James W. Cortada

How Societies Embrace Information Technology

Lessons for Management and the Rest of Us

• Broschiertes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

This book discusses how computers are shaping contemporary society, with a tight focus on the role of corporations and governments. It is aimed at government policymakers interested in economic development and at private-sector managers who routinely make decisions to acquire and use information technology, now a worldwide expenditure of over $2 trillion annually. The book will also interest a wide range of academics concerned with the sociology, history, economics, and the effects of IT on contemporary society, ands to the general trade market. A truly global look at IT deployment and use
No technology in our history has spread as fast as computers and their digital technologies. In How Societies Embrace Information Technology, leading IT authority James Cortada examines how this phenomenon is shaping contemporary society, focusing on the role of corporations and governments. By revealing what history teaches about the adoption of information technologies, Cortada prepares business and government leaders to spot new trends and successfully develop strategies for implementing and managing emerging technologies. Coverage includes:
Summaries of the new best practices based on sixty years of historical experience, all research-based
How technology spread so quickly and completely across the globe
A look at the decision-making process of managers in the private and public sectors
How governments leverage IT to improve their national economies
An examination of the "Information Age" and whether it actually exists
The most current developments in IT
This authoritative reference is ideal for government policymakers and for private-sector managers who routinely make decisions to acquire and use information technology. It is also aimed at academics concerned with the sociology, history, economics, and the effects of IT on contemporary society, as well as business schools and engineering and IT professionals serving in management roles or interested in the managerial/user history of IT.
The author's royalties on sales of this book will be donated to the IEEE Computer Society's Educational Activities Board.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Wiley & Sons
• 1. Auflage
• Seitenzahl: 288
• Erscheinungstermin: 1. November 2009
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 234mm x 156mm x 16mm
• Gewicht: 471g
• ISBN-13: 9780470534984
• ISBN-10: 0470534982
• Artikelnr.: 27869511

Autorenporträt

James W. Cortada has thirty-five years of experience with IBM in various sales, consulting, and managerial positions related to information technology and its use. In particular, he helped design and deploy processes related to employee skills development, including IBM's worldwide consultant skills certification process, sales processes, and specialized training seminars. An author of more than fifty books on the management and history of information technology, Cortada's work has been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, and Korean.

Inhaltsangabe

Preface. 1 Introducing the Big Picture. The presence of information
technology. Megatrends at work. How societies use technology to shape their
world. Notes and references. 2 How Computers Spread Around the World So
Fast. Definitions and issues. Government-supported/private-sector-driven
model. National champion model. Asian private-sector-driven model. Planned
economy: public policy model. Industry-driven model. Corporate diffusion
model. Application diffusion model. Technology-standards diffusion model.
Patterns, practices, and implications. Notes and references. 3 How
Governments Leverage Information Technologies to Improve Their National
Economies. A brief historical reminder. Economic development in a connected
world: the big picture. How governments use it to encourage economic
development. What motivates governments to encourage their citizens and
economies to use it?. Emerging strategies for the most advanced nations
compared to rapidly advancing nations. The special role of labor. Global
recession, twenty-first century style. Implications for public officials.
Implications for business leaders. The way forward with policies and
practices. Notes and references. 4 How Managers and Officials Decide What
Technology to Use. The kinds of decisions made by managers. Types of
justification. Managerial practices. Some possible less effective
practices. Special role of industries. Path forward. Notes and references.
5 Adding Up the Results So Far: Do We Now Live in the Information Age? Why
naming an age is a useful exercise and so hard to do. What historians can
teach us about the process. The case against the information age. Can we
coexist on the frontiers of a new age? Lessons for management and a
strategy for change. Concluding thoughts. Notes and references. 6 An
Expanding Role for Scientists and Engineers. The rise of the computer
scientist. Their role in modern society. When scientists and tech folk take
things into their own hands. When technologists go green. Their future
world. An old role made new. Notes and references. 7 Looking Down the Road
into the Twenty-First Century. How to see the future of an industry.
Knowing how information technology is evolving. A strategy for managers and
public officials. Special role of the computer science community. The
ultimate trend. Notes and references. 8 Keeping Up: Bibliographic Essay.
The big picture. How computers spread around the world. Governments
leveraging it for economic development. Deciding what technology to use.
Living in the information age. Role of technologists. Into the twenty-first
century. Index.