12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Great paperweight, good consolidation of other people's work, October 19, 2002
This book provides various sources of information but no analysis by the book's authors. It is a patch work of case studies, excerpts, and paraphrasing of other texts to which I hope the original authors are getting paid royalties for.
Some of the diagrams are simplistic, others are useless. More than half of them are from other sources.
The book seems to formulate points of interest (e.g. traditional, evolving, and present-day IT roles) without providing analysis of why and how this affects future trends in IS management.
I had to write a review after reading nebulous fluff like, "Being a manufacturer, LifeScan has instituted quality processes." (which successful company doesn't) or "Way back in 1964,..." (not just back, but WAY back). When you do read something of slight interest it is almost always followed by something like, "so says Mr. so-and-so, in this-paper-that-he-wrote." (e.g. pp. 126-127 whenever "Rayport and Sviokla" is mentioned - 4 times in about 1 page of text and in every paragraph - the authors are paraphrasing a point Rayport and Sviokla made)
I'm truly amazed this book is this bad after five revisions. The authors seem to have the right information, but they really need to provide their own insights and analysis. And also have my high school english teacher review it to cut the fluff out.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Better than I expected !!, October 2, 2000
After reading the previous reviews of this course text for my Ph.D., I was very concerned about HAVING to spend this kind of money for a "know-nothing" text. However, I was pleasantly surprised. The level of depth of this text is very good and I found the authors, while not necessarily that original, did an excellent job of creating relationship bridges between their various topics included in the book. Their level of coverage of specific topics in the case studies waxed and waned but for the most part added very well to the intent of the text.
This is an excellent text for people stepping up to management levels within Information Systems or just beginning to get their feet wet in IS Strategic Planning. It even offers some insights that experienced IS Managers might not have reached in the past.
Overall, a very good general treatment and introduction to the field.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
A SIMPLE TREATMENT OF A COMPLEX SUBJECT, June 11, 1999
By A Customer
This text is little more than definitions, dated interviews with IS/IT execs and simple guidelines. If looking for relevant IT/IS information - pass!
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