Process Consultation Revisited: Building the Helping Relationship (Prentice Hall Organizational Development Series) Review

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(More customer reviews)A very helpful book in explaining the concept of process consultation. This is one of the course texts for a nursing consulting course that I am currently taking. The author, a social psychologist, describes the differences between process consultation and 2 other models that are commonly used in consultation known as the Expertise Model and the Doctor-Patient Model. There are 10 principles that describe the essence of PC, according to Schein: Always try to be helpful, always stay in touch with the current reality, access your ignorance, everything you do is an intervention, it is the client who owns the problem and the solution, go with the flow, timing is crucial, be constructively opportunistic with confrontive interventions, everything is a source of data and when in doubt share the problem. The book describes all of this and more with excellent case studies.

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A new member of the renowned PH OD Series! The latest addition to the author's well-loved set of process consultation books, this new volume builds on the content of the two that precede it while expanding to explore the critical area of the helping relationship. Process Consultation Revisited focuses on the interaction between a consultant and client, and explains how to achieve a healthy helping relationship. Whether the advisor is an OD consultant, therapist, social worker, manager, parent, or friend, the dynamics between advisor and advisee can be difficult to understand and manage. Schein creates a general theory and methodology of helping that will enable a diverse group of readers to navigate the helping process successfully.

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Influence: Science and Practice (5th Edition) Review

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(More customer reviews)Right away, buyers should know that Cialdini has produced a less-expensive version of this book. "Influence: Science and Practice" is designed as a textbook for classroom instruction. So, it has things like chapter summaries and questions that can be assigned as homework. However, the other book "Influence: the psychology of persuasion," is designed for a more general audience. The content is basically the same, but it omits the classroom-oriented layout. It's also cheaper. If you are a student who is buying textbooks online, this is probably what you (or rather, your professors) want. If not, get the other one.
Both books focus on persuasive tactics. This is not a theoretical work trying to lay out a strategy of communication, like "Getting to Yes." This is a toolkit, designed to give the reader a selection of tools for specific circumstances. That is not to say that Cialdini lacks an understanding of more strategic thinking, just that it isn't the focus here.
The underlying theory is that people tend to be hardwired to respond to certain stimuli in predictable ways. The book tells you what those stimuli are, that is, how to push people's buttons. And it does a very good job, which is why Cialdini has demand for two versions of the same book.
I'm not going to list all of the tactics because the table of contents does that and, because they're detailed, they're difficult to understand without reading the book. But, they all have some basis in science and their effectiveness is empirically demonstrable, so you can trust that they work. The best part of this book, for me, was becoming more conscious of how others, including politicians, advertisers, and bosses, try to manipulate me. Cialdini deserves respect just for opening people's eyes, but he goes a step further by explaining ways to deal with the constant manipulation that is inherent in human communication.
The only problems I see are that the textbook version (this one) has a better index in the editions I compared, so it makes a better reference tool and that the book is written from an American cultural perspective. That's fine, as most of his audience is American, but, and this is my M.A. in Int'l Relations talking, I wonder how well some of these tactics would be recieved by people from other cultural backgrounds. In particular, notions of authority (which constitute a chapter) vary widely. Just a heads up. This is still a "must read" for people who want to know how to persuade or protect themselves against other's persuasion.

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Influence: Science and Practice is an examination of the psychology of compliance (i.e. uncovering which factors cause a person to say "yes" to another's request). Written in a narrative style combined with scholarly research, Cialdini combines evidence from experimental work with the techniques and strategies he gathered while working as a salesperson, fundraiser, advertiser, and in other positions inside organizations that commonly use compliance tactics to get us to say "yes." Widely used in classes, as well as sold to people operating successfully in the business world, the eagerly awaited revision of Influence reminds the reader of the power of persuasion.Cialdini organizes compliance techniques into six categories based on psychological principles that direct human behavior: reciprocation, consistency, social proof, liking, authority, and scarcity.

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Guide to Interpersonal Communication (Guide to Business Communication Series) Review

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(More customer reviews)If you are in business, you need to read this book. As a manager and business owner, I regard this Guide to be an essential part of my library. It's a fine read and useful as a desk reference -- I refer back to it often. Practical suggestions, engaging voice. Read now, avoid awkwardness later!

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Brief, practical, and reader-friendly, this is a handy guide for improving your business interactions and relationships. It offers clear, straightforward tools useful in a professional context, with an "easy-to-skim"format and a direct, matter-of-fact tone. This book gives practical advice on how to improve the foundational interpersonal communication skills of listening, feedback, asking and responding to questions, and adjusting to others' styles. It offers step-by-step recommendations for approaching such common interactions as interviewing, negotiating, and conducting performance appraisals. This direct, step-by-step guide for interpersonal communication skills is a necessary read for people who communicate in professional contexts, such as managers, supervisors, and executives in any business or professional arena.

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Password 1: A Reading and Vocabulary Text with Audio CD (Book 1) Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is great at introducing reading and vocabulary in an engaging way and making it easy for students to keep reading. The focus is on learning words in context first and then getting definitions, with plenty of reinforcement and "recycling" of words in later chapters. There are tons of activties for each chapter, so it works with lots of teaaching styles (by the book vs. more open-resource). This book was so good that the community college where I teach adopted the rest of the series for our ESL reading program. Definitely worth the money!

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With an emphasis on systematic vocabulary acquisition, this series includes engaging readings about real people, places, events, and ideas. Students are able to develop the reading skills essential for a solid reading foundation. The series uses carefully controlled sentence structure and targets the high-frequency vocabulary that will get students from the 600- to the 2,000-word level.Features *Pre-reading questions and tasks get students thinking about the topic band introduce relevant vocabulary. *Post-reading exercises help students with comprehension and strengthen such skills as scanning, summarizing, discussion, and writing. *Expansion activities include word families and collocations, word puzzles, and building dictionary skills. *Vocabulary self-tests.

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Good Arguments: An Introduction to Critical Thinking (4th Edition) Review

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(More customer reviews)Connie Missimer's Good Arguments is the best book I know of to teach beginning argumentation to college freshmen and sophomores. It is clear, elegant, and sharp. I especially like the way she outlines the skeleton of an argument, using thesis, evidence, and implications as crucial aspects of the structure.
I have used the book on several occasions as a college textbook and it has proved its worth. Although it is quite expensive, every page is smart and clear, and students really learn from it.
I wish that there was just a little bit more humor in the book, and perhaps some illustrations. It is quite dry for young people who have short attention spans. I have to push them through it, and use the book with other materials such as comic strips and jokes to lighten up the rigorous and sustained ideas which Missimer presents.
-- Kirby Olson, Ph.D.

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This book proceeds from CT in everyday life to sophisticated critical thinking in academic fields, with chapters which clearly outline the types of evidence in science, the social sciences, and the humanities. Unlike most other books, it offers a clear description of CT as the comparison of formulas of CT. Chapter topics include issue, conclusion, and reason; how to create alternative arguments; deciding to accept an argument; assumptions and implications; prescriptions; deliberations; experiment, correlation, and speculation; and problem solving by way of review. For a lifetime of thinking critically, reading the good arguments of others, and creating your own—across a wide spectrum of subjects.

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