Today's (2/8/2010) New Book Releases on Business & Investing

The Coaching Relationship discusses how we can integrate process perspectives such as the quality of the coach-coachee relationship, and professional perspectives including the influences of training and supervision, for more effective outcomes.

Stephen Palmer and Almuth McDowall bring together experts from the field of coaching to discuss different aspects of the coach-coachee relationship, topics covered include:

• the interpersonal perspective
• the role of assessment
• ethical issues
• cultural influences
• issues of power.

The book also includes a chapter on the interpersonal relationship in the training and supervision of coaches to provide a complete overview of how the coaching relationship can contribute to successful coaching

Illustrated throughout with case studies and client dialogue, The Coaching Relationship is essential reading for practicing coaches and coaching psychologists wishing to learn more about the interpersonal aspects of coaching.

In order to provide a guide to what the twenty-first-century economy might look like, this book revisits the great project of Global Capitalism. What did it actually entail? How far did it go? What were its strengths and failings? By deconstructing its core ideas and examining its empirical record, can we gain clues about how to move forward after the crisis? Miguel Centeno and Joseph Cohen define capitalism as a historically-evolving and socially-constructed institution, rooted in three core economic activities trade, finance and marketing and identify the three key challenges that any new economic system will need to surmount inequality, governance, and environmental sustainability.

This accessible and engaging book will be essential reading for students of economic sociology, and all those interested in the construction of our economic future.

Praise for Accounting Best Practices SiXth Edition

"For a comprehensive, yet easy-to-read guide to fixing those all-too-common shortcomings in your accounting department, look no further than this excellent book. Steve Bragg provides hundreds of fixes, many of them requiring surprisingly little time or cost while providing a handy guide to common implementation pitfalls . . . I would recommend this invaluable book to anyone who is looking to enhance their existing processes, whether due to growth in their business, compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley, or just as part of their ongoing improvement process."
—Martyn Webster, CPA, Director of FinanceXenoPort, Inc.

"This book is critical to running an efficient and accurate accounting department. The use of RFID technology to track documents is one of many valuable tools in this latest edition. A required read for the demanding accounting manager's role."
—Jason Charet, CPA

"I've used Steve Bragg's Accounting Best Practices books for years as a source of ideas for improvement. Like the previous editions, the Fifth Edition has a number of new, actionable best practices as well as refinements of those ideas reported in previous editions. The books are broad enough in their perspective so that nearly any organization could find ideas that could pay back the cost of the book many times over."
—John Temmerman, Controller, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

"What a great resource! I have been in the accounting field for over twenty years, and I was still able to gain insight into improving processes within my office. Thanks for putting it all in one book!"
—Tina M. Thomas, CPA, CTP, Controller, Goodman & Company, LLP

A one-of-a-kind resource walking you through one complete fraud investigation, from the original tip to conviction in court

Anatomy of a Fraud Investigation is an engrossing read and a valuable resource for fraud investigators, auditors, or anyone who suspects fraud may be occuring in their organizations and is unsure as to how to act. It details all phases of a fraud investigation from the first suspicion of fraud to the final judgment in court, through the eyes of a forensic accountant.

In each phase, the author provides insights based on his twenty-two years as a forensic accountant from where to sit at the table when you bring the suspected fraudster in for questioning, to how you protect the key sources of information that the suspect will try to destroy once he or she realizes they are under investigation.

• In-depth analysis of a fraud investigation
• Based on an actual investigation conducted by the author
• Each chapter contains valuable tips and key considerations, providing subtext for why decisions were made and bringing to light potential risks

A fascinating, insider look at a fraud investigation, Anatomy of a Fraud Investigation helps you better understand fraud detection, investigation, and prevention-from the inside out.

The Art of Credit Derivatives shows practitioners how to put a framework in place which will support the securitization activity.  By showing the models that support this activity and linking them with very practical examples, the authors show why a mind-shift within the quant community is needed - a move from simple modeling to a more hands on mindset where the modeler understands the trading implicitly.

The book has been written in five parts, covering the modeling framework; single name corporate credit derivatives; multi name corporate credit derivatives; asset backed securities and dynamic credit portfolio management.

Coverage includes:

• groundbreaking solutions to the inherent risks associated with investing in securitization instruments
• how to use the standardized credit indices as the most appropriate instruments in price discovery processes and why these indices are the essential tools for short term credit portfolio management
• why the dynamics of systemic correlation and the standardised credit indices are linked with leverage, and consequently the implications for liquidity and solvability of financial institutions
• how Lévy processes and long term memory processes are related to the understanding of economic activity
• why regulatory capital should be portfolio dependant and how to use stress tests and scenario analysis to model this
• how to put structured products in a mark-to market-environment, increasing transparency for accounting and compliance.

   

  This book will be invaluable reading for Credit Analysts, Quantitative Analysts, Credit Portfolio Managers, Academics and anyone interested in these complex yet important markets.

   

Praise for IT Best Practices

"The work of the financial manager revolves around a company's financial systems. Ms. Roehl-Anderson's latest offering addresses the two key aspects of these systems—how to buy and install them. The book covers every conceivable aspect of these systems, including ERP, software as a service, shared services, and supporting controls. As a bonus, the book contains substantial coverage of information technology considerations in an acquisition. This is a definitive desk reference." —Steve Bragg, CFO, XeDAR Corporation, and author of Accounting Best Practices

"Sage advice from one of the most adept project managers in the industry! Jan and team have delivered a practical, yet comprehensive guidebook for software selection, implementation, rollout, and ongoing updates. This guidebook will become a valuable reference for every financial manager and IT project manager undertaking ERP implementation."—Valerie Borthwick, former senior vice president, Oracle Consulting

"Written by one of the best in the IT business, this book is a must-read for all CFOs and controllers. In one volume, it addresses everything a financial executive needs to know about IT and its impact on the financial function, while also featuring practical guidelines, current hot topics, and IT best practices. This book covers it all."—Jo Marie Dancik, Regional Managing Partner (Retired), Ernst & Young

praise for The Lean Six Sigma guide to Doing More with Less

"At Frito Lay, we have applied many of the concepts and tools in this book, and we are realizing a five to seven times return on our annual Lean Six Sigma investment."
—Tony Mattei, Lean Six Sigma Director, Frito Lay

"Ecolab has experienced a sustainable, competitive advantage through Lean Six Sigma. The principles in this book are helping us drive greater value for our share-holders, better service for our customers, and talent development opportunities for our associates."
—Jeffrey E. Burt, Vice President and Global Deployment Leader, Lean Six Sigma, Ecolab

"This book gives excellent insights into Lean Six Sigma and its strong impact within different industries. We used Lean Six Sigma in numerous process improvement projects, which, in turn, helped to create momentum and set up a process improvement culture. Amid a challenging economic environment, we are accelerating this initiative globally."
—Satheesh Mahadevan, Directeur des Processus, Société Générale

"Our Lean Six Sigma deployment of the concepts and tools described in this book is transforming our business—with tangible benefits for our employees, customers, suppliers, and shareholders."
—Jeffrey Herzfeld, Sr. Vice President and General Manager, Teva Pharmaceuticals USA

"We have deployed the holistic Lean Six Sigma strategy described by Mark George across our enterprise. It is providing remarkable returns for Unum."
—Bob Best, Chief Operating Officer, Unum

"The Lean Six Sigma Guide to Doing More with Less presents a comprehensive view of operations transformation, the approaches required for success, leadership's role, and the competitive advantage that results. Transformational changes are enabling us to do more with less, by investing and working smarter."
—Ted Doheny, President and COO, Joy Mining Machinery

An essential guide to corporate finance

Understanding corporate finance is a necessity for financial practitioners who struggle every day to find the right balance between maximizing corporate value and reducing a firm's financial risk.

Divided into two comprehensive parts, Mastering Corporate Finance Essentials presents the material by example, using an extended scenario involving a new business formation. In Part One, present and future value mathematics are introduced followed by a number of applications using the tools. In Part Two, statistics as applied to finance are examined, with detailed discussions of standard deviations, correlations, and how they impact diversification.

• Through theory and real-world examples this book provides a solid grounding in corporate finance
• Other titles by Stuart McCrary include: Mastering Financial Accounting Essentials, How to Create and Manage a Hedge Fund, and Hedge Fund Course
• Covers the essential elements of this field, from traditional capital budgeting concepts and methods of valuing investment projects under uncertainty to the importance of "real-options" in the decision-making process

This reliable resource offers a hands-on approach to corporate finance that will allow you to gain a solid understanding of this discipline.

Your one-stop resource for understanding current International Financial Reporting Standards

With widespread acceptance and use of the IASB standards around the globe, the need to understand the IASB standards greatly increases. Wiley IFRS 2010 provides the necessary tools for understanding the IASB standards and offers practical guidance and expertise on how to use and implement them. The Wiley IFRS 2010 Book and CD-ROM set covers the most recent International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and IFRIC interpretations. In addition, it is an indispensable guide to IFRS compliance.

• Detailed coverage of all previously issued IAS and IFRS standards and Standing Interpretations Committee (SIC) and International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC)
• Equally valuable for preparers, auditors, and users of financial reports
• Provides a complete explanation of all IFRS requirements, coupled with copious illustrations of how to apply the rules in complex, real-world fact situations
• Serves as a reference guide during actual implementation of IFRS and preparation of IFRS-based financial statements

To optimize your understanding, both examples created to explain particular IFRS requirements and selections from actual published financial statements are provided throughout the book, illustrating all key concepts.

• Economic Policy has earned a reputation around the world as the one publication that always identifies current and emerging policy topics early
• Papers are specially commissioned from first-class economists and experts in the policy field
• The editors are all based at top European economic institutions and each paper is discussed by a panel of distinguished economists
• This unique approach guarantees incisive debate and alternative interpretations of the evidence

• A variety of theoretical and methodological perspectives shed light on the recent transformations in relations among market, state, and society in Latin American countries
• Results are based on thorough empirical research
• Challenges simplistic arguments concerning state decline and describes the more complex nature of the situation

A critical guide to corporate valuation modeling

Valuation is at the heart of everything that Wall Street does. Every day, millions of transactions to purchase or sell companies take place based on prices created by the activities of all market participants. In this book, author Keith Allman provides you with a core model to value companies.

Corporate Valuation Modeling takes you step-by-step through the process of creating a powerful corporate valuation model. Each chapter skillfully discusses the theory of the concept, followed by Model Builder instructions that inform you of every step necessary to create the template model. Many chapters also include a validation section that shows techniques and implementations that you can employ to make sure the model is working properly.

• Walks you through the full process of constructing a fully dynamic corporate valuation model
• A Tool Box section at the end of each chapter assists readers who may be less skilled in Excel techniques and functions

Complete with a companion CD-ROM that contains constructed models, this book is an essential guide to understanding the intricacies of corporate valuation modeling

This book explains the emergence of counterparty risk during the recent credit crisis. The quantification of firm-wide credit exposure for trading desks and businesses is discussed alongside risk mitigation methods such as netting and collateral management (margining). Banks and other financial institutions have been recently developing their capabilities for pricing counterparty risk and these elements are considered in detail via a characterisation of credit value adjustment (CVA). The implications of an institution valuing their own default via debt value adjustment (DVA) are also considered at length. Hedging aspects, together with the associated instruments such as credit defaults swaps (CDSs) and contingent CDS (CCDS) are described in full.

A key feature of the credit crisis has been the realisation of wrong-way risks illustrated by the failure of monoline insurance companies. Wrong-way counterparty risks are addressed in detail in relation to interest rate, foreign exchange, commodity and, in particular, credit derivative products. Portfolio counterparty risk is covered, together with the regulatory aspects as defined by the Basel II capital requirements. The management of counterparty risk within an institution is also discussed in detail. Finally, the design and benefits of central clearing, a recent development to attempt to control the rapid growth of counterparty risk, is considered.

This book is unique in being practically focused but also covering the more technical aspects. It is an invaluable complete reference guide for any market practitioner with any responsibility or interest within the area of counterparty credit risk.

This book is a practical guide to the complexities of exotic products written in simple terms based on the premise that derivatives are not homogenous, and not necessarily dangerous.

By exploring common themes behind the construction of various structured products in interest rates, equities and foreign exchange, and investigating the economic environment that promoted the explosive growth of these products, this book will help readers make sense of their relevance in this period of economic uncertainty. Subsequently, by explaining exotic products with simple mathematics, it will aid readers in understanding their potential use in certain investment strategies whilst having a firm control over risk.

Exotic products need not be inaccessible. By understanding the products available investors can make informed decisions ensuring features are consistent with their investment objectives and risk preferences. Author Chia Chiang Tan takes readers through the risks and rewards of each product, illustrating when products can damage investment strategies and how to avoid them, leading to suitable, profitable investments.

Ultimately, this book will provide practitioners with an understanding of derivatives, enabling them to determine for themselves which products will fit their investment strategy, and how to use them based on the economic environment and inherent risks.

This book is a unique guide to running an FX Options book from the market maker perspective. Striking a balance between mathematical rigour and market practice and written by experienced practitioner Antonio Castagna, the book shows readers how to correctly build an entire volatility surface from the market prices of the main structures.

Starting with the basic conventions related to the main FX deals and the basic traded structures of FX Options, the book gradually introduces the main tools to cope with the FX volatility risk. It then goes on to review the main concepts of option pricing theory and their application within a Black-Scholes economy and a stochastic volatility environment. The book also introduces models that can be implemented to price and manage FX options before examining the effects of volatility on the profits and losses arising from the hedging activity.

Coverage includes:

• how the Black-Scholes model is used in professional trading activity
• the most suitable stochastic volatility models
• sources of profit and loss from the Delta and volatility hedging activity
• fundamental concepts of smile hedging
• major market approaches and variations of the Vanna-Volga method
• volatility-related Greeks in the Black-Scholes model
• pricing of plain vanilla options, digital options, barrier options and the less well known exotic options
• tools for monitoring the main risks of an FX options’ book

  The book is accompanied by a CD Rom featuring models in VBA, demonstrating many of the approaches described in the book.

Praise for Data-Driven Marketing

"To paraphrase the old adage: 'Half of marketing dollars are effective, we just don't know which half!' This book changes the marketing game so you'll really know what's working and what's not. The 15 metrics, along with the case examples, are an authoritative toolkit for making better decisions to create new markets, drive revenue, increase customer satisfaction, and improve profitability."
—John M. Boushy, former CEO, Ameristar Casinos, Inc.

"A groundbreaking combination of research, frameworks, and pragmatic advice for both controlling and radically improving marketing. A must-read for the entire marketing organization, from the CMO to the front lines."
—Barry Judge, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Best Buy

"Business-to-consumer marketing and business-to-business marketing are very different. Through detailed examples, this outstanding book shows how to apply data-driven marketing in both worlds for real results. This book is for anyone in business, not just marketing, who wants to step up the performance of their marketing."
—David G. Bills, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing and Sales Officer, DuPont

"Every year, baseball teams go to places like Florida and Arizona to run through the basics which are the cornerstone of performance excellence. This book is the marketing equivalent of taking all those ground balls. An essential read for every marketer who cares about—and wants to improve upon—the science of their craft."
—Derek Ungless, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, DSW Shoe Warehouse

A comprehensive look at the equity valuation process

With the Second Edition of Equity Asset Valuation, the distinguished team of Jerald Pinto, Elaine Henry, Thomas Robinson, and John Stowe, fully update information associated with this important discipline. Blending theory with practice, they detail the contemporary techniques used to determine the intrinsic value of an equity security, and show you how to successfully apply these techniques in both foreign and domestic markets.

Unlike alternative works in this field, the Second Edition of Equity Asset Valuation clearly integrates finance and accounting concepts into the discussion-providing the evenness of subject matter treatment, consistency of notation, and continuity of topic coverage that is so critical to the learning process.

• Addresses essential issues in this arena, including the equity valuation process, discounted dividend valuation, free cash flow valuation, and residual income valuation
• Each author brings his own unique experiences and perspectives to the equity analysis process
• Distills the knowledge, skills, and abilities you need to succeed in today's fast-paced financial environment
• Companion Workbook also available

Valuable for classroom study, self-study, and general reference, this book contains clear, example-driven coverage of many of today's most important valuation issues.

A companion workbook for the Second Edition of Equity Asset Valuation

In the Second Edition of Equity Asset Valuation, experts Jerald Pinto, Elaine Henry, Thomas Robinson, and John Stowe, fully detail the contemporary techniques used to determine the intrinsic value of an equity security, and show you how to successfully apply these techniques in both foreign and domestic markets.

In the Second Edition of the Equity Asset Valuation Workbook, they offer you a wealth of practical information and exercises that will further enhance your understanding of this discipline. This detailed study guide-which parallels the Second Edition of Equity Asset Valuation chapter by chapter-contains concise summary overviews of the chapters, challenging problems, and a complete set of solutions.

• An all-inclusive study companion to the Second Edition of Equity Asset Valuation
• Topics covered include the equity valuation process, discounted dividend valuation, free cash flow valuation, and residual income valuation
• Challenges readers with question/answer sections for each chapter in the main book

Engaging and accessible, the Second Edition of the Equity Asset Valuation Workbook reviews essential concepts you must be familiar with in order to excel at this endeavor.

A fresh approach to succeeding with innovation, grounded in insights about rapidly changing customers, competitors and technologies

Written by a director at the award-winning global innovation firm frog design, this vital book shows business leaders and managers how to accomplish truly effective innovation in today's disruptive climate. Richardson shows how business is filled with "X-problems"- tough new challenges that present massive innovation opportunities, but also risks. Thriving in a world of X-problems requires harnessing four specific approaches: Immersion, Convergence, Divergence, and Adaption. Combining frog design's approaches with insightful analysis of companies such as Apple, BMW, Clif Bar, Google, Maxtor, and Salesforce.com, Richardson illustrates how to envision and realize successful new business ventures, products, and services.

• Provides a process for translating customer insights into relevant innovations, accompanied by case studies (many of them richly described from frog's own experiences)
• For the first time, gives real guidance on connecting products, software and services into ecosystems that are actually compelling to customers
• Shows how to facilitate bringing multiple perspectives to understanding a problem domain, as well as how to manage an innovation portfolio over time

Innovation X is an essential guide for companies seeking to create growth and differentiation in increasingly competitive markets.

An in-depth look at how to create and use key performance indicators (KPIs), from the King of KPIs – now updated and expanded!

• The four foundation stones that lead the development and use of KPIs
• A 12-step model for developing and using KPIs with guidelines
• A KPI resource kit including worksheets, workshop programs, and questionnaires
• A new and pragmatic approach to finding critical success factors
• Over 300 performance measures
• Implementation variations for small to medium enterprises and not-for-profit organizations
• New implementation short cuts
• How to brainstorm performance measures
• Templates for reporting performance measures
• A resource kit for a consultant who is acting as a coach / facilitator to the in-house project team

Now including a discussion of critical success factors, as well as new chapters that focus on implementations issues and 'how to sections' on finding your CSFs and brainstorming the performance measures that report progress within the CSFs, Key Performance Indicators, Second Edition will help you identify and track your organization's KPIs to ensure continued and increased success.

Everyone needs to invest, but where do you invest during bear markets?

The massive stock declines over the past year have eroded savings, but this doesn't mean you should stuff your money under a mattress. It needs to be put to work getting some return so that it will grow.

Smart investors will turn to high dividend paying stocks to get a stable and growing stream of income. Dividend investing-that provides an income beyond any gain in the share price-may be the investor's best weapon. Dividends are safe, largely reliable, and maybe at the their cheapest levels in many years. While the best paying dividend stocks of recent years, such as financials, took a huge beating in 2008, opportunities will abound in 2010 and beyond-if you know where to look.

In The Little Book of Big Dividends, dividend stock expert Chuck Carlson presents an action plan for dividend-hungry investors. You'll learn about the pitfalls, how to find the opportunities, and will learn how to construct a portfolio that generates big, safe dividends easily through the BSD (Big, Safe Dividends) formula. If you're a bit adventurous, Carlson has you covered, and will teach you how to find big, safe dividends in foreign stocks, preferred stocks, ETFs, real estate investment trusts, and more.

• Contains the simple tools, strategies, and recommendations for finding big, safe dividends
• Helps you put a complete portfolio together that pays dividends every month
• Show you the top dividend paying stocks with their dividend payment dates

It doesn't get any easier than this, and in these turbulent times, you can't afford to ignore the power of dividends. Read The Little Book of Big Dividends and gain a better perspective of how you can protect yourself for the future.

1. Brand narrative approach - Cases such as Dove, Harley-Davidson, Nike and World of War Craft feature real-life, salient examples which are engaging for students and reflect the growth of co-authored brand ‘stories’ to help build and maintain brands by customer engagement through meaningful dialogues.
   
2. Media neutral/multi-media approach   - This text has a sound exploration of online and offline synergy combining one-message delivery and multi-media exposures, through    examples of companies and political campaigns using ‘non-traditional’ media to reach groups not locking into ‘normal channels’.

   This brand new text features an impressive mixture of real-life brand case studies underpinned with recent academic research and market place dynamics. The format is structured into three sections covering analysis, planning and implementation and control of Marketing Communications. Using full colour examples of brands, and student-friendly diagrams, the book acknowledges that the modern student learns visually as well as through text.

Create powerful strategies for your nonprofit organization to achieve breakthrough performance in mission impact

Does your nonprofit have a reliable way of knowing the impact its making? Beginning with an eye-opening discussion of what strategy is, Mission Impact: A Breakthrough Strategy for Nonprofits reveals how the process of strategy development should be designed with authoritative coverage of mission impact, vision, five year strategic stretch goals, strategy implementation, and management.

• Step-by-step guidance and practical tools
• Integrates the very best current thinking on performance and strategy available, drawing from both the corporate and nonprofit worlds
• Cutting-edge ideas presented in a user-friendly fashion

The deteriorating quality of life in our communities screams out for immediate action – for breakthrough improvement, not just incremental changes. Mission Impact: A Breakthrough Strategy for Nonprofits will lead you and your organization to achieve breakthrough performance for maximum mission impact.

Praise for Never By Chance

"Joe Calloway, Chuck Feltz, and Kris Young have joined forces to write the book that senior management at companies large and small have been waiting for.? Highly readable, loaded with innovative ideas and filled with seminal insights from both a consulting and CEO perspective,?Never by Chance lays out a plan for aligning people and strategy to dramatically improve market share and ROI. If you're going to read one business book this year, this is it!"
—Kevin J. Clancy, PhD, Chairman, Copernicus Marketing Consulting

"Never by Chance is a real-world, pragmatic guide to authentic alignment, vision, and strategy. If you want to create enduring value for your customers that drives shareholder value, then read this book.?A great read that lays out a foundational approach to aligning people, resources, and strategy."
—Kevin Cashman, Senior Partner, Korn/Ferry Leadership & Talent Consulting; bestselling author of Leadership from the Inside Out

"Calloway, Feltz, and Young offer a fresh perspective on what it takes to drive business strategy to its successful conclusion. This is a compelling contribution to the literature on the application of strategy and the importance of those things that really matter. It's a must-read for all those who labor in the vineyards of corporate America and those who aspire to it."
—Benjamin Ola. Akande, PhD, Dean, School of Business and Technology, Webster University

"Everyone ends up somewhere, but few end up somewhere on purpose. Doing things on purpose and for a purpose are critical to business success. Never by Chance makes a compelling case for intentional leadership in bringing all of a company's resources to bear on delivering the stakeholder value your organization exists to provide."
—Steve Tourek, SVP and General Counsel, Marvin Windows and Doors

Drive Strategy With Simplicity–

On A Single Sheet Of Paper!

The One-Page Project Manager set a new standard as an understandable and easy-to-apply organizational tool, allowing managers to summarize complex projects on a single information-rich page. This book, third in the OPPM series, describes how to combine the OPPM with the Toyota A3 report to create an enhanced, integrated management tool. With a refreshingly clear style, the authors walk users through implementing the OPPM/A3 using a variety of real-world case studies, as well as their own experience at O.C. Tanner Company. Rich with tools, templates, and teaching, the emphasis throughout remains on maintaining simplicity across the organization—communicating the right information to the right people at the right time to get the right things done.

Praise for The One-Page Project Manager

"Executives want the answers to two questions: Where are we today? Where will we end up? Do you really believe this cannot be accomplished on a single sheet of paper? The One-Page Project Manager series of books is encouraging you to do just that. Making this part of your Project Management methodology will simplify and improve your project communication, especially for busy executives."
—Harold D. Kerzner, PhD, Senior Executive Director,

International Institute for Learning, Inc.

Clark Campbell fills a void and bridges a communication gap that has long existed between company executives and project or program managers. OPPM successfully links corporate strategy to those in the trenches managing projects."
—Dr. Denis R. Petersen, PMP

President and CEO, Milestone Management Consultants, LLC

"Clark Campbell and Mike Collins present how OPPM works to drive strategy deployment. With OPPM in our lean tool kit, we have tapped into the creativity of our people to pump up

productivity, cut cycle times, reduce inventories, and sustain world-class quality."
—Harold Simons, Executive Vice President, Supply Chain, O.C. Tanner Company

Member of the Shingo Prize Board of Governors

A straightforward guide focused on life cycle investing-namely aging, retirement, and pensions

Life cycle investing and the implications of aging, retirement, and pensions continues to grow in importance. With people living longer, the relative and absolute number of retirees is growing while the number of workers contributing to pension funds is declining.

This reliable resource develops a detailed economic analysis-at the micro (individual) and macro (economy wide) levels-which addresses issues regarding the economics of an aging population. Topics touched upon include retirement and the associated health care funding of the aged as well as social security and the asset classes that are considered asset-liability choices over time.

• The probability of achieving adequate return patterns from various investment strategies and asset classes is reviewed
• Shares rich insights on the aging, retirement, and pensions dilemma
• An assessment of the resources the real economy will be able to commit to non-workers is provided

The three pillars of retirement are social security, company pensions, and private savings. Each of these pillars is confronted with a variety of asset-liability problems, and this book will addresses them.

The IT executive's ultimate handbook for survival in a rapidly changing economy

The Practical CIO: A Common Sense Guide for Successful IT Leadership provides needed advice for modern executives competing in a challenging global environment.

• Proactively establish goals for IT
• Hold all vendors accountable
• Extract maximum value from existing IT investments
• Manage and market the IT brand
• Build relationships up, down and sideways across the enterprise and beyond its traditional boundaries
• Act like a CEO

Brimming with interviews and case studies from leading global enterprises such as Microsoft, Prudential, Citigroup, Chiquita Brands, Smithfield Foods and West Marine. The Practical CIO is designed for clear-eyed IT and C-level executives with no patience for hype or overly optimistic visions of a "better tomorrow." Truly a commonsense guide for successful IT leadership, this book delivers exactly the kind of hard-nosed, actionable advice that executives urgently require.

The work begins with an overview of the structure of the GAMS language, and discusses issues relating to the management of data in GAMS models. The authors provide models for mean-variance portfolio optimization which address the question of trading off the portfolio expected return against its risk. Fixed income portfolio optimization models perform standard calculations and allow the user to bootstrap a yield curve from bond prices. Dedication models allow for standard portfolio dedication with borrowing and re-investment decisions, and are extended to deal with maximisation of horizon return and to incorporate various practical considerations on the portfolio tradeability. Immunization models provide for the factor immunization of portfolios of treasury and corporate bonds.

The scenario-based portfolio optimization problem is addressed with mean absolute deviation models, tracking models, regret models, conditional VaR models, expected utility maximization models and put/call efficient frontier models. The authors employ stochastic programming for dynamic portfolio optimization, developing stochastic dedication models as stochastic extensions of the fixed income models discussed in chapter 4. Two-stage and multi-stage stochastic programs extend the scenario models analysed in Chapter 5 to allow dynamic rebalancing of portfolios as time evolves and new information becomes known. Models for structuring index funds and hedging interest rate risk on international portfolios are also provided.

The final chapter provides a set of ‘case studies’: models for large-scale applications of portfolio optimization, which can be used as the basis for the development of business support systems to suit any special requirements, including models for the management of participating insurance policies and personal asset allocation.

The title will be a valuable guide for quantitative developers and analysts, portfolio and asset managers, investment strategists and advanced students of finance.

A comprehensive look at the private equity arena

With private equity differing from other asset classes, it requires a whole new approach for those trained in more traditional investments such as stocks and bonds. But with the right guidance, you can gain a firm understanding of everything private equity has to offer.

This reliable resource provides a comprehensive view of private equity by describing the current state of research and best practices in this arena. Issues addressed include the structure of private equity funds and fundraising, the financial and real returns of private equity, and the structure of private equity investments with investees, to name a few.

• Discusses the role of private equity in today's financial environment
• Provides international perspectives on private equity
• Details the regulation of private equity markets

Filled with in-depth insights and expert advice, this book will provide you with a better understanding of private equity structures and put you in a better position to measure and analyze their performance.

From senior executives across the globe, insights for

successful project management implementation

The bestselling first edition of Project Management Best Practices: Achieving Global Excellence set the course for project managers navigating the increasingly challenging task of working within global corporations and with distant and diverse work teams. This new edition carries that tradition to the next step, presenting a new set of firsthand accounts of how corporations around the world incorporate project management into their strategic business operations.

In this Second Edition, senior managers of more than fifty global companies—both large (Fortune 500) and small, and in all sectors of the market—share their best practices in project management. These industry leaders offer insight into best practices for:

• Project risk management

• Project management for multinational cultures and cultural failures

• Focusing on value as well as cost and schedule

• Integrated and virtual project teams

With new and updated information on the latest developments in the field, Project Management Best Practices: Achieving Global Excellence, Second Edition offers a must-have window onto the issues—and their real-world solutions—facing corporate managers, project and team managers, engineers, project team members, and business consultants in today's global market.

—Satyajit Das, author of Swaps and Financial Derivatives Library and Traders and Guns & Money: Knowns and Unknowns in the Dazzling World of Derivatives

Fully revised and updated from the first edition, Swaps and Other Derivatives, Second Edition, provides a practical explanation of the pricing and evaluation of swaps and interest rate derivatives.

Based on the author’s extensive experience in derivatives and risk management, working as a financial engineer, consultant and trainer for a wide range of institutions across the world this book discusses in detail how many of the wide range of swaps and other derivatives, such as yield curve, index amortisers, inflation-linked, cross-market, volatility, diff and quanto diffs, are priced and hedged. It also describes the modelling of interest rate curves, and the derivation of implied discount factors from both interest rate swap curves, and cross-currency adjusted curves.

There are detailed sections on the risk management of swap and option portfolios using both traditional approaches and also Value-at-Risk. Techniques are provided for the construction of dynamic and robust hedges, using ideas drawn from mathematical programming.

This second edition has expanded sections on the credit derivatives market – its mechanics, how credit default swaps may be priced and hedged, and how default probabilities may be derived from a market strip. It also prices complex swaps with embedded options, such as range accruals, Bermudan swaptions and target accrual redemption notes, by constructing detailed numerical models such as interest rate trees and Libor-based simulation. There is also increased discussion around the modelling of volatility smiles and surfaces.

The book is accompanied by a CD-ROM where all the models are replicated, enabling readers to implement the models in practice with the minimum of effort.

Praise for Turn Setbacks into Greenbacks

"Willie Jolley has written another incredible self-empowerment guide that willenable you to 'snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.' This powerful, timely survival manual will expand your vision and teach you how to succeed where others are failing. It will help you to develop the mind-set and skill set to convert setbacks into cash."—Les Brown bestselling author, award-winning speaker, and television and radio personality

"This book is full of change and challenge, pride and power,significance and success. Willie Jolley is an emotional power source whoseenergy is just barely contained in this wonderful book. When you open it, you'llfeel the vitality of unrealized choices, and when you close it, you'll feel energizedto change your life for your own benefit and for those around you."—Alan Weiss, PhD author of Million Dollar Consulting and Thrive!

"In this book,?Willie Jolley?hit a home run on the topic ofpersonal and professional success and wealth building! Read it and thenre-read it . . . and then tell everyone you know to get a copy and read it!That way everyone you know will grow their wealth!"—Larry Winget television personality and bestselling author ofYou're Broke Because You Want to Be and Your Kids Are Your Own Fault

"Willie Jolley is committed to developing wealth in people around theworld, and this book is a true example of that commitment!?Read it and you willbe inspired and empowered to grow your success and your wealth!"—Kelvin Boston host of the Moneywise series on PBS, and author of Who's Afraid to Be a Millionaire?

"Willie Jolley?has written a book, Turning Setbacks into Greenbacks,that will empower and inspire you to greater success and achievement!I highly recommend reading this book!"—Wally Amos bestselling author, speaker, positive thinker, and founder, Chip & Cookie

A practical guide to managing wealth in modern times

Wealth Management in the New Economy addresses a wide array of wealth management topics and established financial theories. Author Norbert Mindel has successfully advised his clients for more than three decades in the business. Now, with this new book, he shares the wisdom he has acquired and offers valuable insights into successful wealth management in an economy that has changed dramatically over the past year. Along the way, Mindel explores the essential aspects of this discipline, including the keys to wealth creation, properly managing risk, asset protection, planning for a prosperous retirement, and many other issues that you need to understand in order to survive and flourish in today's economy. While market forces are far too complex to be fully predicted or exploited, it is still possible to protect and grow your-or your client's-wealth. Wealth Management in the New Economy will show you how to achieve this important goal.

• Reveals how you can reduce market risk by using proven theories of portfolio management
• Written by accomplished financial advisor, attorney, and CPA Norbert Mindel
• Lays out strategies wealth managers and investors both can use to protect and grow wealth in the new economy

For practical financial guidance you can count on, look no further than Wealth Management in the New Economy.

The Coaching Relationship discusses how we can integrate process perspectives such as the quality of the coach-coachee relationship, and professional perspectives including the influences of training and supervision, for more effective outcomes.

Stephen Palmer and Almuth McDowall bring together experts from the field of coaching to discuss different aspects of the coach-coachee relationship, topics covered include:

• the interpersonal perspective
• the role of assessment
• ethical issues
• cultural influences
• issues of power.

The book also includes a chapter on the interpersonal relationship in the training and supervision of coaches to provide a complete overview of how the coaching relationship can contribute to successful coaching

Illustrated throughout with case studies and client dialogue, The Coaching Relationship is essential reading for practicing coaches and coaching psychologists wishing to learn more about the interpersonal aspects of coaching.

Reflections for Christians for dealing with money in a consumer-driven world

In this much-needed book Douglas Hicks looks at how Christian faith applies to the practices of economic life-spending, saving, giving especially as an alternative to a life of unbridled consumerism. This book offers reflections for people of faith and anyone who wants to connect their Monday through Saturday lives with their faith and live a more integrated way. It takes a look at how to realistically apply Christian principles in these especially perilous economic times.

• Explores how Christians can rethink their practices of faith as consumers, investors, and earners
• Offers reflections on an important Christian concept in a practical, lively, and engaging style
• Contains ideas for meeting the everyday pressures, questions, and anxieties of economic life as they connect with Christian faith
• A new volume in the Practices of Faith Series

The book is filled with the author's level-headed, thoughtful reflections on Christian practices of getting and spending.