For graduate and undergraduate courses in IT management and IT strategy. The authors utilize their years of working with companies on IT management / strategy to provide students with a practical look at the evolution of IT in business.

For courses on decision modeling through the use of spreadsheets. The perfect balance between decision modeling and spreadsheet use. It's important that textbooks support decision modeling courses by combining student's ability to logically model and analyze diverse decision-making scenarios with software-based solution procedures. Balakrishnan offers the perfect balance of the decision modeling process and the use of spreadsheets to set up and solve decision models. The third edition has been updated to reflect the latest version of Excel.

Electronic Business will create changes similar to those brought about by the Industrial Revolution. It will change our business, society, and governance. It is happening now!Electronic Business is the integration of information technology (IT) and particularly the Internet into business processes. In the past 30 years IT has made processes more effective and efficient, but it has not fundamentally transformed them. Now, Electronic Business changes everything. The Internet is the catalyst: its eventual impact will be as great as or greater than that of the printing press.The aim of this book is to point out the challenges and opportunities facing Europe and its companies. It is based on the authors' joint experience of over 40 years with IT in business, industry, and government.

A much-needed addition to literature, this timely edited collection aims to provide clarity and understanding on how modern organizations work. The authors explore the characteristics of hybrid organizations in contemporary society, taking into account the complex societal challenges that face businesses today. Arguing that hybrid organizations are in fact not a new phenomenon, this thought-provoking collection goes beyond existing research and re-evaluates our traditional understanding of this concept. Scholars of organization, management and innovation will find this book an insightful read, as it sheds light on the fundamental aspects that shape today's hybrid organizations.

What makes information useful? This seemingly simple and yet intriguing and complicated question is discussed in this book. It examines ways in which the quality of information can be improved in knowledge-intensive processes (such as on-line communication, strategy, product development, or consulting). The book proposes a conceptual framework to manage information quality for knowledge-based content, presenting four proven principles to apply the framework to a variety of information products. Five in-depth company case studies show how information quality can be managed systematically in order to increase the satisfaction of knowledge workers and information consumers. The book uses frequent diagrams and tables, as well as diagnostic questions and summary boxes to make its content actionable.

Cases on Information Technology Planning, Design and Implementation brings together a variety of real-life experiences showing how other companies and organizations have successfully, or not so successfully, planned, designed, and implemented different applications using information technology. Cases included in this publication present a wide range of issues related to systems development, design and analysis of modern information systems applications without pitfalls. Professionals and educators alike will find this collection of cases very useful in learning about challenges and solutions related to the planning, design and implementation of information technology applications. ""Cases on Information Technology Planning, Design and Implementation"" provides an outstanding collection of current real-life situations associated with the effective utilization of IT, with lessons learned included in each case.

Workflow management systems (WFMS) are enjoying increasing popular ity due to their ability to coordinate and streamline complex organizational processes within organizations of all sizes. Organizational processes are de scriptions of an organization's activities engineered to fulfill its mission such as completing a business contract or satisfying a specific customer request. Gaining control of these processes allows an organization to reengineer and improve each process or adapt them to changing requirements. The goal of WFMSs is to manage these organizational processes and coordinate their execution. was demonstrated in the first half The high degree of interest in WFMSs of the 1990s by a significant increase in the number of commercial products (once estimated to about 250) and the estimated market size (in combined $2 billion in 1996. Ensuing maturity product sales and services) of about is demonstrated by consolidations during the last year. Ranging from mere e-mail based calendar tools and flow charting tools to very sophisticated inte grated development environments for distributed enterprise-wide applications and systems to support programming in the large, these products are finding an eager market and opening up important research and development op portunities. In spite of their early success in the market place, however, the current generation of systems can benefit from further research and develop ment, especially for increasingly complex and mission-critical applications.

This book focuses on the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT has caught the imagination as a transformational technology that will positively impact a large and diverse array of socio-economic activities. This book explores this impact, beginning with a chapter highlighting the promises and complexities of the IoT. It then explores these in greater detail in subsequent chapters. The first of these chapters explores the patenting activity of leading companies and is followed by a discussion of the challenges faced by the growth of 'unicorns' within Europe. The fourth chapter outlines a methodology for determining when investments in IoT should occur and is followed by a discussion of how the data generated by IoT will change marketing related decisions. The scope and complexity of the regulatory and governance structures associated with the IoT are then explored in the sixth chapter. These issues are brought together in the final chapter, which identifies the opportunities and challenges emanating from the IoT and how these may be tackled. This book will be valuable reading to academics working in the field of disruptive technology, innovation management, and technological change more broadly.

This book offers students an introduction to the concepts of big data and artificial intelligence (AI) and their applications in the business world. It answers questions such as what are the main concepts of artificial intelligence and big data? What applications for artificial intelligence and big data analytics are used in the business field? It offers application-oriented overviews and cases from different sectors and fields to help readers discover and gain useful insights. Each chapter features discussion questions and summaries. To assist professors in teaching, the book supplementary materials will include answers to questions, and presentation slides.

This book examines the factors that shape the adoption and continuous usage of new technology by employees in organizations. While within an organization new technology adoption has evolved from its traditional role to a more strategic one, the appropriate adoption of new technology can only add value to organizations. Identifying the factors that influence this adoption process is crucial for successful adoption of new technology in organizations. The study presented in this book focuses on individual, organizational, social, and industrial factors and uses those to offer a comprehensive model of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) application adoption. It contributes towards understanding employees' acceptance and adoption of enterprise-level technological innovation, allowing organizations to create a work environment conducive to individual implementation and acceptance of new technology. It appeals to researchers interested in studying the adoption of ERP and other innovative technologies in organizations.

This book studies mathematical theories of machine learning. The first part of the book explores the optimality and adaptivity of choosing step sizes of gradient descent for escaping strict saddle points in non-convex optimization problems. In the second part, the authors propose algorithms to find local minima in nonconvex optimization and to obtain global minima in some degree from the Newton Second Law without friction. In the third part, the authors study the problem of subspace clustering with noisy and missing data, which is a problem well-motivated by practical applications data subject to stochastic Gaussian noise and/or incomplete data with uniformly missing entries. In the last part, the authors introduce an novel VAR model with Elastic-Net regularization and its equivalent Bayesian model allowing for both a stable sparsity and a group selection.

Provides answers to key questions affecting the future of electronic data interchange (EDI) and its impact on the business community as a whole. This evolving technology is cheaper than fax, easier to use than electronic bulletin boards and faster than the postal services. It contains practical information and alerts the reader to the level and types of controls necessary to protect data handled through the EDI system interface.

This book investigates solutions incorporated by architecture boards in global enterprises to resolve issues and mitigate related architecture risks, while also proposing and implementing an adaptive integrated digital architecture framework (AIDAF) and related models and approaches/platforms, which can be applied in companies to promote IT strategies using cloud/mobile IT/digital IT. The book is divided into three main parts, the first of which (Chapters 1-2) addresses the background and motivation for AIDAF aligned with digital IT strategies. The second part (Chapter 3) provides an overview of strategic enterprise architecture (EA) frameworks for digital IT, elaborates on the essential elements of EA frameworks in the digital IT era, and advocates using AIDAF, models for architecture assessment/risk management, knowledge management on digital platforms. In turn, the third part (Chapters 4-7) demonstrates the application and benefits of AIDAF and related models, as shown in three case studies. "I found this book to be a very nice contribution to the EA community of practice. I can recommend this book as a textbook for digital IT strategists/practitioners, EA practitioners, students in universities and graduate schools." (From the Foreword by Scott A. Bernard) "In this new age of the digital information society, it is necessary to advocate a new EA framework. This book provides state-of-the art knowledge and practices about EA frameworks beneficial for IT practitioners, IT strategists, CIO, IT architects, and even students. It serves as an introductory textbook for all who drive the information society in this era."(From the Foreword by Jun Murai)

Value-creation in Middle Market Private Equity by John A. Lanier holistically examines the ecosystem relationships between middle market private equity firms and their portfolio companies. Small business is the job creating engine in the US economy, and consequently is a prime target market for private equity investment. Indeed, private equity backs over six of each 100 private sector jobs. Both the small businesses in which private equity firms invest, and the private equity firms making the investments, face inter- and intra-company fiduciary leadership challenges while implementing formulated strategy. The architecture of each private equity firm-portfolio company relationship must be uniquely crafted to capitalize on the projected return on investment that is memorialized in the investment thesis. Given the leveraged capital structure of portfolio companies, the cost of a misstep is problematic. Individual private equity professionals are typically members of multiple investment teams for the firm. Not only may each investment team have its own unique leadership style, but its diverse members have to assimilate styles for each team in which they participate relative to a specific portfolio company. Acquisitions and their subsequent integrations add exponential complexity for both private equity investment and portfolio company leadership teams; indeed, cultural integration ranks among the most chronic acquisition obstacles. Accordingly, the stakeholders of private equity transactions do well to embrace leadership best practices in applying value-creation toolbox best practices. The perspectives of both the private equity investment team and the portfolio company leadership team are within the scope of these chapters.

This textbook grew out of notes for the ECE143 Programming for Data Analysis class that the author has been teaching at University of California, San Diego, which is a requirement for both graduate and undergraduate degrees in Machine Learning and Data Science. This book is ideal for readers with some Python programming experience. The book covers key language concepts that must be understood to program effectively, especially for data analysis applications. Certain low-level language features are discussed in detail, especially Python memory management and data structures. Using Python effectively means taking advantage of its vast ecosystem. The book discusses Python package management and how to use third-party modules as well as how to structure your own Python modules. The section on object-oriented programming explains features of the language that facilitate common programming patterns. After developing the key Python language features, the book moves on to third-party modules that are foundational for effective data analysis, starting with Numpy. The book develops key Numpy concepts and discusses internal Numpy array data structures and memory usage. Then, the author moves onto Pandas and details its many features for data processing and alignment. Because strong visualizations are important for communicating data analysis, key modules such as Matplotlib are developed in detail, along with web-based options such as Bokeh, Holoviews, Altair, and Plotly. The text is sprinkled with many tricks-of-the-trade that help avoid common pitfalls. The author explains the internal logic embodied in the Python language so that readers can get into the Python mindset and make better design choices in their codes, which is especially helpful for newcomers to both Python and data analysis. To get the most out of this book, open a Python interpreter and type along with the many code samples.

This book provides state-of-the-art descriptions of smart service innovations in the industry, supported by novel scientific approaches. It gathers findings and insights presented at the fourth Smart Services Summit, held in Zurich, Switzerland, in October 2021, which primarily focused on how smart services have enabled companies to adapt during and to the COVID-19 pandemic. The book includes examples of remote and collaborative working that actively involve customers in service processes, requiring a change in mindset for more traditional firms. Moreover, it explores how services can be delivered faster and more affordable with the aid of new technologies and in collaboration with the customers, leading to new value propositions and business models and thus an evolution of smart services. Given its scope, the book offers an essential guide for practitioners and advanced students alike.

The Internet is already more widely deployed than any other computing system in history and continues to grow rapidly. New technologies, including high speed wide area network and improved software support for distribution, promise to make the Internet much more useful for general purpose distributed computing in the future. Web Information Systems is dedicated to the new era of information systems on web environments, due to not only the growing popularity of the web technology but also the roles that web technology play in modern information systems. The major elements of web information systems include web semantics, XML technologies, web mining and querying, web-based information systems, information extraction, and web semantics.

This volume discusses digital diplomacy and artificial intelligence within the context of global governance and international security. Rapid digitalization has changed the way international actors interact, offering new opportunities for international and bilateral cooperation and reinforcing the role of the emergent actors within global governance. New phenomena linked to digitalization and artificial intelligence are emerging and this volume brings a multidisciplinary, mixed-methods approach to studying them. Written by globally recognized experts, each chapter presents a case study covering an emerging topic such as: international regulation of the web and digital diplomacy, the interplay of artificial intelligence and cyber diplomacy, social media and artificial intelligence as tools for digital diplomacy, the malicious use of artificial intelligence, cyber security, and data sovereignty. Incorporating both theory and practice, quantitative and qualitative analysis, this volume will be of interest to graduate students and researchers in international relations, diplomacy, security studies, and artificial intelligence, as well as diplomats and policymakers looking to understand the implications of digitalization and artificial intelligence in their fields.

The Mind under the Axioms reviews two basic ingredients of our understanding of human decisions - conative aspects (preferences) and cognitive aspects (beliefs). These ingredients are axiomatized in modern decision theory in the view to obtain a formally and empirically tractable representation of the decision-maker. The main issue developed in this book is the connection between realistic and testable psychological features and the descriptive component of abstract axioms of rationality. It addresses three main topics for which the interaction between axiomatization and psychology leads to potential new developments in experimental decision-theory and puts strictures on the standard revealed preference methodology prevailing in that field. The possibility of a cardinal representation of preferences is discussed. Different ways of accounting for incomplete preferences, and in which sense, are analysed. Finally, the conditions of separability between preferences and beliefs, such as prescribed by axioms of state-independence, are submitted to actual and potential tests. The book offers a bridge between the disciplines of decision-theory, psychology, and neuroeconomics. It is thus relevant for those, in psychology and cognitive sciences, who are sometimes put off by the high degree of formalism and abstraction in decision-theory, that seems to lie beyond the reach of psychological realism. It also aims to convince those in decision-theory for whom psychological realism and empirical testability should not constrain the modelling enterprise that conceptual clarification can come from attempted experimentation.

This book responds to the increasing speed with which the domain of electronic procurement has been evolving, as well to the significant advances predicted to take place in the near future. Covering the fundamentals of electronic procurement as well as advanced applications, the main focus is on the critical importance of information technology for modern supply management professionals. Tracing the evolution of electronic procurement over the last 20 years, the book illustrates how the concept has evolved from a novel idea into a standard approach that cannot be neglected, fundamentally transforming business as usual. The transformation is highlighted by the evolution of online reverse auctions, as well as the ensuing expansion of technology to virtually all aspects of strategic sourcing in the form of integrated electronic sourcing suites. Several advances and new applications of electronic procurement are presented, with an emphasis on how social media can be leveraged for supply management and its associated significant potential.

An idea is the first step in the process of creating a business. Most ideas, no matter how brilliant they may seem, never actually end up becoming a business. This book explains how to: Look for new small business ideas. Evaluate ideas for their commercial potential. Unlock the strategies that turn an idea into a business. English's focus is on finding the seed of an idea and the process of developing it into a genuine business opportunity. He includes practical diagnostic 'reality tests' developed in his small business workshops. He also includes an analysis of changes in the Australian small business environment as result of Covid-19. The practical, slim volume is ideal for any budding entrepreneur looking for guidance on how to evaluate a business opportunity and build a commercial strategy around it. It will also be an ideal secondary reading for books on entrepreneurship and small business courses.

This book presents the many facets, concepts and theories that have influenced knowledge management and the state of practice concerning strategy, organization, systems and economics. The second edition updates the material to cover the most recent developments in ICT-supported knowledge management. It also provides a more coverage of its theoretical foundation including a new account of knowledge work, discusses the potentials and challenges of process-oriented knowledge management, adds a new chapter on modelling that plays an important role in knowledge management initiatives and contrasts architectures for centralized and distributed or peer-to-peer knowledge management systems.

E-government faces huge challenges in achieving interoperability and integration, taking into account differences in laws, regulations, services, administrative processes and languages across regions and countries. On the other hand, issues like service, data and process integration have been researched by the Semantic Web community for several years now, and in the last two to three years we have witnessed the first applications of semantic technologies in real, operational e-government systems in both Europe and the US which address exactly these challenges.

With this book, the editors present the latest research results on how to use semantic technologies in order to improve or even revolutionize the use of ICT in public administration systems. The contributions are organized into three parts: architectures and process integration, ontologies and interoperability, and portals and user interactions. They give a broad overview of how semantic technologies have been applied in different e-government projects funded from the European program for ICT Research and Development, and they cover a wide spectrum of semantic technologies such as development of domain and service ontologies, semantic enhancements of business process models, semantic Service-Oriented Architectures (SOAs) based on Semantic Web Services (SWS) frameworks, and ontology-based knowledge management.

In this volume, researchers of Semantic Web technologies will find a wealth of challenging real-world scenarios to stimulate new fields of research, while developers of e-government systems as well as other stakeholders in public administration will appreciate the detailed presentations and discussions of numerous applications in areas such as e-government portals, personalization of Web-based public services, or integration and orchestration of public administration processes.

This concise yet comprehensive one-volume guide, the first to encompass the interrelated functions of information and records management, is designed to meet the needs of office records and information decision-makers, planners, and administrators. Focusing equally on theory and practice, it offers complete instruction on how to assess an organization's systeM's requirements, plan and develop an information and records management system, select vendors and equipment, set the system in motion, and use it effectively. Emphasizing the importance of the systeM's long-term effectiveness, the author provides guidelines on monitoring procedures, keeping abreast on industry and information-processing trends, and avoiding obsolescence. He includes many useful examples, forms, and other illustrative materials reflecting current business practice.

The fundamental reason for the existence of any manufacturing organization is to generate wealth by adding value to the products and services it offers. In this new global industrial environment, value is generated from many sources, such as rapid and flexible fulfillment of orders, developing new innovative products and services, providing rapid and responsive product and service support, delivering innovative turn-key solutions to customers, and so on. In the 21st century most manufacturing organizations will have to respond to these challenges through innovative partnerships, by creating virtual enterprises, by operating in agile networks to generate value by exploiting their existing competencies in design, manufacturing, distribution and customer service, whilst building new competencies in information systems, communications and knowledge management. Just as no man is an island, so no business can operate without being part of a network of businesses, which we call the manufacturing value chain. This book brings together the works of leading researchers to present state-of-the-art research and development on the strategic management of the manufacturing value chain' in the broadest sense. The objectives of Strategic Management of the Manufacturing Value Chain are: To provide insights into potential strategies, methods, tools and techniques which could facilitate competitiveness through innovation agility and partnership. To explore the use of enabling technologies, such as IT, in meeting the challenges of the 21st century. To provide practical case studies which demonstrate the use of new approaches to the generation and management of value in manufacturing. Strategic Managementof the Manufacturing Value Chain is suitable as a secondary text for graduate-level courses of management and manufacturing, and as a reference for researchers and practitioners in industry, commerce and government.