Masonry Magazine January 1972 Page. 26
Books...
Directing Construction for Profit: Business Aspects of Contracting, by Samuel P. Oppenheimer, M.E., Ρ.Ε. 274 pages; 6 x 9; 38 illustrations; $12.75; McGraw-Hill. Publication: November, 1971.
Samuel Oppenheimer brings his expertise to bear on every facet of the construction business in his new book, Directing Construction for Profit: Business Aspects of Contracting. Emphasizing profit and the considerations thereof, this practical, highly readable volume includes all the information necessary for running a successful construction operation on a maximum-profit, minimum-loss basis.
In fifteen chapters, the book examines the pros and cons, in terms of profit, of such situations as:
• A large working crew and an earlier completion date vs. a small working crew and a later completion date.
• Renting vs. buying equipment.
• Ordering materials in advance vs. as needed.
• Taking on the total project vs. subcontracting certain jobs.
Early in the book the reader is provided with an overview of the business of construction, including such aspects as the job of the construction superintendent; choosing construction methods; ordering and stocking equipment; and overcoming such problems as loss and damage, delays, site defects, and specification errors.
Final chapters answer many specific questions concerning planning for sales; scheduling; pricing; quotations and other legalities; and negotiations.
Employer's Guide To Labor Relations, by James W. Hunt. 1971. 131 pp. Indexed. BNA Books, Washington, D.C. $5.00.
The rights and obligations of employers in meeting efforts by unions to organize their employees are spelled out in Employer's Guide To Labor Relations, just published by BNA Books, a division of The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.
Authored by labor law specialist James W. Hunt, the Employer's Guide is packed with specific, practical, what-to-do-and-how-to-do-it information and advice for every member of management, from chief executive to first-line foreman.
Hunt takes the view that employers should be fully aware of their rights and should unhesitatingly assert them. But he emphasizes that positive employer action in any area of the labor relations field has the best chance of success when it is solidly buttressed by company policies and practices that give full recognition to the needs, interests, and aspirations of employees. To underline this point, he provides detailed enumerations of practices that successful companies have found to be essential elements of an effective employee relations program.
Hunt has served as an attorney for the National Labor Relations Board, as legal assistant to a chairman of the NLRB, and as labor relations counsel for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He has also been labor counsel and manager of corporate labor relations for the Susquehanna Corporation.
Employer's Guide To Labor Relations is available from the publisher, BNA Books, 1231 25th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037, at $5.00 per copy. Multiple copy discounts are available.
Skier's boast: "I can do a dandy slalom, mainly on my spinal column."