Welcome to Managing the Digital Enterprise, an educational site created by Michael Rappa that surveys the many opportunities and challenges managers face in an increasingly digital world.
With the widespread diffusion of desktop computers, the Internet, and the World Wide Web over the past decade, more and more of what a modern enterprise does each day involves the movement of electronic bits of information. Bits of customer information, bits of employee information, bits of product information, and indeed, when the product is information (music, video, still imagery, news, literature, etc.), bits of the product itself.
From this vantage point, the modern enterprise is becoming ever more “digital” in terms of what it is and what it does. This course addresses the digital aspect of the enterprise and covers topics such as:
- how to design virtual business processes that are user friendly;
- how to measure performance and effectiveness;
- how to understand business models;
- how markets change as more consumers migrate online;
- techniques for automating business processes;
- how to avoid channel conflict and exploit channel synergy;
- how to foster trust in computer-mediated intereaction;
- how to securely manage the digital enterprise;
- how to protect digital intellectual property;
- how to operate online in an ethical manner.
Structure of the Site
The site is divided into fifteen discussion topics, or “modules”. The topics cover a wide range of subjects of concern to managers of the digital enterprise in the following sequence:
Each module has the same basic structure. There is a description of the topic that highlights the issues at hand. In addition, each module has several sub-sections with links to a variety of educational resources. The modules are updated continuously throughout the year, with new resources added and out-dated materials removed. The sub-sections of each mudule are as follows: