From the people who work exclusively from home to the 'portable' manager with no fixed site, the need to communicate is paramount. Mike Johnson's candid appraisal of teleworking, or telecommuting as it is also known, looks at the key benefits: for the individual it provides the opportunity to work from home; for the company it provides major savings on costs. The down side is the lack of human contact and the anxiety of employees who work away from the centre of things. The ...in brief books provide a critical 'snapshot' of the major management fashions and fads influencing business strategy. They cut through the consultants' jargon and steer a practical, common sense course through the theory and hype. They provide managers with a balanced view based on evidence rather than missionary zeal, so that they can be better informed.

This book collects ECM research from the academic discipline of Information Systems and related fields to support academics and practitioners who are interested in understanding the design, use and impact of ECM systems. It also provides a valuable resource for students and lecturers in the field.

Enterprise content management in Information Systems research Foundations, methods and cases consolidates our current knowledge on how today s organizations can manage their digital information assets. The business challenges related to organizational information management include reducing search times, maintaining information quality, and complying with reporting obligations and standards. Many of these challenges are well-known in information management, but because of the vast quantities of information being generated today, they are more difficult to deal with than ever. Many companies use the term enterprise content management (ECM) to refer to the management of all forms of information, especially unstructured information. While ECM systems promise to increase and maintain information quality, to streamline content-related business processes, and to track the lifecycle of information, their implementation poses several questions and challenges: Which content objects should be put under the control of the ECM system? Which processes are affected by the implementation? How should outdated technology be replaced? Research is challenged to support practitioners in answering these questions."

Extensive research conducted by the Hasso Plattner Design Thinking Research Program at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, USA, and the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam, Germany, has yielded valuable insights on why and how design thinking works. The participating researchers have identified metrics, developed models, and conducted studies, which are featured in this book, and in the previous volumes of this series. This volume provides readers with tools to bridge the gap between research and practice in design thinking with varied real world examples. Several different approaches to design thinking are presented in this volume. Acquired frameworks are leveraged to understand design thinking team dynamics. The contributing authors lead the reader through new approaches and application fields and show that design thinking can tap the potential of digital technologies in a human-centered way. It also presents new ideas in neurodesign from Stanford University and the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam, inviting the reader to consider newly developed methods and how these insights can be applied to different domains. Design thinking can be learned. It has a methodology that can be observed across multiple settings and accordingly, the reader can adopt new frameworks to modify and update existing practice. The research outcomes compiled in this book are intended to inform and provide inspiration for all those seeking to drive innovation - be they experienced design thinkers or newcomers.

This book presents the latest findings and ongoing research in the field of green information systems as well as green information and communication technology (ICT). It provides insights into a whole range of cross-cutting concerns in ICT and environmental sciences and showcases how information and communication technologies allow environmental and energy efficiency issues to be handled effectively. Offering a selection of extended and reworked contributions to the 30th International Conference EnviroInfo 2016, it is essential reading for anyone wanting to extend their expertise in the area.

The requirements for production systems are constantly changing as a result of changing competitive conditions. This poses a challenge for manufacturers in the various branches of industry and creates an ever-increasing need for flexibility.

With this as a background, this book explores the current developments and trends as well as their impact on today's production systems. It also compares known strategies, concepts and methods used to achieve production flexibility. Similarly, the practical knowledge and current research will be drawn upon and subjected to a sound scientific analysis, through which the technical and organizational flexibility ranges can be measured in their application in a production system. The convenience and usefulness of this concept for manufacturers is substantiated by its implementation in a software tool called ecoFLEX and its practical application, based on extensive examples. This illustrates how flexibility flaws can be quickly identified, classified and properly disposed of using ecoFLEX. This tool helps to close the gap between ERP / PPS systems and digital factory planning tools.

This book contains practical experiences, knowledge, and insights in the evolution, formulation, and implementation of strategies and models for flexibility, innovation, and sustainable business. The book discussed the increasing significance of a flexible approach by businesses as much as possible in every area of their work-from employment policies to supply chain management (SCM). It further links this flexible approach to a sustainability strategy, which is necessary to be competitive today and in the future. This business approach is necessary to create long-term value by considering how a given organization operates in the ecological, social, and economic environment. This is linked to the next theme of the book-innovation-which is fundamental for a business to improve its processes, develop new and improved products and services for the market, increase its efficiency, and, most importantly, get better profitability. The book also delves into another buzz word in business-analytics. Companies have widely embraced the use of analytics to streamline operations and improve processes. The book explores all these critical emerging areas through the chapters in its five sections and is invaluable for management students and researchers, practicing business managers, consultants, professional institutions, and government and corporate organizations.

In business it is often necessary to apply a mathematical framework in order to solve everyday problems. This text takes a problem- and context-driven approach with the mathematics introduced only on a need-to-know basis. Care is taken not to overwhelm the student with mathematical techniques but to relate these techniques to specific business areas. The only exception to this form of presentation will be in the first two chapters where the elementary basics of arithmetic and algebra are displayed - albeit here, within financial and commercial contexts as well.

The book throws light on the ongoing trends in international business, integration of information technology with global businesses, its role in value co-creation, resource integration, and service for service exchange. While discussing the issues of these areas, chapters of this book also delve into prevalent problematic areas which are closely related like employment, ethical aspects, power creation, and so on. Recognizing the role digitization and new technologies play in enabling global managers to communicate with outside world directly via digital channels irrespective of their location (which is especially true in time of COVID-19), the book takes an emerging economy perspective and throws light on new theories, perceptions, employment opportunities, and innovative ideas through its content. The book not only discusses effects of information technology but also the latest emerging technology in global business like use of artificial intelligence, robotics, machine learning, big data, and their integration with the global business 4.0. Since emergence of these new technologies requires proper infrastructural development, the book also throws light on government initiatives and CSR in this respect. It contains takeaways for both undergraduate and graduate students, researchers and academicians, industry watchers, practitioners, start-ups, and entrepreneurs

This open access book discusses the most modern approach to auditing complex digital systems and technologies. It combines proven auditing approaches, advanced programming techniques and complex application areas, and covers the latest findings on theory and practice in this rapidly developing field. Especially for those who want to learn more about novel approaches to testing complex information systems and related technologies, such as blockchain and self-learning systems, the book will be a valuable resource. It is aimed at students and practitioners who are interested in contemporary technology and managerial implications.

Models derived from the Real Business Cycle perspective have recently taken a major place in business cycle research. The papers in this present volume bring three contributions to this research programme: A critical evaluation of the canonical RBC models, new elements of empirical relevance, based on comparative calibration and testing, and new specifications, at the frontier of business cycle research, coping with non walrasian features, contracts and nominal rigidities, unemployment and growth.

The last two decades have seen a shift towards service-based value in a process referred to as servitization. Manufacturers have been challenged to create relevant knowledge and adapt to this change. This book has two key purposes. First of all, the authors examine the theoretical underpinnings of knowledge management and servitization, before proposing a conceptual model for knowledge co-creation and organizational knowledge management processes. Then, the model is tested through a series of case studies from Japan and Malaysia, providing insight into experiences of business transformation from produce-centric to service-centric in developed and developing Asian economies. This book will be of interest to academics, students and practitioners in servitization, knowledge creation and knowledge management, especially those interested in Asian economies.

This book focuses on the issues and challenges posed by COVID-19, proposing ways to deal with the supposed 'new normal' which the pandemic has introduced in the functioning of business, society, and environment. Among the issues discussed are employee well-being and mental health, impact of changes in education sector, marketing, selling and distribution of goods, change in business model for SME, impact on travel and personal grooming sector, consumer preferences, performance impact of intellectual capital, performance of banks-pre merger, and so on. Focus is on presenting strong research results backed by statistical analysis using different tools. There are managerial solutions to the problems being faced by businesses and firms. The presentations would throw great insights on how businesses have coped during pandemic times in a developing economy like India.

This book includes selected papers submitted to the ICADABAI-2017 conference, offering an overview of the new methodologies and presenting innovative applications that are of interest to both academicians and practitioners working in the area of analytics. It discusses predictive analytics applications, machine learning applications, human resource analytics, operations analytics, analytics in finance, methodology and econometric applications. The papers in the predictive analytics applications section discuss web analytics, email marketing, customer churn prediction, retail analytics and sports analytics. The section on machine learning applications then examines healthcare analytics, insurance analytics and machine analytics using different innovative machine learning techniques. Human resource analytics addresses important issues relating to talent acquisition and employability using analytics, while a paper in the section on operations analytics describe an innovative application in oil and gas industry. The papers in the analytics in finance part discuss the use of analytical tools in banking and commodity markets, and lastly the econometric applications part presents interesting banking and insurance applications.

This handbook distils the wealth of expertise and knowledge from a large community of researchers and industrial practitioners in Software Product Lines (SPLs) gained through extensive and rigorous theoretical, empirical, and applied research. It is a timely compilation of well-established and cutting-edge approaches that can be leveraged by those facing the prevailing and daunting challenge of re-engineering their systems into SPLs. The selection of chapters provides readers with a wide and diverse perspective that reflects the complementary and varied expertise of the chapter authors. This perspective covers the re-engineering processes, from planning to execution. SPLs are families of systems that share common assets, allowing a disciplined software reuse. The adoption of SPL practices has shown to enable significant technical and economic benefits for the companies that employ them. However, successful SPLs rarely start from scratch, but instead, they usually start from a set of existing systems that must undergo well-defined re-engineering processes to unleash new levels of productivity and competitiveness. Practitioners will benefit from the lessons learned by the community, captured in the array of methodological and technological alternatives presented in the chapters of the handbook, and will gain the confidence for undertaking their own re-engineering challenges. Researchers and educators will find a valuable single-entry point to quickly become familiar with the state-of-the-art on the topic and the open research opportunities; including undergraduate, graduate students, and R&D engineers who want to have a comprehensive understanding of techniques in reverse engineering and re-engineering of variability-rich software systems.

The information systems field has contributed greatly to the rise of the information economy and the information society. Yet, after more than a quarter-century since its formation, it still is plagued by doubts about its identity and legitimacy. "Information Systems: The State of the Field" contains the reflections of leading IS scholars on the nature of the discipline, its core identity and the challenges of creating a strong and legitimate academic enterprise centred on information systems. It includes debates, reflections and commentaries from a group of leading information system scholars, and offers an overview of the state of the field at this time. This book is intended for all who are interested in the nature and direction of the information system field as it enters the 21st century.

"The sociologist Zygmund Bauman has defined a discipline which is constantly debating its credentials as a "flawed" discipline. This critique can certainly be applied to the IS discipline. The editors of this book must be congratulated on collecting together the principal writings reflecting the nature of the debate to provide a learned and fascinating account of where the field now stands and perhaps where it is going. It is essential reading for any student of IS."
--Frank Land, Emeritus Professor, Department of Information Systems, London School of Economics

"The struggle for identity, according to Alford North Whitehead entails a dialectic of "becoming." It evolves from coping with continuous change, a conflict of perspectives and always asking: "Who am I?," "Who are we?," "Who are we not?," "What do we inherit from our past?." In this imaginatively edited volume, King and Lyytinenrecount information systems' restless pursuit for identity. Anyone who is affected by the struggles, but more importantly everyone who wants to join it must read this book."
--Richard O. Mason, Carr P. Collins Distinguished Professor, Management Information Sciences, Edwin L. Cox School of Business, Southern Methodist University

This important text/reference presents a comprehensive review of techniques for taxonomy matching, discussing matching algorithms, analyzing matching systems, and comparing matching evaluation approaches. Different methods are investigated in accordance with the criteria of the Ontology Alignment Evaluation Initiative (OAEI). The text also highlights promising developments and innovative guidelines, to further motivate researchers and practitioners in the field. Topics and features: discusses the fundamentals and the latest developments in taxonomy matching, including the related fields of ontology matching and schema matching; reviews next-generation matching strategies, matching algorithms, matching systems, and OAEI campaigns, as well as alternative evaluations; examines how the latest techniques make use of different sources of background knowledge to enable precise matching between repositories; describes the theoretical background, state-of-the-art research, and practical real-world applications; covers the fields of dynamic taxonomies, personalized directories, catalog segmentation, and recommender systems. This stimulating book is an essential reference for practitioners engaged in data science and business intelligence, and for researchers specializing in taxonomy matching and semantic similarity assessment. The work is also suitable as a supplementary text for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate courses on information and metadata management.

This book draws on a neo-institutional theory to characterize service-oriented manufacturing firms in relation to more familiar organizational forms, such as lean and agile. It sheds light on whether being lean is a prerequisite for agile organizations and whether agile organizations are precursors of service-oriented organizations. The book empirically examines the prevalence of such organizations using representative samples of manufacturing firms in an industrialized country. This approach makes it possible to "zoom in" and determine whether the extent of adoption of digital manufacturing innovations, digital services, and service-oriented business models varies with organizations' size, industry, product complexity, lot size, type of design process, and type of manufacturing process. In turn, it shows which digital manufacturing innovations, lean practices, and services contribute to leanness-related performance capabilities like quality and costs; agility-related capabilities like fast delivery, flexibility and innovation; and service-oriented capabilities like high service performance and digitalization. In addition, it explores the question of whether lean, agile, and service-oriented performance capabilities contribute to financial performance separately or jointly.

This authoritative text/reference describes the state of the art in requirements engineering for software systems for distributed computing. A particular focus is placed on integrated solutions, which take into account the requirements of scalability, flexibility, sustainability and operability for distributed environments. Topics and features: discusses the latest developments, tools, technologies and trends in software requirements engineering; reviews the relevant theoretical frameworks, practical approaches and methodologies for service requirements; examines the three key components of the requirements engineering process, namely requirements elicitation, requirements specification, and requirements validation and evaluation; presents detailed contributions from an international selection of highly reputed experts in the field; offers guidance on best practices, and suggests directions for further research in the area.

Managing for IT skills is never easy at the firm level, due to the fact that technologies change constantly and rapidly. The supply and demand of IT skills fluctuate, and firms do not have commonly recognized frameworks to manage IT skills of their workforce. A consistent taxonomy of IT skills is underdeveloped and used infrequently in industry. This book provides the basic vocabulary and managerial framework for managing strategically the IT workforce at the firm level. It also informs managers what tools and services are available to assess the skill levels of their IT workforce and job candidates. Finally, it gives different perspectives on managing IT skills - how individuals, HR managers, educators, and governments approach IT skills management.

Among the many elementary expositions of psychoanalysis, "The Talking Cure" is unique in focusing on the actual analytic experience. Lichtenberg's approach is humanistic, demonstrating empathic understanding of the fears and hopes of the person seeking help. He provides a "feel" for what happens during the analytic voyage of self-discovery.

The three volumes of Interest Rate Modeling present a comprehensive and up-to-date treatment of techniques and models used in the pricing and risk management of fixed income securities. Written by two leading practitioners and seasoned industry veterans, this unique series combines finance theory, numerical methods, and approximation techniques to provide the reader with an integrated approach to the process of designing and implementing industrial-strength models for fixed income security valuation and hedging. Aiming to bridge the gap between advanced theoretical models and real-life trading applications, the pragmatic, yet rigorous, approach taken in this book will appeal to students, academics, and professionals working in quantitative finance. The first half of Volume III contains a detailed study of several classes of fixed income securities, ranging from simple vanilla options to highly exotic cancelable and path-dependent derivatives. The analysis is done in product-specific fashion covering, among other subjects, risk characterization, calibration strategies, and valuation methods. In its second half, Volume III studies the general topic of derivative portfolio risk management, with a particular emphasis on the challenging problem of computing smooth price sensitivities to market input perturbations.

Digitization, the global networking of individuals and organizations, and the transition from an industrial to an information society are key reasons for the importance of digital government. In particular, the enormous influence of the Internet as a global networking and communication system affects the performance of public services. This textbook introduces the concept of digital government as well as digital management and provides helpful insights and strategic advice for the successful implementation and maintenance of digital government systems.

This book continues the discussion of the effects of artificial intelligence in terms of economics and finance. In particular, the book focuses on the effects of the change in the structure of financial markets, institutions and central banks, along with digitalization analyzed based on fintech ecosystems. In addition to finance sectors, other sectors, such as health, logistics, and industry 4.0, all of which are undergoing an artificial intelligence induced rapid transformation, are addressed in this book. Readers will receive an understanding of an integrated approach towards the use of artificial intelligence across various industries and disciplines with a vision to address the strategic issues and priorities in the dynamic business environment in order to facilitate decision-making processes. Economists, board members of central banks, bankers, financial analysts, regulatory authorities, accounting and finance professionals, chief executive officers, chief audit officers and chief financial officers, chief financial officers, as well as business and management academic researchers, will benefit from reading this book.

A revised and expanded advanced-undergraduate/graduate text (first ed., 1978) about optimization algorithms for problems that can be formulated on graphs and networks. This edition provides many new applications and algorithms while maintaining the classic foundations on which contemporary algorithm

This book examines the field of parallel database management systems and illustrates the great variety of solutions based on a shared-storage or a shared-nothing architecture. Constantly dropping memory prices and the desire to operate with low-latency responses on large sets of data paved the way for main memory-based parallel database management systems. However, this area is currently dominated by the shared-nothing approach in order to preserve the in-memory performance advantage by processing data locally on each server. The main argument this book makes is that such an unilateral development will cease due to the combination of the following three trends: a) Today's network technology features remote direct memory access (RDMA) and narrows the performance gap between accessing main memory on a server and of a remote server to and even below a single order of magnitude. b) Modern storage systems scale gracefully, are elastic and provide high-availability. c) A modern storage system such as Stanford's RAM Cloud even keeps all data resident in the main memory. Exploiting these characteristics in the context of a main memory-based parallel database management system is desirable. The book demonstrates that the advent of RDMA-enabled network technology makes the creation of a parallel main memory DBMS based on a shared-storage approach feasible.