Business, Information Technology and Society

by Tansey; Stephen D

• ISBN13: 9780415192132
• ISBN10: 0415192137
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2002-11-15
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

A complete and readable introduction to the nature and impact of new information and communication technologies on business and society. This book assumes no prior study of either business or information technology. It provides ideal introductory reading on the nature and uses of business information systems for business undergraduates. Computing students will also find it an invaluable guide to the business and social implications of their subject. Although written from a British perspective, it emphasizes the global impact of new technology and draws upon examples from the USA, Europe, Japan and the Newly Industrialized Countries of the Pacific rim. Computing technology develops and is applied as a result of conscious choices both in society as a whole, and within the organizations that use it. It is also constrained by the wider society within which such organizations operate, and influenced by a variety of interactions between people, data, hardware and software, organizations and their socialenvironment. This book emphasizes the need to ensure that IT is deliberately used to serve the public interest in society and the strategy of the organization concerned by considering all kinds of organizations, including manufacturing, services, the public sector and not-for-profit organizations.

Table of Contents

List of figures	viii
List of tables	ix
List of case studies	x
List of boxes	xi
List of exercises	xiii
Introduction	xv
Acknowledgements	xviii
PART I The environment of computing	1	(134)
The environment of computing: a systems approach	3	(34)
Topics	3	(1)
Business and information technology	3	(1)
Information systems	4	(6)
Systems thinking	10	(4)
Systems analysis	14	(5)
Technical systems: hardware and software	19	(14)
Social systems	33	(1)
Technology and social systems	34	(2)
Recommended reading	36	(1)
The IT industry and the information economy	37	(41)
Topics	37	(1)
A complex industry	38	(21)
The global information matrix	59	(3)
Information economics	62	(6)
A new industrial revolution?	68	(5)
Defining and measuring the information economy	73	(1)
IT and employment	74	(3)
Recommended reading	77	(1)
Government, globalization and information technology	78	(27)
Topics	78	(1)
Government and the economy	78	(1)
The role of government in relation to IT	79	(14)
National and regional approaches to IT	93	(7)
Globalization, information technology and government	100	(4)
Recommended reading	104	(1)
Regulating computing	105	(30)
Topics	105	(1)
Computers and privacy	105	(7)
IT standards	112	(3)
Intellectual property and IT	115	(8)
Organizational information management rules	123	(3)
Governing the Internet	126	(1)
Legal regulation and computer abuse	126	(8)
Answers to questions on intellectual property	134	(1)
Recommended reading	134	(1)
PART II The workplace and IT	135	(68)
IT and organizations	137	(37)
Topics	137	(1)
Organizations and IT: background	137	(5)
Competitive advantage and IT	142	(8)
Information strategy	150	(5)
Managing IT projects	155	(16)
The future of IT and organizations	171	(1)
Discussion of stakeholder exercises	171	(2)
Recommended reading	173	(1)
IT and jobs	174	(29)
Topics	174	(1)
IT and the quality of jobs	174	(2)
Ergonomics and IT	176	(8)
The design of jobs with IT	184	(7)
Industrial relations and IT	191	(3)
Teleworking	194	(1)
Gender and IT	195	(3)
Management skills and IT	198	(3)
Recommended reading	201	(2)
PART III IT and the environment	203	(27)
IT and society: the need for choice	205	(25)
Topics	205	(1)
The social implications of an information society	205	(1)
Leisure and the home	206	(1)
Education and information technology	207	(4)
Culture and cyberspace	211	(3)
IT and divisions in society	214	(2)
Communities and IT	216	(6)
The physical environment and IT	222	(2)
Democracy, government and IT	224	(4)
Information technology in a democratic society	228	(1)
Conclusion	229	(1)
Recommended reading	229	(1)
Glossary, including acronyms and abbreviations	230	(9)
On-line resources	239	(2)
Bibliography	241	(8)
Index	249