186 books.
List by Date, Author or Rating.
Books
John Kotter (2006)
Most of the denizens of the Antarctic penguin colony sneer at Fred, the quiet but observant scout who detects worrying signs that their home, an iceberg, is melting. Fred must cleverly convince and enlist key players, such as Louis, the head penguin; Alice, the number two bird; the intractable NoNo the weather expert; and a passle of school-age penguins if he is to save the colony. Their delightfully told journey illuminates in an unforgettable way how to manage the necessary change that surrounds us all. Simple explanatory material following the fable enhances the lasting value of these lessons.
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Paul Allen (2006)
Companies face major challenges as they seek to flourish in competitive global markets, fuelled by developments in technology, from the Internet to grid computing and Web services. In this environment, service orientation - aligning business processes to the changing demands of customers - is emerging as a highly effective approach to increasing efficiency. In this book, Paul Allen provides an accessible guide to service orientation, showing how it works and highlighting the benefits it can deliver. The book provides an integrated approach: after covering the basics of service orientation, he discusses key issues such as business agility, designing quality-of-service infrastructure, implementing service-level agreements, and cultural factors. He provides roadmaps, definitions, templates, techniques, process patterns and checklists to help you realize service orientation. These resources are reinforced with detailed case studies, from the transport and banking sectors. Packed with valuable insights, the book will be essential reading for CIOs, IT architects and senior developers. IT facing business executives will also benefit from understanding how software services can enable their business strategies. Paul Allen is a principal business-IT strategist at CA and is widely recognized for his innovative work in component-based development (CBD), business-IT alignment and service-oriented architecture. With over thirty years experience of large-scale business systems, he is an established author whose previous book was the critically acclaimed 'Realizing e-Business with Components'. Sam Higgins is now with Forrester Research Inc.; formerly he managed the Innovation and Planning Unit of Queensland Transport's Information Services Branch. Paul McRae is the application architect in the Innovation and Planning Unit of Queensland Transport's Information Services Branch. Hermann Schlamann is a senior architect in the architecture group of Credit Suisse.
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1 vote
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Goikoetxea Ambrose (2007)
This is the first book that addresses all three main activities in improving business and technology decisions: the planning, design and assessment of enterprise architectures (EAs). Emphasis is on medium and large-size organizations in the private sector (such as banks, airlines and auto industries) and the public sector (such as federal agencies, local government organizations and military services in the Department of Defense). The book addresses the challenges faced by EA builders through an organized presentation of the issues and a step-by-step approach. The material is based on real-life EA project experience and lessons learned over a decade working in multiple-contractor, multiple-discipline teams, and multiple-agency environments.
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1 vote
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Chris Anderson (2006)
"The Long Tail" is a powerful new force in our economy: the rise of the niche. As the cost of reaching consumers drops dramatically, our markets are shifting from a one-size-fits-all model of mass appeal to one of unlimited variety for unique tastes. From supermarket shelves to advertising agencies, the ability to offer vast choice is changing everything, and causing us to rethink where our markets lie and how to get to them. Unlimited selection is revealing truths about what consumers want and how they want to get it, from DVDs at Netflix to songs on iTunes to advertising on Google. However, this is not just a virtue of online marketplaces; it is an example of an entirely new economic model for business, one that is just beginning to show its power. After a century of obsessing over the few products at the head of the demand curve, the new economics of distribution allow us to turn our focus to the many more products in the tail, which collectively can create a new market as big as the one we already know. The Long Tail is really about the economics of abundance. New efficiencies in distribution, manufacturing, and marketing are essentially resetting the definition of whats commercially viable across the board. If the 20th century was about hits, the 21st will be equally about niches.
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2 votes
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David Apgar (2006)
Risk Intelligence gives executives and business managers a simple mental model and simple tools to manage these risks. According to the author's model, risks fall into two categories: knowable and therefore learnable, and unknowable and therefore difficult to prepare for. The book not only shows readers how to analyse their knowable risks but helps them to appreciate the quality and utility of their own analysis. As it turns out, some people have a higher risk IQ than others and therefore analyse and manage risks more effectively. This book helps people of all risk aptitudes to assess and improve their risk IQs.
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1 vote
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David Barton and Karin Tusting (2005)
The concept of ‘communities of practice’ (Lave and Wenger 1991, Wenger 1998) has become an influential one in education, management, and social sciences in recent years. This book consists of a series of studies by linguists and educational researchers, examining and developing aspects of the concept which have remained relatively unexplored. Framings provided by theories of language-in-use, literacy practices, and discourse extend the concept, bringing to light issues around conflict, power, and the significance of the broader social context which have been overlooked. Chapters assess the relationship between communities of practice and other theories including literacy studies, critical language studies, the ethnography of communication, socio-cultural activity theory, and sociological theories of risk. Domains of empirical research reported include schools, police stations, adult basic education, higher education, and multilingual settings. The book highlights the need to incorporate thinking around language-in-use, power and conflict, and social context into communities of practice.
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Ulrich Beck (2006)
In this new book, Ulrich Beck develops his now widely used concepts of second modernity, risk society and reflexive sociology into a radical new sociological analysis of the cosmopolitan implications of globalization. Beck draws extensively on empirical and theoretical analyses of such phenomena as migration, war and terror, as well as a range of literary and historical works, to weave a rich discursive web in which analytical, critical and methodological themes intertwine effortlessly.
Contrasting a 'cosmopolitan vision' or 'outlook' sharpened by awareness of the transformative and transgressive impacts of globalization with the 'national outlook' neurotically fixated on the familiar reference points of a world of nations-states-borders, sovereignty, exclusive identities-Beck shows how even opponents of globalization and cosmopolitanism are trapped by the logic of reflexive modernization into promoting the very processes they are opposing.
A persistent theme running through the book is the attempt to recover an authentically European tradition of cosmopolitan openness to otherness and tolerance of difference. What Europe needs, Beck argues, is the courage to unite forms of life which have grown out of language, skin colour, nationality or religion with awareness that, in a radically insecure world, all are equal and everyone is different.
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Stafford Beer (1994)
This is the second edition of a book (originally published in 1972) which has already become a management 'standard' both in universities and on the bookshelves of managers and their advisers. Brain of the Firm develops an account of the firm based upon insights derived from the study of the human nervous system, and is a basic text from the author′s theory of viable systems. Despite the neurophysiology, the book is written for managers to understand.
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2 votes
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Stafford Beer (1994)
This is the 1979 companion volume to Brain of the Firm and addresses the nature of viable systems, those capable of surviving. It does not use the neurophysiological basis elucidated in brain, but develops the same theory from first principles. This book declares that every enterprise is a system, and in particular must be a viable system. Viability is not just a matter of economic solvency; we need laws that govern the capacity of any enterprise to maintain independent existence. The Heart of Enterprise is full of examples (actual, author–generated examples) taken from management practice.
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2 votes
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Yochai Benkler (2007)
With the radical changes in information production that the Internet has introduced, we stand at an important moment of transition, says Yochai Benkler in this thought-provoking book. The phenomenon he describes as social production is reshaping markets, while at the same time offering new opportunities to enhance individual freedom, cultural diversity, political discourse, and justice. But these results are by no means inevitable: a systematic campaign to protect the entrenched industrial information economy of the last century threatens the promise of today’s emerging networked information environment.
In this comprehensive social theory of the Internet and the networked information economy, Benkler describes how patterns of information, knowledge, and cultural production are changing—and shows that the way information and knowledge are made available can either limit or enlarge the ways people can create and express themselves. He describes the range of legal and policy choices that confront us and maintains that there is much to be gained—or lost—by the decisions we make today.
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Cathleen Benko, F. Warren McFarlan (2003)
Organizations are struggling for greater return on their multibillion-dollar technology and project-related investments. Individual projects may be useful, but when examined collectively, they often work at cross-purposes, duplicate each other's efforts, or aim for obsolescing business objectives. And all are competing for scarce resources. In today's earnings-driven business environment, companies must look to their portfolios to better deliver on objectives and propel the organization forward. Based on their experience with a variety of companies, authors Cathleen Benko and distinguished professor F. Warren McFarlan have developed an alignment approach that better connects an organization's project portfolio to its corporate objectives in a manner responsive to today's unpredictable environment. Connecting the Dots provides a scalable framework and practical tools for better aligning a company's: (1) project portfolio with its objectives; (2) individual projects with each other; and (3) portfolio and objectives with the volatile environment. Better-aligned companies enhance business/technology performance by increasing shareholder value and confidence and improving the portfolio's return on investment. This in-the-trenches guidebook helps companies capture this latent value while building a more adaptive organization.
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4 votes
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Robert J. Benson, Tom Bugnitz, Bill Walton (2004)
From Business Strategy to IT Action gives companies of all sizes the tools to effectively link IT to business strategy and produce effective, actionable strategies for bottom-line results. The authors present CEOs, CFOs, CIOs, and IT managers with a powerful and accessible resource packed with such useful material as the Strategy-to-Bottom-Line Value Chain, which integrates the management practices relating to planning, prioritization, alignment, and assessing a company's entire IT budget; methods for using IT Impact Management to establish IT culture and performance models for the business/IT connection; the IT Improvement Zone, which quickly identifies where a company can focus its energies for maximum results; and much more
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2 votes
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Martin Van Den Berg, Marlies Van Steenbergen (2006)
Is your enterprise architecture making a difference? Does it contribute to the goals of your company? Are the architects your best paid employees? If you are striving for a full-hearted yes to these questions, this is the book for you.
Building an Enterprise Architecture Practice provides practical advice on how to develop your enterprise architecture practice. The authors developed different tools and models to support organizations in implementing and professionalizing an enterprise architecture function. The application of these tools and models in many different organizations forms the basis for this book. The result is a hands-on book that will help you to avoid certain pitfalls and achieve success with enterprise architecture.
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22 votes
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Clifford Berg (2008)
This book explains how to connect tangible business value with IT decisions, and how to build an organization around that practice. It describes how to create an agile IT organization that implements governance in a nimble yet effective manner that, and that turns that into a strategic advantage. It explains how to connect enterprise architecture with business strategy, and how to reconcile the many different perspectives of architecture, including business architecture, data architecture, and software architecture. These are addressed at all levels, from the project to the CIO, and in terms of how IT should interact with the other parts of the organization.
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3 votes
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Scott A. Bernard (2005)
Finally a book that introduces the emerging profession of Enterprise Architecture from scratch. Dr. Bernard provides an easy to read, and understand, book that does not require an in-depth background in IT or management. The book begins with two case studies that provide background on the importance of EA as well as how you determine whether or not an EA is right for your organization. The remaining chapters discuss the development, use, and future of EA. Each chapter begins with a brief Overview followed by easily understood Learning Objectives. The end of each chapter has a short Summary and a variety of Questions and Exercises. Overall: An excellent book for the classroom or the professional world. Guaranteed to finish reading with a solid foundation in Enterprise Architecture. (Braxton Books)
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19 votes
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Norbert Bieberstein, Sanjay Bose, Marc Fiammante, Keith Jones, Rawn Shah (2005)
In this developerWorks Series book, IBM Enterprise Integration Team experts present a start-to-finish guide to planning, implementing, and managing Service-Oriented Architecture. Drawing on their extensive experience helping enterprise customers migrate to SOA, the authors share hard-earned lessons and best practices for architects, project managers, and software development leaders alike. Well-written and practical, Service-Oriented Architecture Compass offers the perfect blend of principles and "how-to" guidance for transitioning your infrastructure to SOA. The authors clearly explain what SOA is, the opportunities it offers, and how it differs from earlier approaches. Using detailed examples from IBM consulting engagements, they show how to deploy SOA solutions that tightly integrate with your processes and operations, delivering maximum flexibility and value. With detailed coverage of topics ranging from policy-based management to workflow implementation, no other SOA book offers comparable value to workingIT professionals. Coverage includes SOA from both a business and technical standpoint–and how to make the business case; Planning your SOA project: best practices and pitfalls to avoid; SOA analysis and design for superior flexibility and value; Securing and managing your SOA environment; Using SOA to simplify enterprise application integration; Implementing business processes and workflow in SOA environments; Case studies in SOA deployment; and After you've deployed: delivering better collaboration, greater scalability, and more sophisticated applications
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Gerard Blokdijk (2008)
"There has never been an Enterprise Architecture manual like this. 100 Success Secrets is not about the ins and outs of Enterprise Architecture. Instead, it answers the top 100 questions that we are asked and those we come across in forums, our consultancy and education programs. It tells you exactly how to deal with those questions, with tips that have never before been offered in print. This book is also not about Enterprise Architecture's best practice and standards details. Instead, it introduces everything you want to know to be successful with Enterprise Architecture."
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9 votes
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Jason Bloomberg, Ronald Schmelzer (2006)
Authors Jason Bloomberg and Ronald Schmelzer - senior analysts for IT advisory and analysis firm ZapThink - say it all in the title of their new book, Service Orient or Be Doomed!: How Service Orientation Will Change Your Business. That is, if you fail to service orient your company, you will fail in competing with the organizations that do. This provocative new book takes service orientation out of its more familiar technological surroundings within service-oriented architecture and introduces it as a philosophy that advocates its rightful place within a business context, redefining it as a new way of thinking about organizing your business and its processes. Informal, challenging, and intelligent in style, Service Orient or Be Doomed!: How Service Orientation Will Change Your Business shows you how you can best use technology resources to meet your company's business goals and empower your company to go from stuck to competitive.
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4 votes
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Grady Booch, Robert A. Maksimchuk, Michael W. Engel, Bobbi J. Young, Jim Conallen, Kelli A. Houston (1994)
Grady Booch et al draws upon the rich and varied results of those projects and offers improved methods for object development and a new, unified notation. With numerous examples implemented in C++, Booch illustrates essential concepts, explains the method, and shows successful applications in a variety of fields. Booch also gives pragmatic advice on a host of issues, including classification, implementation strategies, and cost-effective project management. A two-time winner of Software Development's coveted Jolt Cola Product Excellence Award! Object-Oriented Design with Applications has long been the essential reference to object-oriented technology, which, in turn, has evolved to join the mainstream of industrial-strength software development. In this third edition--the first revision in 13 years--readers can learn to apply object-oriented methods using new paradigms such as Java, the Unified Modeling Language (UML) 2.0, and .NET. The authors draw upon their rich and varied experience to offer improved methods for object development and numerous examples that tackle the complex problems faced by software engineers, including systems architecture, data acquisition, cryptoanalysis, control systems, and Web development. They illustrate essential concepts, explain the method, and show successful applications in a variety of fields. You'll also find pragmatic advice on a host of issues, including classification, implementation strategies, and cost-effective project management.
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Ori Brafman and Rod A. Beckstrom (2006)
This work provides an understanding of the amazing force that links some of today's most successful companies. If you cut off a spider's leg, it's crippled; if you cut off it's head, it dies. But if you cut off a starfish's leg it grows a new one, and the old leg can grow into an entirely new starfish. Some organisations are just as decentralised as starfish, with no control centre or grand strategy. Think of craigslist and the original Napster, run totally by their own customers. Or Alcoholics Anonymous, which has thrived for decades as a loose network of small groups. Or even al Qaeda, which is so hard to destroy because its cells function independently. "The Starfish and the Spider", based on groundbreaking research into decentralised organisations, proves that this type of leadership is primed to change the world. Major companies like eBay, IBM, Sun, and GE are starting to decentralise, with great results. Decentralisation isn't easy for people who are used to the classic chain of commence organisation. But as readers will learn through this book's fascinating stories - ranging from the music business to geopolitics - it can be a very dangerous trend to ignore.
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Koen Brand, Harry Boonen (2004)
CIOs and IT managers will improve their organization's performance with this look at security management and the security-based COBIT. Informed by common ISO quality and security standards, ITIL, the Common Scoreboard, and COBIT, the accepted standard for good IT security and control practices, this reference provides a succinct framework for IT management.
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Marianne Broadbent, Ellen Kitzis (2004)
As information technology becomes increasingly essential within organizations, the reputation and role of the CIO has been diminishing. To regain credibility and avoid obscurity, CIOs must take on a larger, more strategic role. Here is a blueprint for doing exactly that. This book shows how CIOs can bridge the gap between IT and the rest of the organization and finally make IT a strategic advantage rather than a cost sink.
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2 votes
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Peter Brooks (2006)
Many organizations find it very difficult to use metrics properly, and badly designed metrics can be actively harmful to proper business functioning. This book addresses the causes of the difficulties and presents workable solutions. It provides a general guide to the design, implementation and use of metrics as a mechanism to control and steer IT service organizations, and specific recommendations for applying metrics across ITIL, ISO20000 (BS15000) and other processes, discussing the rationale of the recommendations.
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2 votes
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Paul C. Brown (2007)
Today, business processes and information systems are so tightly intertwined that they must be designed together, as parts of a total architecture, to realize enterprise goals. In Succeeding with SOA, Paul Brown shows how service-oriented architectures (SOAs) provide the best structure for such integration: clean, well-defined interfaces between collaborating entities. But even SOAs need to be correctly understood and implemented to avoid common failures. Drawing on decades of experience, Dr. Brown explains what business managers and IT architects absolutely need to know--including critical success factors--to undertake this essential work.
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1 vote
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James T Brown (2008)
Written by a top PMI trainer, this book is essential reading if you wish to pass the new Project Management Institute's Program Management Certification exam-or if you want to take your project management skills to an advanced level. It is also a must read if you're a senior executives who wants a flexible organization that can support dynamic on-going product development. The author provides a solid framework for implementing a project management culture that will allow a company to maintain a pattern of repeatable success. Calling upon his decades of experience, he explains how process-when integrated with technology and personnel-is the real key to delivering improved products and services for the long-term.
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