The Digital MBA

In The Digital MBA, Daniel Burnstein and fourteen management software experts bring you not only an authorative management primer covering the most critical tasks faced by managers today, but also an introduction to new breed of software that gives you a computer-assisted advantage as you perform these tasks. Dubbed 'MBA-ware', these interactive business-management programs are designed to guide you step-by-step through crucial decision-making and analytical processes. Because your input is utilized, they help you develop and enhance your real-world management skills. Tutorials for recommended MBA-programs accompany each discussion of critical management skill areas, which include:

• Managing People and Projects
• product and human-resources management
• negotiation strategies
• Strategic Planning
• developing comprehensive business strategies
• financial planning and budgeting
• Financial Forecasting
• forecasting using statistics
• analysing risk and uncertainty in marketing planning, finance, and production
• Business Process Modeling
• building effective models
• process simulations
• decision analysis

The programs discussed in this book are found (in special demo versions) on the accompanying CD-ROM. Each program is recommended by The Management Software Association, a nonprofit organization that promotes the use of MBA-ware, and many have been favorably reviewed in the business pages of major publications, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the London Financial Times.

• Part I: Managing People and Projects
  1. Software Tools for Managing People and Goals
     • The Changing Business Management Environment
     • The Difficulty in Managing People and Goals
     • Traditional Software Approaches
     • ManagePro Features and Design Goals
     • Review Writer Features and Design Goals
     • The ManagePro Guided Tour
     • Walk-Through of Avatos Review Writer
     • Conclusion
  2. Managing Occupational Illness and Injury Costs
     • Risk Control Management: Improve Profits and Be Ethical
     • Measurement: The Key to Loss-Control Management
     • OSHA Regulations and the Issue of Recordability
     • Approaches to Loss-Control Management
     • Creating Custom Reports
     • A Walk-Through of the OSHALOG Demo
     • Conclusion
  3. Negotiation and Computers
     • Negotiation in Everyday Life
     • Strategies of Negotiation
     • How to Prepare for Business Negotiations: Find and Track the Issues
     • A Walk-Through of Negotiator Pro
     • Conclusion
  4. Computer-Aided Thinking for Business
     • Project Planning in a Corporate Environemnt
     • Negotiation Preparation Before Computers
     • Creative Problem-Solving Before Computers
     • Program Overviews
     • Conclusion
• Part II: Strategic and Financial Planning
  5. Industry Structure Analysis and Strategic Business Planning
     • Industry Structure Analysis
     • Capabilities Analysis
     • The Role of Computers in Strategic Analysis
     • Strategic Analysis with Business Insight
     • A Hands-on Tutorial for Business Insight
     • Conclusion
  6. Supporting Market-Driven Change
     • Why Change Is Difficult
     • Enterprise Support Systems
     • Features of the Product Planning Advisor
     • Creating a Product Plan
     • Environment
     • Conclusion
  7. Integrated Business Planning for Financial Success
     • Introduction to the Financial Planning Concept
     • Destiny Business Information & Planning System
     • Conclusion
• Part III: Business Process Modeling
  8. Stop Playing What-If and Start Making Decisions
     • Decision Making Is Hard
     • Decision Analysis Can Help
     • A Solid Analytical Foundation
     • A Proven Management Process
     • Decision Analysis on a Computer
     • Decision Analysis in Action
     • Conclusion
  9. Strategic Reengineering to Create High-Performance Organizations
     • A New Business Paradigm
     • Reengineering: Silver Bullet or Overhyped Blank?
     • Tools for Business Process Reengineering
     • Overview of the ithink Operating Environment
     • A Walk-Through and Tutorial of ithink Software
     • Conclusion
  10. Beyond Guesswork and Speculation: Dynamic Modeling for Reengineering
      • The Need for Change
      • Business Process Reengineering
      • Modeling and Simulation
      • Extend+BPR
      • Conclusion
• Part IV: Sales and Financial Forecasting
  11. Risk Analysis for Business Decision Support
      • Characteristics of Risk
      • Modeling and Simulation vs. "What-If" Analysis
      • @RISK for Windows
      • An @RISK Tutorial
      • Another @RISK Example
      • Conclusion
  12. Making Informed Decisions with Statistical Forecasting
      • Forecasting in a Corporate Environment
      • Creating Statistically Based Forecasts
      • A Walk-Through of Forecast Pro
      • Conclusion
  13. Smart Solutions to Business Forecasting Problems
      • The New Wave of PC Forecasting
      • Forecasting with Company Data
      • Adding External Data
      • The Need for Business Judgement
      • The Need for Speed and Connectivity
      • Solving Business Forecasting Problems
      • Features of SmartForecasts
      • A Test Drive of SmartForecasts
      • Conclusion
  • Appendix A Selected Bibliography

This book stinks (in reality, it is only an manual to the enclosed CD-ROM). Unfortunately, the software stinks even worse.