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An Oral History of the Special Olympics in China Volume 2: The Movement (Economy and Social Inclusion)
by William P. Alford Mei Liao Fengming CuiThis open access book contains the oral histories that were inspired by the work of the Special Olympics in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of its founding. The foreword and prefatory materials provide an overview of the Special Olympics and its growth in the People’s Republic of China. The sections that follow record interview transcripts of individuals with intellectual disabilities living in Shanghai. In addition to chronicling the involvement of these individuals and their families in the Special Olympics movement, the interview transcripts also capture their daily lives and how they have navigated school and work.
An Oral History of the Special Olympics in China Volume 3: Finding and Keeping a Job (Economy and Social Inclusion)
by William P. Alford Mei Liao Fengming CuiThis open access book brings together oral histories that record the experiences of individuals with intellectual disabilities in Shanghai as they participate in their careers. Employees with intellectual disabilities describe their experiences seeking, attaining, and maintaining employment. Their managers, colleagues, and family members also provide keen insight into the challenges and opportunities these individuals have encountered in the process of securing employment. An appendix provides a compilation of employment policies related to people with intellectual disabilities, particularly with respect to Shanghai.
An Other Kingdom
by Peter Block Walter Brueggemann John McknightOur seduction into beliefs in competition, scarcity, and acquisition are producing too many casualties. We need to depart a kingdom that creates isolation, polarized debate, an exhausted planet, and violence that comes with the will to empire. The abbreviation of this empire is called a consumer culture. We think the free market ideology that surrounds us is true and inevitable and represents progress. We are called to better adapt, be more agile, more lean, more schooled, more, more, more. Give it up. There is no such thing as customer satisfaction. We need a new narrative, a shift in our thinking and speaking. An Other Kingdom takes us out of a culture of addictive consumption into a place where life is ours to create together. This satisfying way depends upon a neighborly covenant--an agreement that we together, will better raise our children, be healthy, be connected, be safe, and provide a livelihood. The neighborly covenant has a different language than market-hype. It speaks instead in a sacred tongue. Authors Peter Block, Walter Brueggemann, and John McKnight invite you on a journey of departure from our consumer market culture, with its constellations of empire and control. Discover an alternative set of beliefs that have the capacity to evoke a culture where poverty, violence, and shrinking well-being are not inevitable--a culture in which the social order produces enough for all. They ask you to consider this other kingdom. To participate in this modern exodus towards a modern community. To awaken its beginnings are all around us. An Other Kingdom outlines this journey to construct a future outside the systems world of solutions.
An Outline of International Price Theories (Routledge Library International Economics #XI)
by Chi-Yuen WuCovering the period 1550 - 1939, this book examines the history and development of theories of international pricing and trade.The work of the following economists is covered: Locke, Barbon, Vaderlint, Harris, Hume, Smith, Ricardo, Malthus, Bosanquet, Mill, Torrens, Marshall, Haberler, Austin, Stirling, Chevalier, Carines, Jevons, Leslie, Goschen, Bagehot, Wicksell, Sidgwick, Pigou, Viner, Heckscher, Ohlin, Keynes, Taussig, and Pareto.The volume includes an extensive Bibliography of each period discussed as well as comprehensive indices of subjects and names.
An Overview of Project Finance and Infrastructure Finance--2009 Update
by Aldo Sesia Benjamin C. EstyProvides an introduction to the fields of project finance and infrastructure finance, and gives a statistical overview of project-financed investments over the years from 2005 to 2009. Examples of project-financed investments include the $1.4 billion Mozal aluminum smelter in Mozambique, $4 billion Chad-Cameroon pipeline, $6 billion Iridium global satellite telecommunications system, 900 million A2 Toll Road in Poland, $20 billion Sakhalin II gas field in Russia, and the $28 billion Dabhol power project. Globally, firms financed $240 billion of capital expenditures using project finance in 2009, down from $409 billion in 2008 as the financial crisis hit the Western markets. The use of project finance has grown at a compound rate of 0% over the last five years, 4% over the past 10 years, and 12% over the past 15 years. This note focuses primarily on private sector investment in industrial and infrastructure projects, and contains four sections. The first section defines project finance and contrasts it with other well-known financing mechanisms. The second section describes the evolution of project finance from its beginnings in the natural resources industry in the 1970s, to the U.S. power industry in the 1980s, to a much wider range of industry applications and geographic locations in the 1990s, and most recently to infrastructure finance in the 2000s. The third section provides a statistical overview of project-financed investment over the last five years (2005 to 2009), and looks at industry, project, and participant specific data. The third section also provides recent data on infrastructure investments and public-private partnerships. The final section discusses current and likely future trends.
An Overview of Project Finance and Infrastructure Finance-2014 Update
by Aldo Sesia Benjamin C. Esty Carla ChavichProvides an introduction to the fields of project finance and infrastructure finance, and gives a statistical overview of project-financed investments over the years from 2009 to 2013. Examples of project-financed investments include the the Kashagan oil field development in Kazakhstan (1997), the $1 billion Port of Miami Tunnel (2007), the $54 billion Gorgon liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Australia (2009), and the $6 billion Oyu Tolgoi copper mine expansion in Mongolia (2014). Globally, firms financed a record $415 billion of capital expenditures using project finance in 2013, and the use of project financed-investment has grown at a compound rate of 8% over the past 15 years despite several macroeconomic crises.This note focuses primarily on private sector investment in industrial and infrastructure projects and contains four sections. The first section defines project finance and contrasts it with other well-known financing mechanisms. The second section describes the evolution of project finance from its beginnings in the natural resources industry in the 1970s, to the U.S. power industry in the 1980s, to a much wider range of industry applications and geographic locations in the 1990s and 2000s, and most recently to infrastructure finance in the 2010s. The third section provides a statistical overview of project-financed investment over the last five years (2009 to 2013) and looks at industry, project, and participant specific data. The third section also provides recent data on infrastructure investments and public-private partnerships. The final section discusses current and likely future trends.
An Overview of the "Employees First, Customers Second" Approach to Management-How Empowering Your Employees Sets the Stage for Transformative Growth
by Vineet NayarIf yours is a knowledge-based business, you know that your company's assets lie increasingly in the talent and creativity of your employees. Vineet Nayar, CEO of HCL Technologies, a global IT services company, draws on his own experience to show how a company can focus on its value creators-its frontline employees-to achieve remarkable growth and profitability through innovation. In this chapter, he describes how his company turned the conventional wisdom-that the customer always comes first-upside down. By putting employees first, writes Nayar, you can bring about a fundamental change in the way you deliver value to your customers and differentiate your company from its competitors. This is the story of one company's journey to transformation and accelerated growth, but it's one that can be adapted and applied in a thousand different ways-in any company, industry, or culture. This chapter was originally published as the Introduction of "Employees First, Customers Second: Turning Conventional Management Upside Down."
An Ownership Theory of the Trade Union
by Donald L. MartinThis title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1980.
An SPSS Guide for Tourism, Hospitality and Events Researchers
by Dogan Gursoy Rahul Pratap Singh Kaurav Nimit ChowdharyThis is the first book to provide the student of tourism, hospitality and events with all that they need to undertake statistical analysis using SPSS for research in their industry. Employing examples directly from the tourism, hospitality and events sector, it provides a comprehensive explanation on how appropriate statistical tools and methods can be identified for this research context and provides a step-by-step demonstration on how to carry out the chosen statistical operations. Each chapter opens with a sector-specific case study reflecting current research trends and issues from a range of different countries that are affecting the industry today. It is followed by an examination of the SPSS procedures relating to the case study and various solutions are offered. The implementation of clear, step-by-step demonstrations on how to carry out statistical operations using a combination of screenshots, diagrams, and tables aids the reader’s understanding. Chapters close with thorough guidance on how to appropriately write up interpretations of the research in a report. Research implications and recommendations for tourism and hospitality businesses are also provided, to enable them to successfully create and manage research strategies in action. Adopting an interdisciplinary perspective and written by a range of industry experts from all over the globe, this book will be essential for all students and researchers in the field of tourism, hospitality, and events as well as all those in related fields with an interest in statistical data analysis.
An Ugly Truth: Inside Facebook's Battle for Domination
by Sheera Frenkel Cecilia Kang'The ultimate takedown' New York Times'The problem of Facebook is Zuckerberg. And the question posed by this splendid book is: what are we going to do about him?' Observer'A comprehensive account . . . drawn from first-hand testimonies. Thoroughly engaging' The Times'What marks this book out is how it gets under the corporate bonnet . . . to build a picture of astounding corporate arrogance and irresponsibility' Sunday Times'An explosive new book' Daily Mail__________________________________________Award-winning New York Times reporters Sheera Frenkel and Cecilia Kang unveil the tech story of our times in a riveting, behind-the-scenes exposé that offers the definitive account of Facebook's fall from grace. Once one of Silicon Valley's greatest success stories, for the past five years, Facebook has been under constant fire, roiled by controversies and crises. It turns out that while the tech giant was connecting the world, they were also mishandling users' data, allowing the spread of fake news, and the amplification of dangerous, polarising hate speech. Critics framed the narrative as the irreconcilable conflict between the platform's lofty mission to advance society by bringing people together while also profiting off of them. The company, many said, had simply lost its way. But the truth is far more complex. Drawing on their unrivalled sources, Frenkel and Kang take readers inside the complex court politics, alliances and rivalries within the company, its growing political influence as well as its skirmishes with privacy groups and the FTC, to shine a light on the fatal cracks in the architecture of the tech behemoth. Their explosive, exclusive reporting led them to a shocking conclusion: The missteps of the last five years were not an anomaly but an inevitability - this is how the platform was built to perform. In a period of great upheaval, growth has remained the one constant under the leadership of Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg. Each has stood by as their technology is co-opted by hate-mongers, criminals and corrupt political regimes across the globe, with devastating consequences. In An Ugly Truth, they are at last held accountable.
An Ugly Truth: Inside Facebook's Battle for Domination
by Sheera Frenkel Cecilia KangThe award-winning insiders’ account of the scandals and toxic culture at Facebook—“thorough, high-caliber investigative reporting” (Kirkus, starred review).In An Ugly Truth, New York Times reporters Sheera Frenkel and Cecilia Kang present a behind-the-scenes exposé of Facebook’s fall from grace. They reveal explosive details about how the tech giant set out to connect the world—while also mishandling users’ data, spreading fake news, and amplifying dangerous, polarizing hate speech. The company, many said, had simply lost its way. But the truth is far more complex. Facebook’s engineers were instructed to create tools that encouraged people to spend as much time on the platform as possible, even if that meant promoting inflammatory rhetoric, conspiracy theories, and partisan filter bubbles. And while consumers and lawmakers were outraged by privacy breaches and misinformation, Facebook solidified its role as the world’s most voracious data-mining machine, posting record profits, and shoring up its dominance via aggressive lobbying efforts.Drawing on their unrivaled sources, Frenkel and Kang take readers inside the alliances and rivalries within the company to demonstrate that the company’s “missteps” were no such thing—this is how Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg built Facebook to perform. In An Ugly Truth, they are at last held accountable. A Book of the Year: Fortune, Foreign Affairs, The Times (London), Cosmopolitan, TechCrunch, WIRED
An Ugly Truth: Inside Facebook's Battle for Domination
by Sheera Frenkel Cecilia KangA riveting New York Times–bestselling exposé of Facebook’s fall from grace.Facebook has been under constant fire for the past five years, roiled by controversies and crises. As the tech giant was connecting the world, it was also mishandling users’ data, spreading fake news, and amplifying dangerous, polarizing hate speech—while relentlessly pursuing growth.The company, many said, had simply lost its way. But the truth is far more complex. Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg, held up as archetypes of uniquely twenty-first-century executives, attempted to deflect attention from the crises. And while consumers and lawmakers focused their outrage on privacy breaches and misinformation, Facebook solidified its role as the world’s most voracious data-mining machine, posting record profits and shoring up its dominance via aggressive lobbying efforts.Drawing on their unrivaled sources, award–winning New York Times reporters Sheera Frenkel and Cecilia King unravel the tech behemoth’s complex politics, alliances, and rivalries to expose the fatal cracks in its architecture. They reveal how its missteps were not an anomaly but an inevitability—this is how Facebook was built to perform.WINNER OF THE SABEW BEST IN BUSINESS AWARDA Book of the Year: Fortune, Foreign Affairs, The Times (London), Cosmopolitan, TechCrunch, WIRED
An Ugly Truth: Inside Facebook's Battle for Domination (Language Acts and Worldmaking #29)
by Sheera Frenkel Cecilia Kang'The ultimate takedown' New York Times'The problem of Facebook is Zuckerberg. And the question posed by this splendid book is: what are we going to do about him?' Observer'A comprehensive account . . . drawn from first-hand testimonies. Thoroughly engaging' The Times'What marks this book out is how it gets under the corporate bonnet . . . to build a picture of astounding corporate arrogance and irresponsibility' Sunday Times'An explosive new book' Daily Mail__________________________________________Award-winning New York Times reporters Sheera Frenkel and Cecilia Kang unveil the tech story of our times in a riveting, behind-the-scenes exposé that offers the definitive account of Facebook's fall from grace. Once one of Silicon Valley's greatest success stories, for the past five years, Facebook has been under constant fire, roiled by controversies and crises. It turns out that while the tech giant was connecting the world, they were also mishandling users' data, allowing the spread of fake news, and the amplification of dangerous, polarising hate speech. Critics framed the narrative as the irreconcilable conflict between the platform's lofty mission to advance society by bringing people together while also profiting off of them. The company, many said, had simply lost its way. But the truth is far more complex. Drawing on their unrivalled sources, Frenkel and Kang take readers inside the complex court politics, alliances and rivalries within the company, its growing political influence as well as its skirmishes with privacy groups and the FTC, to shine a light on the fatal cracks in the architecture of the tech behemoth. Their explosive, exclusive reporting led them to a shocking conclusion: The missteps of the last five years were not an anomaly but an inevitability - this is how the platform was built to perform. In a period of great upheaval, growth has remained the one constant under the leadership of Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg. Each has stood by as their technology is co-opted by hate-mongers, criminals and corrupt political regimes across the globe, with devastating consequences. In An Ugly Truth, they are at last held accountable.
An Uncertain Glory: India and its Contradictions
by Amartya Sen Jean DrèzeWhy India's problems won't be solved by rapid economic growth aloneWhen India became independent in 1947 after two centuries of colonial rule, it immediately adopted a firmly democratic political system, with multiple parties, freedom of speech, and extensive political rights. The famines of the British era disappeared, and steady economic growth replaced the economic stagnation of the Raj. The growth of the Indian economy quickened further over the last three decades and became the second fastest among large economies. Despite a recent dip, it is still one of the highest in the world.Maintaining rapid as well as environmentally sustainable growth remains an important and achievable goal for India. In An Uncertain Glory, two of India's leading economists argue that the country's main problems lie in the lack of attention paid to the essential needs of the people, especially of the poor, and often of women. There have been major failures both to foster participatory growth and to make good use of the public resources generated by economic growth to enhance people's living conditions. There is also a continued inadequacy of social services such as schooling and medical care as well as of physical services such as safe water, electricity, drainage, transportation, and sanitation. In the long run, even the feasibility of high economic growth is threatened by the underdevelopment of social and physical infrastructure and the neglect of human capabilities, in contrast with the Asian approach of simultaneous pursuit of economic growth and human development, as pioneered by Japan, South Korea, and China.In a democratic system, which India has great reason to value, addressing these failures requires not only significant policy rethinking by the government, but also a clearer public understanding of the abysmal extent of social and economic deprivations in the country. The deep inequalities in Indian society tend to constrict public discussion, confining it largely to the lives and concerns of the relatively affluent. Drèze and Sen present a powerful analysis of these deprivations and inequalities as well as the possibility of change through democratic practice.
An Uncommon Guide to Retirement: Finding God's Purpose for the Next Season of Life
by Jeff HaanenWhat am I going to do with my retirement?People talk about retirement like it&’s supposed to be an endless vacation. But what if, like the majority of those facing retirement, you can&’t afford such a luxury? Or, what if you just want something more from retirement? Some advocate for no retirement at all. But you&’ve worked for decades and a rest and reprieve do sound appealing. What should you do? Does God have a purpose for your retirement?Yes, He does. Learn how to discern what it is by taking an uncommon approach. Jeff Haanen looks biblically and practically at the need for rest and purpose in retirement. And teaches you how to:Take a sabbatical rest in early retirement Listen to God&’s voice for their calling in retirementRethink &“work&” in retirementUnderstand family systems and leaving a legacyPlanning retirement doesn&’t have to be distressing. Retire in a way that&’s God-honoring, purpose-filled, restful, and truly biblical.
An Uncommon Guide to Retirement: Finding God's Purpose for the Next Season of Life
by Jeff HaanenWhat am I going to do with my retirement?People talk about retirement like it&’s supposed to be an endless vacation. But what if, like the majority of those facing retirement, you can&’t afford such a luxury? Or, what if you just want something more from retirement? Some advocate for no retirement at all. But you&’ve worked for decades and a rest and reprieve do sound appealing. What should you do? Does God have a purpose for your retirement?Yes, He does. Learn how to discern what it is by taking an uncommon approach. Jeff Haanen looks biblically and practically at the need for rest and purpose in retirement. And teaches you how to:Take a sabbatical rest in early retirement Listen to God&’s voice for their calling in retirementRethink &“work&” in retirementUnderstand family systems and leaving a legacyPlanning retirement doesn&’t have to be distressing. Retire in a way that&’s God-honoring, purpose-filled, restful, and truly biblical.
An Unkept Promise: What Derailed the Indian Economy
by Prasanna MohantyThe COVID-19 pandemic hit the Indian economy that was already reeling under the shocks of demonetization and GST. The economy wasn’t robust to withstand a fresh shock. Has the ‘Tyrst with Destiny at Midnight’ soured? An Unkept Promise: What Derailed the Indian Economy looks at some of the pre-pandemic economic decisions and the string of reforms implemented during the pandemic crisis such as new farm laws, new labour codes, decisions to privatize profitable public sector units and de-nationalize banks, and the proposed move to allow corporations to run banks. With hard evidence and data, the book tries to diagnose what has gone wrong and why? It also examines the role of key democratic institutions of checks and balances in policymaking such as Parliament, Niti Aayog, Supreme Court, media and citizenry. As cronyism grows and stock market booms, millions have lost their jobs and incomes, the book warns against neo-liberal economic thinking and suggests corrective measures to get the economy back on track.
An Unprogrammed Life
by William Hiroyuki SaitoThe extraordinary story of a child prodigy and his remarkable entrepreneurial accomplishmentsIf anyone has "been there, done that" in starting and managing businesses, it's William Saito. Saito is a truly unique personality, and his remarkable story, An Unprogrammed Life, is the compelling tale of a young entrepreneur. More than just a high-tech autobiography or how-to guide, the book is the extraordinary story of a self-taught genius who became a savvy, serial business success story. Founder of multiple profitable companies, Saito now devotes himself to helping others to do the same.This book chronicles the journey of Saito from a young computer nerd programming stock market trading algorithms for a major broker at the age of ten, to selling three separate companies to Microsoft and becoming one of the world's foremost experts on data security. Saito's story focuses on his two key passions--entrepreneurship and data security. An authority in encryption, authentication, and biometric technology, he is determined to fight the never-ending battle to secure personal and corporate information from criminals, terrorists, and rogue nations. The book provides a peek into the author's work with anti-terrorism and anti-crime units and the threats to personal and corporate security posed by ordinary cell phones, office copiers, and laptop PCs.The incredible story of a child prodigy who was recognized in 1998 as Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the YearAddresses Saito's extensive work consulting for clients worldwide, including the U.S. Department of Defense's Counter-terrorism unit, and the U.K., Russian, and Japanese governmentsIncludes a foreword from Carl J. Schramm, President & CEO of the Kauffman FoundationThe extraordinary story of a child genius and his remarkable entrepreneurial skills, the book is both a fascinating insight and a true inspiration for readers everywhere.
An Urban History of The Plague: Socio-Economic, Political and Medical Impacts in a Scottish Community, 1500–1650 (Perspectives in Economic and Social History)
by Karen JillingsAs a medical, economic, spiritual and demographic crisis, plague affected practically every aspect of an early modern community whether on a local, regional or national scale. Its study therefore affords opportunities for the reassessment of many aspects of the pre-modern world. This book examines the incidence and effects of plague in an early modern Scottish community by analysing civic, medical and social responses to epidemics in the north-east port of Aberdeen, focusing on the period 1500–1650. While Aberdeen’s experience of plague was in many ways similar to that of other towns throughout Europe, certain idiosyncrasies in the city make it a particularly interesting case study, which challenges several assumptions about early modern mentalities.
An die Spitze im E-Commerce: Neues Wachstum im Online-Handel durch überlegene Differenzierung
by Stefan ClausingDieses Buch ist ein wertvoller Leitfaden für Online-Händler, die in einer sich ständig verändernden Branche langfristiges Wachstum erreichen wollen. Stefan Clausing bietet dafür pragmatische Strategien an, ohne dabei zu „fancy“ zu werden. Die Welt des E-Commerce hat in den letzten Jahrzehnten eine rasante Entwicklung erlebt, die durch die SARS-CoV-2-Pandemie ihren vorläufigen Höhepunkt fand. Doch im Jahr 2022 trübte sich die Stimmung ein. Der Online-Handel wurde erstmals mit negativem Wachstum konfrontiert. Jetzt ist es an der Zeit, sich als Online-Shopbetreiber neu aufzustellen. Dieses Buch bietet eine Bestandsaufnahme und zeigt, wie Sie die Chancen nutzen und den Risiken begegnen können.Aus dem InhaltVeränderung ist die Norm: Wie Wachstum im dynamischen Umfeld des E-Commerce gelingt.Positionierung ist der Schlüssel: Vom tiefen Verständnis von Ihrer Zielgruppe zu einer überzeugenden Positionierung.Traffic und Kundenakquise: Kundengewinnung als dauerhafte Herausforderung – Übersicht der wichtigsten Instrumente, um Kunden durch den Kaufentscheidungsprozess zu führen und zu Wiederholungskäufern zu machen.Datenschutz und Marketing: Hand in Hand mit einer klugen Datenstrategie und einer ausgewogenen Budgetierung über den gesamten Conversion Funnel. Customer Relationship Management: Wie Sie anhand des Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) und Kohortenanalysen die Kundenbindung steigern.Ethik im E-Commerce: Wie das Streben nach Gewinnmaximierung nicht auf Kosten des Kundenmehrwerts geht. „An die Spitze im E-Commerce“ bietet eine ganzheitliche Perspektive auf die Herausforderungen und Chancen im digitalen Handel – sowohl für große Online-Shops als auch für KMUs und Selbständige. Die ausgewogenen Ansätze und praktischen Erkenntnisse machen dieses Buch zu einem klugen Ratgeber für Online-Verkäufer, die nachhaltig wachsen und langfristig erfolgreich sein möchten.
An merican's Guide to Doing Business in India
by Eugene M MakarA Simon & Schuster eBook. Simon & Schuster has a great book for every reader.
Anaerobic Technology in Pulp and Paper Industry (SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology)
by Pratima BajpaiThis book presents a state-of-the-art report on the treatment of pulp and paper industry effluents using anaerobic technology. It covers a comprehensive range of topics, including the basic reasons for anaerobic treatment, comparison between anaerobic and aerobic treatment, effluent types suitable for anaerobic treatment, design considerations for anaerobic treatment, anaerobic reactor configurations applied for treatment of pulp and paper industry effluents, present status of anaerobic treatment in pulp and paper industry, economic aspects, examples of full scale installations and future trends.
Anagene, Inc.
by Robert S. Kaplan Christina DarwallAn entrepreneurial, publicly traded biotech company has begun production and sales of its core product--cartridges that permit DNA samples to be analyzed on a microchip. In the early quarters, sales are difficult to forecast and the company has experienced fluctuating production volumes and unpredictable gross margins, which has upset the board of directors. The finance staff investigates whether to adopt a new costing approach based on capacity. With large amounts of unused capacity, the decision of how to apply capacity costs is critical to the company's management and its reporting strategy with analysts.
Analog Devices, Inc.: The Half-Life System
by Robert S. KaplanThe company has committed to major improvements in quality, cost, and on-time delivery performance. Despite strong senior management support, however, the actual rate of improvement was disappointing until a new measurement philosophy was introduced. The new approach specified expected rates of improvement and compared actual improvements to the expected rate. Operational people preferred the new measures to the monthly financial reports they continued to receive. The case explores the conflicts between financial measurements and operating improvements.
Analog und Digital: schriften zur philosophie des machens
by Otl AicherOtl Aicher (1922 –1991) war einer der herausragenden Vertreter des modernen Designs, er war Mitbegründer der legendären Hochschule für Gestaltung Ulm (HfG). Der heute geläu_ ge Begriff der visuellen Kommunikation ist auf ihn zurückzuführen. Was er seit den 1950er Jahren geschaffen hat, erinnert sei z. B. an die Piktogramme für die Olympischen Sommerspiele München 1972, gehört zu den ganz großen Leistungen der visuellen Kultur unserer Zeit.Ein wesentlicher Aspekt der Arbeiten von Aicher ist deren Verankerung in einer von Denkern wie Ockham, Kant oder Wittgenstein inspirierten „Philosophie des Machens“, die die Voraussetzungen und Ziele sowie die Gegenstände und Ansprüche von Gestaltung zum Thema hat. Aichers Schriften zu Fragen des Designs von der visuellen Gestaltung bis hin zur Architektur liegen in diesem Band in geschlossener Form vor.Wenn Aicher das Analoge und Konkrete dem Digitalen und Abstrakten vorzieht, tut er dies mit philosophischer Absicht. Er relativiert die Rolle der reinen Vernunft. Er kritisiert den Rationalismus der Moderne als Ergebnis der Vorherrschaft des bloß abstrakten Denkens. Wer das Abstrakte dem Konkreten vorzieht, missversteht nicht nur die wechselseitige Abhängigkeit von Begriff und Anschauung. Er schafft nach Aichers Urteil auch eine falsche Hierarchie, eine Rangordnung, die kulturell verhängnisvoll ist. Das digitale, Abstrakte ist nicht höher, größer und wichtiger als das Analoge, Konkrete.Wilhelm Vossenkuhl