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Most managers realize that information is
among their company's most important assets. However, many
don't know how to leverage their investments in information
technology. Often, says Jerry N. Luftman, companies rush
to acquire state-of-the-art systems without considering
their long-term impact. For example, in the 1980s, retail
banks invested heavily in ATMs -- until ATMs ceased to be
a competitive advantage and became merely another (and increasingly
expensive) cost of doing business. Stemming from IBM's highly
regarded Consulting Group, combining the expertise of consultants
and leading academics, Competing in the Information Age
shows managers how to avoid being blindsided by information
technology. It outlines how to match information systems
with business strategy to forge a strong competitive edge
and bring powerful solutions to bear on real-world problems.
The bottom line, Luftman contends, is that
a firm must coordinate, or align, four elements: its business
strategy, the strategy of its information systems, its organizational
infrastructure, and its information technology infrastructure.
To this end, he adds to his own expertise contributors who
offer models, frameworks, and methods that can help companies
in any industry discover their ideal strategic alignment.
The contributors have a wide variety of backgrounds and
approach information technology from a number of illuminating
angles. They discuss how to distinguish between information
systems that automate human skills and those that augment
them; how to put together worldwide, flexible information
structures that seamlessly connect people, products, and
processes; and how to gauge the benefits of object-oriented
programming and connected computer networks. A recurrent
theme is the amount to which an executive should be versed
in technology, with the caveat that technological jargon
sometimes inhibits business opportunities. Other crucial
topics include how inter- and intra-organizational systems
(IOS) and Electronic Data Exchange (EDI) are creating a
whole new raft of management challenges; and how corporate
culture affects attitudes toward information technology.
The book also offers a six-stage process of transformation
to technology, with suggested roles for the CEO, CIO, and
other players, and gives advice on coping with the changes
and clashes sparked by new information systems. Managers
also get advice on how to benchmark information technology
strategic alignment, looking at the results of an IBM benchmarking
project.
Citing examples from companies as diverse
as Federal Express, a Swiss bank, a fresh produce supplier;
four airlines contemplating a merger, and a consumer finance
organization, this volume will be valuable to managers from
small firms to global corporations, at various stages of
contemplating -- or implementing -- leveraging information
technology. It gives companies the key to unlock the power
of information, and boost their competitiveness in a tough
global marketplace.
Jerry N. Luftman is Professor of Information
Management at the Stevens Institute of Technology.
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