Proven tools and techniques to improve business efficiency In today's competitive environment, it's the businesses with the right set of tools and technologies that get ahead, while others are left in the dust. Business Efficiency For Dummies provides you with practical, useful information on how to run a more effective business while saving time and money in the process. Analyzing the world's most effective companies and aimed at top-level business owners and managers, Business Efficiency For Dummies provides the foundation all companies can build upon. You'll discover how to take an objective view of your company's current processes and procedures; what to consider when evaluating analysis tools like Six Sigma, Lean, 5S, and Balanced Scorecard to get your company buttoned up and streamlined; how to audit your company's accounting procedures to rein in and control your AP and AR departments; how to train employees to work more efficiently; how to bring efficiency into the future; and much more. Find out how to stay afloat in the current economy Discover affordable, approachable methods for streamlining business practices for greater profit Employ the latest tools and technologies to maximize business efficiency The tools and techniques described in Business Efficiency For Dummies are indispensable for business leaders and managers looking to identify weaknesses and improve business productivity and profit.

The measure of the executive, Peter Drucker reminds us, is the ability to 'get the right things done'. Usually this involves doing what other people have overlooked, as well as avoiding what is unproductive. He identifies five talents as essential to effectiveness, and these can be learned; in fact, they must be learned just as scales must be mastered by every piano student regardless of his natural gifts. Intelligence, imagination and knowledge may all be wasted in an executive job without the acquired habits of mind that convert these into results. One of the talents is the management of time. Another is choosing what to contribute to the particular organization. A third is knowing where and how to apply your strength to best effect. Fourth is setting up the right priorities. And all of them must be knitted together by effective decision-making. How these can be developed forms the main body of the book. The author ranges widely through the annals of business and government to demonstrate the distinctive skill of the executive. He turns familiar experience upside down to see it in new perspective. The book is full of surprises, with its fresh insights into old and seemingly trite situations.

This textbook presents an overview of how the activities of an organisation can be managed to satisfy the needs of stakeholders through the cost effective, operationally efficient and sustainable transformation of resources into outputs. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, the authors show the relationship between management and economics and within this framework present the key areas of management activity. The book explains the connections between these areas and provides tools and instruments for successful management. The book's approach and content is relevant for all kinds of organisation - private or public sector, service or manufacturing, non-profit, large or small. Each chapter provides cases to illustrate what has been discussed and some questions to test comprehension. Throughout the book is a continuing project in which the reader is put in the position of owning their own business and must think and make decisions about what the chapter has discussed. The book combines Anglo-American and German approaches to management and management studies, making it a valuable resource both for those who are studying management and those who are working as managers.

In this book the authors explore the state of the art on efficiency measurement in health systems and international experts offer insights into the pitfalls and potential associated with various measurement techniques. The authors show that: - The core idea of efficiency is easy to understand in principle - maximizing valued outputs relative to inputs, but is often difficult to make operational in real-life situations - There have been numerous advances in data collection and availability, as well as innovative methodological approaches that give valuable insights into how efficiently health care is delivered - Our simple analytical framework can facilitate the development and interpretation of efficiency indicators.

How to be more organized and productive at work and have more fun doing it In the decade since the publication of first edition of this international bestseller, Kerry Gleeson's famed Personal Efficiency Program (PEP) has revolutionized the work lives of more than a half-million people worldwide. With increasing pressure to produce with far less support than at any time in the recent past, the techniques herein are more timely than ever. The program helps readers conquer the daily stream of interruptions and paperwork to manage tasks and time effectively. This Third Edition features expanded coverage of how to get more done in teams, including tips on managing multiple schedules and running more efficient meetings. It also incorporates ways to effectively use technology, helping readers make the most of the Internet, PDA's, and email to get the job done more quickly and with less effort. Kerry Gleeson (Boca Raton, FL) is founder and CEO of the Institute for Business Technology International. IBT's client list includes GM, Texaco, Westinghouse, and Hewlett-Packard. Gleeson has been featured in the Financial Times, the Washington Post, and Success.

This book offers a collection of studies on various organizations’ efficiency, criteria for evaluating efficiency, together with tools and methods for measuring efficiency. The articles included present an interdisciplinary look at efficiency, its essence and the principles of its measurement. They represent an attempt to seek the conceptual boundaries of efficiency, i.e. to clarify this abstract and multidimensional concept including its relation to innovation, competitiveness and intellectual capital. The contributions also identify a broad spectrum of conditions for achieving efficiency in various types of organizations and systems (e.g. health care, hybrid organizations, non-profit organizations), representing various industries (e.g. insurance, banking, tourism, agriculture).

This volume offers a collection of studies on problem of organization’s efficiency, criteria for evaluating the efficiency, tools and methods for measuring the efficiency. The articles included present an interdisciplinary look at efficiency, its essence and the principles of its measurement. The contributions also identify a broad spectrum of conditions for achieving efficiency in various types of organizations and systems (e.g. public institution, non-profit organizations), representing various industries. The book collects selected papers presented at the 7th International Conference "Efficiency as a Source of the Wealth of Nations", held in Wrocław, Poland, in May 2017.

This wide-ranging and authoritative dictionary contains 7,000 entries covering all areas of business and management, including marketing, organizational behaviour, business strategy, law, and taxation. Written by a team of experts, it features the very latest terminology, for example, the recent vocabulary associated with structured finance and the associated subprime lending crisis, including collaterized debt obligation and special purpose vehicle. The new edition of this established bestseller dispels modern financial and management jargon, defining entries in a clear, concise, and accessible manner. It contains US business terms, general management concepts (e.g. competence, knowledge management), named theories (e.g. Tannenbaum and Schmidt, Blake and Mouton) as well as expanded coverage of the contemporary theory of the firm and human resources. New terms are included from the fast-moving areas of current affairs (e.g. MiFID), Internet business and information technology and there is full coverage of the new Companies Act. With recommended web links for many entries, accessible and kept up to date via the Dictionary of Business and Management companion website, this edition is more informative than ever. This A-Z reference work is essential for business students, teachers and professionals, and useful for anyone needing a guide to business terminology.

If your company’s goal is to become fast, responsive, and agile, more efficiency is not the answer--you need more slack. Why is it that today’s superefficient organizations are ailing? Tom DeMarco, a leading management consultant to both Fortune 500 and up-and-coming companies, reveals a counterintuitive principle that explains why efficiency efforts can slow a company down. That principle is the value of slack, the degree of freedom in a company that allows it to change. Implementing slack could be as simple as adding an assistant to a department and letting high-priced talent spend less time at the photocopier and more time making key decisions, or it could mean designing workloads that allow people room to think, innovate, and reinvent themselves. It means embracing risk, eliminating fear, and knowing when to go slow. Slack allows for change, fosters creativity, promotes quality, and, above all, produces growth. With an approach that works for new- and old-economy companies alike, this revolutionary handbook debunks commonly held assumptions about real-world management, and gives you and your company a brand-new model for achieving and maintaining true effectiveness.

Obtaining a competitive advantage in today’s business environment generally does not happen of its own accord. With the speed of global economic change, products to market, technology and customer preferences, organizations must light on their feet and be the drivers of change. Given that most businesses deal with the same buyers in defined markets who purchase similar products, gaining this competitive advantage is critical to both thriving and being leaders in their field. To do this, one must drive efficiencies throughout the entire organization while creating a significant point of difference. Yet, inefficiency continues to run rampant and can be found in the often-forgotten pockets of the organization, hampering efficacy at best, leading it out the door at worst. How Efficiency Changes the Game: Developing Lean Operations for Competitive Advantage provides an insightful process for the executive, manager, and business owner, enabling them to discover inefficiencies where least expected, highlighting both the nature of the primary issues and then how to subsequently correct them. This book will assist in developing lean operations in areas such as leadership, marketing, strategy and planning, sales, time management, workflows, finances, and people.