This book opens the "black box" of software sourcing by explaining how dynamic software alignment is established and how it impacts business performance outcomes. By investigating how software-sourcing modes are related to value generation in the post-implementation phase, it shows researchers and managers the impact logic of on-demand, on-premises, and in-house software on dynamic fit and process-level performance outcomes in a client organization. It describes dynamic IT alignment as the key to success in a fast-moving digital world with software-as-a-service on the rise and highlights the fact that today companies can choose between developing software in-house (make) or sourcing packaged systems in an on-premises (buy) or an on-demand (lease) mode. This book is the first to explicitly compare these sourcing arrangements with each other in terms of alignment and business performance.

Organizations are information intensive systems, operating in dynamic and competitive markets, structured around complex physical and political infrastructures. This book characterises the critical nature of these environments through strategies for business information technology management (BITM).

'Rana el Kaliouby's vision for how technology should work in parallel with empathy is bold, inspired and hopeful' Arianna Huffington, founder and CEO of Thrive Global 'This lucid and captivating book by a renowned pioneer of emotion-AI tackles one of the most pressing issues of our time: How can we ensure a future where this technology empowers rather than surveils and manipulates us?' Max Tegmark, professor of physics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and author of Life 3.0 We are entering an empathy crisis. Most of our communication is conveyed through non-verbal cues - facial expressions, tone of voice, body language - nuances that are completely lost when we interact through our smartphones and other technology. The result is a digital universe that's emotion-blind - a society lacking in empathy. Rana el Kaliouby discovered this when she left Cairo, a newly-married, Muslim woman, to take up her place at Cambridge University to study computer science. Many thousands of miles from home, she began to develop systems to help her better connect with her family. She started to pioneer the new field of Emotional Intelligence (EI). She now runs her company, Affectiva (the industry-leader in this emerging field) that builds EI into our technology and develops systems that understand humans the way we understand one another. In a captivating memoir, Girl Decoded chronicles el Kaliouby's mission to humanise technology and what she learns about humanity along the way.

Addressed to the management of financial institutions and computer and communications technologists, this book aims to prvide information on the four generations of on-line financial networks which have evolved over the past twenty years in Japan.;The background to the book is electronic banking, and the forward- looking financial industries and the benefits they have achieved.;The author has also recently written "Membership Of The Board Of Directors".

Why do some corporate superstars collapse dramatically, while others survive and prosper over many decades? Is the fall primarily caused by 'technical factors', such as poor products and pricing, financial management or market choices, by self-aggrandisement, or perhaps by poor leadership attributes and capabilities? Greg Park argues that ultimately organisational survival and optimal performance over the long term is dependent upon collaborative wisdom. Within the dominant coalition of a successful community or corporation there is an inherited, pervasive, commonly and collectively held dominant logic, comprising leadership principles, perspectives and priorities, based upon universal values which are understood and accepted as satisfying the requirements and aspirations of each stakeholder. This collaborative wisdom ensures cohesive and consistent behaviour across and within every function of a complex, fast-moving organization. Its practical application is reflected in the daily operational decisions of leaders within the organisation, be they divisional, departmental heads or supervisors. Without collaborative wisdom organisational collapse is the inevitable result, primarily through the disintegration of belief, confidence, motivation, cohesion, advocacy and energy within and between key stakeholder groups. Collaborative Wisdom examines the nature and criticality of wisdom as a leadership attribute, how effective operational leadership is not just about knowledge and experience, but more fundamentally about a cognitive mental process which considers and consistently applies fundamental values, principles, perspectives and priorities in an analytical and affective manner. This ensures effective operational leadership and optimal organisational performance over the long term, informed by experience, instinct, intuition, but also by insight, judgment and ultimately, wisdom.

Business Intelligence (BI) and Performance Management (PM) - the development and delivery of business insight for users and the management of execution based on that insight - are two solution-types that promise to bring great value to enterprises. Yet most organizations haven't yet realized the elusive bene?ts of these two important disciplines. The reasons for this are manifold. However, the primary causes are the culture of the organization and it leadership. This is a topic, which I've addressed at length in my latest book: Pro?les in Performance - Business Intelligence Journeys and the Roadmap for Change. The culture and leadership of the organization determines the importance and strategic intent surrounding the use of BI and PM. Sadly, most organizations lack the motivation to embrace transparency and accountability - or to align with the strategy of the organization - enabling execution and coordination in unison with the mission. However, once an organization and its leadership are ready to take a step towards real change - creating an environment of openness, sharing and alignment - with BI and PM as its centerpiece - the next question then becomes one of "how and where to begin"? Even with great strategic intent, missteps in the development and deployment of BI and PM and can cause disillusionment and disappointment - lending support to the naysayers of the organization - and leading to failure and abandonment of these critical programs.

Recent decades have seen substantial growth in the range of assistance programmes for SMEs and entrepreneurs across the world. Once regarded as peripheral to the economy and public policy, the role of small firms and of entrepreneurship is now recognized as of key importance in the economic growth and development strategies of many nations. The range of interventions and support focused on promoting SMEs and entrepreneurship is substantial and expanding, so Government, SMEs and Entrepreneurship Development asks 'what are some of the main policy instruments being used, and how effective are they?' It considers policies in different countries, examines key interventions and tools used to promote entrepreneurship and SME development and concludes with contributions on how to best evaluate their effectiveness. The contributor chapters by academics and practitioners from businesses, enterprise development agencies and governments, are empirical or evidence-based and use both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Drawing on experience from a wide range of both developed and emerging countries and economies, the contributions focus on the broad strategies that different governments and communities have adopted to foster entrepreneurship and SMEs; the policy tools and instruments that can be used to promote small business and entrepreneurship; and on the outcomes of policy instruments and the methods used to evaluate interventions. Their findings will help researchers, policy-makers, economic development officers, civil servants, elected officials, and business associations to better understand the issues in this important field.

This book is a result of the Seventh International Conference on Information Sys tems Development-Methods and Tools, Theory and Practice held in Bled, Slovenia, Sep tember 21-23, 1998. The purpose of the conference was to address issues facing academia and industry when specifying, developing, managing, and improving information comput erized systems. During the past few years, many new concepts and approaches emerged in the Information Systems Development (ISD) field. The various theories, methods, and tools available to system developers also bring problems such as choosing the most effec tive approach for a specific task. This conference provides a meeting place for IS re searchers and practitioners from Eastern and Western Europe as well as from other parts of the world. An objective of the conference is not only to share scientific knowledge and in terests but to establish strong professional ties among the participants. The Seventh International Conference on Information Systems Develop ment-ISD'98 continues the concepts of the first Polish-Scandinavian Seminar on Current Trends in Information Systems Development Methodologies held in Gdansk, Poland in 1988. Through the years, the Seminar developed into the International Conference on In formation Systems Development. ISD'99 will be held in Boise, Idaho. The selection of papers was carried out by the International Program Committee. All papers were reviewed in advance by three people. Papers were judged according to their originality, relevance, and presentation quality. All papers were judged only on their own merits, independent of other submissions."

This volume provides important benchmarks for the integration of entrepreneurship and international business. It extends scholarship beyond the firm as single unit of analysis, instead including the role of the founder/entrepreneur. Exploration of this domain discusses possibilities for theory revision or development as well as providing information about an under-researched segment of companies.

A new look at nearly 20 years of theoretical and practical research on IT outsourcing, this book explores how good IT outsourcing theories shape practice and how effective IT outsourcing practices inform theory. It highlights the importance of examining theories borrowed from economics, strategy, and sociology to study IT outsourcing.

In Entrepreneurship and Sustainability the editors and contributors challenge the notion that not-for-profit social entrepreneurship is the only sort that can lead to the alleviation of poverty. Entrepreneurship for profit is not just about the entrepreneur doing well. Entrepreneurs worldwide are leading successful for-profit ventures which contribute to poverty alleviation in their communities. With the challenge of global poverty before them, entrepreneurs continue to develop innovative, business-oriented ventures that deliver promising solutions to this complex and urgent agenda. This book explores how to bring commercial investors together with those who are best placed to reach the poorest customers. With case studies from around the World, the focus of the contributions is on the new breed of entrepreneurs who are blending a profit motive with a desire to make a difference in their communities and beyond borders. A number of the contributions here also recognize that whilst much research has been devoted to poverty alleviation in developing countries, this is only part of the story. Studies in this volume also focus upon enterprise solutions to poverty in pockets of significant deprivation in high-income countries, such as the Appalachia region of the US, in parts of Europe, and the richer Asian countries. Much has been written about the achievements of socially orientated non-profit microfinance institutions. This valuable, academically rigorous but accessible book will help academics, policy makers, and business people consider what the next generation of more commercially orientated banks for the 'bottom billion' might look like.

Modern economies depend on innovation in services for their future growth. Service innovation increasingly depends on information technology and digitization of information processes. Designing new services is a complex matter, since collaboration with other companies and organizations is necessary. Service innovation is directly related to business models that support these services, i.e. services can only be successful in the long run with a viable business model that creates value for its customers and providers. This book presents a theoretically grounded yet practical approach to designing viable business models for electronic services, including mobile ones, i.e. the STOF model and - based on it - the STOF method. The STOF model provides a 'holistic' view on business models with four interrelated perspectives, i.e., Service, Technology, Organization and Finance. It elaborates on critical design issues that ultimately shape the business model and drive its viability.

Why does the World Need-Excel Data Analysis, Modeling, and Simulation? When spreadsheets ?rst became widely available in the early 1980s, it spawned a revolution in teaching. What previously could only be done with arcane software and large scale computing was now available to the common-man, on a desktop. Also, before spreadsheets, most substantial analytical work was done outside the classroom where the tools were; spreadsheets and personal computers moved the work into the classroom. Not only did it change how the analysis curriculum was taught, but it also empowered students to venture out on their own to explore new ways to use the tools. I can't tell you how many phone calls, of?ce visits, and/or emails I have received in my teaching career from ecstatic students crowing about what they have just done with a spreadsheet model. I have been teaching courses related to spreadsheet based analysis and modeling for about 25 years and I have watched and participated in the spreadsheet revolution.

Many organizations critically depend on very large information systems. In the authors' experience these organizations often struggle to find the right strategy to sustainably develop their systems. Based on their own experience at a major bank, over more than a decade, the authors have developed a successful strategy to deal with these challenges, including: - A thorough analysis of the challenges associated with very large information systems - An assessment of possible strategies for the development of these systems, resulting in managed evolution as the preferred strategy - Describing key system aspects for the success of managed evolution, such as architecture management, integration architecture and infrastructure - Developing the necessary organizational, cultural, governance and controlling mechanisms for successful execution

The research presented in this book discusses how to efficiently retrieve track and trace information for an item of interest that took a certain path through a complex network of manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, and consumers. To this end, a super-ordinate system called "Discovery Service" is designed that has to handle large amounts of data, high insert-rates, and a high number of queries that are submitted to the discovery service. An example that is used throughout this book is the European pharmaceutical supply chain, which faces the challenge that more and more counterfeit medicinal products are being introduced. Between October and December 2008, more than 34 million fake drug pills were detected at customs control at the borders of the European Union. These fake drugs can put lives in danger as they were supposed to fight cancer, take effect as painkiller or antibiotics, among others. The concepts described in this book can be adopted for supply chain management use cases other than track and trace, such as recall, supply chain optimization, or supply chain analytics.

The Internet challenges many basic assumptions about the structure of business processes, channels of distribution, product marketing, competitiveness and resource management. It places new demands on organizations and those determining strategy and direction. There are tools and concepts that can enable managers to face these challenges and give them some appreciation of the consequences of this new technology. In this text, Dick Stroud looks at the business implications of the Internet at a strategic level. Without going into technical details, he looks at what is driving the development of the Internet and how it might impact on a number of aspects of an organization's operations. He then defines strategies that can be adopted and outlines the benefits and weaknesses of each, providing the diagnostic tools to enable managers to make decisions about their own businesses.

This book can help overcome the widely observed math-phobia and math-aversion among undergraduate students in these subjects. The book can also help them understand why they have to learn different mathematical techniques, how they can be applied, and how they will equip the students in their further studies. The book provides a thorough but lucid exposition of most of the mathematical techniques applied in the fields of economics, business and finance. The book deals with topics right from high school mathematics to relatively advanced areas of integral calculus covering in the middle the topics of linear algebra; differential calculus; classical optimization; linear and nonlinear programming; and game theory. Though the book directly caters to the needs of undergraduate students in economics, business and finance, graduate students in these subjects will also definitely find the book an invaluable tool as a supplementary reading. The website of the book - ww.emeacollege.ac.in/bmebf - provides supplementary materials and further readings on chapters on difference equation, differential equations, elements of Mathematica (R), and graphics in Mathematica (R), . It also provides materials on the applications of Mathematica (R), as well as teacher and student manuals.

Quantitative Methods for Business and Management Students takes you on a journey though the techniques required to succeed in business and management. With a user-friendly and accessible writing style, John Buglear presents these techniques simply and provides numerous examples to enable you to relate the theory to real-life applications.

This proceedings volume brings together the results of a corporate discussion on research, academic teaching and education in the field of business and economics in the context of globalization. The contributions examine leadership and sustainability, quality and governance and the internationalization of higher education. With a particular focus on business education and business schools, the book discusses the labor market and modernization as well as contemporary trends and challenges. By including both academic papers and contributions from industry, it forges research links between academia, business and industry.

Over the past two decades, many advances have been made in the decision support system (DSS) field. They range from progress in fundamental concepts, to improved techniques and methods, to widespread use of commercial software for DSS development. Still, the depth and breadth of the DSS field continues to grow, fueled by the need to better support decision making in a world that is increasingly complex in terms of volume, diversity, and interconnectedness of the knowledge on which decisions can be based. This continuing growth is facilitated by increasing computer power and decreasing per-unit computing costs. But, it is spearheaded by the multifaceted efforts of DSS researchers. The collective work of these researchers runs from the speculative to the normative to the descriptive. It includes analysis of what the field needs, designs of means for meeting recognized needs, and implementations for study. It encompasses theoretical, empirical, and applied orientations. It is concerned with the invention of concepts, frameworks, models, and languages for giving varied, helpful perspectives. It involves the discovery of principles, methods, and techniques for expeditious construction of successful DSSs. It aims to create computer-based tools that facilitate DSS development. It assesses DSS efficacy by observing systems, their developers, and their users. This growing body of research continues to be fleshed out and take shape on a strong, but still-developing, skeletal foundation.

In this book, the author traces the origin of the present information technology revolution, the technological features that underlie its impact, the organizations, and the companies and technologies which are governing current and future growth. It explains how the technology works, how it fits together, how the industry is structured and what the future might bring.

Leadership has never been more important to the cultural industries. The arts, together with museums and heritage sites, play a vital part in keeping economies going, and, more importantly, in making life worth living. People in the sector face a constant challenge to find support for their organizations and to promote the value of culture. Leadership and management skills are needed to meet the mission of creative arts and cultural organizations, and to generate the income that underpins success. The problem is, where can you learn these essential skills? The Cultural Leadership Handbook written by Robert Hewison and John Holden, both prime movers in pioneering cultural leadership programmes, defines the specific challenges in the cultural sector and enables arts leaders to move from 'just' administration to becoming cultural entrepreneurs, turning good ideas into good business. This book is intended for anyone with a professional or academic interest anywhere in the cultural sector, anywhere in the world. It will give you the edge, enabling to you to show creative leadership at any level in a cultural organization, regardless of whether your particular interest is the performing arts, museums and art galleries, heritage, publishing, films, broadcasting or new media.

The most important theme of the discourse on sustainable development and sustainability challenges concerns the relationship between innovation and sustainability. This book represents a realistic critical overview of the state of affairs of sustainable innovations, offering an accessible and comprehensive diagnostic point of reference for both the academic and practitioner worlds. In order for sustainable innovation to truly become mainstream practice in business it is necessary to find out how organizations can strategically and efficiently accommodate sustainability and innovation in such a manner that they accomplish value capturing (for firms, stakeholders, and for society), not merely creating a return on the social responsibility agenda. Addressing this challenge, the book draws together research from a range of perspectives in order to understand the potential shifts and barriers, benefits, and outcomes from all angles: inception, strategic process, and impact for companies and society. The book also delivers insights of (open) innovation in public sector organizations, which is not so much a process of invention as it is one of adoption and diffusion. It examines how the environmental pillar of the triple bottom line in private firms is often a by-product of thinking about the economic pillar, where cost reductions may be achieved through process innovation in terms of eliminating waste and reducing energy consumption. The impact of open innovation on process innovation, and sustainable process innovation in particular, is an underexplored area but is examined in this book. It also considers the role of the individual entrepreneur in bringing about sustainable innovation; entrepreneurs, their small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as well as the innovation ecosystems they build play a significant role in generating sustainable innovations where these smaller organizations are much more flexible than large organizations in targeting societal needs and challenges. The readership will incorporate PhD students and postgraduate researchers, as well as practitioners from organizational advisory fields.

Ideas are the fuel of industry and the entertainment business. Likewise, manufacturers receive suggestions for new products or improvements to existing products, and retailers frequently receive ideas for new marketing campaigns. Many ideas are not new and may be used by anyone without the risk of incurring any legal liability, but some ideas are novel and valuable. If the originator of a potentially useful idea does not have the financial resources to exploit the idea, he or she may submit it to another, with the expectation of receiving compensation if the idea is used. Although an extensive body of intellectual property law exists to protect the rights of inventors, authors, and businesses that own valuable brands or confidential proprietary information, raw ideas receive no protection. Nevertheless, the originator of a potentially useful and marketable idea is not without legal recourse. The courts have developed, through a long line of common law precedents, legal protection for novel and concrete ideas under certain circumstances. The originator of an idea can rely on contract law, whereby the recipient may expressly or impliedly agree to pay for the idea. Alternatively, if the idea is disclosed in confidence, its unauthorized use by the recipient allows the originator of the idea to recover compensation. Finally, some courts have treated the ownership of ideas as quasi-property rights.