Causal analytics methods can revolutionize the use of data to make effective decisions by revealing how different choices affect probabilities of various outcomes. This book presents and illustrates models, algorithms, principles, and software for deriving causal models from data and for using them to optimize decisions with uncertain outcomes. It discusses how to describe and summarize situations; detect changes; evaluate effects of policies or interventions; learn what works best under different conditions; predict values of as-yet unobserved quantities from available data; and identify the most likely explanations for observed outcomes, including surprises and anomalies. The book resents practical techniques for causal modeling and analytics that practitioners can apply to improve understanding of how choices affect probabilities of consequences and, based on this understanding, to recommend choices that are more likely to accomplish their intended objectives.The book begins with a survey of modern analytics methods, focusing mainly on techniques useful for decision, risk, and policy analysis. Chapter 2 introduces free in-browser software, including the Causal Analytics Toolkit (CAT) software, to enable readers to perform the analyses described and to apply modern analytics methods easily to their own data sets. Chapters 3 through 11 show how to apply causal analytics and risk analytics to practical risk analysis challenges, mainly related to public and occupational health risks from pathogens in food or from pollutants in air. Chapters 12 through 15 turn to broader questions of how to improve risk management decision-making by individuals, groups, organizations, institutions, and multi-generation societies with different cultures and norms for cooperation. These chapters examine organizational learning, community resilience, societal risk management, and intergenerational collaboration and justice in managing risks.

The resource transfer problem (RTP) is a modeling and solution framework for integrated complex scheduling and rich vehicle routing problems. It allows the modeling of a wide variety of scheduling problems, vehicle routing problems, their combination with integrated problems, as well as various specific requirements and restrictions arising in practical scheduling and vehicle routing. Based on the unifying resource transfer problem framework, this book proposes a generic constraint propagation approach that exploits the specific structure of scheduling and routing problems.

An important aspect of managing human capital in the 21st century workplace is managing the interface between humans and information technology, particularly the World Wide Web. The Web has changed not only how and where business is conducted, but also how and where work is done. Personal web usage has created many desirable organizational outcomes such as, reducing the cost of communication, restructuring how work is performed. However, it has also generated undesirable outcomes, for instance, loss of intellectual property, sexual harassment lawsuits, productivity losses due to surfing usage, security threats, and network bandwidth overload by visiting web sites for travel, leisure, and sports, and news. The mechanisms controlling the interface of individual and institution in this flexible, open, autonomous work environment created by the Web are emergent phenomena, and the lines between legitimate usage and usage are just beginning to be understood. Personal Web Usage in the Workplace: A Guide to Effective Human Resources Management examines topics which embrace a wide array of Personal Web Usage issues such as antecedents of Web usage, frameworks/models of Web usage, Web technologies for monitoring usage, Web usage within other cultures and countries, Measurement issues of Web usage, and the impact of Web usage among others.

The digital economy, broadly defined as the economy operating on the basis of interconnectivity between people and businesses, has gradually spread over the world. Although a global phenomenon, the digital economy plays out in local economic, political, and regulatory contexts. The problems thus created by the digital economy may be approached differently depending on the context. This edited collection brings together leading scholars based in Asia to detail how their respective jurisdictions respond to the competition law problems evolving out of the deployment of the digital economy. This book is timely, because it will show to what extent new competition law regimes or those with a history of lax enforcement can respond to these new developments in the economy. Academics in law and business strategies with an interest in competition law, both in Asia and more broadly, will find the insights in this edited collection invaluable. Further, this volume will be a key resource for scholars, practitioners and students.

Environments needing information technology and management skills combined often find that strategic information and intelligence is not always readily available. How to scan management environments for relevant information and then make sense of the information remains a challenge.Managing Strategic Intelligence: Techniques and Technologies builds a network of excellence in effectively managing strategic information for senior management. It focuses on environment information scanning and organization-wide support for strategic intelligence. Managing Strategic Intelligence: Techniques and Technologies prompts further development for theories and best practices in strategic intelligence, and provides future direction for innovative systems by using intelligent agents. This book also provides practical guidance to organizations on developing effective approaches, mechanisms, and systems to scan, refine, and support strategic information provision.

During the 21st century business environments have become more complex and dynamic than ever before. Companies operate in a world of change influenced by globalisation, volatile markets, legal changes and technical progress. As a result, they have to handle growing volumes of data and therefore require fast storage, reliable data access, intelligent retrieval of information and automated decision-making mechanisms, all provided at the highest level of service quality. Successful enterprises are aware of these challenges and efficiently respond to the dynamic environment in which their business operates. Business Intelligence (BI) and Performance Management (PM) offer solutions to these challenges and provide techniques to enable effective business change. The important aspects of both topics are discussed within this state-of-the-art volume. It covers the strategic support, business applications, methodologies and technologies from the field, and explores the benefits, issues and challenges of each. Issues are analysed from many different perspectives, ranging from strategic management to data technologies, and the different subjects are complimented and illustrated by numerous examples of industrial applications. Contributions are authored by leading academics and practitioners representing various universities, research centres and companies worldwide. Their experience covers multiple disciplines and industries, including finance, construction, logistics, and public services, amongst others. Business Intelligence and Performance Management is a valuable source of reference for graduates approaching MSc or PhD programs and for professionals in industry researching in the fields of BI and PM for industrial application.

This book is a first. It fills a major gap in the market and provides a wide snapshot of intelligent technologies for inconsistency resolution. The need for this resolution of knowledge inconsistency arises in many practical applications of computer systems. This kind of inconsistency results from the use of various resources of knowledge in realizing practical tasks. These resources are often autonomous and use different mechanisms for processing knowledge about the same real world. This can lead to compatibility problems.

Advances in social science research methodologies and data analytic methods are changing the way research in information systems is conducted. New developments in statistical software technologies for data mining (DM) such as regression splines or decision tree induction can be used to assist researchers in systematic post-positivist theory testing and development. Established management science techniques like data envelopment analysis (DEA), and value focused thinking (VFT) can be used in combination with traditional statistical analysis and data mining techniques to more effectively explore behavioral questions in information systems research. As adoption and use of these research methods expand, there is growing need for a resource book to assist doctoral students and advanced researchers in understanding their potential to contribute to a broad range of research problems.

"Advances in Research Methods for Information Systems Research: Data Mining, Data Envelopment Analysis, Value Focused Thinking" focuses on bridging and unifying these three different methodologies in order to bring them together in a unified volume for the information systems community. This book serves as a resource that provides overviews on each method, as well as applications on how they can be employed to address IS research problems. Its goal is to help researchers in their continuous efforts to set the pace for having an appropriate interplay between behavioral research and design science.

Business process reengineering (BPR) focuses on redesigning the strategic and value-added processes which transcend the organizational boundaries. It is a cross-functional approach that requires support from almost all the departments of the organization. Business Process Reengineering: Automation Decision Points in Process Reengineering offers a new framework based process reengineering and links it to organization life cycle, process life cycle, and process management. This volume describes the fundamental concepts behind business process reengineering and examines them through case studies, and should appeal to researchers and academics interested in business process reengineering, operations strategy, and organizational restructuring and design.

For courses in structured systems analysis and design. Prioritising the practical over the technical, Modern Systems Analysis and Design presents the concepts, skills, methodologies, techniques, tools, and perspectives essential for systems analysts to develop information systems. The authors assume students have taken an introductory course on computer systems and have experience designing programs in at least one programming language. By drawing on the systems development life cycle, the authors provide a conceptual and systematic framework while progressing through topics logically. The 9th edition has been completely revised to adapt to the changing environment for systems development, with a renewed focus on agile methodologies.

This book is a self-contained, practical introduction how to use FeatureIDE for modeling and implementing variable systems. In particular, readers learn how to analyze domains using feature models, specify requirements in form of configurations, and how to generate code based on conditional compilation and feature-oriented programming. Given the interactive style of the book, readers can directly try out the open-source development environment. All code examples are available in the standard distribution on GitHub and can immediately been used for individual modifications. Each part of the book is presented as a step-by-step tutorial and additionally illustrated using an ongoing example of elevator control software written in Java. Written by the core development team of FeatureIDE, this book is suitable for students using a tool for deepening the theoretical foundations of variability modeling and implementation, and as a reference for practitioners needing a stable and scalable tool for industrial applications. FeatureIDE is the most used open-source tool for feature modeling and has been continuously improved since 2004. The success of FeatureIDE is due to being a vehicle for cutting-edge product-line research by still providing an easy-to-use and seamless integration into Eclipse.

This is a practical guide to solutions for forecasting demand for services and products in international markets - and much more than just a listing of dry theoretical methods. Leading experts present studies on improving methods for forecasting numbers of incoming patent filings at the European Patent Office. These are reviewed by practitioners of the existing methods, revealing that it may not always be wise to trust established regression approaches.

This book features papers from CEPE-IACAP 2015, a joint international conference focused on the philosophy of computing. Inside, readers will discover essays that explore current issues in epistemology, philosophy of mind, logic, and philosophy of science from the lens of computation. Coverage also examines applied issues related to ethical, social, and political interest. The contributors first explore how computation has changed philosophical inquiry. Computers are now capable of joining humans in exploring foundational issues. Thus, we can ponder machine-generated explanation, thought, agency, and other quite fascinating concepts. The papers are also concerned with normative aspects of the computer and information technology revolution. They examine technology-specific analyses of key challenges, from Big Data to autonomous robots to expert systems for infrastructure control and financial services. The virtue of a collection that ranges over philosophical questions, such as this one does, lies in the prospects for a more integrated understanding of issues. These are early days in the partnership between philosophy and information technology. Philosophers and researchers are still sorting out many foundational issues. They will need to deploy all of the tools of philosophy to establish this foundation. This volume admirably showcases those tools in the hands of some excellent scholars.

Filling a gap in the current literature, this book addresses the social approach to the design and use of innovative business models in the digital economy. It focuses on three areas that are of increasing importance to businesses and industry today: social issues and sustainability; digitization; and new economic business models, specifically the sharing and circular economies. The authors aim to solve current scientific concerns around the conceptualization and operationalization of social business models, addressing management intentions and the impact of these models on society. Based on observation of social phenomena and the authors' research and practical experience, the book highlights best practices for designing and assessing social business models.

Based on over 200 interviews, this new book provides rich insights and practices on the toughest challenges facing offshore client/supplier relationships. While many client organizations found benefits to be gained from the offshoring of IT work, others struggled to realize any cost savings or other improvements. How can these mixed experiences be reconciled? The research reveals that offshore outsourcing can deliver on its promises, but only if both clients and suppliers diligently manage the details. In this book, the authors provide specific practices that managers can use, and detailed case studies which illustrate how these practices are embedded and enacted within client and supplier firms.

Recently, the emergence of wireless and mobile networks has made possible the admission of electronic commerce to a new application and research subject: mobile commerce, defined as the exchange or buying and selling of commodities, services, or information on the Internet through the use of mobile handheld devices. In just a few years, mobile commerce has emerged from nowhere to become the hottest new trend in business transactions. However, the prosperity and popularity of mobile commerce will be brought to a higher level only if information is securely and safely exchanged among end systems (mobile users and content providers). Advances in Security and Payment Methods for Mobile Commerce includes high-quality research papers and industrial and practice articles in the areas of mobile commerce security and payment from academics and industrialists. It covers research and development results of lasting significance in the theory, design, implementation, analysis, and application of mobile commerce security and payment.

Much of our life is consumed looking for quantitative relationships. For example, How much more sleep do I need at night to make me feel better? How many calories do I need to eliminate to lose weight? How much larger does my budget on the job need to be for me to be more effective? All these quantitative questions are preceded, and depend on, qualitative questions. For example, before I decide how much extra sleep I need at night, I need to determine if extra sleep will actually make me feel better. In another example, I need to determine if a larger budget will make me more effective on the job, before I think about how much more money I will need. What elements influence job performance, and how do they interact? We spend much of our life trying to find answers to such quantitative and qualitative questions. We are, then, in search of a kind of intelligence that includes numbers but is also above and beyond them. We call it "supernumerary" intelligence (SI). To aid our quest for SI, we use Quantitative CyberQuest (QCQ) and the Public Administration Genome Project (PAGP) as useful tools. QCQ is a philosophy as well as an analytic tool that helps in exploring the supernumerary. QCQ is particularly wellsuited for sorting out variables as well as their interrelations. It involves a combination of statistics, systems analysis, research methodology, qualitative research, and artificial intelligence. QCQ also provides a relatively easy to understand but still powerful set of tools and guidancemechanisms to pilot (the "Cyber" part) users in their "Quest" for supernumerary relationships.

This book provides user studies and theories related to user-centered technology design processes for e-government projects. The book mainly discusses inherent issues of technology design implications, user experiences, and guidelines for technology appropriation. Ethnographic studies focusing on real life examples will enable readers to understand the problems in an effective way. Furthermore, the theories and results will help researchers and practitioners to handle these challenges in an efficient way. E-Government is about harnessing the information revolution to improve the efficiency of government processes and the lives of citizens. It aims at a citizen centered approach to governance through effective use of the Internet and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). E-Government promotes transparency and effectiveness of a government's processes as well as citizens' participation (e-participation) in the affairs of the government. Whereas E-government projects are huge undertakings for government departments, a user-centric approach requires citizens' participation in the design and delivery of e government services. In both these respects, there are huge challenges and governments require long term commitment as well as correct planning and availability of financial resources to address them. System design for e-governmental applications is inherently a complex process. In successful e-government projects, appropriately designed technology infrastructure plays a pivotal rule. The technology appropriation process requires that e-government technologies should be in line with the work practices of end users, so that successful usage of these technologies can be realized. E-governmental systems which fail to take into account such human factors result in failure and wasting huge amounts of public money as well as a loss of confidence of the public in such technological infrastructures. It is highly important that citizens are enabled to have access to the appropriate information technology, have knowledge and skills to use the available technology, and have the positive commitment to affect the governments' strategies. So, enabling citizens to effectively participate is much more difficult. This book addresses these inherent challenges and available opportunities with respect to user-centric e-government.

Current thinking about how to improve strategic planning (now upgraded to strategic thinking) and decision making by managers at all levels is to employ some aspect of information systems technology. Although this approach has worked well for most organizations, chief executives are now asking their managers to do what they do best but to do it better. But how? Future thinking about improving strategic thinking and decision making involves integrating creativity with the latest in information systems. Hence, the power of the computer can be an important means to assist managers in doing what they do better when employing a creative computer software approach.

Initially, the text looks at a number of areas that are impacted by creativity, with special emphasis on creative computer software. Management decision making is examined from a problem-finding or a forward-looking viewpoint that can benefit from utilizing creative computer software. Not only is this software useful for organizing ideas, but also for getting managers involved in networking ideas in different locations of a company. But more importantly, this software centers on the generation of new ideas. To demonstrate the generation of these ideas, the final part of the text gives a number of real-world applications of creative computer software. Particular emphasis is placed on Idea Fisher 4.0, an effective software package for generating new products and services.

Speed as a factor for success Our modern industrial society lives life in the fast lane. The catchwords "faster," "shorter," "more powerful" reflect what we experience in almost all aspects of our lives. Whether at home or at work, we are constantly on the move and in a rush. In our private lives we find rapid exchange of inf- mation most entertaining and we are fascinated by the wide range of inf- mation that pours in on us from all around the world, mainly via the new media. It gives us the feeling of being a part of the action everywhere and all the time. Seldom are we aware that the only reason this flood of inf- mation, often referred to as "overstimulation," does not lead to overkill is that we manage to organize our time effectively. There are many parallels to this in the business world. Here too, a great deal of time pressure is exerted from outside; goals are set ever higher and deadlines become tighter. In other words, demands on our time demand faster reaction. Crucial information travels around the globe - across all time zones - in a matter of seconds. In fact, instead of CET or CEST, it would make sense to have a single time zone for the worldwide network called GST for Global Simultaneous Time. In business more so than in p- vate life, we are almost constantly online.

Digital networking technologies are empowering organizations to form dynamic networks, generating exceptional or 'smart' results. These Smart Business Networks (SBNs) enable individual organizations to compete more effectively and to respond better to a changing world. This idea attracted a diverse group of academic scholars and business professionals to Beijing from May 19-23, 2008, hosted by Tsinghua University. They discovered new ways to manage network resources, operate business processes across a network, create a business operations platform, understand the importance of network position and the smart mastering of technology. Effective managers, they concluded, must have a firm understanding of these fundamental network concepts in order to orchestrate the networks of the future. This book presents the results of an intense and energizing event which resulted in new theoretical foundations and practical insights.

The need for enterprise flexibility in an era of rapidly advancing technology, increasing competition, and globalization, is apparent. Flexibility can be thought of as an ability of the enterprise to quickly and efficiently respond to market changes and to bring new products and services quickly to the market place. Beyond this definition, a truly flexible enterprise should proactively change the market through its ability to create new and innovative products and services. The proposed book is intended to provide a conceptual framework of Flexible Enterprise supported by researches/case applications in various types of flexibilities exhibited by a flexible enterprise. The selected papers from a variety of issues concerning the planning and operation of a flexible enterprise are organized into following four parts:

I Enterprise and Strategic Flexibility

II Organizational Flexibility

III Business Process and Information Systems Flexibility

IV Operations Flexibility "

This book utilizes historical evidence to describe the development of the Toyota Production System (TPS). The development of TPS typifies the transformation of production control in interchangeable industries in the twentieth century. Much of the extensive literature available on TPS has been geared toward describing TPS from a number of different perspectives. Many researchers consider TPS distinct from American mass-production systems. Although TPS (and, more generally, the production control systems in the Japanese assembly industry) has differentiated itself from similar US production systems, the evolution of TPS is largely attributable to attempts to learn from, imitate, and modify pre-World War II US production methods. Through these efforts, TPS has achieved levels of efficiency in Japan comparable to those of US production systems. Additionally, a reliance on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in relation to production control has facilitated the development of TPS. The literature on TPS, however, has largely ignored the vital relationship between ICT and production control due to an inordinate focus on "Kanban." Kanban translates to "signboard" in Japanese but is used to refer to an organic linkage between work in preceding and subsequent production processes. This book sheds light on the development of a fully digitalized Bill of Materials (BOM) at Toyota, behind its Kanban and production control.

The core belief underlying this book is that the most useful and effective models to strengthen our intelligence are system ones, developed following the logic of Systems Thinking. Such models can explore complexity, dynamics, and change, and it is the author's view that intelligence depends on the ability to construct models of this nature. The book is designed to allow the reader not only to acquire simple information on Systems Thinking but above all to gradually learn the logic and techniques that make this way of thinking an instrument for the improvement of intelligence. In order to aid the learning and practice of the Systems Thinking discipline, the author has abandoned a rigid formal language for a more discursive style. He writes in the first person, with an ample number of citations and critical analyses, and without ever giving in to the temptation to use formal mathematics.

Quality and standardisation in e-learning have become crucial success factors for organisations in learning, education and training: E-Learning has changed from an early adopter stage to an integrated part of learning scenarios leading to major changes in educational organisations towards quality orientation.

For building a knowledge society, it is critically important to thoroughly understand quality and standards in e-learning. The handbook provides a cross-national perspective on these issues and draws a clear picture of the situation in quality development and standardisation. It covers topics of a rather foundational nature in quality and standardisation research as well as descriptions of quality approaches, instruments, standards, experiences and best practices. The Handbook is directed to learners, professionals, researchers and policy makers people creating the next generation of learning. "