Thursday, December 11, 2008

Creating Effective Teams or The Art of M A

Creating Effective Teams: A Guide for Members and Leaders

Author: Susan A Wheelan

"Creating Effective Teams takes readers by the hand through the four developmental stages of getting from group creation to highly effective teams. It is packed with strategies for building and supporting well-managed, high-performing teams. The author provides ample checklists and case examples to guide members and leaders through their groups' developmental states and to help them work through the times when they inevitably get stuck. She does an amazing job of summarizing a vast literature of empirical research on team functioning and development into a comprehensive yet uncomplicated, straightforward guide. She supports detailed explanations of how to start, build, and sustain a team with real-life examples from her many years of consulting experience. This book is a must for anyone whose work requires teamwork." --Andrea Markowitz, University of Baltimore Based on the author's many years of consulting experience with teams in the public and private sector, the book tells us why teams are important, how they function, and what makes them productive and unproductive. The author clearly illustrates the developmental nature of teams and describes what happens in each stage. Separate chapters are devoted to the responsibilities of team leaders and team members. Problems that occur frequently in groups are highlighted, followed by what-you-can-do sections that offer specific advice. Real-life examples and questionnaires are used throughout the book, giving readers the opportunity for self-evaluation.

Booknews

"When teams are good, they're very, very good." They are also necessary given the increasing complexity of work. So contends Wheelan (Training and Development Center, Temple U.), who presents a lucid four-stage developmental approach to transforming work groups into high performance teams. Replete with "what you can do" advice, case examples, checklists, humor, and references (14 pages worth). Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)



New interesting textbook: Betty Crockers Easy Slow Cooker Dinners or Arthur Schwartzs Jewish Home Cooking

The Art of M&A

Author: Stanley Foster Reed

Authoritative and completely up-to-date, the Fourth Edition of The Art of M&A is an unsurpassed, one-stop guide to every facet of mergers and acquisitions that enables you to make winning deals with complete confidence.

This definitive resource retains its popular Q&A format, offering quick access to all the changes that have occurred in the field since the merger wave of the 1990s. The book explores every key aspect of winning M&A transactions, and presents advice on avoiding common M&A pitfalls.

The Fourth Edition of The Art of M&A features vital information on:

  • Getting Started in Mergers and Acquisitions --learning the basic M&A process, requirements, negotiating skills, and objectives
  • Planning and Finding --deciding what to buy and then locating it
  • Valuation and Pricing -- using multiple valuation methods to discover the true value of an acquired company or unit
  • The Art of Financing and Refinancing -- mastering funding sources and issues
  • Structuring M/A/B Transactions -- managing general, tax, and accounting considerations
  • The Due Diligence Inquiry -- looking into the past, present, and future risks of the business to be purchased
  • Negotiating the Acquisition Agreement and the Letter of Intent-- understanding two vital documents in the M&A process
  • Closing -- synchronizing the many individual items to produce a harmonious transaction
  • Postmerger Integration and Divestitures -- following through after the M&A deal to capture the economic value of synergies
  • Special Issues for M&A in Public Companies_examining the unique legal and business considerations of public entities
  • Workouts, Bankruptcies, andLiquidations -- handling specific financial problems that arise in M&A transactions with entities in the zone of insolvency
  • Structuring Transactions with International Aspects -- developing the necessary skills and knowledge to do M&A deals across national borders

Filled with detailed examples and case studies, this updated classic also includes discussion of purchase accounting, Section 404, new legal cases with M&A implications, and more.



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