Moving to E-Business (Essential Managers) - Softcover

If you find moving to e-business anything but E-Z, you'll love this zippily formatted pocket-sized book that walks you through the entire transition to a customer-focused digital organization. You'll get essential information on developing and implementing an e-strategy, integrating business processes and systems, and transforming your organizational culture, plus practical advice on training your team, integrating IT applications, ensuring consistent customer service, and even starting a new e-business. If all that sounds confusing, you'll be happy to know that, on every page, boxed "power tips," quick case studies, to-do checklists, and easy-to-follow flowcharts demystify the process. Granted, if you're looking for specific or in-depth guidance, you may find this book too general in its approach. But if you're looking for a thumbnail guide to the basics, it'll do just fine.

It's worth mentioning that the book is also part of reference publisher Dorling-Kindersley's Essential Managers series--20 itty-bitty books on business and career topics ranging from communication, leadership, and decision-making to the management of time, budgets, change, meetings, people, projects, and teams. Combining the For Dummies series' talent for breaking down a lot of information into bite-sized bits and sidebars with Dorling-Kindersley's signature, crisp graphics on a gleaming white backdrop, they don't represent the cutting edge of business thinking and they don't necessarily reflect any unique individual perspective.

Instead, it's as though someone collated the best general thinking on these 20 topics and rolled them out into 72 brightly designed and easy-to-read pages, studded along the way with boxed tips, color shots of a multiracial cast of "coworkers" animatedly hashing through the workplace issues of the day, and a self-test of one's skills in the topic at hand on the last few pages of each volume. Again, they're not for anyone looking for in-depth or focused help on any of the subjects they cover, but they're perfect as a quickie general-interest reference... and let's face it, they're so cute, and look so smart in a neat little stack or row, that you'll probably want to buy a whole bunch to give to your entire department or staff. --Timothy Murphy

The fast-changing digital world demands a new approach to the way we structure our businesses and interact with our customers and suppliers. The rapid adoption of internet-based technologies has the potential to revolutionise business practices and, despite the much-publicised failures of many early dotcom companies, it is clear that the companies that will be successful in the future will be the ones who take best advantage of new technological advances.

E-business stands for electronic business and describes an organization that exploits the full potential of information technology to streamline its operations and deliver the best possible value and service to its customers. E-business is not the same as e-commerce but is an extension of it. Crucially it focuses on deliver the same efficiency and value to customers through conventional as well as on-line sales channels.

This book is not an academic treatise on e-business; rather it is a simple guide to all the issues managers must understand and address in their search for future e-business success.

In particular, I have tried to show how managers can take control of e-business issues, how to develop a strategy, and how build a strong foundation for your e-business success. Inevitably, one is restricted in 72 pages to an overview of the subject but, thanks to the effective presentation of the Essential Managers series, I believe that we have also managed to include practical advice to help the reader deal with many business issues with increased confidence and up-to-date knowledge.

I welcome feedback from readers and am prepared to answer questions where possible so feel free to email me at steve@stevesleight.com.