Rewarding Teams is a helpful and practical book that addresses a topic that is very timely in our "virtual" team business world. The case study format from real organizations adds credibility and makes it very user friendly. The failures, successes and lessons learned approach is a great way to find out invaluable information that can be applied to your organization. It has certainly helped me assist my constituents in the mostly uncharted area of team recognition and rewards versus individual.

Much has been written over the past several years about teams and teamwork. For the most part, these books have concentrated on the criteria of effective teams and how to create the high performing team. Of critical concern to many is how to reward the high performing team - - - how to recognize in a meaningfull way the team's outstanding performance. This book - a first - answers that question with examples from a number of companies. If your company is actively involved in teams and teamwork, this is a volume that you need to read. It is a valuable resource.

"Certainly there are good books for compensation professionals on the technical aspects of designing incentive plans for teams, and handbooks that offer creative laundry lists of recognition ideas of individual contributors. But there are few sources for people on the firing line looking for practical advice coupled with real-life examples of how to design reward and recognition systems for teams, not individuals. This book provides practical advice and detailed examples of effective organizational unit (group) incentives, project team incentives, and recognition plans. It is for managers in organizations that have made a commitment to a collaborative culture and who want to create effective reward systems for teams...At the heart of this book are case studies of reward plans in companies large and small, in many industries, and of many cultures...Whenever organizations try to make teamwork the norm, many supporters become frustrated because the usual reward-and-recognition programs don't support it. In this book, the fictional BIZCOM Corporation and its managers show how frustration about teams can turn into success. BIZCOM's trials and tribulations are based on the authors' years of experience working with organizations" (from the Preface).

In this context, Glenn Parker, Jerry McAdams, and David Zielinski:

* describe BIZCOM, a fictitious company that wants to use a team approach to adress a critical business problem, and discuss team and organizational development issues such as vision, sponsorship, membership, stakeholders, launches, training, coaching, management style, and organizational support.

* discuss reward and recognition systems, communications and performance feedback, and training and development tools for creating a team-based organization.

* introduce an organizing model for rewards, and discuss organizational culture. At this point, they argue that "One general description of the whole organization's culture is possible, although organizations are made up of a number of suborganizational units, each with a slightly different culture. Accounting has a different culture than marketing. Manufacturing has a different culture than customer service. Hopefully, they are aligned with the overreaching organizational culture, with the differences simply reflecting the nature of the work they do". And they also argue that "One of the keys to success in improving organizational performance is to ensure that reward plans reinforce the desired culture, or at least attempt to reduce the gap between the existing and desired culture".

* define six types of reward plans: (1) individual base compensation and benefits, (2) individual capability (competency), (3) individual incentives, (4) recognition, (5) project team incentives, (6) organizational unit incentives. (But throughout the book they mainly focus on the last three plans - more detailed examination of these plans in several companies and review of their experiences see Chapters 3-5).

* summarize how you can best utilize project, recognition, and group incentive plans to improve teamwork and organizational performance as lessons from the trenches (more detailed discussion of these trenches see Chapter 6):

(1). Customize the plan.

(2). Align plans with business objectives.

(3). Send the right message.

- create many winners, few losers

- involve employees in the selection process

- trust the folks

(4). Use noncash as well as cash awards.

- noncash awards are not limited to recognition plans

- give a few big awards and lots of small ones

- pay the taxes on noncash awards

(5). Communicate, communicate, communicate.

- never assume people understand

- tell people how they are doing - all the time

- reinforce the messages

- role modeling works

(6). Create a smorgasbord of plans.

(7). Budget for recognition activities.

(8). Keep administration in mind.

(9). Payoffs are in the eye of the beholder.

(10). How plans are introduced and operated is paramount.

Finally, they argue that "There are no silver bullets. There is a good will, faith in the value of employee contributions, good business judgement, and willingness to act on a strategy of teamwork reinforced by rewards and recognition plans. We've learned how to manage financial, fiscal, and customer capital. Leveraging human capital is the challenge for the next century. Reward and recognition plans designed to encourage teams and teamwork is one way to meet that challenge".

I highly recommend this invaluable study to all executives and HR professionals.

Great for my kids! Helps to explain the basics in the structure of the human body with a great deal of fun. Highly recommended!

As a high school health teacher, I am always looking for a quality text to utilize in my classroom. This book is just that. The pictures are clear and free from confusion. The text is concise and easily understood. I recommend this to parents and teachers alike. Even my brother in medical school uses a copy. It is useful for all ages.

This book is great for wargamers and others interested in two of the key German forces in WW II's Battle of the Bulge. Kampfgruppe Peiper is shown with great detail as to what types and quantities of tanks and troops were at specific places at specific times. The battles at Stoumont and La Gleize are well documented and the writing style will put you in the heat of battle. You will want to supplement this fine book with another Osprey title, The Ardennes Offensive,VI Panzer Armee.

Which home does not have Dickens on their shelves? We have sought to have our children learn from the great thinkers of all times and truly Dickens is one the greatest! This collection is a must. Not only is it Dickens, but Alex Jennings is fantastic as he reads with such life and vigor! It is nice and relaxing to let him do the reading...his example challenges the children to want to read LIKE him! Plus, you will find that you can expose your children to the great works of literature while you are busy on the go! We have used these tapes during the holidays for A Christmas Carol as we were busily taking care of all the "have-to-do's." Dickens added spice to our holidays. Plus, in this collection you also get to enter into the world of little Oliver Twist...my children wanted to adopt him! David Copperfield quickly became another part of our lives as well! Do not miss this classic collection...it will become part of your family as you introduce them to the great thoughts of one of the greatest thinkers of all times!

I read this book while attending Professor Nellis's course for my bank. Prior to that I have never studied any economics. Prof Nellis succeeds in his book to unravel economic intricacies to laymen like me. He makes the subject extremely easy to understand. His inspiring style of teaching reminds me of the great physicist Richard Feynman.

History Next Door is stories of World War 2 Veterans in the Hampton Roads area. Even if your not into history, you'll definitely like it. I am only 16 years old and I read the book and really enjoyed it. It opened up my eyes and made me realize how special these war veterans really are and what they went through just for our country. They are the true heroes of America! The stories of these 18 veterans and increbible! I hope that you will go get this book. The author of the book is David Parker and he did a great job writing it. The way he described it and the words he used were really great. He got to interview and talk to these 18 veterans so he could put it all together and write the book. Go get it today!!!

I bought this book after watching the British television movie, "Queer as Folk," which is set in Manchester, England. The bars, restaurants, public relations offices, apartment buildings (old and new), provided an exciting backdrop to the club-hopping, trend-setting characters in that movie. The combination of modern architecture and the thoughtful repurposing of nineteenth century factories and warehouses struck me as exciting and playful.

Although I have been unable to identify any of the buildings from the movie in David Hands and Sarah Parker's "little guide to [Manchester's] recent architecture," the book did confirm my sense that the people of Manchester have worked hard to be neither pure preservationists nor reckless redevelopers. Each of the 65 structures covered is represented by one or two photographs and receives, at the most, a page and a half of descriptive text. The photographs are beautiful black and white images, though sometimes it is difficult to tie the image (often a detail, such as an entryway) to any particular description within the text. The writing is delicious and beautiful in its own right, even when you're not quite sure what the authors are talking about. (For instance, this of Malmaison: "To avoid pastiche the new facade is grey-granite aggregate and concrete block. Designed to be behind the Hoyles building, sliding into a former lightwell in its V-shaped plan. This juxtaposition has informally bonded the two volumes, creating a large hard-landscaped piazza, clearly identifying the hotel's presence and purpose.") There's a lot in these descriptions to unpack, but I feel the authors have made astute observations and assessments (usually positive, though they are not afraid to deliver a well-earned jab here and there as well).

As a guide, I felt it suffered from the lack of a good, comprehensive introduction (for instance, I would like to have learned more about Manchester's industrial past and to have gotten an analysis of how the city responded to the 1996 IRA bombing that was responsible for much of the city's recent rebuilding). I would also have liked to have had a map or two, suggested walking tours, and more context photos. But for it's price and size (a very compact 4 X 4 inches), I was quite satisfied with what I got.

Richard Tyler is scared 10 year old boy. After stumbling into the library during a storm, he meets the Pagemaster and explores the world of fiction books with three companions, Adventure, Fantasy and Horror. Richard deals with his many phobias through his journey from Fiction A-Z, encountering characters of famous stories. The illustrations were brilliant, colourful, and contained lots of detail which made them interesting. The story was well paced with lots of action which made it enjoyable to read.

When I first read this book I didn't exactly know what it meant. After I finished I did. It is really sad that kids my age or older or younger have to do more work than I could do in two years. It's not fair that they are being denied a childhood. They never will have the chance to fall out of a tree, or get grass stains on the new pair of jeans that they will never have. If you don't find this sad you need to find a heart, picutre yourself doing all the work. I don't think we could do it.

It was a stuinning book that truly opened my eyes

I saw a story about the man who wrote and photographed this book on 60 Minutes. It was so intersting, I bought the book. The book opens your eyes to child slave labor in third world countries. It's heart breaking to see these children being abused in this manner. The photos are a reality check, and the text will make you weep.

The Norton Anthology of American literature is a great collection of the most prominent and prolific authors in this young nation's history. The Anthology covers the development of authors in the new world, from the early native American folk tales to the works of Toni Morrison and Allen Ginsberg. The anthology spans poetry and prose and gives the reader a great cross sectional view of American society and its problems. The presence of Native American, Black and Hispanic authors presents a complete line up of works of literature, presented in a pleasant chronological order and introduced by a brief and interesting description of the author's life and works. The introductory description of each author facilitates the contextual placement of the text and its comprehension. The anthology contains several novels such as "Howl", "Sula" and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn". The presence of these complete works makes the anthology more complete, as they are an important part of the American literary tradition. The selection of authors and of their works is a good one, but presents some flaws. Obviously not being able to include all relevant authors in the American literary tradition, the editors selected a large number of authors, and their most important works. Nonetheless several important texts seem to be missing. Texts by less prolific authors, such as the great new classic "To kill a mockingbird" are missing. Although the anthology gives the reader an introduction on the author and his works it does not stimulate sufficiently through interesting points to be discussed and questions which shed light on hidden or obscure aspects of the texts. The anthology is a great tool for any class, or for the passionate reader. It is ideal if accompanied by a class or group/club in which the texts are discussed.

The Norton anthology is the definitive collection of American literature. Its selections range from the letters of Christopher Columbus to quintessential American works like Whitman's "Song of Myself" and inherently American movements such as beat poetry. The collection offers a wide spread selection of works, some of which fall outside of your typical definition of "literature." All, however, have been important parts of our artistic tradition and provide literary examples of the coming of age of America. Literature has truly helped to define the American identity. This book is a history lesson, a journey through some of the most beautiful poetry and prose ever written and a testament to the kind of intelligent, passionate people that have formed our country.

To anyone seeking an encompassing overview of American literature, here is your book. This, the latest edition of the Norton Anthology, not only makes for months of good reading but also acts as a good primer for further pursuits in American letters (academic and otherwise.) Besides the countless number of excellent selections, eleven works appear in their entirety. Among them, Twain's Huckleberry Finn, Whitman's "Song of Myself," and Ginsburg's "Howl."

The anthology also contains several new additions - most notably an intriguing section of Native American trickster tales that provides an interesting counter to Chris Columbus' over-zealous ramblings. As for more contemporary writing, I was pleasantly surprised at the number of deserving writers and poets newly anthologized in this revision: Toni Morrison, Raymond Carver, and Sandra Cisneros just to name a few.

Yet what makes this anthology truly successful is the breadth and depth of the text as a whole. The selections, the organization, the well-written bits of biographical information... IT ALL FITS PERFECTLY! No doubt other readers will find this anthology as informative, provocative and enjoyable as I do. A definite keeper for my permanent collection.