A practical, managerial-oriented approach to show how IT is used in organizations for the improvement of quality and productivity. Contains a variety of cases which highlight problems many corporations encounter, as well as international cases, written by prominent international figures in the field, to illustrate how IT can be adapted to conform to other cultures. Substantial coverage of new technology and applications (e.g. fuzzy logic, neural computing, hypermedia). Icons highlight the use of functional areas of business, health care, and government, not-for profit agencies.