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"Personally,
I am always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught.”
– Winston Churchill
Top Picks
Fliers in for pain as airlines pack it in
“A
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/travel/2008-06-03-airlines-cuts-flights-fares_N.htm
Homes in
foreclosure top 1 million
“The Mortgage Bankers Association's
first quarter report showed that a record 2.5% of all loans being serviced by
its members are now in foreclosure, which works out to about 1.1 million homes.
That's up from the 2% of loans, or about 938,000 homes, that were in
foreclosure at the end of 2007.”
http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/05/news/economy/foreclosure/index.htm?postversion=2008060510
The Goal by Dr. Eliyahu Goldratt
This is
the book that started it all. Basically Dr. Goldratt had been developing
finite capacity scheduling software and became increasing interested about what
made companies “tick”. After studying them for a while he
decided to write a business novel that would allow him to set forth some of his
ideas inside a love story. Many of his peers thought it was a bad idea
and the writer was so disbelieving that he insisted on being paid up front
versus on a percentage – and that was a huge mistake. The Goal has
gone on to sell over 5 million copies worldwide and the Theory of Constraints
has been proven to work across diverse industries and organizations.
Today, readers have to options, they can get the book or an audio CD.
The
book is at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0884271781?ie=UTF8&tag=georgespaffor-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0884271781
The
book in Japanese is at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/4478420408?ie=UTF8&tag=georgespaffor-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=4478420408
IT Audit / Internal Audit / Compliance
Is Sox a Failure?
“After
the recent collapse of Bear Sterns, and the litany of other problems that other
financial institutions are having controlling their balance sheets, taking
write offs, and losing shareholder value, I have to ask. Has the SOX regulation
and the massive investment to training corporate executives failed us?”
http://www.trainingindustry.com/fsc/articles.asp?id=8165
[ Thank
you for sending this Ari! ]
Hello, Goodbye
“BearingPoint
Inc.'s new CFO, Eileen Kamerick, has resigned after just three weeks on the
job.”
http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/11520785?f=alerts
[ They
must be really challenged. ]
IT Process Improvement / Quality Management
The Challenges of RCA in ITIL and the “New”
Deming Cycle
“Proactive
problem management (pPM) and root cause analysis (RCA) is the right path but
you may find open revolt along the way, writes ITSM Watch columnist Jan Vromant
of Deloitte Consulting.”
http://www.itsmwatch.com/itil/article.php/3751206
[ Great
article Jan! ]
IT in Support of the Business
“IT
Service Management is about creating and delivering services that meet the
needs of the organization. In this regard, IT is an enabler of the
business and cuts in IT will affect other areas. Rather than arbitrary
cuts, organizations must make careful efforts to understand what is operating
and what is planned.”
https://swarm.jupitermedia.com/itsmwatch/2008/06/it-in-support-of-the-business.html
Security and Risk Management
Experts speculate on what could have caused
“Though
Walter Reed has not made a formal statement about exactly what went wrong with
the May 21 breach of identifiable patient data from one of its computers,
experts like Dietz speculate it could have easily happened with the use of
peer-to-peer applications like instant messaging.”
http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=9362
GAO: Sensitive healthcare data still at risk
“Sensitive
information remains at risk at 24 of the nation’s federal agencies,
including some that handle healthcare data, according to a new report from the
Government Accountability Office. Among the 24 agencies found lacking on the
security front were the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department
of Veterans Affairs and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.”
http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=7306
Healthcare / Bio-Informatics / Care Delivery Organizations
(CDOs)
ONC puts forth plan for
transforming healthcare with IT
“The
Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has
released plan for advancing healthcare information technology. The stated aim:
Using the power of IT to transform healthcare.”
http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=9319
The
2008-2012 Strategic Plan is online at: http://www.hhs.gov/healthit/resources/reports.html
Testimony on healthcare IT highlights privacy, connectivity
“Business,
government and healthcare leaders testifying before a Congressional
subcommittee on Wednesday pressed for passage of healthcare IT legislation. They
also called on Congress to make privacy paramount.”
http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=9363
Human Error / Safety / Environment
NASA's own watchdog: Agency misled on global warming
“In
a report released Monday, NASA's inspector general office called it
"inappropriate political interference" by political appointees in the
press office. It said that the agency's top management wasn't part of the
censorship, nor were career officials.”
http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Jun02/0,4670,NASACensor,00.html
The
report is at: http://oig.nasa.gov/investigations/OI_STI_Summary.pdf
Air Force: Moisture caused $1.4 billion bomber crash
“The
crash probably could have been avoided if knowledge of a technique to evaporate
the moisture had been disseminated throughout the B-2 program, Maj. Gen. Floyd
L. Carpenter, who headed an accident investigation board, said Thursday.”
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/06/06/crash.ap/index.html
Global News / Business / Economics
World needs $45 trillion energy plan
“The
world needs to invest $45 trillion in energy in coming decades, build some
1,400 nuclear power plants and vastly expand wind power in order to halve
greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, according to an energy study released
Friday.”
http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/06/news/international/japan_iea.ap/index.htm?postversion=2008060609
http://uk.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUKSP11179420080606
Presentation
is at: http://www.iea.org/Textbase/techno/etp/ETP_2008.pdf
Energy
Technology Perspectives Page is at: http://www.iea.org/Textbase/techno/etp/index.asp
Ex-military men think it’s best to hold hands with
“Today
a group of retired military officials met to discuss their experiences,
activities, and interactions with Chinese military leaders. Known as the ‘Sanya
Initiative’, the intention of visiting
http://talkradionews.com/2008/06/ex-military-men-think-it%E2%80%99s-best-to-hold-hands-with-china/
US News / Business / Economics
Summer airfares double, triple, quadruple
“This week, six (American,
(AMR) United, (UAUA) Delta, (DAL) Northwest, (NWA) Continental, (
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/travel/2008-06-04-non-stop-fares_N.htm
Soaring fuel prices
drive some to try four-day workweeks
“Escalating gas prices are
prodding businesses and local governments to take a drastic step to curb costs:
Many are cutting back to four-day workweeks, with employees generally working
four 10-hour days instead of five eight-hour days.”
http://www.usatoday.com/money/workplace/2008-06-01-work-week-four-day-gas-prices_N.htm
Looking Closely at
Coal
“Coal will continue to be the engine
that carries the nation forward. But it will have to be re-invented to comport
with changing environmental and economic standards.”
http://www.energycentral.com/centers/energybiz/ebi_detail.cfm?id=517
Unemployment soars
to 5.5%
“The unemployment rate took
its biggest jump in more than two decades in May as employers once again cut
jobs, according to a government report Friday.”
http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/06/news/economy/jobs_may/index.htm?cnn=yes
End Notes
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Principal Consultant
ITIL Service Manager, TOCICO Jonah, IPRC, CISA
Pepperweed
Consulting, LLC®
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