, Marty and her law partner-turned-lover, Harry Madigan, work together to Derrick Holliston, an ex-con accused of murdering a local priest on Christmas Eve. Derrick admits to the killing, but claims it was done in self-defense… One the day Derrick's trial begins, Michelle Forrester's body is found, leaving Marty and Harry with two mounting legal battles and two clients whose stories don't make sense. Together they must confront the law in all its maddening complexity, battling for—or maybe against—their own cagey clients in order to see that justice is undoubtedly served. "Excellent, fast-moving courtroom drama headed by a plucky, energetic heroine." -Publishers Weekly
ONE MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE. ONE MYSTICAL CLUE. When Caitlin O'Shaughnessy's stepfather -- world-renowned Medieval English professor Magnus Armstrong -- is abducted in Scotland, she jets across the Atlantic to help find him. Her only clue: a teardrop-shaped charm on a broken chain left behind in the struggle. The authorities in Edinburgh are useless but Caitlin soon finds a partner in her desperate search -- sexy playboy Dominic Fortune, who's funding genetics research at the university. Traveling to the Mediterranean island of Calix, where the charm originated, they share a journey full of danger, passion, and magical surprises. But Dominic carries with him more than a few secrets -- about his identity, about the dynasty that has ruled Calix for more than 2,000 years, and about the charm's link to the quest for eternal life. Racing against time and surrounded by people she's not sure she can trust, Caitlin must use all her wits and an ancient magic to save her stepfather and herself and to uncover the many mysteries of the man by her side.
Back to defend the ex-lover of Harry Madigan, attorney Marty Nickerson must juggle her own undeniable intrigue of her law partner and lover's past and her gut feeling that this murder was driven by something far more personal than anyone suspects in this crime novel by award-winning author Rose Connor.At the request of her law partner and lover, Marty Nickerson has taken on the case of Louisa Rawlings, the ex-lover of Harry, who happens to be Marty's law partner and current lover. While defending Louisa against the charge of first-degree murder in the bludgeoning death of her wealthy husband, Marty finds herself both intrigued and disturbed by Harry's ex-girlfriend, as the girls of his past and his present have nothing in common. As Marty builds her client's defense, she encounters Louisa's handsome ex-husband, her surly stepdaughter, and the girl's deadbeat boyfriend. But as evidence against Louisa mounts and Marty is unable to count on her male associates who are dangerously bewitched by Louisa, she finds she must rely on her own well-honed legal instincts and passion for justice to make sure a brutal killer doesn't go free. "An enjoyable legal thriller… a nicely detailed Cape Cod setting, appealing and realistically rendered characters, and an engaging romantic relationship." - Booklist
New York Times bestselling author Patrick A. Davis returns with an electrifying novel of murder, the military, and one man's search of the truth.Air Force investigator Martin Collins is used to bucking the system in the name of justice. But when he is called on to investigate the torture-style slaying of Major Franklin Talbot, Collins is embroiled in the most controversial case of his career. Evidence suggests that the deadly act was a hate crime -- and that Talbot was hiding a shocking secret that may have sealed his fate. Even more shocking are the suspects: all high-ranking officers -- including Talbot's own uncle, a leading presidential candidate.Traversing a politically charged minefield of buried secrets, Martin is targeted by powerful forces that cannot afford to let him identify Talbot's killer. And when he finally uncovers the devastating truth, Martin will be forced to make a fateful decision between catching a sadistic murderer -- and destroying the lives of countless innocent men.
Connie Brockway draws readers into the breathtaking love story of a dashing Scotsman who is duty bound to protect the one woman who incites in him a wild passion. How exactly can he save her from himself?By day, celebrated beauty Helena Nash works as a proper companion to one of London's most disagreeable ladies. By night she acts as an illicit messenger between two separated lovers. Masked and disguised, she falls into the path of a shadowy stalker. Fearing for her safety but unwilling to halt her nocturnal forays, Helena seeks out Ramsey Munro—one of three men who pledged years earlier to serve her family in times of need. Handsome and elusive, the notorious Scotsman is London's most accomplished swordsman and represents everything Helena wants but can't have—freedom, adventure, and passion. Now she demands that he teach her his formidable skills, a commission that may prove cool, collected Helena's undoing. For Ramsey has seen through her disguise...and soon vows to teach her both the way of the sword and the deliciously wicked pleasures of the flesh.
Following one of the world's experts on birdsong from the woods of Martha's Vineyard to the tropical forests of Central America, Don Stap brings to life the quest to unravel an ancient mystery: Why do birds sing and what do their songs mean? We quickly discover that one question leads to another. Why does the chestnut-sided warbler sing one song before dawn and another after sunrise? Why does the brown thrasher have a repertoire of two thousand songs when the chipping sparrow has only one? And how is the hermit thrush able to sing a duet with itself, producing two sounds simultaneously to create its beautiful, flutelike melody?Stap's lucid prose distills the complexities of the study of birdsong and unveils a remarkable discovery that sheds light on the mystery of mysteries: why young birds in the suborder oscines -- the "true songbirds" -- learn their songs but the closely related suboscines are born with their songs genetically encoded. As the story unfolds, Stap contemplates our enduring fascination with birdsong, from ancient pictographs and early Greek soothsayers, who knew that bird calls represented the voices of the gods, to the story of Mozart's pet starling.In a modern, noisy world, it is increasingly difficult to hear those voices of the gods. Exploring birdsong takes us to that rare place -- in danger of disappearing forever -- where one hears only the planet's oldest music.
Compassionate conservatism is a new political force in the land, sweeping the grassroots of people of all faiths, races, and ethnicities. In its parts it offers solutions to many of our most intractable problems; in its whole it is nothing less than an innovative philosophy of government. No author is more qualified to explain its power and promise than Marvin Olasky, described by The New York Times as "the godfather of compassionate conservatism."Compassionate conservatism offers a new paradigm for how the government can and should intervene in the economy. It begins with a long-lost premise about human behavior: economics, by itself, is not what changes lives. Only faith, and deeply held beliefs, can do that. For decades government has focused only on material well-being, ignoring the passions and convictions that make life worth living. What is conservative about the new movement is that its leaders also know that government cannot instill these beliefs. What it can do is help them flourish. It can give aid, inspiration, and direction to America's natural "armies of compassion" that have been a hallmark of our history since the founding.Compassionate conservatism offers a way to transcend the root problems that currently oppress too many deserving Americans. It offers a unique vision of the triangular relationship between the state, our many churches, and our tens of thousands of charities. It is a true reinvention of welfare, a wholesale revolution in the welfare state, and a redefinition of the social safety net. In Compassionate Conservatism Marvin Olasky takes us on a road trip with his son, Daniel, across the country, showing exactly how the new movement is unfolding. Along the way, he offers a set of principles, and a brief tour through history to show that these are not so much radically new ideas as rediscoveries of long-lost wisdom. Read this book for a blueprint of the future of politics and welfare in America.
Even today with quality improvement the battle cry of American industry, the quality programs in most companies are limited to "conformance to technical standards," according to quality expert Bradley Gale. While some have ventured a step farther to measure customer satisfaction, few of them, Gale demonstrates, have attempted to track market-perceived "quality" -- how buyers select among competing suppliers, why orders are won or lost, and which competitors are succeeding in which market segments.Using cases including Milliken & Company; AT&T, United Van Lines, and Gillette, Gale shows how leading-edge companies have gone beyond the minimal achievements of conformance quality and customer satisfaction to focus on the third, higher stage, "market-perceived quality versus competitors" and aspire to an emerging fourth stage, "true strategic management." Drawing on his extensive research at AT&T, Johnson & Johnson, Parke-Davis, and other world-class companies, Gale provides new metrics for market-perceived quality that are straightforward and easy to interpret. His set of seven integrative tools for customer value analysis makes up the heart of the "war room wall" to help guide business-unit teams in their effort to outperform competitors in satisfying customers. The great value of these tools is that they are derived from a future-oriented strategic navigation system that tracks competitive information and market-perceived quality. Learning to master this system accelerates customer satisfaction from a slogan to a science and leads ultimately to true strategic management -- the fourth stage of Total Quality Management.The processes described in this book provide an insider's perspective on the criteria of the Baldrige Award. Bradley Gale's insights and innovative methods for defining, measuring, and improving market-perceived quality will create an entirely new thrust for the worldwide quality movement.
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