Information technology surrounds you-on your campus and in local businesses. When you order merchandise over the telephone, chances are your sales representative is using an information system to check inventory and to trigger the shipment of your goods. Increasingly you will order products using the Internet, dispensing with the telephone and becoming a participant in electronic commerce. When you use an automatic teller machine, make an airline reservation, or rent a car, information technology (IT) is working for you again.

Information technology is pervasive in modem organizations-from the largest manufacturing firms to your comer drugstore, and the stakes are high, as businesses confronted with global competition strive to succeed. Some organizations will flourish; others will fail. Those that succeed will understand how to use and manage information technology to their advantage.

The purpose of Information Technologyfor Management, Seventh Edition, is to help you learn enough about technology to play an active role in managing information technology. It is important to understand the strategic uses of IT and how to apply technology when developing a corporate strategy. You will see how creative organizations have integrated technology with strategy, allowing them to gain and sustain a competitive advantage. What role does the Internet play for your firm? What are the advantages your business can obtain from implementing Intranets and Extranets? How does technology facilitate the operations of global firms?