Business Commons^™

California Arts Organizations: How Are They Affected By Rent And Labor Costs?, Carol Silverman

Public and Nonprofit Administration

Executive Summary

• A mail survey was conducted of 1000 arts and cultural organizations in 29 counties in California. The survey included nonprofit organizations, for - profit and public agencies. It asked about difficulties the organizations have experienced because of rental increases, in hiring and retaining staff.

• In all, 208 surveys were returned as undeliverable, 24 self identified as not an arts organization, 18 that their organization was no longer active and 451 returned a completed survey. This represents a return rate of 61 percent of the valid address.

• Approximately 68 percent of the organizations in the sample …

Administrative Ethics In Nonprofit Organizations, Michael O'Neill

Public and Nonprofit Administration

No abstract provided.

Which Life Cycle -- Work System, Information System, Or Software?, Steven Alter

Business Analytics and Information Systems

This article presents the work system life cycle (WSLC) model, according to which a work system, an information system, or a software product passes through one or more iterations of four phases: initiation, development, implementation, and operation and maintenance. Although this descriptive model is both clear enough to understand readily and specific eno ugh to apply easily, it encompasses a variety of other models commonly used to describe information system life cycles, organizational change processes, projects, and the life cycles of software products. The explicit inclusion of both an operation and maintenance phase and iterations allows it to cover both …

Does The Trend Toward E-Business Call For Changes In The Fundamental Concepts Of Information Systems? A Debate, Steven Alter, Phillip Ein-Dor, M. Lynne Markus, Judy Scott

Business Analytics and Information Systems

A debate at ICIS 2000 asked whether the trend toward e-business calls for changes in the fundamental concepts of information systems. This article summarizes viewpoints presented in the debate. It also presents audience feedback in the form of a vote about whether new concepts are needed and selected comments submitted by the audience about key issues in the debate. Among others, these issues include questions about what are the fundamental concepts of IS, different views of about the meaning and implications of ebusiness, and questions about the nature of the user in e-business.

Are The Fundamental Concepts Of Information Systems Mostly About Work Systems?, Steven Alter

Business Analytics and Information Systems

Audience comments about a debate at ICIS200 [Alter et al., 2001] related to ebusiness and the fundamental concepts of information systems noted that the debate was undercut by the lack of agreement about what are the fundamental concepts. As a follow-on to that debate, this article proposes a set of fundamental concepts for information systems. While there is no bullet-proof way to prove that a particular set of concepts captures what is truly fundamental within a diverse and rapidly evolving field, the attempt to identify these concepts challenges the reader to ask “If this isn’t the way to identify fundamental …

Recognizing The Relevance Of Is Research And Broadening The Appeal And Applicability Of Future Publications, Steven Alter

Business Analytics and Information Systems

Highly applicable research is done not only by some IS faculty members, but also by software firms, consulting firms, and other organizations whose products and services depend on IS research they perform. The applicability of IS research done by academics is evident in the concepts and explanations in many textbooks. There should be little surprise, however, that practitioners who expect readability and direct applicability have little patience for IS publications shaped by the concerns and expectations of academia. It might be possible to broaden the acceptance and relevance of IS research publications by distributing them in both a short version …

Lean Production And The Internet, Robert Mefford

Finance

In this paper the implications for lean production systems of the Internet are explored. Does the World Wide Web facilitate the implementation of Just-in-Time production systems, or alternatively, can it serve as a substitute for JIT? The possible effects on supply chains, production scheduling, inventory control, procurement, quality improvement, and the workforce are some of the issues addressed. Some case examples of use of the Internet for these purposes are presented. Constraints on the use of the Web to foster leanness are discussed and recommendations for integrating the Internet into production systems offered.