Word: axioms
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Here's an axiom of the new budget math for state officials: '80s into '90s won't go. For much of the past decade state budgets were pushed into the black by a buoyant economy that kept tax revenues pouring in just fast enough. In a pinch, states could unveil a new lottery, nudge up the sales tax or practice the kind of creative accounting that shifts one year's outlays into the next. But with the economy slumping and voters raising a fuss at the very whisper of new taxes, the assumptions of the '80s are not working anymore...
...each, share four characteristics: an irresistible envelope, a personalized typewritten letter, a brochure intended to give an as yet nonexistent product an aura of legitimacy, and a response card. Jayme and Ratalahti know that people do not read direct-mail pitches carefully, so they adhere to a simple axiom: state the message, repeat it -- then repeat it again...
...axiom of publishing that the first months, even years, of a new magazine's life are the most traumatic. Vanity Fair, for example, went through millions of Conde Nast dollars before its third editor, Tina Brown, found a formula for success. Thus industry observers were not surprised when ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, less than 16 weeks after its premiere issue, overhauled a glitzy format that both readers and advertisers found confusing. Many more eyebrows, however, were raised last week when E.W.'s founding managing editor, % Jeff Jarvis, 35, abruptly resigned, citing "creative differences" with top editorial management of the parent Time Warner...
Jews are news. It is an axiom of journalism. An indispensable axiom, too, because it is otherwise impossible to explain why the deeds and misdeeds of dot-on-the-map Israel get an absurdly disproportionate amount of news coverage around the world. If you are trying to guess how much coverage any Middle East event received, and you are permitted but one question, the best question you can ask about the event is: Were there any Jews in the vicinity? The paradigmatic case is the page in the International Herald Tribune that devoted seven of its eight columns...
...operations, from design and production to inventory management and sales. The results: manufacturing costs and product defects were cut in half, customer satisfaction increased 38%, and Xerox recaptured the lead in moderately priced copiers. Says Kearns: "At Xerox we define quality as meeting customer requirements. It's an axiom as old as business itself. Yet much of American business lost sight of that. Xerox was one of these companies. But by focusing on quality, we have turned that around...