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Information technology is a familiar aspect of our lives. We use computers,
e-mail, software, cell phones, iPods, fax machines, flash drives, scanners, and
BlackBerry®-type devices every day. We search for travel information on Expedia,
download airline tickets from AA.com, and register for and take college courses
online. Computerized diagnostic tools analyze our autos’ problems, point-of-sale
computers at Target process our credit-card purchases, and computerized traffic
systems manage our trips to work.
Perhaps not so obvious is the extent to which managers rely on information
and information technology to run their companies. For example, how does
Seattle-based Starbucks Coffee Company, with over 12,000 stores globally, control
what’s happening in each of those stores? Its “XPR” global information system
monitors point-of-sale measures at each store and triggers reports back to Seattle
when a store’s measures move out of control. Caterpillar Corporation needed a
better way for its employees to share their knowledge. The company installed a
new Web-based system that its employees now use to collaborate and share
knowledge via chatroom-type discussions and e-mail bulletin boards. Michael
Dell and thousands of other managers use “digital dashboards” with computerized
desktop graphs and charts to get real-time information on how their companies’
plans are progressing. Procter & Gamble no longer relies on its own engineers to
create new products. Its InnovationNet Web portal enables 18,000 outside experts
to share their ideas with P&G’s engineers, and thus bolster the firm’s innovation
efforts. The bottom line is that in any aspect of managing now, it’s impossible to be
world-class without using information technology.
New for 2008, Managing Now! addresses how Internet and intranet based technologies are transforming how managers run companies. The text program highlights new skills future managers will need for planning, organizing, and managing inter-unit relations. Chapter objectives are introduced through the authors' unique behavioral learning model, Learn It, Practice It, and Apply It. Each objective is carried through these directives, providing a multi-step approach to learning that engages students and reinforces real-world application. Managing Now Includes a fully integrated technology program designed specifically for the text. Managing Now LIVE is an Internet based simulation that reinforces and reviews key topics from each chapter. Organized according to the three learning objectives outlined in the text, the simulation prompts students to consider chapter concepts through topic reviews, quizzes, case-based questions, and scenario-based videos. Simulation Icons in the text direct students to related Managing Now LIVE content available online. |
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