The E-Commerce Question and Answer Book: A Survival Guide for Business Managers (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

One need watch only a few minutes of television commercials to realize how big a phenomenon e-commerce has become. Even the Library of Congress has had to act, adding a new classification number (HF5548.32) to accommodate a spate of books on the topic. Rosen now adds her expertise. She is a consultant specializing in Internet and intranet management and marketing strategies and has worked with the American Management Association. She is also the author of Looking into Intranets and the Internet (1997). Starting with a basic explanation of how the Internet works and what e-commerce is, Rosen goes on to consider its technology requirements, recommend ways of incorporating e-commerce into one's overall marketing strategy, identify various e-commerce services, and demonstrate how to market an e-commerce site. Unlike with more usual question-and-answer formats, Rosen introduces each of her textbooklike chapters with a list of questions that help the reader identify topics of personal interest. Rosen's guide successfully provides practical tips for putting together a plan for implementing e-commerce. David Rouse

Review

"...will not only help you get your feet wet, but will help your business make the e-splash you desire." -- Home Office Computing

"A good overview explained in non-techie English." -- Teresa McUsic, Nationally Syndicated Columnist

"It's an excellent resource for managers who want to get a leg up before they're in knee deep." -- Working Woman

"It’s an excellent resource for managers who want to get a leg up before they’re in knee deep." END -- Working Woman

"This book will not only help you get your feet wet, but will help your business make the e-splash desired." -- Home Office Computing

Ms. Rosen's book is aimed at current managersand wadesdeeply ... into the technological nitty-gritty. -- Toronto Globe & Mail, April 5, 2000

This book does a great job of providing insights into how to build a successful e-commerce business. -- The Times Herald July 15, 2002

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: AMACOM; illustrated edition edition (December 30, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814405258
• ISBN-13: 978-0814405253
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,598,036 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Forward to Basics, February 24, 2000

By	Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Rosen did not write this book for "dummies." Rather, for anyone (not only for business managers) who needs a thorough briefing on the basic concepts and nomenclature of e-commerce. (The term itself is rapidly being replaced by "e-business which includes but is not limited to "commerce.") I think the book will be especially helpful to school and college students as they prepare themselves for careers. Also for others who may now be reluctant to participate in conversations about the Internet and WWW. Also for still others who need a "briefing" on how their organization can determine what the nature and extent of its involvement in e-commerce can and should be.

Rosen organizes her material within six chapters:

Chapter 1: The Internet Today

Chapter 2: Identifying Your Direction

Chapter 3: E-Commerce Technology

Chapter 4: Creating E-Commerce Services

Chapter 5: Hosting and Supporting E-Commerce

Chapter 6: Marketing an E-Commerce Site

Rosen also provide a crisp summary at the end of each chapter and then a Glossary which is also well done. As the chapter titles and sequence correctly suggest, Rosen begins with the "basics" (as Vince Lombardi always did at the beginning of each new football season, assuming nothing) and then skillfully guides her reader through the process by which to determine appropriate organizational direction; then reviews various relevant technologies; then suggests how e-commerce services can create unique value (eg convenience); then explains what's involved in hosting and supporting e-commerce; and then finally, provides some excellent advice on the all-important task of marketing a website (or Web site).

Is this the definitive book in the subject? No. It wasn't intended to be. (Nor could any one book ever be. The business world is changing too fast.) Will this book be helpful to substantial numbers of people? You bet. Were I the owner of a small-to-midsize company, for example, and we were planning to get heavily involved in e-commerce, I'd buy a copy for every key person in the company and then conduct a rigorous group discussion of it. To paraphrase Henry Ford, whether you think you need this book or think you don't, you're probably right. .

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An EXCELLENT guide to making sense of the Internet, May 12, 2000

By	P. Mullen "author_goldwater" (northern California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Very helpful guide...clear, concise & always to the point. We're a nontechnical company (construction) moving a major part of our business toward e-commerce. This book identified and explained many of the issues & questions we'd been stumbling over. Highly recommend it as both a primer and a blueprint for taking on the e-commerce world.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great starter for technical folks and business people, March 26, 2000

By A Customer

This book is published so technical people can understand the business perspective of e-commerce and also so business people can understand the technical side of e-commerce. It caters to both audiences without being too boring or too difficult. It is also organized in a question and answer manner that you can quickly get the information you want out of it. You can read the entire book in very little time by skipping over the "tell me more" sections that you don't care to know more about and get more information by reading the "tell me more" sections that you do want to know more about.

The book does seem to be talking to the medium sized business, but all the information is still relevant to the small business person to see the bigger picture of e-commerce for their business. The book is not an exhaustive reference, but it is a good read for anyone getting started who needs to understand the business of getting on-line with your business -- quickly.