Today, a company's capability to conceive and design quality prototypes and bring a variety of superior products to market quicker than its competitors is increasingly the focal point of competition, contend leading product development experts Steven Wheelwright and Kim Clark. Drawing on six years of in-depth, systematic, worldwide research, they present proven principles for developing the critical capabilities for speed, efficiency, and quality that have worked again and again in scores of successful Japanese, American, and European fast-cycle firms. The authors argue that to survive, let alone succeed, today's companies must construct a new "platform" -- with new methodologies -- on which they can compete. Using their model for development strategies, Wheelwright and Clark show that firms can create a solid architecture for the integration of marketing, manufacturing, and design functions for problem solving and fast action -- particularly during the critical design-build-test cycles of prototype creation. They demonstrate further how successful firms such as Honda in automobiles, Compaq in personal computers, Applied Materials in semi-conductors, Sony in audio equipment, The Limited in apparel, and Hill-Rom in hospital beds have employed recent methodologies to bring new products to market at break-neck speed. Such innovations include design for manufacturability, quality function deployment, computer-aided design, and computer-aided engineering. Finally, Wheelwright and Clark emphasize the importance of learning in the organization. Companies that consistently "design it right the first time" and follow a path of continuous improvement in product and process development have a formidable edge in the crucial race to market.

Writing for general managers, the authors go beyond manufacturing structural decisions to actually changing the infrastructure of a manufacturing company--the leadership and vision, the policies and practices that are vital to creating superior factories and a dynamic learning continuum.

Innovation Management and New Product Development by Trott is an established textbook on innovation management, management of technology, new product development and entrepreneurship. It provides an evidence-based approach to managing innovation in a wide range of contexts, including manufacturing, services, small to large organisations and the private and public sectors. The book keeps you abreast of the recent developments in the field of innovation and how the subject is being discussed in the wider business world through up-to-date examples, case studies, illustrations andimages in every chapter. Clear and informed coverage of the management processes of new product development, coupled with a practical orientation oftaking you through real-life challenges and dilemmas, makes it an essential textbook for MBA, MSc and advanced undergraduate courses.

Transform learning and development practices to make your programs relevant and meaningful Existing training and development practices need a major overhaul. Learning and development practitioners and managers must increasingly face the fact that old methods are no longer relevant in today's tech-savvy world and, in many cases, they simply don't work. In Revolutionize Learning and Development, you'll get a straightforward look at how people really learn and get introduced to practical steps for rethinking, redesigning, and reestablishing learning delivery. This book shows you how to take advantage of new understandings and new technologies so you can make a meaningful impact on your organization. In four sections, the book lays out crucial background knowledge, conceptual frameworks, and practical steps for transforming learning and development so that it has the greatest return for businesses. Managers, practitioners, and executives will benefit from the illustrations, vignettes, and sidebars that highlight the author's advice and expertise. Learn to avoid the pitfalls of outdated and irrelevant learning solutions, including those that ignore the importance of clear objectives, proper execution, and thorough evaluation Discover the practical steps for implementing the best and most effective strategies for making the most of training programs Benefit from a thorough examination of what happens when managers and practitioners make major changes in strategy, leadership, and technology Get familiar with the roles of research-based frameworks, performance support, and informal learning Don't let learning and development myths derail you. Find out how to breathe new life into your programs with practical guidance designed to inspire today's best learning technology solutions.

This text presents a set of product development techniques aimed at bringing together the marketing, design, and manufacturing functions of the enterprise. The integrative methods facilitate problem-solving and decision-making.

When James Womack, Daniel Jones, and Daniel Roos wrote THE MACHINE THAT CHANGED THE WORLD in 1990, Japanese automakers, and Toyota in particular, were making a strong showing by applying the principles of lean production. However, the full power of lean principles was unproven, and they had not been applied outside of the auto industry. Today, the power of lean production has been conclusively proved by Toyota's unparalleled success, and the concepts have been widely applied in many industries. Based on MIT's pioneering global study of industrial competition, THE MACHINE THAT CHANGED THE WORLD offers a groundbreaking analysis of the entire lean business system, including product development, supplier management, sales, service, and production - an analysis even more relevant today as GM and Ford struggle to survive and a wide range of British abd American companies embrace lean production. A new Foreword by the authors brings the story up to date and details how their predictions were right. As a result, this reissue of a classic is as insightful and instructive today as when it was first published.

Two and a half billion people worldwide, most of them desperately poor villagers, need a better way to save and to borrow. Even the most innovative banking institutions can’t reach them; savings groups can. In savings groups, members save what they can in a communal pot and loan their growing fund to each other for their short-term needs. Jeffrey Ashe and Kyla Neilan illustrate how these savings groups form and function and how little “outside” support is actually required for their success. Drawing on decades of Ashe’s personal experience, this book describes how he developed Saving for Change, which leveraged the wisdom and strength of group members to train and establish new groups. This model has impacted the lives of 680,000 people across five countries. Savings groups are a “catalytic innovation” that bypasses subsidies, dependency, and high costs while effectively reducing chronic hunger, building assets, and empowering the community. Today, saving groups have 9 million members around the globe—with minimal support, membership could grow to ten times this number.

A definitive statement of YPAR as it relates to education with an informative combination of theory and practice, this edited collection addresses both the political challenges and inherent power imbalances of conducting research with young people.

A revolutionary reappraisal of how to educate our children and young people by Ken Robinson, the New York Times bestselling author of The Element and Finding Your Element. Ken Robinson is one of the world’s most influential voices in education, and his 2006 TED Talk on the subject is the most viewed in the organization’s history. Now, the internationally recognized leader on creativity and human potential focuses on one of the most critical issues of our time: how to transform the nation’s troubled educational system. At a time when standardized testing businesses are raking in huge profits, when many schools are struggling, and students and educators everywhere are suffering under the strain, Robinson points the way forward. He argues for an end to our outmoded industrial educational system and proposes a highly personalized, organic approach that draws on today’s unprecedented technological and professional resources to engage all students, develop their love of learning, and enable them to face the real challenges of the twenty-first century. Filled with anecdotes, observations and recommendations from professionals on the front line of transformative education, case histories, and groundbreaking research—and written with Robinson’s trademark wit and engaging style—Creative Schools will inspire teachers, parents, and policy makers alike to rethink the real nature and purpose of education.

This title uses a holistic approach to examine the diverse issues that managers face to channel resources in the right direction for commercial success. It details the commercialization of innovation and new products in fast-paced, high-tech markets and how to match tecnological advances to new market opportunities.