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Conventional project-management tools--PERT charts and Gantt charts, for example--were created to help manage sequences of discrete tasks that make up large construction projects. Yet these tools don't capture clearly the back-and-forth of information that takes place in innovative processes, such as product development. Conventional tools are designed to answer the question, "What other tasks must be completed before I begin this one?" But product development planners, especially in high-tech businesses, need tools that answer a very different question: "What information do I need from other tasks before I can complete this one?" The author describes the Design Structure Matrix (DSM), a project management tool that focuses on representing the information flows of a project rather than its work flows. He explains how the DSM works and how to use it to make development processes more efficient. A project DSM can show which information exchanges involve design iteration and how well a process anticipates the need for rework. In addition, the author suggests four ways to improve a company's information flows: rearranging the sequence of tasks, reconsidering the organization of tasks, reducing the number of information exchanges, and managing unplannable work. By stripping away the mystery around information exchange during innovation, the DSM can give managers far more control over their most risky and expensive projects.

Most people think of Napster when they think of peer-to-peer systems. Nirav Tolia, CEO of Epinions, explains why the power of peer-to-peer goes far beyond the entertainment industry. He predicts it will shake up the entire retail industry.

Ever wondered how entrepreneurs convince VCs to fund their businesses? A leading venture capitalist delivers the inside scoop on what not to say.

Some CEOs inspire their people to outstanding performance; others prompt yawns from their employees. A new study suggests that part of the difference lies in the words they choose to convey their messages.

Proposed changes by the SEC will reduce the accounting profession's conflicts of interest arising from consulting. But auditors can never be truly independent when they are hired and fired by the companies they audit.

Companies are always looking for innovative ideas. But employees often keep good ideas to themselves, afraid to test them in the workplace. Here's how managers can help erase the fear factor and promote experimentation

The United States and Europe exhibit very different approaches to information privacy--a condition of limited access to identifiable information about individuals--from both regulatory and managerial perspectives. Grounded in different cultural values and assumptions about the meaning of privacy (a "human rights" issue in Europe versus a contractual issue in the United States), these differences have led to regulatory and managerial conflicts. In this article, the differences between the two approaches are explored. U.S. corporations would be well served to embrace some of the premises of the European perspective. However, the United States would be poorly served by the creation of a federal regulatory structure such as some commonly found in Europe.

This article presents a perceived shopping utility framework for analyzing the impact of retail price format on store choice. Retail price format, in turn, determines three key performance metrics: number of shoppers, number of trips, and average spending per trip. When choosing a store, consumers evaluate both the fixed and variable utilities of shopping. The fixed utility does not vary from trip to trip whereas the variable utility depends on the size and composition of the shopping list. Summarizes prior findings on store choice, analyzes how retailers can improve their performance, and interprets the practices of leading retailers. Presents a framework that can accommodate situations where retailers face multiple segments of buyers with different sensitivities to fixed and variable utilities.

This article interprets the early experience of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in terms of the market for technological mediation. A firm involved in technology mediation takes advantage of gaps between general technological opportunities and particular user needs in specific places at particular times. If the economic opportunities are renewed frequently, then the business can grow and adapt to take advantage of them. This concept provides a framework for explaining many facets of business behavior accompanying the diffusion of Internet access technology.

Data remains one of our most abundant yet underutilized resources. This article provides a holistic framework that will help companies maximize this resource. Outlines the elements necessary to transform data into knowledge and then into business results. Managers must understand that human elements--strategy, skills, culture--need to be attended to along with technology. Examines the experiences of over 20 companies that were successful in their data-to-knowledge efforts. Identifies the critical success factors that must be present in any data-to-knowledge initiative and offers advice for companies seeking to build a robust analytic capability.

Within the context of the large established organization, breakthrough ideas are frequently lost. This article describes how breakthrough innovations are captured through opportunity recognition. Based on evidence from a six-year-long study of twelve radical innovation projects in ten large U.S. firms. Highlights inefficiencies in current managerial processes and provides examples of organizational structures, mechanisms, and roles directed at reducing these inefficiencies. Presents a set of approaches for improving opportunity recognition capabilities and identifies several mechanisms for senior management to encourage "radical innovation" people and processes.

Management tools, such as strategic planning, benchmarking, pay-for-performance, outsourcing, customer segmentation, reengineering, balanced scorecard, and total quality management, garner considerable attention in the popular management literature. Companies throughout the world spend millions of dollars each year implementing a dozen or so of these tools. This survey examines the usage of these tools over a seven-year period, assesses user satisfaction with the tools, and attempts to correlate tool usage with company performance. Identifies tools that have been consistently used over time as well as those that seen to have been passing fads.

This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article. Today's vast array of Web applications for supply chain integration, sales force automation, work group collaboration, and the sale of everything from equities to automobiles makes it perfectly clear that information technology has evolved beyond the role of mere infrastructure supporting business strategy. In more and more industries today, IT is the business strategy. Unfortunately, many CEOs are ill-equipped to manage effectively in the Information Age. The problem has less to do with IT literacy than with a range of behaviors and attitudes that cause such CEOs to shirk their IT responsibilities. By their actions, many CEOs send negative signals about IT's role to other leaders in their organization, who then repeat the behavior. Companies with such leaders frequently fail to reap business advantage from information technology. The authors describe seven types of CEOs and their behaviors and attitudes toward IT and explain why all but one are decidedly unfit to lead companies in the Information Age. Only the "believer CEO" is ready to play a constructive role in his or her company's use of IT. Believers understand that IT enables strategic advantage and demonstrate such beliefs in their daily actions. Believers are involved in IT decision making and are proactive in addressing IT problems and opportunities. They seek advice from a variety of sources, study the IT strategies of competitors, and set examples for others managers in their company to follow. Using examples, the authors explain how believer CEOs play a critical role in their corporate IT strategies, how they craft IT-savvy organizational cultures, and how these actions benefit their businesses. The authors prescribe a variety of methods for leaders to address their shortcomings and master the techniques of believers.

Even in a mature and complex market, which is resistant to across-the-board price increases, there are still many ways to deftly raise effective prices and increase market share. Pricing policy, if wielded wisely, can still be a powerful tool. The path to these pricing opportunities lies in three actions management can take: changing the structure of the price (bundle benefits, unbundle benefits, offer alternative service levels and price points, link future purchases to current transactions, change the price effectiveness period, substitute components of the price, shift some of the price to suppliers); building more subtlety into the pricing process (set prices selectively rather than across the board, move prices in smaller increments, raise invisible prices, match price moves to the market, use discounts strategically to build relationships with desirable clients); and exploiting patterns common in other difficult markets (price against the leader, follow the leader, seek out segments that will tolerate higher prices). With the hidden power of pricing, a company facing a highly price-competitive market can use knowledge and subtlety to improve its returns and share.

Mastering the art of recovering and rebuilding products from the world's waste stream is a big step toward achieving sustainable development. Drivers of remanufacturing include not only legislation but also the prolonged economic life of equipment and strategic opportunities. Key issues in the reverse logistics of remanufacturing include transportation and storage, handling and packaging, sorting, and disassembly. Understanding disassembly involves capabilities for inspection and sorting, knowing what to disassemble, feedback to designers, inventory control, and scheduling. Finally, there is the matter of reassembly. When remanufactured products are completed, they must be introduced back into consumer channels and forward logistics. Also of importance are the development of market awareness and appreciation; here, issues of target markets, pricing, and warranties must be addressed. Successful remanufacturing requires the development of skills that currently are not a major part of the manufacturing portfolio. Development of skills in reverse logistics will move us closer to the ideal of sustainable development.

Businesses will soon be able to conduct commerce through peer-to-peer networks, bypassing the costs and the limits of centralized B2B exchanges.

Microsoft's Richard Purcell makes the case for dedicating a senior manager to protecting your customers' on-line privacy.

Many companies know they should benchmark their business practices against those of companies outside their own industry. But how to begin? Here's a practical guide.

In a global economy, marketing managers need to consider factors that don't apply in domestic markets. When an Israeli refuses to buy a German car, for instance, the issue isn't product quality. It's history.

Why own your computer applications? You can rent just what you need, when you need it, from a new breed of application service provider.