Debra Smith – författare

Implement demand driven smart metrics to drive andsustain dramatic gains in flow and improve ROI performance

What if the objective of minimizing unit product cost that is hard coded into all reporting and measurement systems is simply "bad math" that drives decisions and actions that destroy ROI?

In today's volatile, globally competitive environment, new decision-making tools are required to monitor, measure, and improve total organizational performance.Adherence to "old" operational rules, tools, and behaviors is killing competitiveness in most enterprises. A fundamental shift is required. Cowritten by internationallyrecognized experts in the field, Demand Driven Performance explains why current measurement forms must be replaced. The authors present a demand driven blueprint and the smart metrics to maximize flow and ROI.

"The methods described in this book worked in one of the most complex manufacturing operations that you can imagine with very effective results." -- From the Foreword by Dan Eckermann, former President and CEO, LeTourneau Technologies, Inc.

THIS PRACTICAL, TIMELY GUIDE OFFERS:

The case against conventional unitcost-focused metrics, and proof of their negative effectsThe new rules needed to succeed in the complex and volatile global demand and supply landscapeHistorical perspectives on flow, cost, and rise and demise of management accountingThe evolution of flow and ROI as strategyA case study--the Boeing DreamlinerInstructions on how to design and implement a demand driven information systemThe smart metrics required to sustain and drive improvements in demand driven operating models

The goal of this book is to encourage educators and researchers to understand the complexities of adolescent gang members' lives in order to rethink their assumptions about these students in school. The particular objective is to situate four gang members as literate, caring students from loving families whose identities and literacy keep them on the margins of school. The research described in this book suggests that advocacy is a particularly effective form of critical ethnography. Smith and Whitmore argue that until schools, as communities of practice, enable children and adolescents to retain identities from the communities in which they are full community members, frightening numbers of students are destined to fail.The stories of four Mexican American male adolescents, who were active members of a gang and Smith's students in an alternative high school program, portray the complicated, multiple worlds in which these boys live. As sons and teenage parents they live in a family community; as CRIP members they live in a gang community; as "at risk" students, drop-outs, and graduates they live in a school community, and as a result of their illegal activities they live in the juvenile court community. The authors theorize about the boys' literacy in each of their communities. Literacy is viewed as ideological, related to power, and embedded in a sociocultural context. Vivid examples of conversation, art, tagging, rap, poetry, and other language and literacy events bring the narratives to life in figures and photographs in all the chapters. Readers will find this book engaging and readable, yet thought provoking and challenging.Audiences for Literacy and Advocacy in Adolescent Family, Gang, School, and Juvenile Court Communities include education researchers, professionals, and students in the areas of middle/high school education, at-risk adolescent psychology, and alternative community programs--specifically those interested in literacy education, sociocultural theory, and popular culture.

The goal of this book is to encourage educators and researchers to understand the complexities of adolescent gang members' lives in order to rethink their assumptions about these students in school. The particular objective is to situate four gang members as literate, caring students from loving families whose identities and literacy keep them on the margins of school. The research described in this book suggests that advocacy is a particularly effective form of critical ethnography. Smith and Whitmore argue that until schools, as communities of practice, enable children and adolescents to retain identities from the communities in which they are full community members, frightening numbers of students are destined to fail.The stories of four Mexican American male adolescents, who were active members of a gang and Smith's students in an alternative high school program, portray the complicated, multiple worlds in which these boys live. As sons and teenage parents they live in a family community; as CRIP members they live in a gang community; as "at risk" students, drop-outs, and graduates they live in a school community, and as a result of their illegal activities they live in the juvenile court community. The authors theorize about the boys' literacy in each of their communities. Literacy is viewed as ideological, related to power, and embedded in a sociocultural context. Vivid examples of conversation, art, tagging, rap, poetry, and other language and literacy events bring the narratives to life in figures and photographs in all the chapters. Readers will find this book engaging and readable, yet thought provoking and challenging.Audiences for Literacy and Advocacy in Adolescent Family, Gang, School, and Juvenile Court Communities include education researchers, professionals, and students in the areas of middle/high school education, at-risk adolescent psychology, and alternative community programs--specifically those interested in literacy education, sociocultural theory, and popular culture.

Legacies: African-American Female Pioneers is a collection of life stories of women who lived through the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s while residing in Charlotte, North Carolina. By sharing their stories of activism in the face of social and institutional racism, readers learn how women fought for freedom and equality in America.Chapters One and Two of the book introduce the women in the context and history of the era in which they worked and lived. Readers learn about their experiences at segregated schools, hospitals, colleges, and universities, as well as their personal lives, raising families and working. Chapter Three includes highlights from the author's interviews with the legacies, in which they emphasize the importance of friendship, unexpected allies, and serving the community during their years of activism. The final chapter features photographs and first-hand accounts from each of the women in the book, bringing their stories to life. Deeply personal and endlessly inspiring, Legacies is an excellent supplementary text for courses in Africana studies, race and ethnic studies, or any course that studies the history of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.

Today's competitive environment requires that companies distinguish themselves in the marketplace using factors other than prices. Companies that excel at on-time delivery, short cycle/leadtime, quality, and fast response to the market gain a competitive edge - and have the ability to market based on these features.A proven approach to achieve this is the Theory of Constraints (TOC) production solution known, as drum-buffer-rope scheduling. Just in time (JIT), Total Quality Management (TQM) and other philosophies aim at exploiting these competitive edge factors. However, accounting systems, financial, and incentive measurements continue to be the biggest stumbling blocks to companies wishing to improve their financial performance with these tools.Agreement on the need for a measurement system that encourages local actions in line with bottom line results is common, but solutions have remained elusive. Whether a company is pursuing JIT, TQM, or TOC, cost accounting is the common enemy.Attempts have been made to introduce "new" costing methods such as activity based costing and economic value added, but they have failed to recognize the basic difference between product costing for financial statement purposes and collective management information to make real time decisions.The Measurement Nightmare shows you how to resolve the conflicts and remove the accounting systems, financial, and incentive measurement roadblocks to adopting TOC, thereby gaining improved performance and sustaining competitive advantage. The techniques that the author, leading authority Debra Smith, has implemented and tracked at various companies highlight "the productivity measurement nightmare". Especially important are the day-to-day tools she developed to ensure successful implementation.

The thematic breadth of the chapters in this volume reflects the complexity of the far-right in Australia, ranging from the attitudes of far-right populist party voters and the role of far-right groups in anti-mosque protests, to online messaging and rhetoric of radical and extreme right-wing movements.

The thematic breadth of the chapters in this volume reflects the complexity of the far-right in Australia, ranging from the attitudes of far-right populist party voters and the role of far-right groups in anti-mosque protests, to online messaging and rhetoric of radical and extreme right-wing movements.