Designed to enable readers to recognize the cornerstones of creating and sustaining organizational effectiveness, the First Edition is based on key quality initiatives including Six Sigma, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, ISO 9000, lean manufacturing, and value creation. This book explores how quality management has progressed from an emphasis on the management of quality to a focus on the quality of managing, operating, and integrating customer service, marketing, production, delivery, information, and finance areas throughout an organization's value chain. For professionals with a career or interest in business, engineering, engineering technology, and quality management.

The Yearbook comprises four chapters. The first covers demographics and social indicators, reflecting special efforts to mainstream the gender perspective in statistical information. The second chapter presents basic economic trade and balance-of-payments statistics as well as national accounts. Taking accounts of the growing concern of the regional and international community for sustainable development, the third chapter provides the quantitative information available in the environment. The fourth chapter deals with methodology and metadata supplementing the more specific information contained in the footnotes to each of the tables of this Yearbook.

Benchmarking has become a key tool in the water industry to promote and achieve performance targets for utilities. The use of this tool for performance improvement through systematic search and adaptation of leading practices, has expanded globally during the past decade. Many ongoing projects worldwide aim to address different needs and objectives, in varying contexts, with outstanding results and impact. Benchmarking Water Services provides valuable information to everyone interested in benchmarking in the water industry. The text is aimed at utilities considering joining a benchmarking project, experienced practitioners in charge of organizing a benchmarking exercise, consultants, regulators and researchers. The document is presented with a clear practice oriented approach and can be used as a how-to-benchmark guide presented from different perspectives (participants, organizers, supervising bodies). Readers will gain practical insight on real life benchmarking practices and will benefit from the experiences gained in some of the leading benchmarking projects of the water industry (including the IWA-WSAA benchmarking efforts, the European Benchmarking Co-operation and the several benchmarking projects carried out in Austria and Central Europe). The manual also presents the new IWA Benchmarking Framework, which aims to harmonize the terms used to describe benchmarking and performance indicators practices in the water industry, guaranteeing a more fluent and efficient communication. This Manual of Best Practice is edited by the IWA Specialist Group on Benchmarking and Performance Assessment, and co-published by AWWA and IWA Publishing. Praise for Benchmarking Water Services: "The continual trend of conceptual to specifics throughout the book provides for an educational experience each time the book is either casually perused or carefully studied." "The authors (Cabrera, Haskins and Fritiz) diligently pursue the focus of improvement." "Benchmarking Water Services is an in depth and practical ‘must have’ guide for any utility currently engaged in or planning to develop a benchmarking process" - Gregory M. Baird (2012) Benchmarking: An International Journal 19:2. More information about the book can be found on the Water Wiki in an article written by the author: http://www.iwawaterwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Articles/TheNewIWABenchmarkingFramework A Spanish language version of this book is available as a free eBook: http://www.iwawaterwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Articles/eBookTitlesfromIWAPublishingFreetoDownload-Volume2#HBenchmarkingParaServiciosdeAgua

The North American Mosaic has four overarching features. First, it is, to the extent feasible, based on comparable information on the status and trends of major indicators of the state of the environment in Canada,Mexico, and the United States. Second, the report confirms that these three countries together make up an incredibly complex, dynamic, and interconnected ecosystem in which humans play a dominant and decisive role. Third, the report raises important and sometimes disquieting questions concerning the sustainability of some current trends. Finally, the report is a reminder that our economic, social, and physical well-being are utterly dependent on the life-sustaining services provided by nature. This report emphasizes the importance of developing mutually compatible economic, social, and environmental goals and policies across the three-country region.

El libro se estructura en cinco grandes apartados. El primero se dedica a la Gestión Medioambiental, definiendo los conceptos más prominentes y describiendo los principales instrumentos y estrategias del sistema de gestión. El segundo desarrollan los conceptos generales de la auditoría medioambiental, destinándose el tercero a la tipología y las relaciones con otros instrumentos de gestión. En el apartado cuarto se detalla el sistema metodológico para realizar la ecoauditoría, definiéndose las herramientas básicas que maneja el auditor, mientras que el quinto se consagra a la valoración de los impactos ambientales que genera la actividad auditada. Como complemento se desarrollan quince anejos, dedicados a la legislación europea , nacional y autonómica; y la exposición de cuestionarios de utilidad para la ejecución de las auditorías medioambientales, unos con carácter general y otros con carácter específico.