Don't Hire Anyone Without Me!

Carol Quinn, Career Press, 3 Tice Rd., Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417, 2002, 192 pp., $45 (book).

This is an excellent book that looks at the other side of the hiring process.

Many books and articles have been written about how to interview appropriately from the perspective of the interviewee. However, little has been written regarding how to conduct an effective interview that yields the best results--hiring the best person for a particular position.

Quinn provides guidance on distinguishing the top performers from the actors during the hiring process. She provides focus on the most common pitfalls a manager may stumble across, including hiring based on skills alone and basing decisions on "gut" feelings. The author explains how to ascertain more important attributes of a candidate, including proper attitude, which often can offset a lack of desirable skill sets.

The text is well written and easy to follow. The primary purpose of the book is to develop a motivation based interview process that will result in better new hires, which in turn will reduce costs through increased productivity and lower turnover.

A must read for anyone involved in the interview process.

James F. Jaquess
Mirant
Atlanta

ISO 9000:2000: A Practical Quality Manual Explained

Kevin R. Grimes, ASQ Quality Press, 600 N. Plankinton Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53203, 2003, 280 pp., $40 member, $50 list (book).

With many organizations working to transform their quality systems from ISO 9000:1994 to ISO 9001:2000, books like ISO 9000:2000: A Practical Quality Manual Explained are of great interest.

The intent of this book is to assist with the implementation of an ISO 9001:2000 quality management system with a minimum of problems and additional documentation. It also aims at preparing for the registration audit.

While many books on ISO 9001:2000 explain what each clause of the new standard means, this book focuses more on developing a quality manual for your organization. Grimes demonstrates how to develop each section of your manual and describes necessary components related to ISO 9001:2000. He takes up where most other books leave off and includes an example of a complete quality manual that is compliant to the standard.

Grimes discusses each clause by describing the requirements of the standard, giving comments and advice for that clause and illustrating the part of the manual related to the clause. As ISO 9001:2000 offers flexibility in deciding what is appropriate for your organization, this approach helps you customize your manual to get what is best for you.

The book is written in plain, easy-to-understand language and is aimed mainly at professionals at the beginning or intermediate stage of their ISO 9001:2000 journeys. It uses real-life examples to help you relate the text to situations your organization may face. It is one of the best books in this area.

Bengt Klefsjö
Luleå University
Luleå, Sweden

The Quality Revolution

George Mouradian, University Press of America, 4501 Forbes Blvd., Ste. 200, Lanham, MD, 2002, 268 pp., $38 (book).

The Quality Revolution is supposed to be a history of quality from early mankind to the present. Mouradian mentions some quality items of ancient Greek and Roman times and even earlier, but most of the material is taken from the last few centuries, the period since the Industrial Revolution. He includes extensive lists of major inventions, such as the airplane, and quality experts, like Frederick Taylor. The last chapters are about quality awards and tools, such as control charts.

Although the book provides many facts, they are somewhat randomly presented. Mouradian's prose lacks both grace and context. It is not clear why some facts were mentioned, some repeated and others ignored. There is an uneven amount of detail--two pages on changes to an ISO standard but only one sentence on Peter Drucker. Mouradian does not define his terms, assuming the reader has a background in quality. He also includes information that does not appear to have much connection to quality, such as a list of musical composers and their most famous works.

I would not recommend this book for any type of reader. Its content is a random collection of facts that can be obtained better elsewhere. Its style is not enjoyable either, so reading it would be a waste of time. The author clearly has broad knowledge of the quality field, but one can only hope he will apply it to other endeavors.

Carolyn Rodda Lincoln
Titan
Vienna, VA

Quality's Greatest Hits: Classic Wisdom From the Leaders of Quality

Zigmund Bluvband, ASQ Quality Press, 600 N. Plankinton Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53203, 2002, 394 pp., $24 member,
$30 list (book).

This is an amazing compilation of everything about quality. Bluvband has taken ideas, words, concepts and practices and put them together in a unique summary that lists all the information in carefully chosen categories and sections. It is difficult to describe the enormous depth and breadth of this book, not because of its size but because of the thoroughness of the coverage of topics.

The book is split into six parts, each one covering a different topic--management, tools and techniques, probability and statistics, reliability and risk assessment, software, and audit and inspection. Each part is split into chapters, which include important factors, words of wisdom (both serious and witty) and techniques. The author also provides a complete list of references and an index with authors and subjects.

This is not a book for those who want to learn quality, but it could be a resource for a quality methods instructor. It would also be valuable for the practitioners and managers of quality departments. It is a valuable reference tool and memory jogger for all aspects of quality control, quality management and quality assurance and possibly the most unique presentation of quality concepts ever compiled.

I. Elaine Allen
Babson College
Wellesley, MA

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The Black Belt Memory Jogger II, GOAL/QPC,
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Fundamentals of Project Management, second edition, James P. Lewis, Amacom, 1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019, 2002, 148 pp., $14.95 (book).

Quality Audits for Improved Performance, third edition, Dennis R. Arter, ASQ Quality Press, 600 N. Plankinton Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53203, 2002, 250 pp., $30 member, $37.50 list (book).