2012
QP REVIEWS
A Practical Application of Supply Chain Management Principles
Thomas L. Schoenfeldt, ASQ Quality Press, 2007, 224 pp., $50 list, $30 member (book).
Books intended to be used as textbooks are often long on theory and short on application. This book avoids that trap by being direct while still being thorough, thought-provoking and practical. Supply chain management is covered from the beginning of the supply chain to the end, forcing the reader to consider each section individually and as a whole.
Schoenfeldt emphasizes asking questions and defining needs specific to the user’s situation to foster an effective and efficient chain. In the book, each part of the chain is dissected, and a set of instructions for analyzing data to make informed decisions is included, along with interpretative help. Wherever possible, the concepts are reduced to simple constructs, with an accompanying discussion of options and inherent effects.
The book’s weakness is its lack of examples to illustrate the material. Schoenfeldt overcomes the problem through his comprehensive coverage and use of a feature he calls “Lead Thought,” which helps the reader fill in the blanks and learn the lessons.
Each chapter has a set of keywords and discussion questions. Also included are a bibliography, index, diagrams and figures to support the material. Several chapters provide quick tutorials on associated matters not integral to supply chain management, such as the role of quality and its tools, customer satisfaction and IT.
Throughout the book, the softer, often-overlooked parts of supply chain management are integrated in the discussion to show the impact they can have on the success of establishing, maintaining and improving a supply chain.
Any person who participates in supply chain management or has responsibility for monitoring, developing or improving processes in the chain will benefit from considering the material presented in this book. By reading it, I have gained a more thorough knowledge of the issues my company faces as we move products from the raw-material stage to the consumer.
Reviewed by Marc A. Feldman
Solvay Chemicals Inc.
Houston
JMP Start Statistics
John Sall, Lee Creighton, Ann Lehman, SAS Press Series, 2007, 607 pp., $59.95 (book).
JMP is a wonderfully intuitive statistical software product that allows users to jump right in without experience and begin to analyze data. This guide provides many tutorials and some statistical background to ensure the user can employ JMP to the fullest extent. There are also exercises and solutions included that make it possible to use the text in an introductory or intermediate applied statistics course. The data used in these examples are included with the JMP software.
The coverage of statistics is comprehensive, and the book could serve as a reference for researchers when conducting analyses. Included is a short, somewhat philosophical chapter titled, “What Are Statistics?” which includes essays and ways of thinking about statistics. There are abundant screenshots in each chapter, and, because JMP has excellent graphical capability, there are also sections discussing the appropriate graphic display to be used for each statistical analysis.
For more advanced users, the book includes information on using the software’s formula editor and covers analyses through time series, discriminant and cluster analyses, and a variety of linear models and regression.
While not an absolute necessity for a seasoned user of JMP, this book will expand and enhance the ability to use JMP, and is an excellent companion to the JMP software.
Reviewed by I. Elaine Allen
Babson College
Wellesley, MA
Strategy Activation
Scott Glatstein, Business Leaders Press, 2008, 214 pp., $24.95 (book).
It’s been said that only 10% of business strategies are effectively implemented, leaving 90% to failure. This book provides a roadmap to help the reader ensure the business strategy he or she is trying to implement falls in the first category.
In Glatstein’s terms, a business strategy amounts to making promises to the marketplace. The implementation of the strategy, or strategy activation, is the activities, resources and infrastructures needed to keep those promises.
The required infrastructures are covered in detail in four chapters, the most engaging of which covers the customer experience. Glatstein frames the topic as an important feature that strategists should try harder to understand, define and engineer into the product or service provided.
The book includes numerous real-life anecdotes about companies’ successful or failed attempts at strategy implementation. These materials are presented in an excellent and entertaining storytelling fashion, and provide valuable lessons in the way only hindsight can.
This book can serve as a supplement for Six Sigma practitioners in search of food for thought. In particular, those individuals could benefit from attempting to find a common ground between the content of this book and the search for a way to translate the voice of the customer into success for the company.
Regardless of how the book’s contents are applied, it is suitable for all business leaders dealing with the creation and implementation of company strategy.
Reviewed by Shin Ta Liu
Lynx Systems
San Diego
Kaizen and the Art of Creative Thinking
Shigeo Shingo, PCS Press, 2007, 281 pp., $59.40 (book).
The author of this book is one of the innovators behind the Toyota Production System (TPS) and concepts such as poka-yoke and single minute exchange of die. Those familiar with TPS know that much of the emphasis is on the upfront processes of properly defining and analyzing the problems. But another important element of Toyota’s success is its ability to empowers people to be creative on the job and figure out how to fix the problems they encounter.
In this book, we learn how Shingo approaches problem solving. The focus is on the thinking portion of problem solving, making improvements and dealing with opposition from the guardians of the status quo. He discusses the principles of analytical thinking, systematic thinking and analysis, which are the keys to successful problem solving.
The discussion focuses on five steps:
- Capturing the problems.
- Idea generation for improvement.
- The evolution of improvement.
- From ideas to reality.
- Promoting improvement ideas.
The book does not contain deep theoretical discussions. It provides a straightforward method and many helpful and entertaining examples that illustrate the concepts.
Most individuals in the quality field are familiar with certain concepts. But they have never been provided the framework that teaches people how to solve problems. This book, which originally was published in 1958 but has been translated into English for the first time, is valuable, influential and inspiring, because it shows us more about how to think about our work in a systematic way.
Reviewed by Bengt Klefsjö
Luleå University of Technology
Luleå, Sweden
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