The information age; Strategy; Strategic ideas; Strategic configurations of power; Breeder strategy; IT organization design for the information age; Anatomy of an IT guru; Epilogue: the way of the IT warrior; Appendixes; Index.

A revision of the bestselling book that shows IT departments how to take on new challenges As technology becomes more mainstream and accessible, companies must develop new ways to use their IT resources in order to compete. In this extensive revision, IT expert Bernard Boar provides a methodology that shows readers how to use IT as a competitive business asset. He tackles the latest challenges facing IT departments over the next several years, including how to devise a complete strategy to make the department more effective and how to choose the best strategy framework for a company. Boar also shows how technologies like e-commerce, data warehousing, architectures, and Java can be used to make a business more competitive.

Papers from the New York University symposium on [title] held June, 1986. Organized into three sections: theory, implementation, and problems. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

Whether you are a CEO, CFO, board member, or an IT executive, From Business Strategy to Information Technology Roadmap: A Practical Guide for Executives and Board Members lays out a practical, how-to approach to identifying business strategies and creating value-driven technology roadmaps in your organization. Unlike many other books on the subject, you will not find theories or grandiose ideas here. This book uses numerous examples, illustrations, and case studies to show you how to solve the real-world problems that business executives and technology leaders face on a day-to-day basis. Filled with actionable advice you can use immediately, the authors introduce Agile and the Lean mindset in a manner that the people in your business and technology departments can easily understand. Ideal for executives in both the commercial and nonprofit sectors, it includes two case studies: one about a commercial family business that thrived to become a multi-million-dollar company and the other about a nonprofit association based in New York City that fights against child illiteracy.

This comprehensive and practical book describes the impact IS has had on business performance and the contribution it makes to the strategic development and competitive abilities of organizations. It provides the tools, techniques and management framework for identifying and implementing opportunities explored. The new edition places more stress on planning and includes updated references and examples as well as new information on EDI, business process redesign, outsourcing, legacy systems, and more.

Whether you are a student or a working professional, you can benefit from being better at solving the complex problems that come up in your life. Strategic Thinking in Complex Problem Solving provides a general framework and the necessary tools to help you do so. Based on his groundbreaking course at Rice University, engineer and former strategy consultant Arnaud Chevallier provides practical ways to develop problem solving skills, such as investigating complex questions with issue maps, using logic to promote creativity, leveraging analogical thinking to approach unfamiliar problems, and managing diverse groups to foster innovation. This book breaks down the resolution process into four steps: 1) frame the problem (identifying what needs to be done), 2) diagnose it (identifying why there is a problem, or why it hasn't been solved yet), 3) identify and select potential solutions (identifying how to solve the problem), and 4) implement and monitor the solution (resolving the problem, the 'do'). For each of these four steps - the what, why, how, and do - this book explains techniques that promotes success and demonstrates how to apply them on a case study and in additional examples. The featured case study guides you through the resolution process, illustrates how these concepts apply, and creates a concrete image to facilitate recollection. Strategic Thinking in Complex Problem Solving is a tool kit that integrates knowledge based on both theoretical and empirical evidence from many disciplines, and explains it in accessible terms. As the book guides you through the various stages of solving complex problems, it also provides useful templates so that you can easily apply these approaches to your own personal projects. With this book, you don't just learn about problem solving, but how to actually do it.

Describes the principles and methodologies for crafting and executing a successful business-aligned IT strategy to provide businesses with value delivery.

A modern theory of executive strategy for the information age The information revolution has radically transformed virtually every aspect of business today. Yet, no book has fully addressed its impact on strategic management-until now. In Executive Strategy: Strategic Management and Information Technology, Frederick Betz builds on his pioneering work concerning the management of technical innovation to explore the powerful relationship between traditional strategic management and today's computer and communications technologies. By adapting established strategy-related concepts and processes to the strategic management challenges faced by companies in the information age, this book offers readers the background they need to guide processes ranging from the creation of strategic business models and the development of comprehensive planning scenarios to the strategic management of business diversification and the formulation of information strategy. Concepts are developed with a survey of the older business literature on strategy and the newer information strategy literature, and illustrated by a wealth of new technology and e-commerce-related case studies. The case studies, presented in the book and on its accompanying Web site (www.execstrat.com), are drawn from leading companies such as Apple Computer, Pixar, AOL Time Warner, and Amazon.com. From the Internet and e-commerce to the role of computer-aided tools such as inventory control and project management software, the world of information technology is filled with innovations that have crucial ramifications for the strategic management of every business. This book equips present and future engineering and business professionals with the road map they need to help steer the modern organization skillfully through the twists and turns of this new and exciting business landscape.

Today's technological advances are directly affecting the success of business tomorrow. With recent-- and continual--improvements in technology, many organizations are finding their information systems obsolete, and are having to take a close look at their current Information Systems and answer some tough questions, including: How well are our current Information Systems applications meeting the business needs today? How well can they meet the needs of our business tomorrow? Are we obtaining true value from the investments made in Information Systems? Are we integrating the Information Systems projects that provide the most value to business? What Information Systems mission, objectives, and strategies are necessary to successfully meet the business challenges of the future? A Practical Guide to Information Systems Strategic Planning helps take the "guess work" out of evaluating current and future Information Systems, and provides the necessary tools for maximizing the investment made in new technology. This invaluable guide shows readers how to take advantage of the latest technology available in Information Systems planning, and how to develop a solid Information Systems plan that is directly linked to their business' goals. In an easy-to-follow, hands-on format, this complete reference describes a process for facilitating communication between business management and the Information Systems functions. Both Information Systems Executives and general business executives will find the information they need to develop a successful, value-added Information Systems plan. Readers will find a step-by-step approach to the process of developing an Information Systems plan that helps them gain a competitive edge well into the future.

Get competitive by learning to think strategically.The inability to set good strategy can sink a company¿and a leader¿s career. A recent Wall Street Journal study revealed that the most sought-after executive skill is strategic thinking, but only three out of ten managers have this skill set.Horwath explains the three keys to strategic thinking, breaks them down into simple, attainable skills, and gives you practical tools to apply them every day, providing managers with a clear path to mastery of the three disciplines: 1. Acumen¿generate critical insights through a step-by-step evaluation of your business and its environment2. Allocation¿focus your limited resources through strategic trade-offs 3. Action¿implement a system to guarantee effective execution of strategy at all levels of your organization Based on new research with senior executives from 150 companies and the author¿s experience as a thought-leading strategist, Deep Dive is the first book to focus on the most important level of strategy¿you. Armed with this knowledge and dozens of effective tools, you can become a truly strategic leader for your organization.--Rich Horwath is the president of the Strategic Thinking Institute, a former chief strategy officer, and professor of strategy at the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management. As a thought-leading strategist, he has worked with such giants as Adidas, Amgen, and Pfizer. He is the author of four books and more than fifty articles on strategic thinking and has been profiled in business publications around the world, including Investor¿s Business Daily.