The Great Transition: Using the Seven Disciplines of Enterprise Engineering to Align People, Technology, and Strategy [Hardcover]

James Martin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 27, 1995

This guide explains how to combine the forces of information technology, culture and strategies, to create an enterprise which constantly evolves, adapts to fast-changing demands, and continually learns at all levels. The book also: explains how to integrated the three critical aspects of an organization - culture, strategy and technology - into an "intimate partnership; and presents the author's approach - "enterprise engineering" - a sophisticated provess for creating a unique "family" of change-methods tailored to meet each company's needs. Using the enterprise engineering approach, readers learn how to: comprehend the enormous power of information technology, which is both creating this new dimension and enabling companies to make the trasition; and to understand and distinguish all the major change methods, such as TQM, radical reinvention of business process, enterprise redesign and strategic visioning. James Martin is the author of "The Wired Society" for which he won a the Pulitzer Prize nomination.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 520 pages
• Publisher: AMACOM (October 27, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814403158
• ISBN-13: 978-0814403150
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,258,687 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An important book; not Martin's Best, but essential reading, February 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Great Transition: Using the Seven Disciplines of Enterprise Engineering to Align People, Technology, and Strategy (Hardcover)

There is one quote in this book which alone makes it worth the price of purchase: "Most systems being developed today are the wrong systems." The book essentially explains why this is true and what to do about it. Anyone building enterprise systems needs to understand this concept and reckon with it. Ignore it at your own risk. While the book is not fun to read because it does not take this ball and run with it clearly and forcefully starting at the beginning and proceeding to the end, it illuminates the subject in important ways -- vital ways. Martin's mind operates at a higher speed and in different ways from the minds of most people ... and he is usually right. I'd be suspect of anyone claiming the capability to build systems today who does not understand the issues and concepts in this book. Buy it and read it, then read it again.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, October 12, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Great Transition: Using the Seven Disciplines of Enterprise Engineering to Align People, Technology, and Strategy (Hardcover)

The great transition is a great disappointment for people trying to understand transformational change and organization alignment. The work is largely a compilation of ideas, stories, and other items generated by others over the last 20 years. People looking for the same degree of clarity found in Martin's groundbreaking Information Engineering series will be sorely disappointed. There are many better works on this subject than this. Sorry, but this ones not worth the time or the money in my opinion.

1.0 out of 5 stars Great Disappointment, June 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Great Transition: Using the Seven Disciplines of Enterprise Engineering to Align People, Technology, and Strategy (Hardcover)

Martin does another disservice to his readers with this book. It is a compliation of anecdotes, stories and hype. It also contains repetitive material from his other books.

Sadly, it is not recomnmended.