Drawing on the enormous experience and expertise of the contributors, who are all renowned in their fields. The third edition has been reorganized according to the well-known quality concept of Plan-Do-Check-Act, reflecting the way in which businesses should, ideally, be working if they are to achieve quality excellence. The text has been developed from its original leaning towards engineering to make it applicable for businesses in general.Each chapter provides sufficient information to enable managers to gauge the importance and usefulness of the subjects covered. The additions have made the third edition of the Gower Handbook of Quality Management even more useful than its predecessors.

Forty-one contributions are grouped in sections on quality policy and concepts, costs and benefits, legislation and standards, organization and administration, design and engineering, purchasing and materials handling, statistical process control, quality functions in manufacturing, and participative quality improvement. Among the chapters new to this edition (first, 1990) are treatment of benchmarking, corporate culture, customer service, inspection and testing equipment, and value engineering. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The Gower Handbook of Management is widely regarded as a manager's bible: an authoritative, gimmick-free and practical guide to best practice in management. By covering the broadest possible range of subjects, it replicates in book form a forum in which managers can meet experts from a range of professional disciplines. This edition features 36 completely new chapters, 65 expert contributors - many of them practising managers and many of them new to this edition. All of the contributors are recognized authorities in their field.

In the ten years since this Gower Handbook was first published, Programme Management has been transformed to become the vehicle of choice for realising the objectives of large scale, complicated, business, government and social investment. The Second Edition of this Gower Handbook is a completely new text; designed as a definitive guide to the current state of Programme Management. To that end the text offers foundation theory and knowledge around key issues such as, managing programme contracts, people and know-how, complexity and uncertainty, benefits and success measures, as well as every stage of the programme life cycle. The main central section of the book provides theory, tools, advice and examples of practical application from an industry context and covers sectors including construction, energy, aerospace and defence, IT, automotive and the public sector. The Handbook also includes a section with chapters on assessing and improving programme competences and developing maturity. Discrete chapters relate programme management to the international baselines and standards. Collectively, the Gower Handbook of Programme Management is most comprehensive guide to the subject that you can buy.

Modern projects are all about one group of people delivering benefits to others, so it's no surprise that the human element is fundamental to project management. The Gower Handbook of People in Project Management is a complete guide to the human dimensions involved in projects. The book is a unique and rich compilation of over 60 chapters about project management roles and the people who sponsor, manage, deliver, work in or are otherwise important to project success. It looks at the people-issues that are specific to different sectors of organization (public, private and third sector); the organization of people in projects, both real and virtual; the relationship between people, their roles and the project environment; and the human behaviours and skills associated with working collaboratively. Thus this comprehensive and innovative handbook discusses all the important topics associated with employing, developing and managing people for successful projects. The contributors have been drawn from around the world and include experts ranging from practising managers to academics and advanced researchers. The Handbook is divided into six parts, which begin with management and project organization and progress through to more advanced and emerging practices. It benefits hugely from Lindsay Scott’s expert knowledge and experience in this field and from Dennis Lock’s contributions and meticulous editing to ensure that the text and illustrations are always lucid and informative.

This Handbook was the first APM Body of Knowledge Approved title for the Association for Project Management. Over the course of five editions, Gower Handbook of Project Management has become the definitive desk reference for project management practitioners. The Handbook gives an introduction to, and overview of, the essential knowledge required for managing projects. The team of expert contributors, selected to introduce the reader to the knowledge and skills required to manage projects, includes many of the most experienced and highly regarded international writers and practitioners. The Fifth Edition has been substantially restructured. All but two of the authors are new, reflecting the fast-changing and emerging perspectives on projects and their management. The four sections in the book describe: ¢ Projects, their context, value and how they are connected to organizational strategy; ¢ Performance: describing how to manage the delivery of the project, covering scope, quality, cost, time, resources, risk and sustainability ¢ Process: from start up to close down ¢ Portfolio: the project and its relationship to the organization The discrete nature of each chapter makes this Handbook a wonderful source of advice and background theory that is easy to consult. Gower Handbook of Project Management is an encyclopaedia for the discipline and profession of project management; a bible for project clients, contractors and students.

Genuine ecotourism can have many positve impacts, particularly the conservation of biodiversity and cultural heritage and the creation of economic opportunities for local communities. While promoting these, it aims to eleminate negative impacts such as environmental degradation, cultural commoditisation and playground effects. Unfortunately, the concept is broadly misunderstood and its true definition is widely debated. It is often used as a marketing tool, with some operators taking advantage of the ecotourism label to attract more business while behaving in environmentally irresponsible ways. This book considers the important topic of quality control and accreditation in ecotourism, describing the mechanisms that can be implemented to ensure quality in all aspects of the industry, namely protected areas, businesses, producs and tour guides.

This Handbook provides authoritative guidance and advice, templates, concepts, systems and approaches on every aspect of successful programme management. The main part of the handbook presents a detailed description of the whole programme management process, together with the requisite supporting infrastructure essential for the delivery of planned programme outcomes. The book also includes The Programme Management Maturity Model, a benchmarking tool covering the ten key processes within programme management, plus the Programme Management Improvement Process: a step-by-step guide to improving an organization's ability to deliver change.

A practical book showing how to set up, support and run an improvement project, containing guidance for managers as well as project leaders.

'Six Sigma' is a quality concept initially used by Motorola and then developed beyond manufacturing by GE Capital. It has underpinned that organisation's phenomenal success. In essence it is a way of scientifically measuring your current success (or failure) rate in relation to customer expectations (regardless of industry sector) and then ensuring that improvements are made. Six Sigma is the application of a new model of working, statistical measurement and process control to TQM. The 'normal' position of businesses today is three sigma (or a defect rate of about 5-10%); six sigma - a defect rate of less than four in every million - is the ultimate goal. This book explains the concept of Six Sigma and its statistical basis; explains the benefits which can be achieved by using it in any company and then outlines how to implement such a programme.