Information Systems Project Management

$21.99

This book addresses project management in the context of information systems. It deals with general project management principles, with focus on the special characteristics of information systems. It is based on an earlier text , but shortened to focus on essential project management elements. This chapter has presented various statistics indicating endemic problems in completing information system projects on time, within budget, at designed functionality. While successful completion of an information systems project is a challenge, there are some things that can be done to improve the probability of project success. This book reviews a number of project management tools. These include developing organizational ability to work on projects, discussed in Chapters 2 and 3. Sponsor expectations can be based upon better information if a good job of project selection is conducted, discussed in Chapter 4. Better systems analysis and design (Chapter 5) and project estimation (covered in Chapter 6) can assure that the proper skills are acquired to develop the project. Project management tools (Chapter 7) can assist project managers in coordinating the project effort, as can project management software such as Microsoft Project. Chapter 8 will return to the importance of critical success factors in the context of project implementation. Chapter 9 will discuss project control and termination.

The ART of Responsible Communication: Leading with Values Every Day

$21.99

In an increasingly competitive and fast-paced economy, communication cannot be a function delegated to the public relations department. It’s every leader’s responsibility to communicate openly, honestly and responsively. Very few people in business have an appreciation for, and understanding of, their essential role in communication, both in terms of employee engagement and meaningful public dialogue. Every leader controls some information, data and feedback. How should they manage that power in this digital age when anything can leak in a heartbeat?In an increasingly competitive and fast-?paced economy, communication cannot be a function delegated to the public relations department. It’s every leader’s responsibility to communicate openly, honestly and responsively. Very few people in business have an appreciation for, and understanding of, their essential role in communication, both in terms of employee engagement and meaningful public dialogue. Every leader controls some information, data and feedback. How should they manage that power in this digital age when anything can leak in a heartbeat? That is the question at the heart of this book. This book will serve executives and emerging business leaders across multiple industries and representing a full spectrum of functional disciplines. It will be a solid resource, as well, for those enrolled in MBA and executive development programs. Upper-?level undergraduate students would also benefit.

Feasibility Analysis for Sustainable Technologies: An Engineering-Economic Perspective

$21.99

Feasibility Analysis for Sustainable Technologies will lead you into a professional feasibility analysis for a renewable energy or energy efficiency project. The analysis begins with an understanding of the basic engineering description of technology in terms of capacity, efficiency, constraints, and dependability.Sustainability is a hot topic now, attracting students to courses offered across a variety of academic departments, including business, environmental science, engineering, and city planning. A key aspect of implementing sustainability in organizations is the design and financial evaluation of systems for renewable energy, energy efficiency, and waste management. Most sustainability programs at the masters level have some expectation that the graduate will be able to do a feasibility study for such systems. However, no textbook exists to train the student to do a feasibility study–until now.
When my university decided in 2010 to make Sustainable Business the flagship specialization of our MBA program, I realized that we needed to have a course called ‘Sustainable Technologies,’ which would prepare students to conduct feasibility analyses. This course would take an ‘engineering-economic’ approach to the subject, teaching basic engineering concepts as appropriate for business students and using low-intermediate concepts in economics and finance that would still be accessible to students (both undergraduate and graduate) who do not have a background in science or economics. Teaching the course over the past few years, I also saw that this engineering-economic knowledge of sustainable technology also has value for students who want to manage sustainability initiatives or participate informatively in policy discussions on sustainable technology. Thus, the book should be able to sell into any masters-level program that emphasizes sustainability, and it will be a valuable resource for sustainability professionals who need to teach themselves how to do a feasibility study.
There is a Students’ Study Guide containing chapter summaries, homework problems, and cases, and there is a Teacher’s Solution Manual for instructors once this title has been adopted.

International Operations: How Multiple International Environments Impact Productivity and Location Decisions

$21.99

The ideal scenario for a company that wishes to expand its reach internationally is to design its operations and supply chain so that they need not vary, regardless of the venue in which they are implemented. But companies that wish to ‘go global’ cannot do so without the approval and cooperation of the governments of the countries in which they hope to expand. Consequently, companies are often forced to depart from a single system approach and make adjustments according to the regulations of each country in which they do business. This book examines the complexity of international operations: the opportunities as well as pitfalls companies face when attempting to implement their operations on a multi-national scale. The book focuses on and provides coverage from the shop floor level, but the concepts discussed and examined are done so with regular reference to a broader company perspective. Various theories and examples are introduced to describe forms of internationalization processes; and the influence of both national and local environments on operations is strongly emphasized. Readers of this book representing companies considering ‘going global’ will learn about the obstacles to success they need to avoid; readers representing governments will learn what they can do and avoid doing in order attract foreign companies and investment.

Responsible Management Accounting and Controlling: A Practical Handbook for Sustainability, Responsibility, and Ethics

$21.99

Currently accounting and controlling are little involved in responsible business. This book offers a responsible controlling framework and a 12-step roadmap how management accounting and controlling can be adapted to become a change agent towards responsible business. The main issue of this book is to be seen in the fact that controlling and management accounting departments are hardly involved in sustainability, responsibility and ethics (SRE) topics and thus do not contribute to responsible business. The book deals with the conviction that responsible controlling is indispensable to make an entire organization more responsible. The main content of this book is the conceptual development of a Responsible Controlling Framework towards decision-making based on an ethically sound fundamental in order to make a company a responsible business. The conceptual approach helps to ensure the book will appeal practitioners in organizations of all size and nature as well as for (MBA) students. This book recommends a thoroughly examined course of action regarding Responsible Controlling for practitioners based on a profound theoretical background. The book shows the current state of controlling in an organizational context and in which areas controllers are active.

Hispanic-Latino Entrepreneurship: Viewpoints of Practitioners

$21.99

Academy of Global Business Advancement 2015 book award winner.

The Hispanic–Latino community is large, expanding, and an important contributor to the U.S. economy. Numbering over 50 million, Hispanic–Latinos currently represent about 16% of the population. Hispanic– Latinos engage in a diversity of jobs that help keep the American economic engine running. The practice of entrepreneurship has been on the rise with over 2.3 million businesses in the United States categorized as Hispanic owned, generating over $345 billion in sales. This book examines the entrepreneurial mindset of Hispanic– Latinos in the United States. With limited literature on the subject, the authors created a pioneering book that captures the viewpoints of real-life Hispanic–Latino entrepreneurs. Using a 15-item questionnaire, the authors obtained information on entrepreneurial intent, goals, and business strategies utilized. This book highlights real world business experiences, including challenges relating to entrepreneurial pursuits, and the importance of hardwork, discipline, and a positive mindset in the success of an enterprise.

Strategic Management of Healthcare Organizations: A Stakeholder Management Approach

$21.99

Perhaps no industry today faces greater challenges than healthcare, and industry professionals are seeking novel solutions to the problems they encounter every day. Unfortunately, much of the conventional wisdom in business is based on theories developed in manufacturing organizations; however, running a healthcare organization like a factory can lead to dissatisfaction of some of the firm’s most important stakeholders, including patients, managers, and employees, and it may even lead to inefficiency! Stakeholder theory offers an alternative approach that directly addresses these and other problems in healthcare organizations. It is based on developing trusting and productive relationships with stakeholders that lead to high levels of value creation, as indicated by stakeholder satisfaction, innovation, efficiency, and growth. This practical book includes state-of-the art thinking on stakeholder theory and strategic management to encourage a broader and more enlightened view of management. It outlines a process that is applicable to all levels of a healthcare organization, including evaluation of trends in the external environment that need to be addressed, analysis of internal resources, generation and selection of innovative solutions to the problems a firm is facing, and development of an action plan and control system to ensure that solutions are implemented and successfully address the most pressing issues.

Improving Sales and Marketing Collaboration: A Step-by-Step Guide

$21.99

Sales and marketing are two primary business functions that focus on creating satisfied customers. Due to their complementary orientations and objectives, these two functions are ideally positioned for a fruitful, synergetic collaboration. Unfortunately, the practical reality in many companies is far removed from this utopia. Sales and marketing personnel fail to communicate effectively, resulting in misunderstandings, frustration, and sometimes sabotage. Instead of supporting each other in creating superior value for customers, sales and marketing personnel often fight tiresome internal battles that are a drain on profits, efficiency, and customer satisfaction.

Improving Sales and Marketing Collaboration offers the first comprehensive perspective on the functioning of sales-marketing interfaces in business to business (B2B) companies. Inside, the authors explore their complementary roles in creating superior value for customers, problems that occur, the underlying causes of these problems, and potential solutions. These solutions are accompanied by a series of tools that managers can use to diagnose their sales-marketing interface and develop appropriate approaches to improve this relationship. Additionally, the book discusses a number of challenges that companies encounter and the impacts on their sales-marketing interfaces. The discussions and tools presented in this book provide managers with a deep understanding of this critical interface, allowing them to apply these insights to improve their sales-marketing interface, which helps them create superior value for customers.

Developing Successful Business Strategies: Gaining the Competitive Advantage

$21.99

This book presents effective planning business strategies and related budgeting concepts and those activities necessary for the successful growth of the organization. The planning process is shown to be an integral function of developing management strategies for future growth and the gaining of competitive advantage in these fast moving times. Budgeting is presented as a logical outgrowth and an essential part of the planning process rather than an independent internal activity. The book emphasizes the principal factors that should be considered in planning and budgeting for the company, what management and operations personnel must know to better understand effective planning for the business, and what can be done to enhance the overall strategic and financial planning for the organization. The intent of the book is to introduce and explain the relationship between effective planning methods (long-term and short-term) and the budgeting and control processes. The program concentrates on practical approaches to organizational planning and integration with budgeting as well as enhancing familiarity with related concepts and methodology. The book is designed for those who desire to increase their knowledge and practical use of planning and budgeting techniques as a means of achieving improved organizational effectiveness. In addition, the book intends to show the interaction and interdependence of the strategic planning (long and short term), detail planning, budgeting and monitoring processes and to demonstrate how planning is an essential first step in the preparation of an effective budget for the organization.