Book Description
ASW's Introduction to Management Science: A Quantitative Approach to Decision Making provides thorough, application-oriented coverage in a very readable writing style. This is the leading text on the market. Simply put, it's a classic! The problem-scenario approach introduces quantitative procedures through situations that include both problem formulation and technique application. The extensive linear programming coverage includes problem formulation, computer solution, and practical application. The text covers transportation, assignment, and the integer programming extension of linear programming, as well as advanced topics like waiting line models, simulation, and decision analysis. A large selection of problems includes self-test problems with complete solutions and case problems. Excel spreadsheet appendices are included as well.
Customer Reviews:
Good program with textbook.......2007-08-22
I had to use this text for a sophmore level management science course. While the book is extensively detailed, it is written for graduate school level course work. The program that comes with the text is much more useful for the undergrad student tackling business statistics.
Graduate Students Guide.......2006-03-10
This book is an essential guide for every graduate student. It makes mathematical and technical concepts of management science understandable and useful.
Good college textbook.......2006-02-25
This book provides thorough explanations, good tables, graphs, examples and self-test questions with most of the answers in the back of the book.
katz.......2005-04-19
Trust Me. This is the only book that you'll need to get started started in this area. The authors have done an excellent job in producing such a work, that takes care to explain all the details of management science.
I used this text for my professional exams (CIMA) and the it was great. All the chapters in this book are cleanly written to take that I doesn't leave anything unexplained. However, the following chapters are the ones that I like the most in this book:
1. Introduction to LP
2. LP: Sensitivity Analysis: Amazing work here.
3. LP Applications: formulation of problems in this chapter may be bit difficult at first, but keep reading and you'll learn and appreciate the work that the authors have put in.
4. LP - Simplex Method: My favorite chapter. Is highly readable. This one chapter alone is worth the book.
5. LP - Simplex Sensitivity.
6. Integer LP
7. Project Scheduling - Great, well written chapter, another favorite of mine.
8. Decision Analysis - Good but the problems are repetative.
9. Markov Process - An introduction only, but the application of markov process to accounts receivable anlaysis is very useful for anyone wondering about the applications of markov processes.
Overall a great book that is worth its price.
Book Description
The first edition, published in 1973, has become a classic reference in the field. Now with the second edition, readers will find information on key new topics such as neural networks and statistical pattern recognition, the theory of machine learning, and the theory of invariances. Also included are worked examples, comparisons between different methods, extensive graphics, expanded exercises and computer project topics.
An Instructor's Manual presenting detailed solutions to all the problems in the book is available from the Wiley editorial department.
Customer Reviews:
Great product & service.......2007-09-21
This was my first purchase from amazon and I was totally impressed by the quality of the product and the service! I would buy again from the same seller and recommend others to do the same.
A Very Bad Sequel.......2007-03-09
I have now used this book 3 times for a class. While the 1st edition did a nice job of covering the material in its time, the additions to in the 2nd addition are a disaster. What the book has going for it is that it at least lists the necessary material for such a course in the table of contents. However, all the additional material is poorly explained at best. The problem sets are too few and the ones that are included are generally weak.
I have tried to use this book, but after constant student complaints and my own difficulty with the text, I have finally concluded that the problem lies with the text and not with the users.
I think an indicator of problems was the large number of errors in the first printing; large here is an understatement. Even in later additions, the 4th, the size of the errata is huge. I think this is indicative of the authors' attention to detail and seriousness in preparation. I have found similar errors and ambiguities in the associate Computer Manual.
The bottom line is that this book has seen its final appearance in our curriculum. I would use any other text, even an older one.
There is simply not enough room or time to point out all the problems with this text. Do yourself a favor if considering this text for a class. Don't bother.
The best book for the discussed field.......2007-02-05
The discussed book is very explanatory and could be students' material for academic lessons.
great book.......2007-01-16
easy to read for computer scientists who are not necessarily experts in statistics. the code in matlab is very good, and helps a lot.
this book is a good introduction to machine learning.
Very well written.......2006-02-26
I liked this book because it does a great job explaining the concepts and the reasoning behind the mathematical formulae. Other books such as "The Elements of Statistical Learning" toss the Math formulas at you and expect you to figure out the significance or the importance of 'em. The book does not shy away from Math - but does a great job presenting it.
Book Description
In this fascinating book, New Yorker business columnist James Surowiecki explores a deceptively simple idea: Large groups of people are smarter than an elite few, no matter how brilliant–better at solving problems, fostering innovation, coming to wise decisions, even predicting the future.
With boundless erudition and in delightfully clear prose, Surowiecki ranges across fields as diverse as popular culture, psychology, ant biology, behavioral economics, artificial intelligence, military history, and politics to show how this simple idea offers important lessons for how we live our lives, select our leaders, run our companies, and think about our world.
Download Description
The Wisdom of Crowds
I
If, years hence, people remember anything about the TV game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, they will probably remember the contestants' panicked phone calls to friends and relatives. Or they may have a faint memory of that short-lived moment when Regis Philbin became a fashion icon for his willingness to wear a dark blue tie with a dark blue shirt. What people probably won't remember is that every week Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? pitted group intelligence against individual intelligence, and that every week, group intelligence won.
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? was a simple show in terms of structure: a contestant was asked multiple-choice questions, which got successively more difficult, and if she answered fifteen questions in a row correctly, she walked away with $1 million. The show's gimmick was that if a contestant got stumped by a question, she could pursue three avenues of assistance. First, she could have two of the four multiple-choice answers removed (so she'd have at least a fifty-fifty shot at the right response). Second, she could place a call to a friend or relative, a person whom, before the show, she had singled out as one of the smartest people she knew, and ask him or her for the answer. And third, she could poll the studio audience, which would immediately cast its votes by computer. Everything we think we know about intelligence suggests that the smart individual would offer the most help. And, in fact, the "experts" did okay, offering the right answer--under pressure--almost 65 percent of the time. But they paled in comparison to the audiences. Those random crowds of people with nothing better to do on a weekday afternoon than sit in a TV studio picked the right answer 91 percent of the time.
Now, the results of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? would never stand up to scientific scrutiny. We don't know how smart the experts were, so we don't know how impressive outperforming them was. And since the experts and the audiences didn't always answer the same questions, it's possible, though not likely, that the audiences were asked easier questions. Even so, it's hard to resist the thought that the success of the Millionaire audience was a modern example of the same phenomenon that Francis Galton caught a glimpse of a century ago.
As it happens, the possibilities of group intelligence, at least when it came to judging questions of fact, were demonstrated by a host of experiments conducted by American sociologists and psychologists between 1920 and the mid-1950s, the heyday of research into group dynamics. Although in general, as we'll see, the bigger the crowd the better, the groups in most of these early
experiments--which for some reason remained relatively unknown outside of academia--were relatively small. Yet they nonetheless performed very well. The Columbia sociologist Hazel Knight kicked things off with a series of studies in the early 1920s, the first of which had the virtue of simplicity. In that study Knight asked the students in her class to estimate the room's temperature, and then took a simple average of the estimates. The group guessed 72.4 degrees, while the actual temperature was 72 degrees. This was not, to be sure, the most auspicious beginning, since classroom temperatures are so stable that it's hard to imagine a class's estimate being too far off base. But in the years that followed, far more convincing evidence emerged, as students and soldiers across America were subjected to a barrage of puzzles, intelligence tests, and word games. The sociologist Kate H. Gordon asked two hundred students to rank items by weight, and found that the group's "estimate" was 94 percent accurate, which was better than all but five of the individual guesses. In another experiment students were asked to look at ten piles of buckshot--each a slightly different size than the
Customer Reviews:
Smart, Interesting and Easy to Read.......2007-09-21
This book was a surprise hit for me. I didn't expect to like it, but ended up loving it so much I just had to have a copy on my shelf. Surowieki is very convincing, in part because he takes such care to bring up alternative arguments and respond to each. He also keeps his focus fairly narrow, so the arguments aren't all over the place. I was especially fascinated by his discussion of experts. We rely on them so heavily these days, but now I know to question their expertise. This book has changed the way that I make decisions and the way I evaluate good decision-making in my elected representatives. I recommend this book to anyone interested in making good decisions. It is a smoothly-written book and you won't have any trouble following the arguments or staying 'into' it.
Don't expect a textbook.......2007-09-19
I really like the Wisdom of Crowds because Surowiecki succeeds in explaining complicated and sophisticated ideas in ways that educated people can not only grasp but also incorporate into their own thinking. This is quite an achievement, one that critics of the book have overlooked. This topic has not been open until now to such a wide audience.
Surowiecki never shies from even difficult and abstract statistical concepts. He draws liberally upon academic journals and scholarly books, writing in a style that is at once journalistic and educated.
Yet, Surowiecki never talks down to his reader. Instead he invites the reader to accompany him through an arcane (and dimly lit) maze of statistical practice as it has been developed and utilized for decades by social scientists and economists. The reader is rewarded again and again because Surowiecki points to a partially hidden jewel, holds it up for examination, hands it to the reader and then leaves it in plain sight (often for reference later in the book).
Thus, this book is a remarkable example, a model, for readers (and writers) who wish to bridge the gaps between educated professionals.
My criticism is along different lines. In this extremely visual era, the editors could have widened the audience for the Wisdom of Crowds much further if suitable images could have been commissioned to throw additional light on Surowiecki's prose. But, paper and ink are so much more expensive than artists these days, one can understand the limitations and constraints Doubleday (Random House) were under. On the other hand, why not put up a web site?
Crowds Oh Wisdom.......2007-09-19
Good book and I thought the pace moved along extremely well. There are some significant things in the book that are a bit dated, but overall this is a very interesting book. I also recommend "Beyond Buzz: The Next Generation of Word-of-Mouth Marketing" by Lois Kelly published 2007 to couple with this book. Beyond Buzz: The Next Generation of Word-of-Mouth Marketing
Food for thought.......2007-08-21
I found this book full of sweeping claims, generalizations and is confusing in its presentation. However it made me think. Overall the writer is saying that people independently working on a problem can in a fair vote be more accurate then the smartest individual. He then quotes examples for such behaviour and examples of when the crowds got it wrong when they acted not independently but in mass. I suspect that much of his arguments are sound.
How much I am not sure for example if I asked the average person independently if they believe there was much truth in astrology, I am sure that over 50% would say yes.
However since the book is making much comments, I hope to see some better studies coming forward.
Having said all this it has changed my views on decision making and how to do it.
Surowiecki is a gifted teacher.......2007-08-08
At first I was afraid that "The wisdom of crowds" was going to be a 250 page restatement of the law of large numbers for dummies. In the beginning it looks that way, because Surowiecki takes a lot of time to explain that the more people trying to guess the solution to a problem, each adding their own bit of information, the more accurate the average guess. Not very revolutionary at all (although possibly counterintuitive at first). But as the book moved on I got more and drawn in and impressed by the presentation, which is rigorous and supremely readable at the same time.
The book describes how crowds can solve problems of cognition, coordination and cooperation. It gives the conditions under which crowds are good and not good at doing so. The author illustrates with a myriad of interesting problems and case studies, some rather obvious choices (why do investment bubbles emerge?, why do political stock markets predict so well?), others more arcane (why did the gangsters in reservoir dogs fail?, why is it often easy to cut a line?). What binds these studies together is the way groups handle information and the good and bad institution designed to make them do so.
Throughout all the diversity, it is the great scholarship of Surowiecki that makes everything naturally fall into place. Being familiar with a lot of the material in academic form, I know how conceptually daring some of it is, but Surowiecki effortlessly reduces it to bite-size portions, without compromising much or exaggerating anywhere. Great reading!
Book Description
Valuable software, realistic examples, and fascinating topics . . . everything you need to master the most widely used management science techniques using Microsoft® Excel™ is right here! Learning to make decisions in today's business world takes training and experience. Cliff Ragsdale--the respected innovator in the field of management science--is an outstanding guide to help you learn the skills you need, use Microsoft Excel for Windows to implement those skills, and gain the confidence to apply what you learn to real business situations. SPREADSHEET MODELING AND DECISION ANALYSIS gives you step-by-step instructions and annotated screen shots to make examples easy to follow. Plus, interesting sections called The World of Management Science show you how each topic has been applied in a real company.
Customer Reviews:
A Good Book for Finance/IT majors.......2007-09-17
This book does what it sets out to do: teach spreadsheet modeling. I'm only on the third chapter, but the author does a good job including step by step instructions on how to create winning models. The author is also very easy to understand. So if you're going to be doing optimization and modeling in your work, I highly recommend this book.
Great book, and includes @RISK.......2007-08-06
Ragsdale really makes spreadsheet modeling accessible to real-world business situations. It was a great asset to my MBA coursework. As a student, it came with a free student version of @RISK risk analysis software as well.
Good practical text.......2006-11-12
A good book for those studying decision making techniques or as a reference for managers looking to upgrade their skills
Decision analysis.......2006-11-02
Excellent book; I am considering it as a textbook for a Managerial Sciences course. The examples are clear and real increasing the interest of the students.
Good book , worth to read.......2006-02-17
This book is designated as the textbook for our master's level management modeling class. The author concerntrated on the application of Microsoft Solver to solve various of optimazation problems that we freqently faced in the real business opreations. Overall, this is good book for entry-level management modeling study.
Book Description
"Insurgents and terrorists retain the resources and capabilities to sustain and even increase current level of violence through the next year." This was the secret Pentagon assessment sent to the White House in May 2006. The forecast of a more violent 2007 in Iraq contradicted the repeated optimistic statements of President Bush, including one, two days earlier, when he said we were at a "turning point" that history would mark as the time "the forces of terror began their long retreat."
State of Denial examines how the Bush administration avoided telling the truth about Iraq to the public, to Congress, and often to themselves. Two days after the May report, the Pentagon told Congress, in a report required by law, that the "appeal and motivation for continued violent action will begin to wane in early 2007."
In this detailed inside story of a war-torn White House, Bob Woodward reveals how White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card, with the indirect support of other high officials, tried for 18 months to get Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld replaced. The president and Vice President Cheney refused. At the beginning of Bush's second term, Stephen Hadley, who replaced Condoleezza Rice as national security adviser, gave the administration a "D minus" on implementing its policies. A SECRET report to the new Secretary of State Rice from her counselor stated that, nearly two years after the invasion, Iraq was a "failed state."
State of Denial reveals that at the urging of Vice President Cheney and Rumsfeld, the most frequent outside visitor and Iraq adviser to President Bush is former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who, haunted still by the loss in Vietnam, emerges as a hidden and potent voice.
Woodward reveals that the secretary of defense himself believes that the system of coordination among departments and agencies is broken, and in a SECRET May 1, 2006, memo, Rumsfeld stated, "the current system of government makes competence next to impossible."
State of Denial answers the core questions: What happened after the invasion of Iraq? Why? How does Bush make decisions and manage a war that he chose to define his presidency? And is there an achievable plan for victory?
Bob Woodward's third book on President Bush is a sweeping narrative -- from the first days George W. Bush thought seriously about running for president through the recruitment of his national security team, the war in Afghanistan, the invasion and occupation of Iraq, and the struggle for political survival in the second term.
After more than three decades of reporting on national security decision making -- including his two #1 national bestsellers on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Bush at War (2002) and Plan of Attack (2004) -- Woodward provides the fullest account, and explanation, of the road Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice and the White House staff have walked.
Customer Reviews:
Great Information .......2007-10-07
There is a reason our country is such a mess and this book will give you all the true facts
Fascinating but Painful.......2007-09-20
From a political perspective, reading this book is like watching a horrific car wreck happening at slow motion. The man at the wheel happens to be one George W. Bush. I never believed in him, but those that still do should read this tome with an open mind and come to their own conclusions. Woodward's sources and methods are objective and credible, and the only real criticism I have of the book is that it came out far too late to make any difference.
A Great Read!.......2007-09-16
As are all of Woodwards's books this one is well written and informative. I enjoy all his books and I have no problem keeping up with the events and my interest stays peaked. I'm sure you'll enjoy reading this book too. I would have given five stars but I just feel all books are too high priced!
Eye-opening.......2007-09-01
Woodard evokes honestly in all his writings. We can hear the credibilty of his words. Very thought provoking and this should raise many subsequent questions about how one in Washington power uses facts or fails to use people and facts.
getting an inside view of the war on Iraq.......2007-08-12
Bob Woodward's sweeping narrative is an eye opener into the elite world of political and military Washington. He rarely tells information, but lets the players speak for themselves. Reading this book, I often felt like I was in the oval office listening in on a conversation between Bush, Rice and Rumsfeld. The incredible incompetency, inefficiency, and hypocrisy of the adminstration is staggering.
One thing that I wish the book had was a character list. Because there are so many characters coming in and out of each chapter that it's hard to keep track of them. I suggest you keep such a list as you read.
This book really helped me to see why we are in the mess we are in, and I feel like I will be better informed as I read the news these days. (The situation in August 2007, today, seems just as bad if not worse than it was when the book was finished.)
In this book you find out:
The facts about Iraq
- An average of 2500 enemy initiated attacks a month since the war started
- Iraqis were relieved to have Saddam Hussein removed from power, but dismayed and angered by how long it took for basic services such as sewage, electricity, and food supplies to be restored.
- In 2006, at the end of the book, electricity, sewage, and oil pipelines were still mostly disfunctional in Iraq
- President Bush would tally the number of Iraqis killed as a measure of how successful is the war on terror, a number that the Iraqis use to recruit insurgents.
- Sectarian violence increased after the election.
- Death tolls are getting higher and the country becoming more insecure.
About why the administration failed:
- They all believed that it was going to be quick and easy, so there was no plan or funds allocated for an extended exit strategy.
- President Bush was adamant in staying the course, regardly of how the course wasn't working.
- President Bush never asked for alternative opinions or how things were really going, he only wanted to hear and speak of good news.
- Donald Rumsfeld was arrogant and domineering, often blocking the efforts of people around him to fix problems.
- Lots of people saw what was going on and gave advice on how to fix it, but it could never be implemented because of the fighting among the members of the administration, and Bush's policy of not revising their strategy.
- The administration hid the facts about Iraq from the public and often from themselves.
- Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld all held the incredibly callous view that Iraqi casualties are irrelevant, only winning matters
- The administration put into power people who agreed with them and ostracized the ones who were critical. 'If you don't agree with us you are not a team player.'
- The competent people got frustated and some of them gave up trying to fix the problem.
Book Description
MAKING SMART CHOICES IN CHALLENGING TIMES
The challenges teens face today are tougher than at any time in history: academic stress, parent communication, media bombardment, dating drama, abuse, bullying, addictions, depression, and peer pressure, just to name a few. And, like it or not, the choices teens make while navigating these challenges can make or break their futures.
In The 6 Most Important Decisions You'll Ever Make, Sean Covey, author of the international bestseller The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, gives teens the strong advice they need to make informed and wise decisions.Using real stories from teens around the world, Sean shows teens how to succeed in school, make good friends, get along with parents, wisely handle dating and sex issues, avoid or overcome addictions, build self-esteem, and much more. Jam-packed with original cartoons, inspiring quotes, and fun quizzes, this innovative book will help teens not only survive but thrive during their teen years and beyond.
Building upon the legacy of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, this is an indispensable resource for teens everywhere.
Customer Reviews:
The 6 Most Important Decisions You'll Ever Make: A Guide for Teens.......2007-10-05
Excellent tool for parents with pre-teens and teens to help get them thinking about decisions that will effect the rest of their lives. Written in a way that will appeal to teenagers.
A definite must for teenagers.......2007-09-12
I bought this for my 13 year old son, and we both listened to it together. It talked about dating, procrastination, choices, and relationships with parents. I enjoyed it and my son grasped the major concepts, but I think he is not at the dating or choices level, we will listen to it again right before he starts high school and we will continue to listen to it periodically throughout his high school life.
Bought for a gift.......2007-09-11
I did not read this book, it was purchased as a gift, so I cannot do a review.
Another Great Inspirational Book!.......2007-08-28
Sean has done it again!
Very entertaining and informative. A book every young person should read to help them shape their future.
Very Interesting.......2007-05-24
As a High School Student on my way out into the real world, I would have found this as an invaluable gem when I was a younger student. The advice and real world situations translate very well with a youthful reader, and provide a good example of what to do in the stressful situations that they will go through.
Book Description
Easy to understand-even for learners with limited math backgrounds, this book uses a modeling approach to provide thorough coverage of the basic techniques in quantitative methods and focuses on the managerial applications of these techniques. An interesting and reader friendly writing style makes for a clear presentation, complete with all the necessary assumptions and mathematical details.
Chapter topics include probability concepts and applications, decision models and decision trees, regression models, forecasting, inventory control models, linear programming modeling applications and computer analyses, network models, project management, simulation modeling, and more.
For an introduction toquantitative analysis, quantitative management, operations research, or management science-especially for those individuals preparing for work in agricultural economics and health care fields.
Customer Reviews:
Introduction.......2006-12-17
We used this book in my "Operations analysis"-class, and it's a great introduction to the subjects discussed. Some very basic probability for estimating values and descision theory. Some regression in addition to other forecasting methods. Good sections on linear and integer programming, and also basic queuing models. Markov analysis is about as far as this book goes, and it basically just touches upon all the subjects in order to make the reader grasp the basic ideas.
One minus is the Windows-only software, no Mac-support there, but that only meant that I had to use Excel, which imo helped me gain a better understanding of the subjects, as I had to formulate all the spreadsheets myself instead of just feeding numbers into the QM-package, which imo seems like a total waste of a chance to learn. Anyway, most areas are covered with respect to both QM and Excel, which makes the non-existant Mac-support bareable.
So Much Better Than The University Bookstore.......2006-11-10
Wow! This brand new book cost $50 less than the same new book at my university bookstore! It was even cheaper than buying a used version of the book from the bookstore. The shipping was so fast, it arrived at my house the day after I ordered it! I'll be looking on Amazon.com for all my future text book purchases!! :)
Excellent introduction to the subject.......2006-02-28
I read this book as the assigned text for a course in Quantitative Analysis and found it to be an excellent text for such a class. Each Model and equation presented is explained through realistic examples, illustrations, and explanations of the math. This made the subject very easy to comprehend and apply to the real world.
Exercises at the end of each chapter are also based on real-world situations and case studies are included in the book and the CD that go into more detail about a real world use for each model.
The book was also easy to read and not overly technical when explaining mathematic concepts. An excellent text for an introduction to the field of management science.
Book Description
This text approaches Project Management from a holistic, balanced perspective. The text is developed around a philosophy of a project-driven organization committed to continuous improvement and organizational learning. The text is holistic--it directs attention to the needed linkage between projects and organizational strategy. Many project management textbooks emphasize the technical aspects of the subject, while providing scant attention to the human element in projects. This text succeeds in redressing the balance by treating both the technical and the behavioral aspects of the subject in nearly equal parts. Such a balance is possible because of the complementary backgrounds of the authors: Gray, a specialist in project management systems with an operations background, provides strong technical coverage of project management. Larson, whose professional background is in organizational behavior, brings a distinctive behavioral perspective to the subject.
Customer Reviews:
Good textbook for a novice.......2007-07-01
It seems that many people didn't like this book, but I used it for a class on PM & found it to be pretty good. I had no prior knowledge of the field. I really liked the accompanying Student CD-ROM for study & review of the material. I used the Microsoft Project trial CD-ROM & found that extremely useful also. I would recommend it as introductory material.
Good to go........2007-04-02
Product was delivered on time and in the condition as described. Good deal.
This is the worst textbook I have ever seen.......2007-01-11
There are phrases and questions that worded very poorly. Many times I have to re-read a section 3-4 times to try to decipher. Many of the questions do not apply or correspond the text.
The exercises in the back of the book have not connection to the actual material. Quite often the reader is left to searching the Internet or consulting the teacher to fill in the gaps.
This is a very poorly written book, and will likely cause more confusion than it educates.
Excellent!.......2006-08-04
It seems like this textbook has gotten bad phrase and for no good reason. This book is a college level textbook and is perfect in conjuction with appropriate teaching. A person can not simply book pick up this book, skim through a few chapters and expect to understand the management process without being taught by a professor. My advice, go to college and learn the process properly.
virtually fraud.......2006-05-04
Be warned. The Office Project program advertised as included is a trial version. The ad does not say this. Now I have to turn around a buy a new program- Amazon customer service says it isn't their fault. I really needed the book and the program for a class due to start in four days. Now I'm really stuck. Amazon is even trying to get me to pay for the return shipping!
Customer Reviews:
Extremely good reference guide.......2005-08-04
I first came across this book whilst doing my MBA at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. The subject was Competitive Analysis and Babette Bensoussan was a guest lecturer. Working in Strategic Projects in a large Australian company, I found this book extremely useful in selecting strategic models to use for my analysis. The explanations of the models and how they work are accurate and precise and enables the reader to apply the model efficiently and effectively.
a must have for all business students.......2005-07-18
I just had the pleassure of having one of the authors (babette bensoussan) as a lecturer at bond university.
This book is THE reference for startegic analytical tools.
it is not one of the usual useless academic books - it is a practical usefull resource for most if not all strategy areas.
Selected as "the" text for government all-source analysts.......2004-01-14
Rather than outline the wonderful aspects of this book, which other reviewers have done so ably, I will just say that I rank the authors up there with Ben Gilad (Israel), Mats Bjore (Sweden), and Jan Herring, Dick Klavens/Brad Ashton, and Leonard Fuld (USA), and we have made this book "the" text for the annual government all-source analysis training that centers on Open Source Intelligence (OSINT).
This book, in combination with Ben Gilad's "Early Warning", the Leonard Fuld's "New Competitor Intelligence", Dick Klavens and Brad Ashton's "Keeping Abreast of Science & Technology", and Mats Bjore forthcoming book, are the essential five books for any business intelligence professional or anyone seeking to understand best in class business intelligence.
Excellent coverage of management analysis tools.......2003-07-23
This book fills a niche that should have been done by somebody a long time ago. It includes most of the popular analysis techniques that a management consultant would normally use, and provides a common process description for employing the method. It makes an excellent complement to Porter's series of books and can be nicely combined with more conceptual treatments in the strategy field. I have already bought several copies for my office colleagues as it will be useful for them in their consulting work as well. I can see why it has gotten many good reviews and I'd concur with these. It is worth having this one on your book shelf although, like me, you may find yourself pulling it off the shelf to refer to on a frequent basis.
Outstanding one stop source for techniques and "how to".......2003-03-25
It is rare to find a text that pulls together the many quite different techniques that can be used to analyze a business and the competitive environment in which it operates. This book does that, and more!
The authors have addressed their personal needs as much as the needs of those who will use the benefits of their labours. Now, when asked about a technique or asked for a recommendation as to how to attack an issue, one can turn to this one text and extract the most appropriate tool(s) and make sensible assessments of which of the various analytical tools is most appropriate.
The authors have gone one better - and I suspect that more than one MBA student will appreciate their efforts - they have included a very useful and quite comprehensive outline of financial analytical tools that add to the more "marketing" oriented techniques detailed in the core of the text. The various financial ratios are now at your fingertips. The financial analysis can be woven into the market and environmental competitive analysis.
Oh to have had access to this at an earlier stage of my career.
One of those indispensable tools. A "must have" in the office.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent book.......2004-06-25
This book is definitely very advanced and is very clearly written. The approach will:
- state (and explain) business problems
- explain the rational in choosing the computer tool (despite the title, the book is not entirely focused on Excel).
- walk you step by step through the modeling process
The CD contains some valuable tools for advances topics (monte carlo and discrete event simulation). Frontline Systems were alo kind enough to send free of charge an updated version of the premium solver for education (the version on CD is not compatible with Excel 2003).
I consider the book a great value and recommend it to anyone who is willing to invest the time to learn from it.
Fasten your seatbelts..........2004-01-28
I'll make two separate sets of comments - one for professors and one for students.
Students first... This will be a difficult course no matter which textbook you use. Having said that, I would say that the text is about average in terms of readability in comparison to other texts on the subject. There are plenty of realistic cases to illustrate basic decision/ management science concepts, as well as a very useful CD, with which I recommend that you become well-acquainted as the course moves forward. Not much has changed since the last edition, so you may be able to get by with a previous edition if the textbook (authored by Eppen). Be advised, however, that some of the chapter materials have been re-arranged, including the exercises at the end of each chapter.
For professors... You are probably already aware that this course can be challenging for the professor as well as the student, esp. with respect to how math-intensive you wish the course to be. I think Moore & Weatherford is an excellent text, but it is written as an advanced graduate text. I have been able to "tone it down" for undergraduates by accompanying it with a nice, soft, theory-oriented text on decision/ management science (featuring the teachings of Herbert Simon and some of the early decision science theorists). The text is accompanied with ample instructor resources including a very useful CD with solutions, decision science software. I would engage the students w/ the CD as early as possible. I have also found that the best exams for this course are take-home exams - give the students some moderately challenging decision models to formulate and solve, and focus your evaluation primarily on how well they are able to interpret the results and propose recommendations for decision makers, and secondarily on whether they were able to get the software to spit out the right answers.
Confusing and Poorly Written.......2004-01-22
Had to buy this book for my class. On the surface it looked OK -- plenty to screenshots and examples, but the problems arise when you try to read the long paragraphs. Language could have been clearer.
Book assumes solid knowledge of Excel, which should be expected of students, but still, some things should not be taken for granted :)
Another classic problem -- chapter 4 refers to examples mentioned in chapter 2. I hate this kind of cross-referencing !
Don't buy it if you can live without it.
...
Unnecessarily difficult to understand.......2003-11-08
This book is makes a difficult subject even more difficult. It assumes that you already know alot of the concepts in it. It kin of leaves you stumbling around in the dark. I hate this book and the person who wrote it with a passion. A good author should be able to explain concepts in clear organized language, I do not care how difficult.
Not for the uninitiated.......2003-02-18
I had to buy this book for class. Even the professor stated that the book was heavy going and has to be reread over and over again to understand it. There are examples but they really don't go over them in enough detail. This book is really for someone who already has a good user knowledge of excel and somewhat familiar with solver. Many of my classmates have expressed dissatisfaction with the contents and how it was written. My main complaint is that there are not enough examples to illustrate the many new concepts found in this book. This is a difficult subject and the book doesn't make it easier.
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Books Index
Books Home
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Decision-Making & Problem Solving
| Management & Leadership
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Study Guide to accompany Introduction to Management Science: Quantitative Approaches to Decision Making
Managing Human Resources (5th Edition)
Essentials of Business Information Systems (7th Edition)
Corporate Finance (with Thomson ONE - Business School Edition 6-Month Printed Access Card)
Financial Management: Theory and Practice with Thomson ONE
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