Download or read book Jobsworth written by Malcolm Philips and published by Andrews UK Limited. This book was released on 2013-05-21 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Malcolm Philips was a reluctant bureaucrat. When it was suggested that he give up selling ice-cream and go to work for the council, he protested that it would be full of jobsworths, skivers and crawlers. Truth to tell, however, he quickly fitted in among what his boss described as all the other ‘sods and buggers' at County Hall. The 1960s and 1970s were the halcyon days of local government when rules and regulations multiplied at the expense of common sense and no-one was entirely sure what the person in the next office actually did … or even what purpose their own job served. In these Confessions, Malcolm tells all: his surreptitious visits to the girls in the typing pool, the ingenious fiddles, the arrival of flower power in the computer room, the goings-on in the roof-space after the Christmas party, and the mysterious expenses, such as ‘repairs to elephant'. Some of the ‘sods and buggers’ you’ll meet in this book include Archie, a master of foul language and never without a Player’s No. 6; Vince, who had the power to disrupt machinery just by looking at it, and the Lord of the Stationery Cupboard who refused to issue a new pencil unless the old one had been worn down to a stub. As for Malcolm, he thrived, quickly progressing from his early faux pas in commandeering a chair with arms (only for staff on a higher grade) to being allowed to use the rubber stamp with the chief’s signature on it. What more could a young man desire?

Download or read book Bureaucracy written by Tom Vine and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-09-20 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bureaucracy is a curse – it seems we can’t live with it, we can’t live without it. It is without doubt one of the fundamental ideas which underpin the business world and society at large. In this book, Tom Vine observes, analyses and critiques the concept, placing it at the heart of our understanding of organisation. The author unveils bureaucracy as an endlessly emergent phenomenon which defies binary debate – in analysing organisation, we are all bureaucrats. In building an experiential perspective, the book develops more effective ways to interact with bureaucracy in theory and practice. Empirical material take centre stage, whilst the book employs ethnographic and auto-ethnographic methods to illuminate the existential function of bureaucracy. Taking examples from art, history and culture, this book provides an entertaining alternative academic analysis of bureaucracy as a key idea in business and society which will be essential reading for students and scholars of work and organisation

Download or read book The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English written by Tom Dalzell and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-06-26 with total page 15065 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Booklist Top of the List Reference Source The heir and successor to Eric Partridge's brilliant magnum opus, The Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, this two-volume New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English is the definitive record of post WWII slang. Containing over 60,000 entries, this new edition of the authoritative work on slang details the slang and unconventional English of the English-speaking world since 1945, and through the first decade of the new millennium, with the same thorough, intense, and lively scholarship that characterized Partridge's own work. Unique, exciting and, at times, hilariously shocking, key features include: unprecedented coverage of World English, with equal prominence given to American and British English slang, and entries included from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India, South Africa, Ireland, and the Caribbean emphasis on post-World War II slang and unconventional English published sources given for each entry, often including an early or significant example of the term’s use in print. hundreds of thousands of citations from popular literature, newspapers, magazines, movies, and songs illustrating usage of the headwords dating information for each headword in the tradition of Partridge, commentary on the term’s origins and meaning New to this edition: A new preface noting slang trends of the last five years Over 1,000 new entries from the US, UK and Australia New terms from the language of social networking Many entries now revised to include new dating, new citations from written sources and new glosses The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English is a spectacular resource infused with humour and learning – it’s rude, it’s delightful, and it’s a prize for anyone with a love of language.

Download or read book Thursday Next First Among Sequels written by Jasper Fforde and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2007-07-24 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fifth installment in Jasper Fforde’s New York Times bestselling series follows literary detective Thursday Next on another adventure in her alternate reality of literature-obsessed England—from the author of The Constant Rabbit Jasper Fforde has thrilled readers everywhere with his gloriously outlandish novels in the Thursday Next and Nursery Crime series. And with another genre-bending blend of crime fiction, fantasy, and top-drawer literary entertainmentis Thursday Next: First Among Sequels, Fforde’s famous literary detective is once again ready to make the world safe for fiction. Thursday Next is grappling with a host of problems in BookWorld: a recalcitrant new apprentice, the death of Sherlock Holmes, and the inexplicable departure of comedy from the once-hilarious Thomas Hardy novels, to name just a few—all while captaining the ship Moral Dilemma and facing down her most vicious enemy yet: herself.

Download or read book Professional HR written by Paul Kearns and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-04-17 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new breed of HR Professional is needed who can offer the sort of effective people management that can change the way organizations work. They will first have to resolve the legacy left by an absence of professionalism in people management amongst both operational managers and the HR departments that serve them. Much of the problems that currently undermine capitalism and governance today can be traced back directly to insufficient attention being paid to the professional management of human capital. This text offers an objective scale to gauge levels of professionalism that can be applied to management in any sector. Paul Kearns has also developed a clear 10-step guide for anyone looking to develop their HR professionalism in a practical way. With an insightful Foreword by Professor Jeffrey Pfeffer and with these tools, readers will be encouraged to move away from the old world ineffectiveness of people management by looking towards a New Norm and the huge potential it offers for value and wealth. Suitable for managers and students studying HR, Professional HR provides the answer for what could be the next iteration of the capitalist system, with professional, evidence-based people management at its heart.

Download or read book Brexiternity written by Denis MacShane and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2019-10-17 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Never in the lifetime of most British adults has there been such uncertainty about the future of the political and governing institutions of the state. Brexit has the potential to change everything – from the shape of government institutions, to the main political parties, from Britain's relationship with its near neighbour Ireland to its international trading. The idealists of the Leave campaign won their vote in 2016. But now the realists are gently taking over. Here, Denis MacShane explains how the Brexit process will be long and full of difficulties – arguing that a 'Brexiternity' of negotiations and internal political wrangling in Britain lies ahead.

Download or read book Project Management for Dummies written by Nick Graham and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2015-05-05 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Manage your projects like a pro Now revised to stay in line with today's unique business challenges and project approaches, Project Management For Dummies, 2nd UK Portable Edition is updated with fresh content, tips, and tactics that cover everything you need to know from a project's start to finish. You'll find out how to make project planning both easier and more effective, manage resources to stay on track and within budget and utilise powerful risk management techniques to keep risks at a minimum during the project. Plus, clear descriptions of who should do what and plain-English explanations of the latest concepts behind best-practice project management techniques make it easy to stay focused and on target throughout the project's life cycle. In today's time-pressured and cost-conscious global business environment, reliable project planning and competent delivery are more important than ever. Luckily, this approachable and on-the-go guide shows you what works and what doesn't, taking the guesswork out of project management and arming with the tools you need to succeed. Includes access to online templates and checklists Shows you how to avoid being part of the 70% project failure statistic Serves as the perfect portable reference to every aspect of project management Covers delivery-focused planning, team motivation techniques, and managing resources Whether you're taking on a project for the first time or a more experienced project manager looking to catch up on the latest thinking and techniques in the field, this fun and accessible guide makes it easy.

Download or read book Nigel Kennedy Uncensored written by Nigel Kennedy and published by Fonthill Media. This book was released on 2021-12-02 with total page 479 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nigel Kennedy changed the course of classical music in the late 1980s with his interpretation of Vivaldi’s ‘Four Seasons’. He was revolutionary: in his performance and presentation; in his technique and his open-minded attitude. A natural boundary-pusher and musical adventurer, Nigel Kennedy blew minds - and sales records - as he became the best-selling violinist of all time. Instead of an Introduction, Nigel opens with a tongue-in-cheek ‘Warning’: readers should beware of his politically incorrect writing style and his frank take on the BBC, record companies, the Bavarian Police and any other ‘self-appointed wielders of power.’ It sets the tone for a truly original memoir that is as playful, unconventional and carefully executed as his music. The book is structured like a musical performance, with ‘Interludes’, ‘Outros’ and an ‘Encore’ separating the regular chapters which cover Nigel’s life story, from his humble beginnings and scholarship to the newly created Yehudi Menuhin School - and then New York at The Juilliard School - to his flourishing career and break-through as a world-class superstar. ‘Interludes’ cover subjects varying from Nigel’s best and worst gigs (“It might seem strange that shit gigs stick in the mind so much more than the good ones but I suppose it makes sense…”), to run-ins with rock stars and Police forces around the world. His anecdote on the London Metropolitan Police’s handling of a noise complaint at an after-show all-star jam is particularly funny: “These guys (the Met) were cheerful, they dealt with the situation and didn’t escalate the problem when there wasn’t one. 10/10” ‘Outros’ cover Nigel’s thoughts on classical music today - fascinating reading from the perspective of a virtuoso - to Brexit, where the spelling of the word alone leaves the reader in little doubt as to which side of the fence the author sits. ‘Encores’ is a comprehensive section on Nigel’s recorded output, covering his early classical work, the Four Seasons and later albums. There are insights into his work with rock musicians including Robert Plant, the late drummer Michael Lee, Killing Joke singer Jaz Coleman, and producers Eddie Kramer (Jimmy Hendrix) and John Leckie (Stone Roses). Nigel’s writing on Gershwin, Yehudi Menuhin, Stephan Grappelli (‘my biggest inspiration’), Jimi Hendrix and the Doors is compelling. Nigel writes of his interests outside music - boxing and football - which provide inspiration and balance to his creative output (on Aston Villa - “a true blessing for me to have an outlet in which I was surrounded by normal, honest, hard-working people who did ‘proper jobs’”). There is a splendid chapter on ‘Kitchen Golf’, a not-without-risk variation of the game, conjured up with close friend and mischief-maker Gary Lineker, during a messy late night kitchen session. “My whole life has been spent breaking down barriers between people and this book is proof of that.” states Nigel in his ‘Warning’. It’s a Mission Statement borne out in ‘Uncensored’ with aplomb.

Download or read book When in a Hole Stop Digging written by Colin Goodwin and published by eBook Partnership. This book was released on 2016-05-06 with total page 165 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An ordinary day in a sleepy village deteriorates into chaos. Livid boat owner Albert vows revenge after a humiliating event, and shocked residents of a brand new housing estate mysteriously find fish in the plumbing. A heartless double murderer on the loose and a gun-toting farmer send shivers through the town of Throttle as two amateur sleuths try to make sense of it all. Meanwhile a pair of sixties throwback detectives attempt to piece it all together, but in reality make matters worse. The local free press needs a story fast, but the novice reporters get a shock as they enter a world far beyond their capability. Finally, one resident, pushed to the edge by a marital issue, sinks to a new low. The mayhem continues.....

Download or read book The Zeppelin Girl written by John Trethewey and published by AuthorHouse. This book was released on 2017-06-05 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While air accident expert Tim Kendall is being wrongly arrested in London for stealing his own car, in the scorching heat of the Pilbara, in the Australian outback, a prototype airship on a test flight, Zepp 1, is found parked in a remote region, intact, doors sealed, engines running and with no-one aboard. It is truly a Marie Celeste of the skies. Kendall is called from London to lead the investigation. Within days of his arrival in Western Australia, a second airship, Zepp 2, piloted by Kendall and the airline CEO Rachel Mendelson, disappears overnight from the far-flung, primitive outpost of Kangalone River Junction and is found hundreds of miles away, parked next to Zepp 1, intact, engines running, and empty. Kendall, Mendelson and the sole resident of Kangalone, Melissa Marconi, are stranded at River Junction. Without radio contact to the outside world, Kendalls investigation looks impossible. But the actions that he takes during their enforced stay will still be reverberating more than twenty years later. By the same author: A King among Pawns The Price of Enlightenment Helvetia, the Voyage of 100 Days Voices from the Cosmos Natavallia in the Maldives The Human Barnacle Last Train to Polmouth The Water Mill Albatross I: Tumbril in the Sky Albatross II: Autodestruction

Download or read book Paper Tigers written by Toby Howden and published by Unbound Publishing. This book was released on 2017-08-09 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For any aspiring martial artist having a real-life, hard-drinking, version of Mr Miyagi turn up on your doorstep offering to teach the secrets of the Samurai would be a dream come true. When Toby's best friend Bryan returns from travelling in Japan, along with the enigmatic kendo master Suzuki-sensei, he jumps at the chance to move to the foothills of Mount Fuji to study the traditional art of Japanese sword fighting. But from the very beginning, life as a modern-day Samurai – particularly one required to work in a stifling paper factory – proves even more challenging than becoming the real ‘Karate Kid’. Despite a toe-curling disregard for the rules and Japanese social etiquette, they are drawn kicking, screaming, and laughing into the fascinating no-nonsense world of Bushido – The Way of the Warrior.

Download or read book One of Our Thursdays Is Missing written by Jasper Fforde and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2011-03-08 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The sixth installment of the New York Times bestselling Thursday Next series—from the author of The Constant Rabbit Jasper Fforde's exuberant return to the fantastical BookWorld opens during a time of great unrest. All-out Genre war is rumbling, and the BookWorld desperately needs a heroine like Thursday Next. But with the real Thursday apparently retired to the Realworld, the Council of Genres turns to the written Thursday. The Council wants her to pretend to be the real Thursday and travel as a peacekeeping emissary to the warring factions. A trip up the mighty Metaphoric River beckons-a trip that will reveal a fiendish plot that threatens the very fabric of the BookWorld itself. Once again New York Times bestselling author Jasper Fforde has a field day gleefully blending satire, romance, and thriller with literary allusions galore in a fantastic adventure through the landscape of a frisky and fertile imagination. Fans will rejoice that their favorite character in the Fforde universe is back. Watch a Video

Download or read book Project Management Essentials For Dummies Australian and New Zealand Edition written by Nick Graham and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2015-01-06 with total page 150 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fast and easy way to perfect your project management skills Whatever your profession, effective project management skills are crucial to developing a successful business career. In Project Management Essentials For Dummies, you'll find all the information and guidance you need to plan your projects with confidence and deliver them on time. This comprehensive resource will help you unlock the keys to project management success, gain the know-how to assess your strengths and weaknesses to maximise your project management potential, find proven ways to motivate your project team, and so much more. In today's challenging business environment, professionals are increasingly working within tight timeframes and constricted budgets, and striving to deliver projects under a range of high-pressure scenarios. Thankfully, Project Management Essentials For Dummies shows you how to put out the fires igniting your workspace and explains how easy it is to organise, estimate and schedule projects more efficiently. In no time, you'll be managing deliverables, assessing risks, maintaining communications, making the most of your resources and utilising time-saving technologies like a project management ninja! Understand how to develop your plans around a sturdy structure — from start to finish Discover how to select the right people and get the very best from your team Recognise ways to take control and steer your projects to success Get up to speed on mastering the basics of project management If you're a business professional looking to take your project management skills to new heights — but don't want to get bogged down with forehead-scratching jargon and complex methodologies — Project Management Essentials For Dummies has everything you need to get up and running fast.

Download or read book If Not Now When written by Esther Rantzen and published by Headline. This book was released on 2014-03-27 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: TV personality, founder of Childline, writer and broadcaster, Esther Rantzen has spent her life tirelessly campaigning on behalf of children and mental health sufferers. In this personal and anecdotal handbook, she turns her attention to the baby boomer and shows how, ultimately, reaching your fifties and beyond is just the beginning. Starting from her own experiences whether it be her childhood, the death of her husband, her battle with prejudice against women in the media, laughter and the love of friends, irritations with brainless ageism, the importance of travel, sex and good health all is of huge relevance and will give the fifty-something-plus-year-old a huge jolt of recognition, or a shocked gasp, or a laugh. Interspersed with practical advice and the occasional nostalgic rant, this is a fun celebration and an inspiration for the nations 17 million baby boomers.

Download or read book Invisibility written by Ian Macpherson and published by Troubador Publishing Ltd. This book was released on 2007-04-13 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rotting in the desperation of a North Korean prison, waiting for his show trial for spying for the CIA, their top nuclear physicist's only hope is his daughter's rescue mission to Japan. But first, she must convince him that her father's best secret really works - invisibility. This spy thriller ranges from North Korea to California.

Download or read book Chicago written by Ian Berry and published by Andrews UK Limited. This book was released on 2014-06-17 with total page 245 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Saskias are always on standby to do things only a couple of super girls can accomplish, rescuing people and preventing disasters as the SuperTwins. But they still have their ordinary lives to live as two young girls - at least one of them is. Moving house and sorting out all Richie's stuff breaks the last link between Richie and Saskia. Now there is only Saskia - forever. Chicago is where the girls are sent to fix a problem with a stalled building project, which also sees them using their super powers for themselves for a change as they visit Niagara Falls. Their guide and mentor, they call simply Voice, sends them back to 1973 to fix something that would have had profound effects beyond the 50th Century. The same Voice is apparently happy to shunt them around in time when both the Saskias and the SuperTwins need to appear together, particularly at the funeral of a policewoman. Saskia is affected quite badly when she is unable to prevent Beth getting shot. Despite watching one of Saskia Hunt's school friends getting married, both Saskias realise they won’t go down that road themselves, they now have evidence to suppose they are still there and together after another thirty thousand years.

Download or read book The Hammer written by R.J. Mitchell and published by Andrews UK Limited. This book was released on 2023-10-12 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After escaping the clutches of a Glasgow drug lord nicknamed 'The Widowmaker', the newly promoted Detective Constable Thoroughgood heads for Manchester. The northern powerhouse is home to two rival gangs: 'The Maine Men' and 'The Devils'. When a drug deal goes wrong and Thoroughgood fails to stop it, a full-scale turf war is ready to take over Manchester - a city split into red and blue halves. Seconded into an undercover Greater Manchester Police unit led by the legendary DCI Marty Ferguson, an exiled Glasgow cop with a messianic presence, Thoroughgood soon finds that the drugs war is not the only battle being fought in the city. 'The Hammer' takes Thoroughgood out of the character's typical Scottish stomping grounds, with 1990s Manchester and a nightmare at the Theatre of Dreams forming the perfect backdrop for Mitchell's brand of gritty, high-octane crime writing.