Securing Information Assets - Business Information Review

I have a new article published in Business Information Review (LINK).

In today’s competitive environment, organizations succeed or fail based on how well they manage information. To address this reality, organizations spend millions, if not billions, on securing their information advantages. New information technologies and methodologies are adopted, while old ones are dismantled or upgraded. To win, the information manager must constantly seek to outperform his or her competition. In this article the author asks how he or she does it? Perhaps by acquiring the best new technologies, hiring the most intelligent information professionals, and continuously keeping a watchful eye on the future. But, he asks, does having the best information, the best information systems, and the best information professionals, really pay off? Is there victory in sight? Or, is this just a continuous game with no clear winners? [To read more…LINK]

Desouza, K.C. “Securing Information Assets: The Great Information Game,” Business Information Review, 26 (1), 35-41.

P.S. The journal contains a brief feature on my background and research interest. See “Contributor Profile,” Business Information Review, 26 (1), 42-43.

Harvard Business Review Polska - Outsourcing

I was interviewed by Harvard Business Review Polska on the future of outsourcing. The interview was conducted in conjunction with the launching of the Polish Edition of The Outsourcing Handbook (Kogan Page, 2006). The Polish Edition was released in 2008 - Outsourcing: Podręcznik sprawdzonych praktyk, Warsaw, Poland: Wydawnictwo MT Biznes.

The interview appears in the January issue of Harvard Business Review Polska. I was also quoted in the “10 pułapek projektów outsourcingowych,” which appears in the same issue.

Textbook Case of Good Work - The Seattle Times - Jerry Large

Jerry Large, a columnist for the Seattle Times, wrote a very nice article on my efforts with the Global Text Project…

Kevin Desouza doesn't like waste. I sought him out because I'd read he was getting some of his students to write their own textbook, but that's just part of the story....[LINK]

WorldChanging Seattle - Writing and Publishing Free Textbooks

A nice article on efforts to create a free textbook on Change Management appeared on the WorldChanging Seattle website.

Tulinsky, J. “A Wiki Approach to Writing and Publishing Free Textbooks,” WorldChanging Seattle, January 7, 2009, Available Online at: http://www.worldchanging.com/local/seattle/archives/009273.html

To read about the project, please see - Ideas4Change Blog [LINK].

To learn more about the Global Text Project [LINK]

Reflections on South Africa…Blog Famous?

My blog post on reflections from South Africa has been making headlines on a number of South African’s sites. I spent little over 2 months in South Africa as a visiting professor at the University of the Witwatersrand. See some of the following sites ---

• “SA Innovation to be Seen through Eyes of Top Bloggers,” The Homecoming Revolution, November 19, 2008. http://www.homecomingrevolution.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=684(Reprinted at:
  “SA Innovation to be Seen through Eyes of Top Bloggers,” MatthewBuckland.com, November 19, 2008. http://www.matthewbuckland.com/?p=574)
  
• Barber, S. “Why Desouza's Thinking Gives Pause for Thought,” BusinessDay, November 21, 2008. http://www.businessday.co.za/PrintFriendly.aspx?ID=BD4A889369 (Reprinted at: “South Africa: Why Desouza's Thinking Gives Pause for Thought,” AllAfrica.com, November 20, 2008, http://allafrica.com/stories/200811210115.html; “Authentic Praise,” IZWI, November 20, 2008, http://www.izwi.com/?p=63)
  
• Barber, S. “SA Magic Makes another Believer,” Brand South Africa Blog, September 2, 2008, http://www.brandsouthafricablog.com/bloggers/sa-magic-makes-another-believer/

Term Papers into Textbooks - iNews - Fall 2008

An interesting article that describes the work being done by graduate students at the Information School, University of Washington as part of the Global Text Project appeared in the fall edition of iNews.

Students of my IMT 581, Information and the Management of Change, class have collaborated with consultants and managers at BearingPoint, a global strategy consulting firm, to create a book on change management for the GTP. Students interacted with consultants and executives at BearingPoint, sought ways to contribute to the book or an individual chapter, and then arrived at a statement of work. The goal of this assignment was to give the student (1) a chance to examine a concept in change management in a detailed manner, (2) an opportunity to contribute to an external product that will impact the lives of future students in the field of change management, and (3) a chance to work with members of a leading management and technology organization to co-create a valuable product. Based on the feedback, both students and the practitioners enjoyed the project, the interactions, and each group learned about course-related topics that enhanced their knowledge bases. The model of collaborating with industry on student assignments for a global cause was an innovation that I prototyped, and, based on the positive response from both students and practitioners, I am currently considering how to scale this model to involve a wide array of industry participants into similar projects.

To read the entire issue - http://www.ischool.washington.edu/events/newsletter.aspx

Information-Communication Technologies Open Up Innovation

I have a new paper published in Research-Technology Management - Information-Communication Technologies Open Up Innovation.

Overview:

Information-Communication Technologies (ICTs) are no longer just for internal use. Rather, in the era of open and distributed innovation, they must be leveraged by businesses and organizations to reach, record and review ideas from internal and external sources ranging from vendors, suppliers and customers to employees. ICTs enable the entire innovation process, from idea generation and development to experimenting and testing, and, finally, to commercialization of ideas.

Awazu, Y., Baloh, P., Desouza, K.C., Wecht, C.H., Kim, J.Y., and Jha, S. “Information-Communication Technologies Open Up Innovation,” Research-Technology Management, 52(1), 2009, 51-58.

To access the paper: LINK

Research-Technology Management is the award-winning, bi-monthly journal of the Industrial Research Institute, published since 1958. It contains peer-reviewed articles covering the entire spectrum of technological innovation, from research and development through product development to marketing. RTM is a leading source of knowledge and best practices on innovation management for leaders of research, development, and engineering worldwide. [LINK]

Outsourcing Conference in Poland…A Smashing Success

I had a great time in Warsaw, Poland. During my time in Warsaw, I launched the Polish Edition of The Outsourcing Handbook (Kogan Page, 2006). The Polish version, Outsourcing: Podręcznik sprawdzonych praktyk, is published by Wydawnictwo MT Biznes.

I enjoyed meeting with executives from leading Polish organizations. We had excellent discussions and debates on a wide assortment of topics from the role of outsourcing in emerging economies, to how the financial crisis will impact outsourcing strategies of vendors and clients, and the future of outsourcing for competitive strategies.

Here are some press articles that covered the conference:

• Nurska, K. “Na Kryzys: Outsourcing,” Brief.pl, November 28, 2008, Available Online at: http://www.brief.pl/wiadomosci/in-brief/art754,na-kryzys-outsourcing.html
  
  Laskowska, H. “IBM współtworzy podręcznik sprawdzonych praktyk,” e-biznes.pl, November 28, 2008, Available Online at: http://www.e-biznes.pl/inf/2008/24761.phpbiznes.pl/inf/2008/24761.php

Warsaw...The Final Set of Photos...