Bottomline Banking: Meeting the Challenges for Survival & Success

Book Description

The financial services industry is at a crossroads. The need for fundamental change and visionary leadership has never been greater. Driven by the need for improved marketplace and financial competitiveness, the performance challenges now facing bankers have never been more daunting. BottomLine Banking unveils the new paradigm of banking and uncovers and tackles the pivotal changes that lie ahead. It includes a framework for examining critical issues arising within the banking industry, and the specific strategies that bankers must use to enhance their performance and profitability. Concepts presented include: Shareholder value as the key barometer for charting success; Management of credit risk to maximize risk-adjusted returns; Changing the traditional corporate culture of banks to enhance future performance; Why management that embraces change embraces the future.

Book Description

Ethical Virtuosity challenges you to identify, articulate, defend and live the personal values and ethical principles that define who you are and how you lead others.

You'll learn how to make a formal commitment to demonstrate ethics, integrity and responsible personal conduct in all that you do. You'll also examine how to consistently identify and resolve ethical dilemmas in a manner that reflects goodness and virtue—that's what the concept "ethical virtuosity" is all about.

Renowned author Dr. Louie Larimer presents seven simple steps that lead to ethical virtuosity:

Become self-aware
Seek ethical knowledge
Develop an ethical belief system
Practice emotional discipline
Consciously exercise your free will
Demonstrate moral courage and personal accountability
Immediately act on your personal commitment to become ethically virtuous

With Ethical Virtuosity, you'll discover the meaning of ethics, integrity, character, personal accountability and moral courage and how they are relevant within today's competitive, hostile and adverse business environment.

The book also explores ethical types, why people act unethically, where ethical beliefs originate, why ethics, integrity and character are important, and much more.

When used with The Ethical Type Indicator and Facilitator Guide—also developed by Dr. Larimer—you'll be well on your way to formalizing your organization's commitment to always do the right thing at the right time.

Customer Reviews:

Seriously problematic.......2007-05-17

I got the book because it accompanies the useful "ethical type" assessment instrument. The book is problematic, however, for several reasons:

1. It postulates that there is "man-made law" and "natural law." When I read the latter, I thought of physics, but unfortunately, it's about "God-given law." Larimer provides examples of principles that have "withstood the test of time." Intentionally or not, by confusing ethics with morals (in fact, these two terms are used interchangeably), the author provides religious fundamentalists (of any persuasion) with a justification for their often intolerant (and, I would argue, unethical) behaviors.

2. More importantly, Larimer extols rationality and disciplined, critical thinking as the tools that set us apart from the animals, and therefore they are the gateway to ethical virtuosity. Apparently, he has Freudian assumptions about human nature, suggesting that rationality (the super-ego) can keep our inner, subconscious drives (the id, which he calls "internalizations") somehow in check. The way to ethical virtuosity leads through such disciplined inquiry and keeps one from being emotionally hijacked. While many people would do well to keep their emotions in check, this reasoning precludes the possibility of the "hunch" as an ethical compass -- something that many of us may have experienced when the line of reasoning was philosophically sound but took us down a path that just did not fit.

3. The author waxes poetic about the promise embedded in free will, perpetuating the fallacious modernist assumption that we are somehow independent of the environment within which we grew up. The juxtaposition of the egoistic approach (self over others) with the utilitarian approach (others over self) is a naive and dangerous oversimplification.

4. The author does not place himself on his own ethical types. When he mentions God-given, "natural" law, he is clearly in the Divine Command realm. But when he talks about the individual and "his" (yes, he uses such gendered language throughout the book) free will as a tool for choosing an ethical belief, he is implicitly using the existentialist approach and contradicting the existence of natural law. After all, how do you reconcile God-given law with free choice? And then when he talks about making decisions for (literally) goodness' sake, well, that may sound good, but he does not define goodness. Goodness for whom? According to whom? The reader is left to assume that he means goodness for the greater good, in which case he now espouses a utilitarian view of ethics.

5. And worst, conceptually the book does not add up. Early in the book, he argues (convincingly) that laws can be unethical. He provides an example of how he disobeyes any law that is discriminatory in nature (e.g., Jim Crow). In other words, to be ethical sometimes means to break the law. But later in the book, he defines ethical as that which goes above and beyond the minimum required by law. So this is his definition? Being ethical means going above and beyond the minimum required by law, unless you happen to disagree with the law? And on what basis might one disagree with one law and not another? This is not at all addressed, leaving the conceptual framework seriously lacking.

All in all, the book is written for a middle-school audience. If you have never, ever thought about ethics, this book is for you. But if you have had even rudimentary exposure to it (as, I would argue, anyone has), the concepts are too simple and superficial, the language is too woolly and imprecise, and the references lack credibility.

Book Description

Offering a complete accounting of the insects of North America, this handbook is an up-dated edition of the first handbook ever compiled in the history of American entomology. By using American Insects, A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico, Second Edition, the reader can quickly determine the taxonomic position of any species, genus, or higher taxon of insect known to occur in America and Canada. Every order, family, and genus is conveniently numbered and indexed, making this volume the only complete single source for all of the names of orders, families, and genera currently available. This book fills the need for an accurate way to identify, with the several hundred drawings and photos, the common insects of all orders. Now there is a tool available to those working without a major collection and library; and those who would like to have a general knowledge of insect life without becoming overwhelmed by the vast number of minute insect species. This usable guide provides sizes, shapes, color patterns and salient features of some species of each major family by pointing out those groups most likely to be encountered, including all North America pests. WHAT'S NEW IN THIS EDITION? · Captions are restored into the text and all are present! · Researchers in many orders use the results of cladistics, a new tool for determining the relationship of orders, families, genera, and species of organisms, including plants as well as animals · Specialists have provided lengthy lists of generic changes · Many of the identification keys have been revised by adding more illustrations and making sure all description terms are in the Glossary · The bibliographies of each Order section have been updated to include all important works that have appeared since the original edition

Customer Reviews:

Beware the description of this book.......2001-07-05

This is a supplement to my earlier review. Note that the description of American Insects, by Arnett,... is based on the first edition, in which "Every order, family, and genus is conveniently numbered and indexed" and you could "quickly determine the taxonomic position of any species, genus, or higher taxon of insect known to occur in America and Canada." This is not the case in the second edition. You can look up major genera only.

Subfamilies are listed under an entry for the family, not under the subfamily name, which means you _can't_ quickly determine their taxonomic positions. You have to know the taxonomic position in order to look up the subfamilies. This defeats one major purpose of the book, and renders it not very usable.

Whoever provided the text for the book description apparently just carried it over from the previous edition, without taking into account the changes in the new edition. This isn't by a long stretch the same book.

Once excellent book devalued.......2001-04-28

As a naturalist and amateur entomologist, I found the first edition of this book especially useful for looking up unfamiliar genera and species of insects, to find out where they fit in the scheme of insect taxonomy.

Unfortunately, CRC Press, the publisher of the second edition, has cut corners by reducing the size of the index from 128 pages for 714 pages of text in the first edition to 57 pages for 931 pages of text in the second edition. This was accomplished by eliminating all but the major genera from the index. In my opinion, this seriously diminishes the value of the book. The best information in the world is useless if you can't access it efficiently. A book like this lives or dies by the quality of its index.

After purchasing the book in early January, 2001 and quickly discovering the problem, I wrote to the publisher to complain and to ask that they make available a complete index as a supplement. I have yet to receive a response from them. The book's author, Ross Arnett, was upset when the publisher of the first edition inadvertently left out the photo captions in proof and wouldn't restore them. I have to think he is spinning in his grave over the gutting of the index in the second edition, a much more serious affair.

I'd love to be able to recommend the second edition of this book. However, unless the publisher remedies the index problem, I can't. Unless you want it primarily for the keys, I suggest looking for a used copy of the first edition.

Book Description

The Front Range of Colorado is one of America's most famous and spectacular summer playgrounds. Thousands of people from all over the nation visit our Rocky Mountains each year to enjoy the scenery and the many types of recreational activities which the region provides. Not among the least of the scenic attractions to be found here are the lavish displays of wild flowers in the mountain meadows and alpine heights, the vast expanses of cool, green forested lands, the brilliant splashes of autumn color of our aspens and sumacs, and the endless rolling grasslands of the eastern plains. There are very few places in the United States where so many types of vegetation are crowded into such a relatively small area, and where in the space of a few minutes time one may alternately bake in the climate of the desert, and shiver in the climate of the far north.

Learning to recognize the plants is a first, faltering step toward understanding a flora. Endless vistas of opportunity to study emerge as one becomes aware that we really know little about our flora beyond the identity of the species. Their life histories, uses, migrations, significance to aboriginal cultures, and so on, are largely uncharted. Amateurs can find much satisfaction and may make real contributions to science by delving deeply into some small area of the field. In Great Britain and elsewhere the amateur has always been the forefront of biological science. Darwin and Mendel were distinguished amateurs. More Americans should join their company.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN FLORA. A FIELD GUIDE FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF THE FERNS, CONIFERS, AND FLOWERING PLANTS OF THE SOUTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAINS...

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ROCKY MOUNTAIN FLORA. A FIELD GUIDE FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF THE FERNS, CONIFERS, AND FLOWERING PLANTS OF THE SOUTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAINS...
W. Weber
Manufacturer: Colorado Associated University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000WQ9I2S

Rocky Mountain flora;: A field guide for the identification of the ferns, conifers, and flowering plants of the southern Rocky Mountains from Pikes Peak ... from the plains to the Continental Divide

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Rocky Mountain flora;: A field guide for the identification of the ferns, conifers, and flowering plants of the southern Rocky Mountains from Pikes Peak ... from the plains to the Continental Divide
William A Weber
Manufacturer: Colorado Associated University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Book Description

The Complete Sailor takes the reader from the first sail to a mastery of small-boat handling. Weaving his writing around 600 drawings by noted marine illustrator Kelly Mulford, David Seidman has created a book in which each double-page spread invites the eye and communicates volumes of information. The Complete Sailor goes beyond other learn-to-sail books to cover navigation, boat design, and seamanship. Encyclopedic in scope yet warm in style, it conveys the magic as well as the techniques of sailing. Among the other topics covered: anchoring, ropework, rigging, weather, fog, squalls, currents and tides, rules of the road, trailering, and working the winds. The book is a gentle introduction for those just starting out, and a guide to new horizons for those who already sail.

Customer Reviews:

good beginners reference.......2007-10-01

lots of black and white drawings make the info clear..very basic..great starter, add to your library

Sailing for the VERY first time.......2007-09-20

For the skilled sailer the book will be a dissapointment.
That said, the book will be an important source of all kinds of maritim knowledge for the beginner.

just my style.......2007-08-10

After sailing by bits and pieces since I was a child, I had no formal instruction of any kind. when I finally succumed to yacht ownership, where mistakes can be costly, I looked arund to find a single, straightforward book what would confirm what I had been doing right, let me know what I was doing wrong, and show me volumes of stuff I never would have figured out. ...and the illustrations are cool!

For the Intermediate Sailor.......2007-04-10

If you've been sailing for a little while and are looking to expand your knowledge, this book will give you many great tips.

One of the best post-beginners guides.......2007-03-28

I recently took up sailing and bought this book, along with some others, as a general reference to accompany my lessons. The first time I read it through it seemed OK but nothing special, but having now acquired some skills it is really becoming useful. Every time I re-read it (as I have done several times) the amount of detail and practical information seems to increase, and that is not necessarily the case with other books. The author has packed an immense amount of information into a small book, but it is best for refreshing the memory or consolidating practical knowledge learned in lessons - sort of a second opinion. Reading Seidman after a lesson is like going to visit an old sailor who straightens everything out for you.

It is not, however, the best book for absolute beginners, simply because it is so very packed with concise information, and a lot goes over the neophyte's head. For absolute beginners the very best books are the RYA (Royal Yachting Association) sailing series - they are exceptional.

The Complete Sailor: Learning the Art of Sailing

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The Complete Sailor: Learning the Art of Sailing
David Seidman
Manufacturer: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OFXEKY

Customer Reviews:

Suitable for both the road and off-road cyclist........2003-09-05

A well researched and balanced guide written by someone who obviously holds a great love of both the area and cycling. During a week's holiday we tried out a selection of rides all from this book, ranging from sightseeing tours along the coast through bog trudging epics in the forests and open moorlands, to classic journeys along anchient drove road. We found the grades to be accurate to our capabilities and each ride had plenty of interest. Thoroughly recommended.

Amazon.com

Cole Matthews is angry. Angry, defiant, smug--in short, a bully. His anger has taken him too far this time, though. After beating up a ninth-grade classmate to the point of brain damage, Cole is facing a prison sentence. But then a Tlingit Indian parole officer named Garvey enters his life, offering an alternative called Circle Justice, based on Native American traditions, in which victim, offender, and community all work together to find a healing solution. Privately, Cole sneers at the concept, but he's no fool--if it gets him out of prison, he'll do anything. Ultimately, Cole ends up banished for one year to a remote Alaskan island, where his arrogance sets him directly in the path of a mysterious, legendary white bear. Mauled almost to death, Cole awaits his fate and begins the transition from anger to humility.

Ben Mikaelsen's depiction of a juvenile delinquent's metamorphosis into a caring, thinking individual is exciting and fascinating, if at times heavy-handed. Cole's nastiness and the vivid depictions of the lengths he must go to survive after the (equally vivid) attack by the bear are excruciating at times, but the concept of finding a way to heal a whole community when one individual wrongs another is compelling. The jacket cover photo of the author in a bear hug with the 700-pound black bear that he and his wife adopted and raised is definitely worth seeing! (Ages 12 and older) --Emilie Coulter

Book Description

Within Cole Matthews lie anger, rage and hate. Cole has been stealing and fighting for years. This time he caught Alex Driscal in the, parking lot and smashed his head against the sidewalk. Now, Alex may have permanent brain damage'and Cole is in the Biggest trouble of his life.

Cole is offered Circle Justice: a system based on Native American traditions that attempts to provide healing for the criminal offender, the victim and the, community. With prison as his only alternative, Cole plays along. He says he wants to repent, but in his heart Cole blames his alcoholic mom his, abusive dad, wimpy Alex -- everyone but himself -- for his situation.

Cole receives a one-year banishment to a remote Alaskan island. There, he is mauled by Mysterious white bear of Native American legend. Hideously injured, Cole waits for his death His thoughts shift from from Anger to humility. To survive, he must stop blaming others and take responsibility for his life. Rescuers arrive to save Cole's but it is the attack of the Spirit Bear that may save his soul.

Ben Mikaelsen paints a vivid picture of a juvenile offender, examining the roots without absolving solving him of responsibility for his actions, and questioning a society in which angry people make victims of their peers and communities. Touching Spirit Bear is a poignant testimonial to the power of a pain that can destroy, or lead to healing

Customer Reviews:

GREAT for earliteen to adult.......2007-10-10

Initially picked up this book on a Inland Passage Alaska cruise - got it for my almost 12 year old - I read it and was impressed and shared it with my MD 86 year old brother and he wanted the book so I ordered it from you for him. GREAT lessons for all of us but particularly struggling teens who might be facing some tough problems. GREAT excitement!

Touching spirit bear school assignment.......2007-10-09

Touching Spirit Bear
Touching Spirit Bear is an interesting book. Imagine a 15 year old kid with anger problems whose parents are alcoholics. Sounds like a typical story, well it isn't. In fact it's probably as far away from that as you can get.
The story starts out with him being rowed out to a deserted island off the coast off Alaska and about three pages in he has a flashback. That is the format of the book. It gives the book a jumpy feeling because every few pages it changes the time and the place kind of unnoticabley.
The story mainly takes place in Minneapolis, Minnesota Where he severely hurt a kid by bashing his head against a sidewalk because he had told the Police about a robbery that Cole (the boy) had committed. After the fight he was forced into a detention center where all he thought about was the fight. Throughout that time he decided he would blame it on Cole because he hadn't fought back.
During his stay at the detention center he learned about circle justice. Circle justice is an old indian tradition about curing the soul. It is a unique approach to resolving conflicts between victims and victimizers.
Throughout the book he acts like a typical teenager until he gets mauled by a bear, except the bear who mauled him was not just any bear. It was a special kind of white furred black bear called a spirit bear. After that experience he changes a lot and stops being angry. It was a a turning point. After he gets out of the hospital he starts acting more composed and quiet. He doesn't care what people think of him anymore so he does odd things on the island, like doing "the whale dance" and carving a Totem Pole. In the end he decides that the only way to help the boy who he hurt is to bring him to the island.

Excellent Story for at-risk students.......2007-09-27

I am currently using this book as a literature unit for special education students at the high school level. They are all involved and eager to read. We listen to the story on tape as well as follow along with the book. It's so interesting how quiet they become when the character describes his troubled homelife and abusive father. Although they don't say so, I feel that many of these at-risk students come from a similar background. This is just a wonderful story for them to learn about life and change in peoples' lives.

Excellent!.......2007-07-04

Touching Spirit Bear is the story of Cole Matthews - a young man who is angry and totally lacking in compassion. The story begins as Cole Matthews is being punished for brutally beating a young boy. Following the Native American tradition of Circle Justice, Cole is being abandoned on a remote island in Alaska and must survive for a year. During that year, he is alone to contemplate his life.

This novel is not just an adventure story, but is a book of wisdom based on Native American beliefs. Once you begin to read it, you won't be able to put it down.

I have taught this book to my 8th grade students for several years now. The students love the book and learn a great deal from it. To read the book is to become part of the Circle of Justice.

Jesse's Awesome Book Review .......2007-06-13

Picture your self alone on an small island, you're the only person that lives on this island. You have to survive on this island by yourself, and even worse you don't think you belong there. That is exactly what Cole Mathews is going through.
My first reaction to this book was that it wasn't going to be very good. I was very wrong, I really enjoyed reading this book and was rather upset when it ended.

Whether through a weird twist of fate, good friends, or bad friends, or just luck, Cole finds himself having to survive alone on a small island for a year. He has to learn to control his anger, and to be a better person before he has to leave the island, or it will be too late.

There was a part in this book where Cole is trying to escape from the island, and he tries and tries and in the end finds that he hasn't gotten any where. And it makes him so angry because he's used to being in control, he's used to being able to scare people into doing what he wants, and it starts at this point where he realizes that he isn't in control of every thing.
The theme of this book is something like; you aren't in control of every thing, you can't always get your way.

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Book Review
Joe's Review
Touching Spirit Bear BILLY MANCHESTER
Touching Spirit Bear
Touching Spirit Bear

Touching Spirit Bear
Ben Mikaelsen
Manufacturer: Scholastic
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0439401844

Customer Reviews:

Book Review.......2006-12-01

Book Review
"You have officially been banished to Alaska." This is what happened to Cole Mathews, a ninth grade boy from Massachusetts with a huge anger problem. His parents were those kind of people that just let their child do almost anything. When your parents finally care when you do something that really messes up your reputation as parents it's a really bad thing. This is what happened to Cole. His parents never were sober until he had done something that really messed up his reputation.
This is the part that really hurts Cole, because he lost his first chance on the island. I thought that for sure he was going to jail. Then out of the blue, he got his second chance. If I were the judge, I would send him to jail myself. This time he had to rebuild his shelter all by himself. Me, on the other hand, I would put him behind bars for a long time. Anyway that is my review on Touching Spirit Bear.

Joe's Review.......2005-11-23

*****
Touching Spirit Bear
By Ben Mikaelsen

When Cole Matthews brutally injures classmate Peter Driscal, and is forced to choose between two punishments, either he can go to prison, or face the Native American Circle Justice. Unrepentant Cole chooses the lesser of the two punishments. Or so he thinks. Cole is removed to an isolated Alaskan island were he must stay for one year. After his first few days on the island, a mysterious white bear mauls him, and he almost dies. Will this encounter help Cole along the path of healing, or just cripple him for life?
My favorite part of the book was when Cole provokes the massive spiritual bear to attack, and how Cole slowly comes to repent his lifetime of crime and to wish to help his victim Peter Driscal.
I liked this book because it really illustrates how a painful event can wake someone's conscience up, and force them to think about the road ahead and the options they have.
This book reminds me of the book Kerosene, by Chris Wooding because in the text of both the parents don't really care what happens to their children, and they both recover after their lives of crime and hardship.

Touching Spirit Bear BILLY MANCHESTER.......2005-09-14

Touching Spirit Bear, September 13, 2005A Kid's Review BY, Billy ManchesterI think that Touching Spirit Bear is a great book. It has a great lesson to it and, teaches people how to let go of your anger .The author gives the characters great personalities which makes it more enjoyable and intresting. The part that I like best is when Cole learns to survive on the island, it was weird that the spirit bear came up to him after the fight and did'nt do anything to him.

Touching Spirit Bear.......2005-09-13

I think that Touching Spirit Bear is a great book.It has a great lesson to it and, teaches people how to let go of your anger.The author gives the characters great personalities which makes it more enjoiable and intresting.The part that I like best is when cole learns to survive on the island, it was weird that the spirit bear came up to him after the fight and did'nt do anything to him. by,Billy Manchester

Touching Spirit Bear.......2005-09-13

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Touching Spirit Bear
Ben Mikaelsen
Manufacturer: Scholastic, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000S3RLXI

Thorndike School Softcovers - Large Print - Touching Spirit Bear (Thorndike School Softcovers - Large Print)

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Thorndike School Softcovers - Large Print - Touching Spirit Bear (Thorndike School Softcovers - Large Print)
Ben Mikaelsen
Manufacturer: Thorndike Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Board book

Children's Books | Large Print | Formats | Books
ASIN: 0786263512

Book Description

Winner of the Nautilus Award

Interest Level: Middle/High School
Reading Grade Level: 3rd & 4th
Lexile Level: Not Available
Theme: Emotions/Growing Up

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Touching Spirit Bear
Ben Mikaelsen
Manufacturer: HarperTrophy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OF59KW

Average customer rating:
Touching Spirit Bear
Ben Mikaelsen
Manufacturer: Harper Trophy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000M67WUI

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