Information Technology

Revolutionary information and communication technologies are contributing to dramatic changes in the competitiveness of global and local markets and in the way people conduct their business and everyday lives. The potential benefits and risks these changes present for developing countries and transitional economies are enormous. This comprehensive, authoritative reference book examines the ways in which these powerful technologies are being harnessed to development goals, thus helping to reduce the risk of exclusion and create new opportunities for developing countries. The report emphasizes the urgency of developing new social and technological infrastructures so as to ensure that new technologies are used effectively. It also offers outlines and practical steps intended to guide stake-holders interested in shaping their future innovative knowledge societies.

This book explores the ways in which organizations design, build, and use information technology systems. In particular it looks at the interactions between these IT-centered activities and the broader management processes within organizations.

The authors bring a dual perspective--that of a practicing consultant and that of a professor of economics--to the complex strategic questions facing managers and corporate leaders who want their firms to get the most out of their investments in information technology. The information economy is built upon the myriad and sometimes unforeseen ways in which information technologies have become engines of productivity in themselves, rather than just fancy adjuncts. In explaining the rise of the information economy, the authors provide not only valuable context often missing from today's discussions, but also a thorough understanding of the origination, development, and diffusion process of innovations. They also examine prevailing practices and implications for the future, including the potential pitfalls common to some information technology strategies.

'For more than a decade, American corporations have been shoveling billions of dollars in computers down a black hole, with no response at all from the sluggish growth rate of American productivity. Dan Sichel's pathbreaking book helps us to explain the computer paradox by showing that computer hardware is too small a share of the capital stock to matter much, and that there are reasons to doubt a future surge in the contribution of computer hardware and software to growth. ---------Robert J. Gordon

Information and Communication Technologies Visions and Realities illuminates the social and economic implications of advances in information and communication technologies. It has been written and edited to reach a broad audience across the social sciences interested in constructive ways of thinking about the social dynamics of the revolution in digital media. Based on a decade of research undertaken by the UK's Programme on Information and Communication Technologies (PICT), this book explains: BL how social factors influence technological innovation and convergence; BL why organizations seek to transform work, services, and management; BL ways in which households domesticate new media; and BL how public policy and regulation shape the impact of technology on employment, media concentration, privacy, and access in an information society. The thirty contributors include leading figures in the field such as Walter Baer, Jay Blumler, Peter Cochrane, Rod Coombs, Bill Dutton, Chris Freeman, Nicholas Garnham, John Goddard, Kenneth Kraemer, Donald MacKenzie, Robin Mansell, Bill Melody, Roger Silverstone, Robin Williams, and Steve Woolgar.

Information technology will be the most pervasive and important influence on individuals and organizations in the next 10 years. Impression management is a growing field of study in the management and organizational sciences, which studies the self-presentational approach of individuals and the organizations. This collection of papers is both exploratory and innovative, examining new ways for the corporation to effect its strategy, its organizational design and its development as they are stimulated by the introduction and evolution of information technology. Understanding impression management theory as it moves further into the mainstream of research and practice is critical to corporate strategists, academics, and students.

This book is an introduction to the nature and impact of new information and communication technologies on business and society. It provides ideal introductory reading on the nature of business information systems.

This book situates information technology at the centre of public policy and management. IT is now a vital part of any government organisation, opening new policy windows and enabling a vast range of tasks to be carried out faster and more efficiently. But it has also introduced new problems and challenges. Four in-depth case studies demonstrate how information systems have become inextricably linked with the core tasks of governmental organisations. The key government departments examined are: * the Inland Revenue Service and Social Security Administration in the US * the Inland Revenue and Benefits Agency in the UK

This is a volume of previously unpublished research studies that were conducted during the Management in the 1990s project at the Sloan School of MIT. It is a companion volume to the principal book of the project, The Corporation of the 1990s: Information Technology and Organizational Transformation. This book is organized into three sections: the IT Revolution; Strategic Options; and The Organization and Management Response. Authors of the studies are among the most prominent of the Sloan School people, including Eric Von Hippel, Edgar Schein, Michael Piore, Paul Osterman, and Thomas Kochan. There are introductions to the volume and to the sections.

Society on the Line presents a new way of thinking about the social and economic implications of the revolution in information and communication technologies (ICTs). It offers a clear overview of information in the digital age, and explains how social and technical choices about ICTs influence access to information, people, services, and technologies themselves. The author calls this process `the shaping of tele-access' and shows how the concept challenges prevailing theoretical perspectives of the information and communication revolution. His clear, informed and challenging analysis ranges from the household; through the workplace and business organization; to the media as new information providers; and to government policies on information and economic strategy. In doing so he touches on important issues of information inequality, privacy, censorship, the Internet; information and organizational design; and information in the community and public policy. The main text is fully supported by case studies, boxed information, and essays written by leading ICT experts on both sides of the Atlantic. This accessible and useful book offers an invaluable guide to the information politics of the digital age. Pre-publication Endorsements `Society on the Line is a very useful book that organizes and analyses clearly and cogently a substantial body of relevant documentation. It will become required reading in universities around the world.' Manuel Castells, Professor of Sociology, University of California; author of the The Rise of the Network Society `...a fascinating perspective...which provokes fresh consideration of the issues. By showing us how to identify the games being played in the on-line environment, Dutton helps us focus on the pressure points for achieving respect for our information. Privacy need not be at risk as ICTs are exploited.The more we understand the drivers for change, the more we can influence the information handling culture which is emerging.' Elizabeth France, UK Data Protection Registrar

A must-read for anyone who cares about the future of business, Enterprise.Com boldly defines the future of the cyber-economy, demonstrating the value of information technology, as well as its impact on competition and market leadership. At the heart of the book is Papows's vision of the "market-facing enterprise", a vision that will redefine the essence of business processes and relationships worldwide.

While making the case that information technology is no longer just a tool but a defining element of business, Papows shows managers and executives in any industry how to anticipate trends, make wise investment decisions, and harness the power of technology to achieve new levels of growth.

Written by a leading expert on computers and law, this important new book book shows exactly why and how information technology (IT) will radically alter the practice of law and the administration of justice. Beyond automating and streamlining traditional ways of providing legal advice, IT is re-engineering the entire legal process, resulting in legal products and information services whose focus will be dispute pre-emption rather than dispute resolution, and legal risk management rather than legal problem solving. With easy and inexpensive access available, IT will help integrate the law with business and domestic life. This book considers the implications, opportunities, and challenges for all concerned in the information society. The IT revolution cannot be ignored, and this book is essential reading for all those who would successfuly adapt to the changes and challenges IT brings.

Jeffrey James investigates the attempts to bring the benefits of information technology in the form of the internet to developing countries.

Beyond the agricultural and industrial revolutions of the past, a global technology revolution is currently changing the world. This book discusses the broad, mulitdisciplinary, and synergistic trends in this revolution, including genomics, cloning, biom