SST is a technology company that was formed to address a social problem: gun violence. SST is the global leader in gunfire detection and location technology. SST provides a scalable and reliable gunfire alert and analysis system, which is known as ShotSpotter. Gun violence is a problem in inner cities. As such, this service is most applicable to underserved communities. The company was founded in 1996 by an acoustic engineer who felt that sensors could detect gunfire. The ShotSpotter solution provides information to police departments in cities that have installed the technology to help them quickly respond to events where gun shots were fired. The case also highlights the Internet of Things (IoT) and Big Data, given SST's use of sensors and data to solve the problem of gun violence.

Rahama Wright and Shea Yeleen is the story of a young female social entrepreneur, Rahama Wright, who started a non-profit venture, Shea Yeleen, to train women in West Africa with a more lucrative livelihood by manufacturing shea butter to earn higher wages. The case describes the shea butter industry in Africa, the role of women in the industry, and Wright's background in non-profit and government as her rationale for starting a non-profit venture. The case outlines the different organizational forms that nascent entrepreneurs could start when creating a venture and ends with a decision point whether Wright should continue running a non-profit or if she should convert to a for-profit social venture. The case offers students an opportunity to understand the differences between non-profits and for-profit ventures from organizational, strategic, and personal perspectives.

ISlide is the story of a nascent entrepreneur, Justin Kittredge, who used his experience and knowledge of the athletic footwear market to start his own footwear company, a manufacturer/distributor of customizable athletic sandals known as "slides." The case illustrates many of the concepts of Entrepreneurial Thought and Action-where an entrepreneur starts with the concepts of Who am I, What do I know, and Whom do I know. The founder, Justin, a former Reebok executive and college basketball player, is passionate about basketball and coaching young people. The case illustrates how Justin builds a company in a niche that has not yet been exploited by the big footwear companies.

Modern information technology started four decades ago, yet in most major corporations, IT remains an expensive mess. This is partly because the relatively young and rapidly evolving practice of IT continues to be either grossly misunderstood or blindly ignored by top management. In this article, the authors say a systematic approach to understanding and executing IT can and should be implemented, and it should be organized along three interconnected principles: First, Long-Term IT Renewal Plan Linked to Corporate Strategy. Such a plan focuses the entire IT group on the company's overarching goals during a multiyear period, makes appropriate investments directed toward cutting costs in the near term, and generates a detailed blueprint for long-term systems rejuvenation and value creation. Second, Simplified, Unifying Corporate Technology Platform. Instead of relying on vertically oriented data silos that serve individual corporate units (HR, accounting, and so on), companies adopt a clean, horizontally oriented architecture designed to serve the whole organization. Third, Highly Functional, Performance-Oriented IT Organization. Instead of functioning as if it were different from the rest of the firm or as a loose confederation of tribes, the IT department works as a team and operates according to corporate performance standards.

In 1993 CIGNA Property and Casualty embarked on a full transformation effort under a new leadership team headed by Gerry Isom. This case presents progress through September 1995.

Reengineering was introduced at CIGNA Corp. in 1988. CIGNA entered a second wave reengineering effort through a major project at CIGNA P&C, one of CIGNA's larger businesses. P&C was in financial crisis and as a result brought in a new executive team in 1991 to head the transformation effort. This case analyzes the phases of P&C transformation, P&C's business process redesign, their use of information technology in the form of client/server architecture to support the strategy, and the use of the balanced scorecard to drive transformation. Presents the progress of P&C's effort as of January 1995--marking the end of Phase I (analysis and design) and looking forward to Phase 2 (implementation).

Discusses the two stages of an organization's reengineering effort--the design and implementation. While the design phase needs to be revolutionary, an organization must assess whether the appropriate path to implementation should be evolutionary or revolutionary. Discussions are based on a two-year study of reengineering efforts at over 40 companies by the authors.

In the late 1990s, Rolm realized significant losses and needed to significantly reduce its costs and redesign its logistics process.

Describes the redesign and rollout of the new order-fulfillment process for a flagship product at Pacific Bell. Pacific Bell is one of the Regional Bell Operating Companies comprised of seven regional business units. Rather than implement the new process, roles, and information technology proposed by the original design team, each regional business unit implemented those pieces that most quickly resulted in performance improvements and would not require lengthy negotiations with labor unions. Focuses on managing radical change programs in a decentralized organization.

Provides a longitudinal view of business reengineering at CIGNA Corp., a leading provider of insurance and related financial services throughout the United States and the world. CIGNA has been practicing business reengineering since 1989, completing over 20 projects. The case illustrates a number of reengineering projects. Also highlights the different forms and waves of business reengineering that the company has experienced.

Updates the (A) case.

Connor Formed Metal Products was a small, privately owned manufacturer of custom metal springs and stampings. Since becoming president in 1984, Bob Sloss had implemented many changes to the company's organizational structure, management control systems, and information systems. In particular, he introduced a computer system in one plant to track product jobs through the manufacturing process. Employees at every function and level of the company could access information about a particular customer or job. In 1990, Sloss wondered whether to roll out this system in the company's four other plants.

Provides a conceptual framework for understanding business process redesign and change management.

Describes a decision that SMD management made to implement an MRP II system in its 38 plants. Raises the issues that needed to be addressed to enable the implementation, and is positioned so the students can develop a detailed implementation plan.

Describes the organization and IT environment that Bruce Hasenyager found when he arrived at Chemical Bank. Goes on to explain his decision for implementing Lotus Notes as an "indispensable" management tool. Software is available: Order No. 9-196-701 (Windows version) or 9-196-702 (Macintosh version), $20.00 (educ. $10).

Information is a critical resource in the information economy and Information Technology (IT) enables information to be managed as a strategic resource. However, IT is extremely complex and fast-changing. As a result, the general manager cannot leave IT decisions strictly to IT technologists and cannot hope to be technically competent to make the "right" IT decisions for the firm. This dilemma is resolved by the construction of an "IT architecture"--the bridge between strategy and technology.

Describes the company's use of information technology to strengthen its position in the elevator sales and service market. Also demonstrates how information technology can be used to better manage and control a large geographically dispersed service organization.