This textbook presents the core of recent advances in design theory and its implications for design methods and design organization. Providing a unified perspective on different design methods and approaches, from the most classic (systematic design) to the most advanced (C-K theory), it offers a unique and integrated presentation of traditional and contemporary theories in the field. Examining the principles of each theory, this guide utilizes numerous real life industrial applications, with clear links to engineering design, industrial design, management, economics, psychology and creativity. Containing a section of exams with detailed answers, it is useful for courses in design theory, engineering design and advanced innovation management. "Students and professors, practitioners and researchers in diverse disciplines, interested in design, will find in this book a rich and vital source for studying fundamental design methods and tools as well as the most advanced design theories that work in practice". Professor Yoram Reich, Tel Aviv University, Editor-in-Chief, Research In Engineering Design. "Twenty years of research in design theory and engineering have shown that training in creative design is indeed possible and offers remarkably operational methods - this book is indispensable for all leaders and practitioners who wish to strengthen theinnovation capacity of their company." Pascal Daloz, Executive Vice President, Dassault Systemes

Cooperative activities, or joint ventures, are becoming increasingly popular as instruments of strategic action. But although more and more companies are entering into these alliances full of hope and enthusiasm, past experience shows that most will likely experience the disillusionment of having their ventures fall apart. William Murphy contends that our understanding of the strategic management of collective action needs improvement if the hoped for benefits of cooperation are to be realized. In this work, he examines the management of a specific type of cooperative action that has become critically important to company and national competitiveness: the cooperative research venture.

Murphy thoroughly details this new class of inter-firm cooperation to produce knowledge, which has only recently been made possible by changes in the competitive and legal environments. He begins with an introduction and review of the prior literature on cooperative ventures, followed by an extensive survey of competition and cooperation. The management challenges of cooperative research, particularly the need to forge a consensus among participants, are examined in a brief chapter, which precedes four studies of specific cooperative ventures: the Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology, the Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation, Sematech, and U.S. Memories. A final chapter draws conclusions and lessons from the examples, and three appendixes detail antitrust laws applicable to cooperative ventures, Japanese and European microelectronic and computer ventures, and cooperative ventures under NCRA. This work will be an important resource for executives and managers in companies involved in research and development, as well as for college courses in business and economics. Public and academic libraries will also find it to be a valuable addition to their collections.

This book examines the concept and practice of mentoring, as well as the wider scope and diversity of the mentoring that people can experience in their own life time. With each chapter dedicated to a specific level of mentoring, the book makes clear the impact and value of mentoring not only for the participants themselves but also on the situations in which mentoring occurs and the reverberations, positive and negative, on others outside this relationship. It shows the importance of relationships for people, individually and collectively and clarifies how relationships form the DNA for an inspiring, creative and professional life for the person and the community in which they engage. The book is about how support and skills can be transferred through mentoring to rebuild resilience through positive relationships and community; reconstructing them as we go.

This first volume on detox fashion discusses various interesting topics including a Toxic-Free Supply Chain for Textiles and Clothing; Environmental Issues in Textiles; Global Regulations, Restrictions & Research; Making the Change: Consumer Adoption of Sustainable Fashion; and Strategies for Detoxing Your Wardrobe. It provides an overview of the chemical-related issues confronting the fashion sector, summarizes global regulations, and discusses how to make the change by changing consumers' attitude towards adopting sustainable fashion, as well as the best strategies for detoxing our wardrobes.

This book clarifies the common misconception that there are no systematic instruments to support ideation, heuristics and creativity. Using a collection of articles from professionals practicing the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ), this book presents an overview of current trends and enhancements within TRIZ in an international context, and shows its different roles in enhancing creativity for innovation in research and practice. Since its first introduction by Genrikh Saulovich Altshuller in 1956 in the USSR, the TRIZ method has been widely used by inventors, design engineers and has become a standard element of innovation support tools in many Fortune 500 companies. However, TRIZ has only recently entered the domain of scientific publications and discussion. This collection of articles is meant as a record of scientific discussion on TRIZ that reflects the most interesting talking points, research interests, results and expectations. Topics such as Creative and Inventive Design, Patent Mining, and Knowledge Harvesting are also covered in this book.

A volume in I.S.C.E Book Series: Managing the Complex Series Editors Kurt Richardson and Michael Lissack, ISCE Research It seems as if attempts to use knowledge to understand and manage social networks are everywhere. Millions, if not billions, of dollars are being spent in an attempt to derail terrorist networks, with much of it being invested in making sense of massive data streams. There is growing concern that much of this money is being squandered on approaches that will never deliver on their promises. Our armed forces are being prepared to combat terrorist threats by the introduction of "network centric approaches" and "digital battlefields" - basically attempts to provide warfighters with a complete picture of the battlespace. However, the experience of practitioners suggests that the "data smog" this creates is actually counterproductive. From the arena of politics, the recent invigorating battle between senators Clinton and Obama has thrown the spotlight on the deficiencies in political polling (Economist, 2008b). Changes in the structure of the situation (e.g. high turnouts) have thrown the whole industry into chaos. Complexity is being discounted and the results are stark. The conclusion formed in the media was that the situation was wildly unpredictable (so anyone's to win), and ended up having real consequences for the Democratic challenger in November 2008 (Baldwin, 2008). Turning to business, we find that Societe Generale recently lost $7.2bn as the result of a single rogue trader making a series of bogus transactions amid turbulent markets in 2007 and 2008. There has been much speculation on what was known, when it was known, and who knew it. In other words, we have speculation that this is an example of the role of knowledge in the mismanagement of social networks - with spectacular effect. At a glance, the problems highlighted above seem positively overwhelming. Where do you start? But start we must. Simple "causal and effect" thinking doesn't seem to be able to cut the mustard. There is broad agreement that even if the Kyoto targets were fully met, on schedule, by 2100 it would only delay the warming of the planet by six years (Parry et al., 1998). We need to utilize knowledge in new ways...or maybe uncover insights from old ways. It is hard to think of something more worthy of attention that the role of knowledge in the management of complex systems. In Volume 4 of the Managing the Complex Series we have brought together seventeen essays from authors around the globe to explore the complex systems view of knowledge and its role in social networks. Contributors explore such topics as: the limitations to our knowledge of complex systems, the transfer of knowledge from local to global levels, collaborative knowledge generation, decision making in complex multi-stakeholder situations, organizational learning and innovation, all through the lens of the emerging field of complexity science. The editors hope that this volume will give theorists further avenues to explore in their attempts to understand knowledge creation, maintenance and distribution, and also provide practitioners with new tools to apply in the complex and messy real world.

To be successful at work you have to be successful with people. As stress takes an ever bigger toll on people, so the successful organisation is the one that enables its workforce to manage and even harness that stress into productivity and satisfaction. Balance, clear goals and responsibility become more and more important. The bookexamines the challenges that the furious pace of change in today?s world have brought and provides every manager with strategies to facilitate a successful, dynamic, creative, effective workforce. Backed by sound, up-to-the minute psychological theory this book is also highly practical and is packed with validated tools and techniques for enhancing life experience and work performance. This book will equip the reader with usable, effective, proven techniques for improving, communication, collaboration and co-operation at work. It will teach the reader how to become a ?manager coach? and to lead themselves and their team with confidence.

Employee theft is one of the most pervasive problems faced by businesses today, and it continues to escalate at an estimated rate of 15 percent per year. This volume presents the first full-length guide to the alternatives available to companies seeking to reduce both the actual theft of tangible property and the profits lost through cheating on time cards and expense accounts. The authors offer an in-depth discussion of the safeguards employers can implement, ranging from internal controls to physical security measures, and develop a comprehensive theft reduction strategy aimed at creating a working environment that discourages theft. They also address the legal and ethical problems arising from theft control issues as well as the question of equity in the workplace.

The authors agree that a plan for reducing employee theft can only be successful if it focuses on making the work environment unattractive to thieves rather than on simply catching thieves. They offer a practical theft reduction strategy, based on techniques that have proven successful in a variety of firms, that begins with the recruitment process and reaches into every aspect of business operation. In their concluding chapter they discuss what to do when a thief is identified. Five appendixes provide additional information including a guide to hiring and keeping good employees, a study of employee theft by Virginia's Crime Prevention Manual Task Force, an examination of what motivates employees, an internal controls checklist, and a list of dos and don'ts in dealing with employee theft. Human resource managers, small business owners, and executives in large corporations will find this volume an invaluable asset in their efforts to confront the growing problem of employee theft.

Inferior quality service threatens the accounting profession's existence. To reduce instances of substandard service, the profession requires firms to have a system of quality control, to annually inspect that system, and to undergo a comprehensive triennial external review. This book shows firms how to develop a quality control system, prepare for the review, and earn an unqualified report. In addition, it tackles the problem of substandard service head-on.

The author examines the roots of review, substandard service, and discusses the undiscussable. Next he reviews the pluses and minuses of the practice-monitoring programs and the importance of selecting the firM's reviewer. Quality control's nine functional areas are explained in depth and the ten steps to a successful review are also described in detail. He describes what happens on a review and offers practical advice about the problems to avoid. The concluding chapter offers over twenty recommendations that would return the accounting business back to the accounting profession. This book is for every firm, every practicing CPA, and the profession's leaders as well as those interested in improving the integrity of the financial reporting system. It also is important for students planning to enter public accounting.

Not many people are satisfied with the leaders we have in the public and private sectors. We are suffering from a severe lack of good leadership-even though billions of dollars per year are spent on leadership training and development.

The root cause of this leadership vacuum is that leadership gurus firmly believe, teach, and preach that anyone can be "made" into a leader with the right training, personal desire, and commitment. With this premise, they've approached leadership as a commonplace and elementary skill that anyone can learn. There's just one problem: they're wrong.

In this guidebook on leadership, you'll learn about all aspects of leadership, including:

how to look past personality profiles, leadership models, and traditional assessment tools to grasp what makes a great leader;

how to identify and select natural born leaders to achieve your objectives;

how to deal with poor leaders who hurt you and your organization.

"Leadership DNA" examines the false premise that anyone can be a leader and provides insights and tools that lead to a better system of identifying, selecting, and developing born leaders.

Utilising technologies, processes, and applications to analyse internal and structured data, business intelligence is a key aspect in the ability of an organization to gather knowledge and develop new opportunities for growth. Principles and Applications of Business Intelligence Research provides the latest ideas and research on the practices and management of business intelligence. Including original research, case studies, and analysis, this comprehensive collection aims to advance the understanding and implementation of business intelligence.

This edited book focuses on growth and entrepreneurial development in rapidly developing countries in Asia-Pacific region. The book synthesizes the scholarly papers and ideas presented at the 3rd International Conference on Managing the Asian Century, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2015. It accounts for that fact that entrepreneurs of today are focusing more on technology and that this is happening in so-called Smart Nations. Chapters in the book elaborate on huge gains in innovation in ASEAN, China and India. Gains that are essential for national growth. Some of the issues that are covered include developments in Financial-Data Analysis, Global Healthcare, Geospatial Analysis, Lean Manufacturing, Human Resource, and Big Data and Learning Analytics.

This book analyses the importance of consumer behaviour in sustainable fashion and consumption. Consumer behaviour plays a major role in sustainability, and when it comes to textile products, a number of studies have shown that for certain product categories, consumer behaviour during use and disposal stages influences the entire life cycle impacts of the product more than the raw material and manufacturing stages. However green the production, the overall sustainability of a product depends on the consumers who use and dispose of it.

Combining conceptual, pragmatic and operational approaches, this edited collection addresses the demand for knowledge and understanding of IT in the healthcare sector. With new technology outbreaks, our vision of healthcare has been drastically changed, switching from a 'traditional' path to a digitalized one. Providing an overview of the role of IT in the healthcare sector, The Digitization of Healthcare illustrates the potential benefits and challenges for all those involved in delivering care to the patient. The incursion of IT has disrupted the value chain and changed business models for companies working in the health sector, and also raised ethical issues and new paradigms about delivering care. This book illustrates the rise of patient empowerment through the development of patient communities such as PatientLikeMe, and medical collaborate platforms such as DockCheck, thus providing a necessary tool to patients, caregivers and academics alike.

As the way work is done changes and as organizations flatten themselves down in response to demands posed by the new global economy, managers on the front lines, where some say the real work is done, need a broader set of skills than ever before. They must learn to see their jobs differently--to become tougher and more durable--but they must also become more flexible in how they interact with the organization itself and its changing work and economic environments. The authors emphasize key tasks that front-line managers must do today, such as strategic planning, budgeting, quality management, and benchmarking, and how they must focus attention on their customers, until now far removed and perhaps out of mind. They must also recognize the need for effective information systems and find ways to align their immediate work units with larger organizational strategies and processes. In short, the authors offer essentially a new paradigm for the way management should now be practiced in a far-ranging book that today's managers will need to keep pace with changes that could threaten their careers, and a book that offers others on the way up a way to start their own careers on the right foot.

Becoming an effective front-line manager starts with understanding the job. The authors begin with a comprehensive look at what it means to be a front-line manager and the special challenges they face. They must become all things to all people, say the authors, and at the same time consider other, perhaps unfamiliar challenges, such as safety and health concerns. Front-line managers today must also learn to grow and adapt to changing work environments. The authors present an extensive view of these new tasks and roles and detail the ways in which front-line managers can address and overcome the obstacles they will find. The book is a readable, thought-provoking study of special interest to teachers of general management courses on the undergraduate and graduate levels.

This is the first book to comprehensively analyze key issues regarding innovation, entrepreneurship, and human resource development in the Japanese agricultural sector. Despite the fact that innovation and entrepreneurship are vital to the development of modern Japanese agriculture, there have been comparatively few studies in this field; in addition, they have been virtually none on measures for developing entrepreneurial human resources or innovation in agriculture. The agricultural sector's declining competitiveness and sustainability as an industry in Japan are serious concerns, especially in combination with an aging labor force and decreasing farmland. To date, Japanese agricultural policies have largely concentrated on accumulating farmland and securing a sufficient agricultural labor force. However, from the perspectives of industrial and regional development, policies focusing on creating innovation, the driving force of economic development, have been recognized as being more effective. Moreover, there have been some recent developments concerning innovation and entrepreneurship in various regions of Japan. This book provides a wealth of significant findings from studies on successful cases involving e.g. agricultural clusters, agriculture-commerce-industry collaborations, networking, franchising, and corporate entry-induced innovation utilizing limited regional resources; and how they have contributed to the development of each region. The interrelationships between innovation, entrepreneurship, and human resource development are then clarified, and effective policies to promote Japanese agriculture and rural areas are suggested. Given its scope, the book contributes to the advancement not only of farm management science, but also of regional science and related fields.

Emerged from the Lewinian tradition of research into organizational behavior, motivation, and change, here is a conceptual but practical way for HR professionals and others in today's organizations to understand better, more quickly and reliably, what the underlying human problems in their organizations are. Cunningham proceeds from the conviction that the key to solving organizational problems is in the hands of people, and that when people talk about the problems they experience they are reflecting their values and beliefs. The way to get people to do that is through a style of inquiry called indirect questioning--the Echo approach. This approach, which managers and executives in all types of organizations will find helpful and extensively useful is the subject of CunninghaM's examination.

The Echo approach is designed to bring to the surface and measure the values and beliefs held by a group of people and the organizations they comprise. Cunningham illustrates how this approach works, how to design interviews, surveys, and observations that actually echo peoples' values and beliefs--the obvious ones and those they keep hidden. Readable, well illustrated with cases and examples, this book will help executives at all levels understand better what people in these organizations are actually thinking and saying. In doing so it will help organizations become more productive and be more desirable places to work.

Organizations are facing major disruptions in technology, consumer preferences, and in the makeup of their workforce, and as a result, they will need to adapt to these rapidly changing times to stay effective. Organizations that are able to tap into the collective knowledge of their employees and leverage their insights will have an advantage over those that lack this connectivity. Implementing a knowledge management (KM) strategy can help organizations improve operational effectiveness, innovation, and adapt to changes, but the majority of KM implementations fail due to misalignment with the organization's existing culture. Organizational culture can enable effective KM, or it can be a barrier to its implementation. The Handbook of Research on Organizational Culture Strategies for Effective Knowledge Management and Performance defines the relationship between organizational culture and knowledge management and how they impact one another. This handbook also identifies critical business practices to assist organizations in transitioning to work from home while maintaining a strong corporate culture that includes beneficial knowledge-sharing behaviors. Covering topics including knowledge management, organizational culture, and change management, this text is essential for managers, executives, practitioners, leaders in business, non-profits, academicians, researchers, and students looking for research on how organizations can thrive and adapt due to emerging global disruptions as well as local or internal disruptions.

The book introduces the reader to game-changing ways of building and utilizing Internet-based services related to design and manufacture activities through the cloud. In a broader sense, CBDM refers to a new product realization model that enables collective open innovation and rapid product development with minimum costs through social networking and negotiation platforms between service providers and consumers. It is a type of parallel and distributed system consisting of a collection of inter-connected physical and virtualized service pools of design and manufacturing resources as well as intelligent search capabilities for design and manufacturing solutions. Practicing engineers and decision makers will learn how to strategically position their product development operations for success in a globalized interconnected world.

This book examines what mechanisms enable science-intensive organizations to broaden beneficiaries of science in urban settings. Focusing on organizations that constitute urban resilience systems and networks, it maps the contributions of academic institutions, established multinationals, and entrepreneur firms in environmental, material, and related life sciences. It then develops a model of strategy and governance for organizations to invest in and implement new environmental material science projects. This book provides researchers with a framework based on management theories of R&D and resource allocation for resolving urban issues.

Evidence-Based Validation of Herbal Medicines brings together current thinking and practice in the areas of characterization and validation of natural products. This book reviews all aspects of evaluation and development of medicines from plant sources, including their cultivation, collection, phytochemical and phyto-pharmacological evaluation, and therapeutic potential. Emphasis is placed on describing the full range of evidence-based analytical and bio-analytical techniques used to characterize natural products, including -omic technologies, phyto-chemical analysis, hyphenated techniques, and many more.

Vital tools for implementing Lean Six Sigma--what they are, how they work, and which to use--The Lean Six Sigma Pocket Toolbook is today's most complete and results-based reference to the tools and concepts needed to understand, implement, and leverage Lean Six Sigma.

The only guide that groups tools by purpose and use, this hands-on reference provides:

• Analyses of nearly 100 tools and methodologies--from DMAIC and Pull Systems to Control Charts and Pareto Charts
• Detailed explanations of each tool to help you know how, when, and why to use it for maximum efficacy
• Sections for each tool explaining how to create it, how to interpret what you find, and expert tips
• Lean Six Sigma is today's leading technique to maximize production efficiency and maintain control over each step in the managerial process

With The Lean Six Sigma Pocket Toolbook, you'll discover how to propel your organization to new levels of competitive success--one tool at a time.