Business Systems Books

Alan Calder's A BUSINESS GUIDE TO INFORMATION SECURITY: HOW TO PROTECT YOUR COMPANY'S IT ASSETS, REDUCE RISKS AND UNDERSTAND THE LAW comes web-enabled with updates on the latest content available with a special ID provided herein. Data has a huge value to individuals and businesses alike: unfortunately, it's equally attractive to thieves. Chapters explain the myriad of protection issues, form handling hacking attempts and spyware to viruses and more, providing easy explanations and strategies to strengthen a company's data holdings.

Three themes knit together Peter Keen's wide-ranging study of multimedia. The first and opening one is the claim that, unlike networks which just move information, multimedia humanizes it. Multimedia is essentially about making digital information seem natural and common sensible to people (p. 193). Multimedia presentation to the human senses is self-evident and self-justifying. Thus, one of the explanation of multimedia promised and delivered by Keen ends up being Zen. It is paradoxical in that no further explanation is required. It works. Still, many other detailed explanations and through-provoking analyses are offered by Keen for the benefit of the business manager, who along with the executive and business-savy technician form the audience for this text. High on the list of explanatory devices is the notion of "dominant design". Running throughout Keen's work is the task of identifying dominant designs (see James M. Utterback on innovation ). Four breakthrough areas for the application of multimedia to business form an "opportunity checklist" (p. 25). These include knowledge management, customer interaction, natural decision input, and shared understanding. Multimedia produce dramatic results in reducing training costs and improving staff retention of information communicated. Customer service and the power of the ultimate on-line catalog (the Web) - whether delivered over souped-up twisted pair or cable modems - is a realty. Natural decision input and shared understanding are more complex. But ultimately more important. "Visualization is central to everyday human thinking and to synthesizing large volumes of data" (p. 20). Visualizing complexities in finance, manufacturing, and communication renders matters more manageable by making them seem simpler. Watch for dramatic future developments here. In the work place effective understanding between members of workgroups, between customers and salespersons, and between designer and producer, are all enhanced by multimedia presentations and simulations. These themes -- including those of dominant design, self-evident and self-justifying technologies, and the Web as a would-be subset of multimedia - are driven through an alphabetic listing of key concepts and terms. Although this second section runs to over 300 pages and is entitled a Glossary, that term is misleading. Many entries are the equivalent of multi-page, stand alone essays, with facts plus executive briefing style editorial comment. Given the author's impressive command of the language and IT expertise, it makes a rewarding and interesting cover-to-cover read. One key to Keen's success is the promotion of the dialogue between the business and the technical specialists. Multimedia adds an additional dimension to that - be sure to include the design specialist with the skills required to build Web pages or high quality CD-ROM disks. However, in the end, no technology - including multimedia - generates value all by itself. That most precious and limited of commodities, management skill does that. That is Keen's point and the power of his message. --excerpt from my published review in COMPUTING REVIEWS, October 1997

I've put together both an Amazon.com guide and booklist regarding business plans, and this book is included in both. In fact, it is listed as one of the top 3 business plan books in my guide. And it would be listed higher in the booklist if the list were not ranked by copyright date rather than content quality. If you are serious about writing a sound business plan for your small business, then definitely get a copy of this book to help you in your endeavor.

Business plans help a small business get off the ground, get financing, and to expand-grow. To do a business plan correctly requires much research and planning, not to mention the effort to write it all up. The book is split into two parts. Part I is an 86-page treatise on the nuts and bolts of business plans. It is really very well written and covers the full range of topics:

1. Product and service description
2. Market analysis, including industry, competition, target customers, and SWOT
3. Marketing and sales plans
4. Financial plans, including balance sheet, income statement, statement of cash flows, breakeven analysis, sales volumes, and profit margins
5. The company summary
6. Operations and management plans
7. How to write it up in 20-30 pages

Part II is comprised of five sample business plans that include:

1. The plan of a young female entrepreneur who wants to start a video production company
2. The plan of a young female entrepreneur who wants to start a coffee cart business
3. Some guys who want to take their knowledge as sprinkler system installers and build a sprinkler installer business of their own and expand upon that into a complete yard-care business that might someday become a home improvement business
4. Some guys who want to be retailers of commercial fitness equipment in a big way
5. Some guys who want to be retailers and service providers for building elevator systems

The first two business plans require minimal start up costs. The third plan requires more than minimal start up costs. And the last two business plans require significant start up costs.

I really liked the book. As a SCORE counselor I recommend it regularly to my "clients." I would have liked the book better if the sample business plans had appeared to be better researched. I also was turned off a bit by the extent of copy and pasting done in the sample business plans. But for all I know, real-world business plans at the entrepreneurial level have a certain "homegrown" feel rather than the polished ones I am used to seeing in large corporate merger and acquisition files.

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THIS BOOK IS A MUST FOR ANYONE SERIOUSLY INTERESTED IN REENGINEERING CONCEPTS, METHODS AND TECHNOLOGIES.

This book is a comprehensive blueprint for translating business processes into applications to enable those processes. The author approaches this challenging and complex undertaking by framing the blueprint within the context of the development life cycle.

A few key items about the approach: (1) it's based on data and models, which is a correct approach in my opinion, (2) it fully supports component-based architectures, which in turn, promote reusability, and (3) it does not end with release - the author addresses post-deployment issues.

The heaviest emphasis given in this book is on modeling, which depends greatly on requirements management and validation. I especially like the emphasis given to business rules because I believe them to be the best way of documenting and expressing requirements. The reason for this is business rules are expressed in a logical manner and are elicited directly from the intended users. Moreover, well expressed business rules are testable, which means that verification and validation can begin early in the life cycle of an application or system. However, business rules are but one aspect of the approach - the author prescribes an integrated set of models (process, scenario, role, workflow) that enable you to capture the business process being automated from a number of views that will be integrated into requirements and specifications, and translated into the application which will support it. I also like the fact that important milestones, such as test and release to production, are accounted for in the approach.

As much as I like this approach, I am not sure that many organizations will adopt it in its entirety because of the numerous competing methodologies that have found homes (at least in name and lip service) in larger companies. It's the larger companies that typically embark on projects of the magnitude described in this book. However, even if the entire approach is not adopted, many components of the author's approach can certainly be adapted to fit within any methodology. Also, some of the boutique consulting companies might find this approach useful because if it's followed with a strong commitment to *completely* perform in accordance with the author's methods it can be used as a differentiator in a competitive bid.

If you are seeking guidance on the benefits for a process-centric corporation and what corporation need to do to become process centric, this is a good book on the topic. The book is well written, well organized, and the discussions reflect much wisdom.

An especially good section the writing on the proces-centric-versus the functional management style.

My only quible is that it is a bit expensive.

I've found the book very easy to go through. Comming from an IT backgroud, it does give you very good general background on BMP business past and current business trends.

The IT concepts described in the book are very well described for such a book.

References coverage in each chapter is the most valuable part. You can see easily the book is a result of several years of work.

This is a must read for CEOs and change agents seeking to transform their companies' go-to-market models delivering business solutions that create value for their customers. It provides a comprehensive analysis of the forces shaping today's hyper-competitive landscape. The reader will learn to appreciate the dialectic of migrating from traditionally selling products to selling solutions to ultimately creating economic value for customers. Excellent up to the moment thought leadership regarding best practices for sales/marketing management. Indispensable for individuals trying to get a handle on how to compete more intelligently in today's brutally competitive marketplace.

"Outlines power bases; strategies which gain influence; tactics which get results; access to key people; and how to build relationships. The authors reiterate the need for a less adversarial reltationship between business and government since corporate strategic planning cannot be separated from planning in government and economics. Small print, dry reading, but well developed with good statistics (on the growth of Political Action Committees, for example) and other useful information." Library Journal

"I believe it is extremely topical and important for the business community to understand how to make use of the Washington arena. ...a very impressive book." Senator John McCain,Arizona

I treasure this "hard to find" book. If you are into strategic management, you would get an instant "easy to understand" presentation of the typologies. The knowledge base is amazing, with software support to enable user assess business units' strategic processes and explore virtual what-if scenarios. Undoubtedly, this is a book for discerning strategy educators and practitioners.