Author: Biz India

Authors: Loizos Heracleous, Jochen Wirtz and Nitin Pangarkar Publisher: McGraw-Hill – 246 pages Book Review by Nano Khilnani The airline industry is a nightmare for investors, owners and managers, with its intense price competition, costly personnel compensation, pay hike demand and strikes by unions, rising fuel costs, atrociously complex government regulations, frequent crashes,  acts of terrorism and political upheavals. If anything can go wrong in any business, it is much more likely to go wrong in the airline business. It is a dog-kill-dog and often dog-eat-dog industry, with numerous mergers and acquisitions of other airlines in efforts to cut costs and raise revenues. But there is one airline that has not only overcome these challenges and consistently delivered excellent service to customers, but also turned a profit year after year since it started in 1972: Singapore Airlines. I have flown on Singapore Airlines (SIA) several times and my experience was superbly pleasant and memorable. On time in departing and arriving, spotlessly-clean and new aircraft, courteous flight attendants who anticipate customers’ needs, superior cocktails and delicious food – all on smooth, quiet flights. This book by three professors in business subjects at the National University of Singapore (NUS) looks at how SIA became the leading airline in the world, is the only airline in Fortune’s list of the world’s most admired companies, has been chosen frequently in customer polls as...

Senior Editors: Tao Le and Kendal Krause; Junior Editor: Vinita Takiar Publisher:  McGraw-Hill – 561 pages Book Review by:  Nano Khilnani This review guide for the United States medical licensing exam (USMLE) should be used in conjunction with its counterpart on organs, which is entitled First Aid for the Basic Sciences: Organ Systems. The two guides are supplementary aids to the “First Aid for the USMLE Step 1,” the review book that helps you prepare to take and do well on the medical board exams to become a licensed physician. It is suggested that you also acquire the two allied books entitled “First Aid Cases for the USMLE Step1” and “First Aid Q&A for the USMLE Step1” The acquisition of the complete study package of the five books mentioned above – the two on the basic medical sciences plus the three review and test-preparation books on the USMLE Step 1 – are your best first step forward to performing at your top level in the board exams. After acquiring the total package, diligent review of the material in the first two basic sciences books and practice test-taking in the three USMLE books can help you do well on the exams. In this book review of the above title, we will give you an overview of the material contained in it and how to use it to get the most...

Author: Mario Lopez, with Jimmy Pena Publisher: Celebra, an Imprint at Penguin Group – 246 pages Book Review by Nano Khilnani Mario Lopez, the good-looking and popular host of the hit television show “Extra” presents in this book, over forty delicious and easy-to-follow recipes for burning fat, gaining energy and feeling great. With the help of exercise physiologist Jimmy Pena and nutritionist Dana Angelo White, the well-known TV star with a great-looking body with his well-developed abs, presents a seven-week plan with “optimal combinations of daily nutrients, transformative eating habits and invigorating mental conditioning tools to redefine your approach to food.” Mario Lopez, Jimmy Pena and Dana White suggest a simple plan to burn fat, become lean and stay that way for life that consists of balancing daily intake of carbs, protein and fat; practicing portion control and eating frequently the right foods throughout the day. By eating frequently, that means seven times a day. Get the book and find out why. They write that as you follow their seven-week meal plan, “your metabolism becomes a fat-burning machine, allowing you to splurge on days, weekends, or vacations with little to no effect on the (weighing) scale.” They indicate that by following for 14 days, their meal plan of eating the right portions of food containing carbohydrates, fats and proteins, you can lose as much as 14 pounds. This handy...

Authors: Morris A. Graham, PhD, and Kevin Baize, OD Publisher: iUniverse. 355 pages Book Review by Ramu Nakliba The central thesis of this book is that accomplishment is directed by action, and action is guided by thought. Therefore, how much we accomplish in life is guided by not only the quantity but also the quality of our thinking. How well we think and visualize or imagine is all important, assert the authors. Some of us have a visual-spatial ability and we can see and think in a three-dimensional way. The first chapter of the book deals with this important mission of the book. For example, with regards to executive thinking. How much business we do and how well we do it – by creating the largest feasible margins and quantity of profit – can both be enhanced by improving our thinking. The book’s aim is to help readers improve the quality and quantity of their thought so that they can achieve more of whatever is closest to their hearts in as short a period of time as they wish. The authors work in the field of thinking, helping people solve problems with words to increase their “verbal height” as well as help solve problems with numbers to increase their “quantitative width.” In addition, Graham and Baize help people solve problems to increase their “spatial depth” and gain “global insight”...