Donald A. Marchand - Böcker

In today's fast-moving, e-commerce economy information is power. For years companies have been investing in IT, expecting to develop their ability to exploit the power of information and achieve better business performance. Frequently, a company's investment has been a cost with no clear payback–a competitive necessity rather than a strategic advantage. The authors have developed a clear and effective framework for evaluating IT strategies - Information Orientation. Information Orientation does this by determining the degree to which a company implements and realizes the synergies across three information capabilities: information behaviors and values; information management practices; and information technology practices. The book provides a thorough description of the dimensions of each of the capabilities, along with the analytical basis which validates the research finding that a company must integrate all three information capabilities as a precondition for achieving superior business performance. The book presents the Information Orientation Dashboard as a diagnostic tool to measure and evaluate the stengths and weaknesses of a company's information capabilities. The book also identifies a new trend in the way in which senior managers think about achieving strategic priorities and future industry leadership with information. The book contributes to a new area of management thinking by offering empirically-tested and statistically-validated theories, which will not only be of interest to academics, but will also carry great significance for the practitioner. For academic readers, this book presents a theory with supporting evidence and arguments for changing the way management, and in particular IT researchers, examine the roles of people, information, and IT in decision making and strategy implementation. For company managers, this book provides a new framework and business metric that challenges current mindsets and practices concerning how people, information, and IT can be managed to achieve business results.

In today's fast-moving, e-commerce economy information is power. For years companies have been investing in IT, expecting to develop their ability to exploit the power of information and achieve better business performance. Frequently, a company's investment has been a cost with no clear payback; a competitive necessity rather than a strategic advantage.The authors have developed a clear and effective framework for evaluating IT strategies: Information Orientation. Information Orientation does this by determining the degree to which a company implements and realizes the synergies across three information capabilities: information behaviors and values; information management practices; and information technology practices. The book provides a thorough description of the dimensions of each of the capabilities, along with the analytical basis which validates the research finding that a company must integrate all three information capabilities as a precondition for achieving superior business performance.The book presents the Information Orientation Dashboard as a diagnostic tool to measure and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of a company's information capabilities. The book also identifies a new trend in the way in which senior managers think about achieving strategic priorities and future indsutry leadership with information.The book contributes to a new area of management thinking by offering empirically-tested and statistically-validated theories, which will not only be of interest to academics, but will also carry great significance for the practitioner. For academic readers, this book presents a theory with supporting evidence and arguments for changing the way management, and in particular IT researchers, examine the roles of people, information, and IT in decision making and strategy implementation. For company managers, this book provides a new framework and business metric that challenges current mindsets and practices concerning how people, information, and IT can be managed to achieve business results.

This book presents a new way of seeing the business value of information, people and IT as well as a way of measuring and managing these capabilities in order to improve business performance. Packed with real-world examples, the book presents the best and worst practices companies have implemented to address these issues. Case studies from more than thirty international companies are strategically used throughout the book, including Banco Bilbao Vizcayo, Philips Business Electronics, Amazon, Dell Europe, Ernst Young, General Electric, IKEA, Ritz Carlton Hotels, and Wal Mart. This fascinating guide offers a diagnostic tool that senior managers can use to evaluate the three information capabilities of their company. Plus, the book provides hands-on management prescriptions on how to improve a company s information capabilities and how to use these capabilities in achieving business strategies and in the implementating change.We are all experiencing an information overload, be it internal to the organization or due to external influences of our own information intensive society. Much has been written on how companies should "tame the beast of information" and make it work in the organization's favour. What has not yet been covered is how an organization can actually comprehensively measure whether or not they are using information effectively to achieve better business performance, or in other words, how senior managers within an organization can measure "Information Orientation".Following a major 2 year global research project in conjunction with Andersen Consulting, the authors of this book have been able to demonstrate that when a company is high on IO it will be high on business performance. However, beyond just using IO as a diagnostic tool or a benchmark for the effective use of an organization's information, it can also predict the organization's business performance. Invariably, a company does not make the best use of available information. Having assessed why and where the failings are, this book will provide ways in which senior managers can actively manage the different elements of their Information Capabilities to improve the usage of information.Information Capabilities are defined in three ways: 1. Information Behaviours/Values 2. Information Management Practices 3. Information Technology practices. It is the total interaction of these three elements and the effective management of them that permits superior business performance. IO Maturity can be gained, but the authors illustrate that it is an iterative process that grows and changes in line with a turbulent environment. Managers of a high IO company realize the need to continually refine and improve their information use and to keep learning more about their business. IO begins at the top. It takes more than authorizing an IT investment and training staff to use information. It calls for different behaviours, values and practices by senior managers. This book provides the means to move towards IO maturity. It is the step beyond Information Technology to actually managing information.The aim of this book is to make a previously invisible dimension of business management visible. A manager, after reading this book, will be able to see, measure and manage the information resources, people and IT in the company and improve business performance.