Business Darwinism : evolve or dissolve, adaptive strategies for the information age / Eric A. Marks.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Marks, Eric A.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Corporations--Computer networks.

Corporations.

Information technology--Management.

Information technology.

Electronic commerce.

Internet.

Physical Description:

xviii, 270 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Wiley, [2002]

Summary:

Organizations facing financial difficulty often resort to tried-and-true fixes such as reorganizations, staff reductions, or new marketing campaigns. But for many companies these are stopgap solutions that do nothing to rectify the real problem -- an outdated business model ill equipped to deal with the pressures of business in the New Economy, a world where flexibility and adaptability are vital components of success. The concept of Business Darwinism provides a framework and a new operating model for meeting today's business demands while preparing for tomorrow's possibilities. Future success demands that companies evolve an adaptable business model that can roll with the punches. Business Darwinism offers a macro-level model for using information technology and business initiatives to manage organizational change.

The successful evolution of any company is predicated on its ability to use information to its strategic advantage. But most firms have not invested properly in their information capabilities to allow them to compete in the New Economy. They manage their information assets based on cost control rather than information value. These companies miss opportunities to create competitive advantage based on information and knowledge. Business Darwinism introduces new techniques for restructuring the role of information management to deliver added information value. It offers a new set of metrics for measuring information value and shows organizations how to build information management processes and business intelligence into their core business operations -- equipping them for rapid evolution and unforeseen change.

The author provides illustrative examples that showcase the real-world application of the business evolution framework for companies across all industries -- from manufacturing to financial services. Profiles of companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Nokia, Intel, and others are included to help business leaders understand the practical utility of the evolutionary model. Business Darwinism: Evolve or Dissolve links corporate strategy, business models, and business and IT architecture into a coherent model for driving business and technology initiatives that help a firm survive, compete, and adapt to today's business world -- and tomorrow's.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Business Darwinism and Digital Evolution 1

Adaptive Advantage: Culture 3

Human versus Corporate Evolution 4

Information: A Key Adaptive Mechanism 5

Principle of Information Darwinism 8

Breaking Down Information Darwinism: Part One 10

How Do Winning Firms Survive Information Darwinism? 13

Information Mastery: Value Discipline of the Next Wave 15

Breaking Down Information Darwinism: Part Two 17

How Do Winning Firms Survive Information Darwinism? 19

Business 2.0 E-Biz 100 21

Examples of Companies That "Get It" 23

Evolution of Organizational Models to Support Information Functions 28

Corporate Brain-to-Body Ratio 28

Unleashing Information Value 29

Chapter 2 Welcome to Today (Yesterday Revisited) 32

Laboratory of Change 32

Change as Life

Life as Change 34

Technology-Driven Change 34

Brief Technology Tour 35

Industrial Revolution 37

Second Industrial Revolution 37

Enter the Transistor 39

Enter the Internet: Why the Internet Is Different 40

Incumbents and Hybrids Move to the Middle 41

Internet Impact 42

Welcome to the Network Age 43

End of the First Wave: Recent Technotrends 44

Beginning of the Next Wave 45

Business Implications 45

Competitive Technologies (for the Next Wave) 46

Digital Dilemma: Preparing for the Next Wave 47

Looking Ahead to the Nth Wave 48

Chapter 3 Evolutionary Metaphors for Business 50

Evolution as a Guide to the Future 52

Environment, Natural Selection, and Survival of the Fittest 52

Evolution and Adaptation 53

Natural Selection 53

Competition 54

Business Environment 56

Punctuated Equilibrium and Change 56

Punctuated Equilibrium and the Business Environment 57

Corporations Are Living Organisms 59

Nature of the Firm: How Companies Survive, Compete, Replicate, and Adapt 61

How Did Corporations Evolve? 62

How Corporations Survive 66

Business Darwinism: What Is Fitness for Corporations? 67

How Corporations Compete 67

Replication: How Do Corporations Reproduce? 69

Corporate DNA 72

Corporate DNA versus Corporate Culture 74

What Is the Difference between Corporate Culture and Corporate DNA? 75

How Corporations Adapt (or Competing Against Change) 75

Change: The Competitive Constant 76

Adaptation for Short and Long Time Frames 76

Proactive Adaptation: Future-Focused Change 77

Chapter 4 Evolution of Information Technology Organizations and Strategies 81

Rise of Information Technology 82

Origins of Financial Applications 83

Client-Server Architecture and the Rise of the Departmental Application 85

Manufacturing Meets the Wintel Duopoly 86

Enter the Enterprise Application 87

Organizational Structures and Outcomes 89

Organizing: IT: Principles First 91

Why Alignment Is Not the Problem 95

Role of IT Has Changed, But Management Did Not Realize It 96

IT Organizational Strategies and Principles 96

Chapter 5 Information Management in Business Evolution 99

New Role of IT 100

Architecture, Architecture, Architecture 101

Mapping IT Architecture to Business Fitness 105

Infrastructure 105

Transactional Systems 110

Informational Technology 111

Strategic Technology 113

Developing an Evolutionary IT Portfolio 114

Patterns of Evolutionary IT Architecture Management 115

Implications for Information Mastery 120

Chapter 6 Information-Based Business Modeling 123

Corporate Strategies and Business Initiatives 123

Core Strategy 128

Strategic Resources 129

Configuration: Linking Core Strategy to Strategic Resources 130

Information's Role in Configuring the Corporation 130

Customer Interfaces 132

Customer Benefits: Linking Core Strategy to Customer Interface 135

Information Role in Benefit Creation and Delivery 135

Value Network 136

Company Boundaries: Linking Strategic Resources to the Value Network 138

Information Role in Defining Company Boundaries 138

Wealth Potential of the Business Model 139

Strategic Flexibility 141

Portfolio Breadth 142

Operating Agility 143

Lower Breakevens 144

Information-Based Force Multipliers 144

Creating the Information Mastery Agenda in an Evolving Corporation 145

Chapter 7 Business Evolutionary Strategies 156

Macro-Model of Business Evolution: Orchestrating Change 158

Capacity for Change: Corporate Mutation Rates 163

Flexing Corporate Muscle: Business Architecture and IT Architecture 169

Flexing the Business Architecture 169

Flexing the IT Architecture 171

Double Flexing: Business and IT Architecture Interplay 174

Fitness Levers: Metrics and Feedback 175

Examples of Business Evolution in Action 181

Hewlett-Packard's Journey 181

Working the Model 183

Chapter 8 Business Evolution Theory and Practice 191

Business Evolution Strategies: Survive and Compete 195

Protect the Core Business Survival System 195

What Is Core? 196

Make Core Process as Efficient as Possible: Conservation of Energy 197

Secure Market Share and Protect "Franchise Customers" 198

Insurance Example: Survive and Compete 199

Competitive Strategies 207

Survive and Compete Conclusion 212

Business Evolution Strategies: Replicate and Adapt 213

Business Replication: Crossing the Generation Gap 214

Intel: Crossing the Semiconductor Technology Generation Gap 218

The Nokia Story: Business at the Edge of Chaos 219

Business Adaptation in Corporate Evolution: Anticipating the Unknown 223

Chapter 9 Information Darwinism in the Future 232

Waiting for the Future 234

Next Golden Age of IT 237

How to Avoid Being Digitally Deselected 238

Create Your Own Information Mastery Agenda 240

Steps to Information Mastery 244

Treat the IT Future as an Opportunity, Not a Threat 244

Invest in IT to Enhance Evolutionary Fitness 246

Develop Boardroom IT Awareness and Promote IT Professionals to Operations Roles 250

Ensure Corporate Agility and Evolutionary Capabilities 252

Digital Hunter-Gatherers and Corporate Velociraptors 255

Real-Time Evolution 257

The Darwinian Road Ahead 260.

Notes:

Published simultaneously in Canada.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0471434418

OCLC:

48098382