The purpose of this book is to take an informed, dispassionate and constructive look at the challenges of IT and to offer insight, analysis and guidance on the ever changing IT environment, focusing in particular on managerial and organizational issues. These include centralization versus decentralization; relations between users and specialists; managing the IS function; outsourcing versus internal capabilities; project management and systems application; and an assessment of Business Process Redesign at both the conceptual and empirical level.

These essays, by leading academics and businesspersons from around the world, describe the current state of the art in information technology, a resource with increasingly important implications for managers and management students. Drawing on case studies from Ford, ICI, Volvo, and the U.K. Inland Revenue, the contributors discuss the place of technology in corporate strategy, its use in gaining competitive advantage, the formulation of information systems strategies, competitive dynamics in the use of value added networks, end-user computing, leadership in information management, and the...

The purpose of this book is to take an informed, dispassionate and constructive look at the challenges of IT and to offer insight, analysis and guidance on the ever changing environment.