Steps to the Future

IT solutions from the leading edge

Information technology promises much but, as many businesses arefinding, it often fails to deliver. Representing the new wave ofthinking about I.T., this thought-provoking collection assemblesleading researchers from four continents, including Dan Robey,Robert Zmud, Claudio Ciborra and Robert Benjamin. Writing with deepknowledge of both I.T. and business, they persuasively argue forthe integration of the core business unit and the I.T. function,advocate a new role for I.T. professionals, stress the importanceof managing outcomes rather than process, and provide practicalguidelines for turning new ideas into new management practices. Preface.

The Authors.

1. The Right Stuff: An Introduction to New Thinking About ITManagement. (Christopher Sauer, Phillp W. Yetton)

Part One: The Traditional Solutions

2. False Prophecies, Successful Practice, and Future Directions inIT Management. (Phillp W. Yetton)

3. A Professional Balancing Act: Walking the Tightrope of StrategicAlignment. (Janice M. Burn)

4. The Pathology of Strategic Alignment. (Christopher Sauer, JaniceM. Burn)

Part Two: Competencies of IT-Enabled Organizational Change.

5. IT-Enabled Organizational Change: New Developments of ITSpecialists. (M. Lynne Markus, Robert Benjamin)

6. At the Heart of Success: Organizationwide ManagementCompetencies. (V. Sambamurthy, Robert W. Zmund)

Part Three: Process Change.

7. Against Obliteration: Reducing Risk in Business Process Change.(Robert D. Galliers)

8. The Real Event of Reengineering. (Jane Craig, Phillp W.Yetton)

Part Four: New Interpretations.

9. The Paradoxes of Transformation. (Daniel Robey)

10. Joint Outcomes: The Coproduction of IT and OrganizationalChange. (Rod Coombs)

11. Improvising in the Shapeless Organization of the Future.(Claudio U. Ciborra)

12. The Paths Ahead. (Christopher Sauer, Phillp W. Yetton)

Index. "An important book for those executives looking to transition theirorganizations into the 21st Century...especially those users andproviders of information technology services. The IT-basedtransformation is the wave of the next millennium." --Carl C.Williams, Vice President of Information Technology, AmocoCorporation

"Fresh approaches to some of the most vexing issues facingorganizations today....A powerful argument for a new view of therole of information technology within the business organization ofthe future." --Michael Vitale, Professor and Head, Dept. ofInformation Systems, University of Melbourne and former VicePresident, Information Technology and Corporate Services,Prudential Insurance (1988-92)

"[Steps to the Future] helps us approach the impAnding third waveof major social change since farming and the industrial revolution-- namely IT&T. Not only are the difficulties and risks offailure analyzed, but ideas for new methods of organizationalapproach and finding new success parameters are documented toensure that we move toward this change with enthusiasm and hope."--Steve Burdon, Managing Director, British Telecommunications, AsiaPacific

"Executives who adopt the new ideas advanced in this book willunderstand why IT must be an integral part of their organizationand how to act decisively to capture maximum business value fromit." --Neville J. Roach, Managing Director, Fujitsu AustraliaLtd.

Endorsement from Tim Besley to come. Ask Nathalie to have itemailed to her. --Tim Besley, Chairman, Commonwealth Bank ofAustralia CHRISTOPHER SAUER and PHILIP W. YETTON are researchers and consultants affiliated with the Fujitsu Centre for Managing Information Technology in Organizations at the Australian Graduate School of Management. They live in Sydney, Australia. Across firms, industries and economic sectors, IT-based organizational transformation efforts have been unable to consistently generate business advantage -- despite the fact that IT consumes more than fifty percent of new capital investment by business.In this thought-provoking compendium, top IT experts from around the world analyze why transformation efforts built around IT often fail, and share provocative and practical methods for ensuring that IT lives up to its promise. Writing for both IT and general business managers, they zero in on the management competencies required for successful, sustainable change, incorporating case studies and cutting-edge research findings to pinpoint the failings of traditional IT management approaches such as strategic alignment and business process reengineering. They persuasively argue for the integration of the core business unit and the IT function, advocate a new role for IT professionals, stress the importance of managing outcomes rather than process, and provide practical guidelines for turning new ideas into new management practices.Presenting novel and stimulating ways of thinking about the dynamics of change, Steps to the Future includes a challenging vision of what organizations of the future will need to compete -- and helps managers, executives and consultants meet the challenge with a radically new incremental approach to managing the process.Information technology promises much but, as many businesses are finding, it often fails to deliver. Representing the new wave of thinking about IT, this thought-provoking collection assembles leading researchers from four continents, including Dan Robey, Robert Zmud, Robert Galliers, Claudio Ciborra and Robert Benjamin, among others. Writing with deep knowledge of both IT and business, they persuasively argue for the integration of the core business unit and the IT function, advocate a new role for IT professionals, stress the importance of managing outcomes rather tha Information technology promises much but, as many businesses are finding, it often fails to deliver. Representing the new wave of thinking about IT, this thought-provoking collection assembles leading researchers from four continents, including Dan Robey, Robert Zmud, Robert Galliers, Claudio Ciborra and Robert Benjamin, among others. Writing with deep knowledge of both IT and business, they examine why many IT-based transformation efforts disappoint, and offer a variety of creative, practical solutions for managers, executives and consultant alike.