A comprehensive handbook covering the operations of a niche industry.
A manual for entrepreneurs interested in opening a medical transportation business.
In this debut business book, Possi draws on his own experiences as the founder and owner of a nonemergency medical transport company to provide guidance to others entering the field. The book covers everything from basic principles of small business, such as financing and personnel management, to the multitude of federal, state, and local regulations that specifically affect businesses in the health care industry. Possi is clearly knowledgeable, and provides detailed, useful information on such topics as selecting and equipping an ambulette, the crucial role played by the dispatcher, and the workings of the Medicaid bureaucracy. Later chapters offer insights into a typical day in his business, with Possi’s remarks supported by contributions from several of his key employees. The book concludes with a series of appendices with contact information for state Medicaid administrators, lists of vendors that provide specialized equipment for medical transport vehicles, and related resources. The author’s knowledge of the industry makes this book an effective tool. However, there are moments when the narrative seems overly shaped by his personal experience; in particular, Possi’s preference for policies, handbooks, and a command-and-control approach to management seems connected to his frequent stories about employees’ misuse of corporate credit cards, irresponsible cellphone use, and inefficient driving. Readers who prefer to avoid micromanagement may also want to pass over the discussions of how to handle personnel. There are many references to topics to be covered in a subsequent book, and frequent invitations to visit Possi’s website, where readers can purchase logistics software and other tools, which some readers may find too self-promotional. But on the whole, the work is a valuable contribution to an underserved topic, filled with information found in few other books. As a result, it’s crucial for readers exploring a career in this unfamiliar field.
A comprehensive handbook covering the operations of a niche industry.Pub Date: May 29, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4917-6711-5
Page Count: 154
Publisher: iUniverse
Review Posted Online: July 31, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A readable, persuasive argument that our ways of doing business will have to change if we are to prosper—or even survive.
A well-constructed critique of an economic system that, by the author’s account, is a driver of the world’s destruction.
Harvard Business School professor Henderson vigorously questions the bromide that “management’s only duty is to maximize shareholder value,” a notion advanced by Milton Friedman and accepted uncritically in business schools ever since. By that logic, writes the author, there is no reason why corporations should not fish out the oceans, raise drug prices, militate against public education (since it costs tax money), and otherwise behave ruinously and anti-socially. Many do, even though an alternative theory of business organization argues that corporations and society should enjoy a symbiotic relationship of mutual benefit, which includes corporate investment in what economists call public goods. Given that the history of humankind is “the story of our increasing ability to cooperate at larger and larger scales,” one would hope that in the face of environmental degradation and other threats, we might adopt the symbiotic model rather than the winner-take-all one. Problems abound, of course, including that of the “free rider,” the corporation that takes the benefits from collaborative agreements but does none of the work. Henderson examines case studies such as a large food company that emphasized environmentally responsible production and in turn built “purpose-led, sustainable living brands” and otherwise led the way in increasing shareholder value by reducing risk while building demand. The author argues that the “short-termism” that dominates corporate thinking needs to be adjusted to a longer view even though the larger problem might be better characterized as “failure of information.” Henderson closes with a set of prescriptions for bringing a more equitable economics to the personal level, one that, among other things, asks us to step outside routine—eat less meat, drive less—and become active in forcing corporations (and politicians) to be better citizens.
A readable, persuasive argument that our ways of doing business will have to change if we are to prosper—or even survive.Pub Date: May 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5417-3015-1
Page Count: 336
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
A welcome contribution from a newcomer who provides both a different view and balance in addressing one of the country's...
A fresh, provocative analysis of the debate on education and employment.
Up-and-coming economist Moretti (Economics/Univ. of California, Berkeley) takes issue with the “[w]idespread misconception…that the problem of inequality in the United States is all about the gap between the top one percent and the remaining 99 percent.” The most important aspect of inequality today, he writes, is the widening gap between the 45 million workers with college degrees and the 80 million without—a difference he claims affects every area of peoples' lives. The college-educated part of the population underpins the growth of America's economy of innovation in life sciences, information technology, media and other areas of globally leading research work. Moretti studies the relationship among geographic concentration, innovation and workplace education levels to identify the direct and indirect benefits. He shows that this clustering favors the promotion of self-feeding processes of growth, directly affecting wage levels, both in the innovative industries as well as the sectors that service them. Indirect benefits also accrue from knowledge and other spillovers, which accompany clustering in innovation hubs. Moretti presents research-based evidence supporting his view that the public and private economic benefits of education and research are such that increased federal subsidies would more than pay for themselves. The author fears the development of geographic segregation and Balkanization along education lines if these issues of long-term economic benefits are left inadequately addressed.
A welcome contribution from a newcomer who provides both a different view and balance in addressing one of the country's more profound problems.Pub Date: May 5, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-547-75011-8
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Review Posted Online: April 3, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2012
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