Preface

Essentials of Management Information Systems: Organization and Technology in the Networked Enterprise (Fourth Edition) is based on the premise that it is difficult, if not impossible, to manage a modern organization without at least some knowledge of information systems—hey are, how they affect the organization and its employees, and how they can make businesses more competitive and efficient. Information systems have become essential for creating competitive firms, managing global corporations, and providing useful products and services to customers. This book provides an introduction to management information systems that undergraduate and MBA students will find vital to their professional success.

The Information Revolution in Business and Management:
The New Role of Information Systems

The growth of the Internet, globalization of trade, and the emergence of information economies, have recast the role of information systems in business and management. The Internet is becoming the foundation for new business models, new business processes, and new ways of distributing knowledge. Traditional firms are finding they can use the Internet to organize suppliers, manage production, and deliver to customers. Internally, companies can use the Internet and networking technology to conduct more of their work electronically, seamlessly linking factories, offices, and sales forces around the globe. Companies such as Coca-Cola, Dell Computer, and Procter & Gamble are extending these networks to suppliers, customers, and other groups outside the organization so they can react instantly to customer demands and market shifts. WhenCoca-Cola corporate managers use information systems to examine their daily operations, they are able to find out exactly which bottling plant and which channels were used to sell Cola-Cola in a 500 milliliter bottle in any supermarket throughout the world. This digital integration both within the firm and without, from the warehouse to the executive suite, from suppliers to customers, is changing how we organize and manage a business firm. Accordingly, we have changed the subtitle of this text to Organization and Technology in the Networked Enterprise.

New to the Fourth Edition

The Internet has created a universal platform for buying and selling goods. Its technology also provides powerful capabilities for driving important business processes inside the company and for linking such processes electronically to those of other organizations. This edition more fully explores the electronic business uses of the Internet for the management of the firm as well as the Internet's growing role in electronic commerce. It includes detailed treatment of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and related technology for creating extended enterprises that electronically link the firm to suppliers and other industry partners. The text provides a complete set of tools for integrating the Internet and multimedia technology into the MIS course and for promoting interactive problem solving. The following features and content reflect this new direction:

DETAILED COVERAGE OF ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING
SYSTEMS AND EXTENDED ENTERPRISES

We introduce enterprise resource planning systems in Chapter 3 and provide descriptions, discussions, and case studies of enterprise systems throughout the text. We detail the management organization, and technology issues surrounding the implementation of enterprise systems and the use of these systems, the Internet, and other technologies to link with other organizations in industry-wide networks and global supply chains.

MORE ACTIVE HANDS-ON LEARNING

This edition contains several new features to help students make text concepts more meaningful by applying them in active hands-on learning projects.

New Management Decision Problems
We have added a Management Decision Problem to each chapter to encourage students to apply what they have learned to a real-world management decision-making scenario. These problems can be used for practical group or individual learning both in and outside of the classroom. The problems require students to use quantitative data to make decisions based on real-world MIS issues such as:

• Reducing operating costs (Chapter 3)
• Measuring the effectiveness of Web advertising (Chapter 8)
• Monitoring how much time employees spend on the Web (Chapter 14)

New Hands-on Application Exercises
Each chapter now features a hands-on Application Exercise where students can develop a solution using spreadsheet, database, expert system, CASE, or electronic presentation software. Some of these exercises require students to use these application software tools in conjunction with Web activities. The Application Exercises give students the opportunity to apply their software skills and text concepts in management problem solving. The complete Application Exercises along with required data files can be found at the Laudon and Laudon Web site. The Application Exercises include business problems such as:

• Developing a Web page for a small business
• Developing a hotel reservation database and management reporting system
• Developing a spreadsheet application for information technology risk assessment

INCREASED COVERAGE OF ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
AND ELECTRONIC BUSINESS

The Internet, electronic commerce, and electronic business are introduced in Chapter 1 and integrated throughout the text and the entire learning package. A full chapter, entitled The Internet: Electronic Commerce and Electronic Business (Chapter 8), describes the underlying technology, capabilities, and benefits of the Internet, with expanded treatment of electronic commerce, Internet business models, and the use of intranets for the internal management of the firm. Every chapter contains a Window On box or case study devoted to electronic commerce or electronic business, as well as in-text descriptions of how the Internet is changing a particular aspect of information systems.

ENHANCED COMPANION WEB SITE

The Laudon & Laudon Web site has been enhanced to provide a wide array of capabilities for interactive learning and management problem solving that have been carefully prepared for use with the text. They include:

Electronic Commerce Projects for Every Chapter
On the Web site are Web-based Electronic Commerce exercises for each chapter. Students can use interactive software at various company Web sites to solve specific problems related to chapter concepts.

Two of these Electronic Commerce projects are longer and more comprehensive than the others. The first asks students to explore various Internet business models on the Web and develop an Internet strategy for a new business. The second asks students to research and analyze technology, design, training, and other cost components of a new Web site and calculate its Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).

Interactive Study Guide and Internet
Connections for Each Chapter
For each chapter of the text, the Web site features an Interactive Study Guide and Internet Connection exercise.

• The on-line Interactive Study Guide helps students review and test their mastery of chapter concepts with a series of multiple-choice, true-false, and essay questions.
• Internet Connections noted by marginal icons in the chapter direct students to exercises and projects on the Laudon Web site related to organizations and concepts in that chapter.<.LI>

Hands-on Application Exercise for Every Chapter
The Laudon Web site contains the complete description of the hands-on application software exercise for each chapter with data files required for the projects and links to relevant Web sites.

Message Boards and Chat Rooms
The Message Board allows users to post messages and check back periodically for responses. Chat Rooms allow users to discuss course topics in real-time and enable professors to host online classes.

Additional Case Studies
The Web site contains additional case studies with hyperlinks to the Web sites of the organizations they discuss.

Technology Updates
The Web site provides monthly technology updates to keep instructors and students abreast of leading-edge technology changes.

International Resources
Links to Web sites of non-U.S. companies are provided for users interested in more international material.

Unique Features of This Text

TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATED WITH CONTENT

An interactive CD-ROM multimedia version of the text can be purchased as an optional item. In addition to the full text and bullet text summaries by chapter, the CD-ROM features interactive exercises, simulations, audio/ video overviews explaining key concepts, on-line quizzes, hyperlinks to the exercises on the Laudon Web site, technology updates, and more. Students can use the CD-ROM as an interactive supplement or as an alternative to the traditional text.

TOOLS FOR INTERACTIVE LEARNING

A Tools for Interactive Learning section concluding each chapter shows students how they can extend their knowledge of each chapter with projects and exercises on the Laudon Web site and the optional CD-ROM multimedia edition.

INTEGRATED FRAMEWORK FOR DESCRIBING
AND ANALYZING INFORMATION SYSTEMS

REAL-WORLD EXAMPLES

Real-world examples drawn from business and public organizations are used throughout to illustrate text concepts. More than 100 companies in the United States and nearly 100 organizations in Canada, Europe, Australia, Asia, and Africa are discussed.

Each chapter contains three Window-On boxes (Window on Management, Window on Organizations, Window on Technology) that present real-world examples illustrating the management, organization, and technology issues in the chapter. Each Window-On box concludes with a section called To Think About containing questions for students to apply chapter concepts to management problem solving. The themes for each box are:

• Window on Management
  Management problems raised by systems and their solution; management strategies and plans; careers and experiences of managers using systems.
• Window on Technology
  Hardware, software, telecommunications, data storage, standards, and systems-building methodologies.
• Window on Organizations
  Activities of private and public organizations using information systems; experiences of people working with systems.

MANAGEMENT WRAP-UP OVERVIEWS OF KEY ISSUES

Management Wrap-Up sections at the end of each chapter summarize key issues using the authors' management, organization, and technology framework for analyzing information systems.

A TRULY INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

In addition to a full chapter on managing international information systems (Chapter 15), all chapters of the text are illustrated with real-world examples from nearly one hundred corporations in Canada, Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa, Australia, and the Middle East. Each chapter contains at least one Window-On box, case study, or opening vignette drawn from a non-U.S. firm, and often more. The text concludes with five major international case studies contributed by leading MIS experts in Canada, Europe, Singapore, and Australia—Len Fertuck, University of Toronto (Canada); Gerhard Schwabe, University of Koblenz (Germany); Andrew Boynton, Donald Marchand, and Janet Shaner, International Institute for Management Development (Switzerland); Boon Siong Neo and Christina Soh, Nanyang Technological University (Singapore); and Joel B. Barolsky, Paul Richardson, and Peter Weill, University of Melbourne, (Australia).

ATTENTION TO SMALL BUSINESSES AND ENTREPRENEURS

A blue diamond-shaped symbol identifies in-text discussions and specially designated chapter-opening vignettes, Window-On boxes, and ending case studies that highlight the experiences and challenges of small businesses and entrepreneurs using information systems.

PEDAGOGY TO PROMOTE ACTIVE LEARNINC AND
MANACEMENT PROBLEM SOLVINC

In addition to the new Management Decision Problems and hands-on Application Exercises, the text contains many other features that encourage students to learn actively and to engage in management problem solving.

Group Projects
At the end of each chapter is a group project that encourages students to develop teamwork and oral and written presentation skills. The group projects have been enhanced in this edition to make even better use of the Internet. For instance, students might be asked to work in small groups to evaluate the Web sites of two competing businesses or to develop a corporate ethics code on privacy that considers e-mail privacy and the monitoring of employees using networks.

Management Challenges Section
Each chapter begins with several challenges relating to the chapter topic that managers are likely to encounter. These challenges are multifaceted and sometimes pose dilemmas. They make excellent springboards for class discussion. Some of these Management Challenges are: finding the right Internet business model; overcoming the organizational obstacles to building a database environment; and agreeing on quality standards for information systems.

Case Studies
Each chapter concludes with a case study base$ on a real-world organization. These cases help students synthesize chapter concepts and apply this new knowledge to concrete problems and scenarios. Major international case studies and electronic case studies at the Laudon & Laudon Web site provide additional opportunities for management problem solving.

Book Overview

Part One is concerned with the organizational foundations of systems and their emerging strategic role. It provides an extensive introduction to real-world systems, focusing on their relationship to organizations, management, and business processes.

Part Two provides the technical foundation for understanding information systems, describing the hardware, software, storage, and telecommunications technologies that comprise the organization's information technology (IT) infrastructure. Part Two concludes by describing how all of these information technologies work together through the Internet to create a new infrastructure for electronic commerce and electronic business.

Part Three focuses on the process of redesigning organizations using information systems, including reengineering of critical business processes. We see systems analysis and design as an exercise in organizational design, one that requires great sensitivity to the right tools and techniques, quality assurance, and change management.

Part Four describes the role of information systems in capturing and distributing organizational knowledge and in enhancing management decision making. It shows how knowledge management, work group collaboration, and individual and group decision making can be supported by the use of knowledge work, group collaboration, artificial intelligence, decision support, and executive support systems.

Part Five concludes the text by examining the special management challenges and opportunities created by the pervasiveness and power of contemporary information systems and the global connectivity of the Internet: ensuring security and control, understanding the ethical and social consequences of systems, and developing global systems. Throughout the text, emphasis is placed on using information technology to redesign the organization's products, services, procedures, jobs, and management structures; numerous examples are drawn from multinational systems and global business environments.

CHAPTER OUTLINE

Each chapter contains the following:

• A detailed outline at the beginning to provide an overview
• A diagram analyzing the opening vignette in terms of the management, organization, and technology model used throughout the text
• An opening vignette describing a real-world organization to establish the theme and importance of the chapter
• A list of learning objectives
• Management Challenges related to the chapter theme
• Marginal glosses of key terms in the text
• An Internet Connection icon directing students to related material on the Internet
• A Management Decision Problem presenting a real-world management decision scenario
• A Management Wrap-Up tying together the key management, organization, and technology issues for the chapter, with questions for discussion
• A chapter summary keyed to the learning objectives
• A list of key terms that the student can use to review concepts
• Review questions for students to test their comprehension of chapter material
• A group project to develop teamwork and presentation skills
• A Tools for Interactive Learning section showing specifically how the chapter can be integrated with the Laudon Web site and the optional CD-ROM edition of the text
• A chapter-ending case study that illustrates important themes

Instructional Support Materials

INSTRUCTOR'S RESOURCE CD-ROM (0-13-027933-1)

Most of the support materials described below are now conveniently provided for adopters on the Instructor's Resource CD-ROM. The CD includes the Instructor's Resource Manual, Test Item File, Windows PH Test Manager, PowerPoint slides, and the helpful lecture tool "Image Library."

IMAGE LIBRARY

The Image Library is a wonderful resource to help instructors create vibrant lecture presentations. Just about every figure and photo found in the text is provided and organized by chapter for your convenience. A complete listing of the images and their copyright information are also provided. These images and lecture notes can be easily imported into Microsoft PowerPoint to create new presentations or to add to existing sets.

INSTRUCTOR'S MANUAL (0-13-027931-5)

The Instructor's Manual, written by Dr. Glenn Bottoms of Gardner-Webb University, features not only answers to review, discussion, case study, and group project questions, but also an in-depth lecture outline, teaching objectives, key terms, teaching suggestions, and Internet resources. This supplement can be downloaded from the secure faculty section of the Laudon & Laudon Web site, and is also available on the Instructor's Resource CD-ROM.

TEST ITEM FILE (0-13-027935-8)

The Test Item File is a comprehensive collection of true-false, multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, and essay questions, written by Dr. Lisa Miller of the University of Central Oklahoma. The questions are rated by difficulty level and answers are referenced by section. An electronic version of the Test Item File is available as the Windows PH Test Manager on the Instructor's Resource CD-ROM.

POWERPOINT SLIDES (0N WEB AND INSTRUCTOR'S CD-ROM)

VIDEOS

Prentice Hall MIS Video, Volume I (0-13-027199-3)
The first video in the Prentice Hall MIS Video Library includes custom clips created exclusively for Prentice Hall featuring real companies such as Andersen Consulting, Land's End, Lotus Development Corporation, Oracle Corporation, and Pillsbury Company.

Prentice Hall MIS Video, Volume 2 (0-13-027929-3)
Video clips are provided to adopters to enhance class discussion and projects. These clips highlight real-world corporations and organizations and illustrate key concepts found in the text.

WEB SITE

The Laudon & Laudon text is once again supported by an excellent Web site at http://www.prenhall.com./laudon that truly reinforces and enhances text material with Electronic Commerce Projects, hands-on Application Exercises, Internet Exercises, an Interactive Study Guide, International Resources, and PowerPoint slides. The Web site also features a secure password-protected faculty area from which instructors can download the Instructor's Manual, MIS Video Guides, and "suggested answers to the Internet Connections and E-Commerce Projects. Please see its complete description found earlier in this preface.

ON-LINE COURSE

The Essentials of Management Information Systems: Organization and Technology in the Networked Enterprise (Fourth Edition) On-line Course can help you create and implement a high-quality distance learning course with relative ease. The course allows you to customize the Laudon & Laudon course content and integrate your own custom materials.

The course features: lecture notes with discussion questions, Internet Exercises, off-line activities that offer directions to integrate the text and Multimedia CD-ROM, on-line quizzes (auto-scored and recorded), test item database and test preparation tools (auto-scored and recorded), glossary, e-mail accounts for students and instructors, and a bulletin board.

A wizard program guides you through the initial stages of course development, including the creation of a password-protected course home page. The Course Management feature automatically grades on-line tests and records scores in your electronic grade book. The Progress Tracking feature lets you monitor individual and overall student progress. The Content Tracking feature tells you how often and for how long each and every student visits.

TUTORIAL SOFTWARE

For instructors looking for Application Software support to use with this text, Prentice Hall is pleased to offer CBT CD-ROMs for Microsoft Office 2000. These exciting tutorial CDs are fully certified up to the expert level of the Microsoft Office User Specialist (MOUS) Certification Program. They are not available as stand-alone items but can be packaged with the Laudon & Laudon text at an additional charge. Please contact your local Prentice Hall representative for more details.