2003 Virginia Manufacturers Directory (Virginia Manufacturer's Directory)

Book Description

Get ready for an adventure!

MEET Tennessee Toledo, a daring young explorer, searching for fame and fortune in the Egyptian desert!

UNCOVER the legendary King Toot, a mummified pharaoh buried deep beneath the sands of Egypt for thousands of years!

DISCOVER King Toot's Gauntlet of Giant Tomes, a series of challenges standing between Tennessee and the greatest archaeological discovery of all time -- the pharaoh's field of solid gold french fries!

LEARN how to use a dictionary, an atlas, an almanac, and a thesaurus while helping Tennessee solve King Toot's Hazardous Puzzles of Pain!

This book is equipped with a special transmitter so that you can help Tennessee as he tackles each new brain-defying challenge from deep inside King Toot's buried tomb. While transmitting answers to Tennessee, you will learn how to:

• Use a table of contents, index, and other research aids
• Interpret tables of statistics in an almanac
• Use a map index and a map legend in an atlas
• Understand common dictionary abbreviations and features
• Find synonyms using the index in a thesaurus

And everything else you need to know to get the most out of your reference books!

Dictionaries, almanacs, thesauri, and atlases often seem overwhelming to young readers. But after you discover the secret of the giant tomes, you'll have a world of knowledge at your fingertips -- and maybe Tennessee will share his fries!

Customer Reviews:

Great Teaching Tool!.......2004-04-18

This book presents the "how-to's" of reasearch into a fun, adventure-filled activity for kids age 9-14. How many times have you heard, "If I don't know how to spell it, how can I look it up in the dictionary?" Take your middle school kids on a library research adventure, following the adventures of Tennessee Toledo, using the world almanac, world atlas, dictionary, and thesaurus. Your students will be inspired and challenged, as they uncover the clues and unravel the mystery. They won't even know they're learning!

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR), published by The Register Guard on July 18, 2002. The length of the article is 960 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Coffee, ceramics - that's Italian.(Business)(Smeede Hotel: The shop plans a unique combination with a promise of quality.)
Publication: The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR) (Newspaper)
Date: July 18, 2002
Publisher: The Register Guard
Page: B1

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Delivering on a promise: Allen Brothers relies on frozen by Fedex to get its products into people's hands.(Food Logistics Age): An article from: Frozen Food Age

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Delivering on a promise: Allen Brothers relies on frozen by Fedex to get its products into people's hands.(Food Logistics Age): An article from: Frozen Food Age
Carol S. Morganti
Manufacturer: Cygnus Business Media
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Frozen Food Age, published by Cygnus Business Media on June 1, 2005. The length of the article is 1140 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Delivering on a promise: Allen Brothers relies on frozen by Fedex to get its products into people's hands.(Food Logistics Age)
Author: Carol S. Morganti
Publication: Frozen Food Age (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 1, 2005
Publisher: Cygnus Business Media
Volume: 53 Issue: 11 Page: 33(1)

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Delivering on the managed care promise: a new model for affordable, quality care: An MBHO focuses on complex cases--while entrusting providers and patients ... article from: Behavioral Health Management

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Delivering on the managed care promise: a new model for affordable, quality care: An MBHO focuses on complex cases--while entrusting providers and patients ... article from: Behavioral Health Management
Keith Dixon
Manufacturer: Medquest Communications, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Behavioral Health Management, published by Medquest Communications, LLC on January 1, 2004. The length of the article is 1526 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Delivering on the managed care promise: a new model for affordable, quality care: An MBHO focuses on complex cases--while entrusting providers and patients with the low-risk ones--to deliver true value.
Author: Keith Dixon
Publication: Behavioral Health Management (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2004
Publisher: Medquest Communications, LLC
Volume: 24 Issue: 1 Page: 48(3)

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Empty Promises: Qaulity of Working Life Programs and the Labor Movement

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Empty Promises

Empty Promises: Qaulity of Working Life Programs and the Labor Movement
Don Wells
Manufacturer: Monthly Review Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Workplace | Organizational Behavior | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0853457115

Customer Reviews:

Empty Promises.......2006-07-01

Quality of Working Life (QWL) programs are now being instituted in workplaces across the United States and Canada. Increasingly popular with management, these programs promise more meaningful work and pleasanter workplaces in exchange for greater productivity from the workers. But while QWL may be good for the company, is it good for the worker?

This is the question that Don Wells, a comitted trade unionist and writer, addresses in this book. The core of the book is two detailed case studies of QWL programs that were instituted in two very different plants - one in auto, the other in electronics. Wells gives a day-by-day account of the introduction of these programs, taking the reader with him into committee meetings and onto the shop floor. He argues that by getting workers to adjust to their own subordination, QWL undermines worker solidarity and threatens the very basis of trade unionism. Wells concludes with a chapter that discusses how trade unionists can develop strategies that will counteract QWL's potentially destructive impact.
--- from book's back cover

France Telecom's Spring Promise: High Audio Quality for VoIP (Competitive Intelligence Report (Europe))

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France Telecom's Spring Promise: High Audio Quality for VoIP (Competitive Intelligence Report (Europe))
Current Analysis Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

France Telecom will launch a 'High Quality' VoIP add-on for CD quality standard audio. It is positive that France Telecom is seeking to address quality concerns with VoIP, but the company is almost admitting to poor VoIP service quality.

Improving teacher quality: The promise of online case studies : (Dissertation)

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Improving teacher quality: The promise of online case studies : (Dissertation)
Laila J. Richman
Manufacturer: ProQuest Information and Learning
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000F6HKAM
Release Date: 2006-03-28

Book Description

Citation Details

Distributed by ProQuest Information and Learning

ISO Y2000 revisions promise to be costly.(revisions on ISO 9000): An article from: Tooling & Production

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ISO Y2000 revisions promise to be costly.(revisions on ISO 9000): An article from: Tooling & Production
Ralph J., III Teetor
Manufacturer: Nelson Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B00098LFOI
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Tooling & Production, published by Nelson Publishing on December 1, 1998. The length of the article is 1315 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the supplier: Several changes were proposed to the ISO 9000 standard. The changes, which are arguably flawed, promote the rearrangement of clauses to integrate a Process Model instead of a set of requirements. The changes also advocate a renumbering and revision of the common requirements of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000. In addition, the proposals also substituted legal and complex phrases with different wording that is no easier to comprehend or implement.

Citation Details
Title: ISO Y2000 revisions promise to be costly.(revisions on ISO 9000)
Author: Ralph J., III Teetor
Publication: Tooling & Production (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 1, 1998
Publisher: Nelson Publishing
Volume: 64 Issue: 9 Page: 21(3)

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Keeping the Promise: Achieving and Maintaining Quality in Undergraduate Education

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Keeping the Promise: Achieving and Maintaining Quality in Undergraduate Education
Patt VanDyke
Manufacturer: University Publishing Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0880441232

Book Description

Nearly all the pundits of higher education point out the need to improve the quality of undergraduate education, but how is excellence to be achieved? This book suggests many possible answers. In "Keeping the Promise," a spectrum of academicians-from chancellors to faculty members-discuss specific ways to increase standards, revise curricula, enhance campus life, and improve assessment. Such notables as Alexander Astin and Lewis Mayhew, as well as several deans, program directors, and professors, offer probing insight and practical advice on how to strengthen undergraduate education. The book presents not only the "big picture" of achieving excellence but also concrete examples of actual innovative programs operating on campuses today, including SUNY, CUNY, San Diego State, Bowling Green, Western Michigan, and many others. Topics include: the campus environment, shared governance, faculty governance, teacher education, core curricula, outcomes assessment, computer literacy, honors programs, arts programs, science and math instruction, ethics instruction, interdisciplinary studies, and program evaluation.

Customer Reviews:

ABC-CLIO STEALS FROM THEIR AUTHORS.......2006-01-09

ABC-CLIO STEALS FROM THEIR AUTHORS, PAYS THEM NOTHING, AND ROBS THEM BLIND. DO NOT PURCHASE BOOKS FROM THEM OR FROM THEIR SUBSIDIARIES. BOYCOTT THESE THIEVES!!!

Book Description

Does e-learning work? How much does e-learning benefit both the organization and its learners? Is e-learning a wise investment or a waste of corporate resources? Here are the answers to these and other important questions, plus a systematic approach to strengthen your case to bring e-learning into your organization.

Customer Reviews:

Past its Prime. .......2006-12-20

Technology has outpaced this stellar book. As of November 2006, 78% of all home users had broadband (high speed) internet connections. Time for a new edition, please.

Horton has done it again.......2002-07-15

There are no doubts that William Horton knows many things about e-learning, but when he writes a book he shows how good is in organizing the information inside his book.

There are many people devoted to create and/or deploy e-learning projects in their organizations, but "Evaluating E-learning" is the next step in our effort explaining us how to evaluate and measure the project, not only telling us what can be evaluated, but also telling us when and how to evaluate. The book includes activities in every chapter to be completed by the reader allowing to apply book contents to the reader's reality.

Average customer rating:
Evaluating Teaching in Higher Education: A Vision for the Future: New Directions for Teaching and Learning (J-B TL Single Issue Teaching and Learning)

Manufacturer: Jossey-Bass
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Administration | Education Theory | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Pedagogy | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Education | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0787954489

Book Description

This issue analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of current approaches to evaluating teaching and recommends practical strategies for both improving current evaluation methods and developing new ones. The contributors provide an overview of new techniques such as peer evaluations, portfolios, and student ratings of instructors and technologies that can help instructors become more effective and help institutions demonstrate that effectiveness. This is the 83rd issue of the quarterly journal New Directions for Teaching and Learning.

Designing and evaluating E-learning in higher education: a review and recommendations.(online learning): An article from: Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies

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Designing and evaluating E-learning in higher education: a review and recommendations.(online learning): An article from: Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies
Chee Meng Tham , and Werner Jon M.
Manufacturer: Baker College System - Center for Graduate Studies
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Organizational Learning | Organizational Behavior | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, published by Baker College System - Center for Graduate Studies on January 1, 2005. The length of the article is 6206 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Designing and evaluating E-learning in higher education: a review and recommendations.(online learning)
Author: Chee Meng Tham
Publication: Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 2005
Publisher: Baker College System - Center for Graduate Studies
Volume: 11 Issue: 2 Page: 15(11)

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Evaluating authoring tools for teachers as instructional designers [An article from: Computers in Human Behavior]

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Evaluating authoring tools for teachers as instructional designers [An article from: Computers in Human Behavior]
S. Ainsworth , and P. Fleming
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Elsevier | By Publisher | e-Docs | Formats | Books
ASIN: B000RR63G6

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Computers in Human Behavior, published by Elsevier in . The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
The REDEEM authoring environment was developed to allow educators with no programming knowledge to design learning environments (simple Intelligent Tutoring Systems) for their students in a time-effective manner. The success of this approach depends on two key factors. Firstly, on the extent to which the authoring tool is usable by its intended author population (classroom teachers, university lecturers, adult trainers), and secondly, whether the resulting systems are effective at supporting learning. In this paper, a five year program is reviewed that evaluated the extent to which REDEEM has met these goals. The conclusion of the research is that in many ways REDEEM has exceeded the initial expectations for it, but that improvements to its design could further enhance its functionality.

Evaluation: a key piece in the distance education puzzle. (ways of evaluating the use of distance learning technologies): An article from: T H E Journal (Technological Horizons In Education)

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Evaluation: a key piece in the distance education puzzle. (ways of evaluating the use of distance learning technologies): An article from: T H E Journal (Technological Horizons In Education)
James M. Shaeffer , and Charlotte W. Farr
Manufacturer: T.H.E. Journal, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from T H E Journal (Technological Horizons In Education), published by T.H.E. Journal, LLC on April 1, 1993. The length of the article is 2903 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the supplier: Successful distance learning programs require evaluation and feedback processes for both faculty development and the actual courses themselves. Principals in the University of Wyoming's (UW) distance learning program contend, for example, that the success of the program is due to viable education delivery systems, faculty development, class-by-class feedback, midterm feedback sessions, and evaluations by students and faculty at the end of courses. Recruitment of suitable faculty and their thorough training in the requirements of distance education leads to positive evaluations. Formative evaluations consisting of class-by-class feedback and a midterm feedback session plus summative student and teacher evaluations at the end of the semester provide data on how students feel about both the teaching and delivery technology. UW's execution of such evaluation strategies and use of the results are discussed.

Citation Details
Title: Evaluation: a key piece in the distance education puzzle. (ways of evaluating the use of distance learning technologies)
Author: James M. Shaeffer
Publication: T H E Journal (Technological Horizons In Education) (Refereed)
Date: April 1, 1993
Publisher: T.H.E. Journal, LLC
Volume: v20 Issue: n9 Page: p79(4)

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Methods for evaluating and creating data quality [An article from: Information Systems]

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Methods for evaluating and creating data quality [An article from: Information Systems]
W.E. Winkler
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000RR19G0

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Information Systems, published by Elsevier in 2004. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
This paper provides a survey of two classes of methods that can be used in determining and improving the quality of individual files or groups of files. The first are edit/imputation methods for maintaining business rules and for imputing for missing data. The second are methods of data cleaning for finding duplicates within files or across files.

Evaluating Classroom Effectiveness (Michigan Learning Modules Ser No. 14)

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Evaluating Classroom Effectiveness (Michigan Learning Modules Ser No. 14)
Donald E. Smith
Manufacturer: Ulrichs Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0914004174

Planning, Implementing, and Evaluating E-Learning Initiatives

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Planning, Implementing, and Evaluating E-Learning Initiatives
American Productivity & Quality Center
Manufacturer: Amer Productivity Center
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Spiral-bound

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1928593631

Book Description

What was once an obscure sidebar to education has become big business. E-learning can deliver information anywhere at anytime and, more importantly, provide simulated experiential learning. E-learning can also change the paradigm of learning and transform the lecture model to an interactive model. But the shift from classroom to experiential professional development can be difficult for organizations.

Learn how best-practice organizations have implemented e-learning initiatives in APQC's third Best-Practice Report on technology and learning. Planning, Implementing, and Evaluating E-Learning Initiatives identifies issues and challenges surrounding e-learning initiatives.

Subject Matter Experts
Dr. Roger C. Schank, chairman, Cognitive Arts Corporation

Best-Practice Partners
Army Management Staff College
Autodesk
Boeing Company
Booz-Allen & Hamilton
General Motors
IBM CorporationIntel
Memorial Hermann Healthcare System
Procter & Gamble Company
SCT Corporation
Veterans Benefits Administration

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Evaluating classroom effectiveness / Donald E.P. Smith (Michigan learning modules)
Donald E. P Smith
Manufacturer: Ulrich's Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Education Theory | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006X06IC

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Evaluating distance learning technology
Richard E Clark
Manufacturer: The Office
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B000726IWA

Book Description

"Ten years from now Bill Bishop will be seen as someone who opened the doors to the digital marketing for thousands of entrepreneurs." -- Dan Sullivan, President The Strategic Coach, Chicago "The digital domain is quickly becoming one of the world's great--if not the greatest--marketplaces, and Bill Bishop has laid out a comprehensive and comprehensible set of maps and tools on how to get there successfully." -- John Tevlin, President CN Tower, Toronto "This is not just another 'techie' book about using the Internet and World Wide Web. In an immensely practical style, Mr. Bishop shows us how to adapt the changes brought about by the new technology and, even more importantly, how to embrace an entirely new way of thinking about marketing and sales strategy." -- Bonnie Schaefer, Marketing Manager Boehringer-Ingelhiem, NOBL Labs, Sioux Center, Iowa "With clarity, simplicity, and humor, Bishop offers a comprehensive 'how-to' guide for marketing in the Digital Age. Whether you are developing a digital marketing capability or upgrading an existing one, this book is a must! -- D.A. (Sandy) Somers, President Canada Bread, Toronto "A road map through the new technology-driven business environment, Bishop's insights and strategies add value to relationships with clients and strategic business partners." -- Jerry Kalish, President National Benefit Services, Inc., and Harvest Group, Inc., Chicago "Unmatched insights into the impact digital technology is having on all of marketing--research, development, sales, customer service . . . PLUS . . . a powerful strategy for putting those insights to work. I recommend this book to every marketing executive in every type of business." -- Steve Sills, Manager of Industry Marketing Communications J.D. Edwards, Denver

Customer Reviews:

A very practical book that takes away the mystery.......1999-03-30

For people who are intrigued by the current trends in marketing, particularly cybermarketing, and need a primer on all facets of digital marketing, this is a book that explains every element in a very readable format. The chapter on terminology and current technology is worth the price of the book alone. Most importantly, the book puts marketing on the internet into a broader context. Many books on marketing claim to take a strategic perspective but the reality is far removed from the claim. This book is strategic in its focus and it is one that I will dip back into frequently. Very much recommended for consultants and Marketing Managers.

Behind the brands: major changes are underfoot behind the scenes as ConAgra, Sara Lee and Kraft pursue new business strategies that will affect lunch meats.(Refrigerated ... Food Age): An article from: Frozen Food Age

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Behind the brands: major changes are underfoot behind the scenes as ConAgra, Sara Lee and Kraft pursue new business strategies that will affect lunch meats.(Refrigerated ... Food Age): An article from: Frozen Food Age
Alan Robinson
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Frozen Food Age, published by Thomson Gale on March 1, 2006. The length of the article is 1056 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Behind the brands: major changes are underfoot behind the scenes as ConAgra, Sara Lee and Kraft pursue new business strategies that will affect lunch meats.(Refrigerated Food Age)
Author: Alan Robinson
Publication: Frozen Food Age (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 54 Issue: 8 Page: 31(2)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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Strategic Marketing for the Digital Age
Bill Bishop
Manufacturer: HarperCollins Canada
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Small Business & Entrepreneurship | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 000255433X

Book Description

In Strategic Marketing for the Digital Age, Bill Bishop cuts through the myths, the jargon and the media madness, to show how any business - large or small - can improve their bottom line using digital tools, including personal computers, online systems, CD-ROMs, interactive kiosks, voice mail, smart cards and databases - in an effective and integrated manner. He shows how traditional marketing models based on mass markets and mass media no longer necessarily apply, and how a whole new strategy is required.

In a step-by-step format, using specific, actual cases from businesses, Strategic Marketing for the Digital Age shows how to assess your digital market and then explains the range of digital tools available. It tells you how the revolution taking place in digital technology is much more than the Internet.

For marketing directors of multinational corporations, retailers, home-based entrepreneurs, consultants and marketing students, Strategic Marketing for the Digital Age is the only comprehensive, straightforward Canadian guide to harnessing the incredible marketing power of the digital revolution.

Average customer rating:
Strategic Marketing for the Digital Age
Bill Bishop
Manufacturer: Excel Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Marketing & Sales | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books | Advertising | Consumer Behavior | Customer Service | Marketing | Public Relations | Sales & Selling
ASIN: 8174461957

Book Description

This volume is a theoretical and empirical examination of human resource growth and change in postwar Puerto Rico. The study is empirically based, but emphasis is given to econometric results as opposed to econometric methods. The main concern is with issues of economic efficiency. In particular, the book focuses on efficiency in the use of human resources during rapid industrialization. Nonetheless, Santiago subscribes to the notion that economic growth is a necessary but not sufficient condition for economic development. Understanding the larger historical and social processes that encompass economic development requires drawing together, in a multidisciplinary way, information from diverse fields and methodologies. This work helps us to better understand the process of economic development, thus providing directions for practical solutions to the pressing economic problems faced by the majority of the population of the planet. Much of the critique of the Puerto Rican development strategy is based on its negative impact on income distribution and the fact that it promotes dependency on the United States. This book concludes that, despite its focus on economic growth and rapid industrialization, Puerto Rico's use of resources has been less than optimal, and that on efficiency grounds, the Puerto Rican development model offers some successes but significant errors for developing nations. This work examines those successes and errors and will instruct both economists and policy makers in development economics, labor economics, and Latin American studies.

Labor in the Puerto Rican Economy: Postwar Development and Stagnation

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Labor in the Puerto Rican Economy: Postwar Development and Stagnation
Carlos Enrique Santiago
Manufacturer: Praeger Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ORKQHG

Book Description

A compelling vision of the shift in the IT landscape led by customers.

Selling Points Visionary: Moschella’s analysis is smart and forward-looking. This will be an important book at the intersection of technology and business strategy Major shift: Identifies a major, but not widely understood sea change in the IT landscape: the shift from a supply to a demand-driven industry Practical: Offers ways for the industry to better work with customers to facilitate adoption of new technologies to fuel their future Diverse readership: Offers specific ways for senior managers, strategists, and investors to profit from this major shift in the information technology landscape

Customer Reviews:

Highly recommended.......2003-05-25

This is an excellent book on the near term future of IT. It says that the next IT growth is based on customer innovation. No incremental improvements to existing or leadership in emerging markets are is likely to be sufficient to drive a major industry expansion (page xiv). The shift from supplier to customer dominated industry represents a huge cultural and business change and challenge.

The emerging customer-centric era requires customer leadership, including vision, motivation, skills, and decision making capabilities. Customers must show the same level of faith and commitment than IT suppliers have provided in the past. The customer motivation is the single most important risk of the future success of IT (page 230). This is closely tied to executive attitudes towards technology (234).

This also means that traditional venture capital backed start-ups will play a diminishing role in the industry.
The responsibility is on the leadership of existing industries, with a relative absence of start-ups and therefore a relatively reduced role of entrepreneurs (143).

"The sad thing is that so much of (this) energy flowed into a flawed industry vision ...unless the IT industry embraces some sort of shared long-term vision and direction, the use of technology could either drift aimlessly or continue to squeeze diminishing returns out of proven areas of investments" (40).

Many of the key customer-centric applications have already been identified. These include music, advertisement, payments, health care, e-learning, government services, and community interaction (26).

Web Services and Semantic Applications are marketed as the next big thing concepts. Web Services implement process nets with modular components. Many viable Web Services already exist, such as e-mail, credit card processing, and news feed. Web Services may lead to the emergence of new kind and more specialized service companies that provide better economies scale, or skills, or more flexibility, and may create shareholder value. This dis-integration differs from the dot-com vision - processes instead of businesses are horizontalized. On the other hand, the dot-com collapse has shown the risks of outsourcing.

Semantic Applications are capable of understanding other applications. They require industry standardization, which is seen everywhere; in the joint initiatives in electronics, automotive, manufacturing, medical, chemical, and travel industries (115).

The book considers e-learning as a major opportunity, and LMS (Learning Management Systems) as the last great enterprise horizontal software market, in the lucrative tradition of ERP, CRM and so on (156).

Communities are still at the heart of the Internet activities. They rival and exceed those of e-business and e-learning realms (166-167).

Government's role in information society is thoroughly described and evaluated (185-206). Public policy is increasingly important IT industry factor (43). Example are e-learning, online gaming, voting, identification, security, spectrum allocation, public information services, integrated government databases, antirust, regulation and tax policies, copyright and patent law (42).

The best part of the book is a critical approach to the so-called horizontal business model. On a company level this model is associated with a highly focused business strategy. The belief was that there will be dominant market leaders, "gorillas", and that these leaders are start-ups that are able to replace much of the established economic order (34). The belief on this mental model and the overreliance on the PC industry mind-set was one of the main causes of the Internet bubble (28-29). History does not repeat itself. Many Internet-related businesses have no clear market leaders and have remained very competitive.

A major weakness of the book is that it leaves C out of IT. It fails to recognize the importance of telecommunications or mobile industry and the convergence as the basis for the next technology-based ICT growth. On page 56, the book says "mobile systems are not going to be the dominant computing platform any time soon, and they are unlikely to fundamentally later the way businesses and other organizations are run". This becomes again evident on page 169 where the writer hints that the high international usage of mobile phones is due to the lack of voice mail or bad service and high prices by foreign telecom monopolies. This blind spot also means the lack of global perspective, because in large parts of Asia and Europe the integrated multi-media consumer electronics offerings (instead of "computers" and "software" still sold by the IT industry) of the mobile industry have already dwarfed "old" IT as the consumer supplier.

I still give this book five stars. Highly recommended, but read with caution.

The Future of IT - And Hold the Rose-Colored Glasses.......2003-03-18

Let's face it, there are way too many prognostications about technology, business and the consumer. The Internet Bubble generated a mountain of exuberant "vision" books, many that their authors now have good cause to be embarrassed about.

In contrast, this book strips away "irrational exuberance", and gives a sober and well-grounded perspective of how technology has really changed the world thus far, and what likely lies ahead - leaving the rose-colored glasses behind.

The driving premise is a simple, but profound one: the pervasive success of the PC and the Internet have created a population of customers that are finally educated enough about IT possibilities, that they are actively driving the future of the market. While this is given for most mature markets, remarkably it's a relatively new development in IT.

The implication for business executives: if you're passive in your vision and use of technology, your doomed to be regularly surprised by your competitors' IT-based business breakthroughs.

The implication for IT suppliers: the reality of other major markets like CPG, Auto and Retail is now upon you; get to know your customers' worlds VERY well, for that - not the technical agenda of your development labs - is defining your future.

Moschella is not a showman, but a serious and experienced analyst of the technology industry. As a result, the book dives deeper on occasion than the casual reader may like. But for the business executive whose biggest decisions must now anticipate IT's future, it's a very worthwhile read.

Worthy to read..........2003-03-12

This book does a good job to summarize the past and current IT industry trends. The author high-level summarizes what he saw in the past and what he forsees in the future. This is a book for you to read and then think about what it means to your business.

However, there are some chapters not easy for everyone to read. Recommend to read ch1 and ch2 - if you are interested in the past IT trend; ch3 - the main concept of the book and the last chapter - conclusion. If you don't understand web services, then you can read other chapters.

Shaking off paralysis.......2003-01-24

As a 22 year IT veteran, I've never before seen anything like the paralysis that now grips the industry. Buyers are awash in technology and afraid to take another step forward for fear that it will simply add to their problems instead of help solve them. Suppliers are out of sorts because the old spaghetti rules don't work any more ... throw a bunch of tech at the wall and see what, if anything, sticks. And everyone is spinning around in circles looking for the answer.

The author might not have all of the answers, but he points the industry in a direction that it needs to go, which is a dang good starting point. His answer: recognize that customers are now an integral part of the IT value chain. His words: ýý with the arrival of the Internet, for the first time in this businessýs history, IT customers were intentionally and systematically creating value for other IT customers.ý

Amazon.com and others, he argues, were driving other organizations to reach for new technology goals. The customer was driving the industry, not the suppliers, as has been the case traditionally. Interesting insight. And the author goes on to say what this means to the long term growth and viability of the industry.

A good read, particularly as we as an industry try to sort out the lessons of the recent past and plan where we go from here.

Customers rule OK?.......2003-01-23

I liked this book a lot.

As an IT manager, sometimes you need to sympathise with your users when things go wrong (as well as solving the problem, of course) and this book does it for me by opening with a chapter called "Computers Have Always Been Difficult"!

However, this is not a quick and dirty "IT Infrastructure Planning for Dummies". At times, it's really big picture stuff. Moschella's background in economic history allows him to make an astute comparison with a former explosive period of technological innovation, the late 1920s, when, rather tellingly, progress was hampered by the prospect of war - a worrying parallel.

We are walked through just about every public and industry sector - health care, government, education, banking, music, advertising, retail, airlines - with examples of where customers, not suppliers, have taken the lead in IT, adding value to a product or service for other customers. This 'seizing the power' approach may sound a little odd to you as an 'IT consumer', but the Internet and inter-networking (through our everyday hardware and software applications) has thrown up many challenges and opportunities - ones the IT supplier industry is no longer in a position to progress adequately, Moschella argues.

At every stage, incisive arguments are backed by industry evidence, as you would expect from an author with top-level experience at leading researchers International Data Corporation (IDC) and now also at Merrill Lynch.
Along the way, there is also some heartening praise for all those committed IT innovators and developers who make genuine progress on a daily basis; a change from so much analysis that relies on throwing rocks in all directions.

The outlook - which may come as a pleasant surprise, given the economic and political disasters of the last 18 months - is optimistic. Computers and content can only get better.

Does it tell you what to do next ?

The conclusion marks out 10 IT themes and shows which key industries are leading the field - just so that you know where to look. The work finishes with a kind of game plan on "How to take the IT lead as a customer", identifying four key areas you need to tackle with their respective goals mapped out. Easy as falling off a web log.

This book won't transform your operations overnight, but it will help you understand and secure a long-term future for your organisation.
And by the way, it's very well written. In plain English.
Even dummies can manage this.

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