"Perpetual Business Machines is a business manual written especially for technical professionals striving to operate in the new economy: a global economic environment marked by knowledge, convergence of technologies, and free markets. Written by the president of Meridian Deployment Corporation in Silicon Valley, Perpetual Business Machines channels the author's personal experience in the high-tech industry during all phases of business cycles. Chapters address the key principles of profit-making, market analysis, product management, business procedure, troubleshooting, and more. Presenting its ideas enumerated point-by-point, Perpetual Business Machines is a "must-have" for anyone in the technology industry looking to strengthen their understanding of how business works and what common errors to avoid in collaborations and other ventures."The MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW
Illustrated with real projects--successes and failures--undertaken by DEC, Ford, Hewlett-Packard, Eastman Kodak, and Chaparral, this insightful book details seven critical elements that manufacturing projects must have to succeed in product and process development. 51 line drawings.
U.S. manufacturing is today in a critical period. As a consequence of new global competitors, changes in technologies, and significant shifts in national priorities, our manufacturing base has shrunk alarmingly and thousands of manufacturing jobs have been lost. To address this problem, a unique team was formed called the Manufacturing Vision Group, which included members from five major companies (Chaparral Steel, DEC, Ford Motor Company, Hewlett-Packard, and Eastman Kodak) and four major universities (Harvard, MIT, Purdue, and Stanford). In The Perpetual Enterprise Machine, this group argues that the manufacturer that can initiate successful projects--leading to new products and processes--will be the one that prospers in the years ahead. They reveal how to launch a successful project and how projects can be mechanisms for growth and learning for the firm. The Perpetual Enterprise Machine outlines seven critical elements that outstanding development projects have in common, principles that can be powerful engines of success for the manufacturer facing the challenges of today's fiercely competitive environment. Successful firms are able to use their Core Capabilities across functions, to bring together disciplines and personnel crucial to the success of the program. They have a Guiding Vision, shared by all members of the project team, that helps coordinate the actions of workers with different skills and priorities. They Push the Performance Envelope, striving to make the improvements needed to cope with a rapidly changing competitive environment. They have Leadership, someone who can navigate uncertain terrain, who sees the project's essential elements and how they fit together. They instill the team with a sense of Ownership and Commitment, linking their personal success, status, and esteem to accomplishing project goals. They use Prototyping to learn rapidly and reduce mistakes. And they Integrate within Projects, approaching individual tasks in terms of a system-wide solution. Throughout the book, the authors illustrate these seven principles with real life case histories. We see the story behind Kodak's development of the FunSaver camera (done on a unique CAD/CAM system that greatly helped integration and shortened the lead time from design to production); Ford's 1991 Crown Victoria, the first project launched under their Concept-to-Customer system; Chaparral Steel's development of the world's first horizontal steel caster; and Hewlett-Packard's wildly successful DeskJet printer. The Perpetual Enterprise Machine delivers the insights of some of the top minds from industry and academia on one of the primary concerns of American business--how to revitalize our manufacturing industries. Visionary--yet engaging and immediately accessible--it gives managers the opportunity to profit from the trials and triumphs of five major corporations, and helps them shape the kinds of projects that will thrive and prosper in the years ahead.
A critical look at the United States' criminal justice system, raising an obvious question: If crime rates aren't going up, why is the prison population?
The must-read summary of H. Bowen, K. Clark, C. Holloway and S. Wheelwright's book: "The Perpetual Enterprise Machine: Seven Keys to Corporate Renewal through Successful Product and Process Development". This complete summary of the ideas from H. Bowen, K. Clark, C. Holloway and S. Wheelwright's book "The Perpetual Enterprise Machine" shows how the development of new products, new manufacturing processes and new services are the lifeblood of any dynamic and growing business. Only the companies that are continuously reinventing themselves by developing new products will survive and prosper in the years ahead. In their book, the authors present seven keys to successful development projects. This summary will teach you how to launch successful projects that could lead to growth, using real-life case studies to demonstrate just how effective they can be. Added-value of this summary: • Save time • Understand key concepts • Expand your knowledge To learn more, read "The Perpetual Enterprise Machine" and discover the key to successful project management and business development.
The deceptively simple task of making a mechanism which would turn forever has fascinated many famous men and physicists throughout the centuries. In fact, the basic tenets of engineering grew from the failures of these perpetual motion machine designers. This work offers an illustrated overview of perpetual motion machines and their inventors.
