IT success! [[electronic resource] ] : towards a new model for information technology / / Michael Gentle

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910451065203321
• Autore: Gentle Michael <1957->
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: Chichester ; ; Hoboken, NJ, : John Wiley & Sons, c2007
• ISBN: 1-281-13539-9; 9786611135393; 0-470-72441-2
• Edizione: [1st edition]
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (184 p.)
• Disciplina: 004.068/4; 005.1
• Soggetti: Information resources management; Information technology - Management; Strategic planning; Electronic books.
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Note generali: Description based upon print version of record.
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references and index.
• Nota di contenuto: IT SUCCESS! Towards a New Model for Information Technology; Contents; Introduction; Acknowledgements; Abbreviations; Part I Blinded by Specs; 1 In Search of Excellence the Fundamentals; The more things change, the more they stay the same; A worldwide phenomenon; How the traditional IT model started; The construction industry trap; The free lunch trap; Houses of ill repute; A business problem rather than an IT problem; IT and original sin; No sacred cows; 2 IT 101 - The Basics for Non-Specialists; The process breakdown for traditional IT activities; The process breakdown for business (i.e. non-IT) activitiesThe fundamental difference between IT and non-IT activities; 'That's not my problem!' - process ownership and behaviour; 3 The Flaws of the Traditional Model; The unintended consequences of the waterfall method; In search of a pizza parlour manager; Who provides process expertise - client or vendor?; When standard client-vendor relationships are possible; When standard client-vendor relationships pose problems; Is a standard client-vendor relationship possible for ; IT?; The 'Statement of Requirements' (SoR) trap; A poor to non-existent pricing modelShould IT be run like a business (i.e. an ESP)?; The limits of outsourcing; Current IT organizational trends; The ultimate litmus test to determine one's business model; What model would be appropriate for IT?; Part II Building a New Business Model for IT; 4 Managing Demand; Managing demand - traditional model; Managing demand - new model; Capturing demand and identifying opportunities; Prioritizing and approving demand; Planning approved demand; Linking demand to resource capability; Approving demand based on portfolios; The missing component in Project Portfolio ManagementBusiness cases are in the eye of the beholder; Building the IT plan and budget; Demand from a customer perspective; Shaking off the chains of the construction industry; Funding approved demand; Roles and responsibilities; 5 Managing Supply; Managing supply - traditional model; Managing supply - new model; Iterative development in practice; Why prototyping has never become mainstream; Is prototyping the answer to everything?; Project critical success factors; Maintenance - letting go of the M-word; Delivery and implementation; Service and support6 Monitoring Costs and Benefits; Monitoring costs and benefits for traditional IT activities; Monitoring costs and benefits for business (non-IT) activities; Monitoring costs and benefits - new model; Ownership and accountability for costs and benefits; Cost-benefit analysis during the life of a project; It is normal for costs and benefits to change!; Portfolio performance monitoring; Cost-benefit analysis after project delivery; 7 Financials; The main categories of IT costs; Ownership of IT costs for the regulation of supply and demand; Who has the final say for IT investments?
• Sommario/riassunto: "Fifty years after the birth of corporate computing, IT today is still characterized by 50-70% project failure rates. Which is pretty scary when you come to think of it: either a goblin has cast a spell on a whole profession - or that profession is doing something fundamentally wrong". IT Success! challenges the widespread assumption that an IT department is like a building contractor whose project managers, architects and engineers (all construction industry terms...) are supposed to deliver systems on schedule, within budget and to spec. Michael Gentle explains why this is not

Federal tax policy and charitable giving [[electronic resource] /] / Charles T. Clotfelter

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910451285203321
• Autore: Clotfelter Charles T
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: Chicago, : University of Chicago Press, 1985
• ISBN: 1-281-22322-0; 9786611223229; 0-226-11061-3
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (336 p.)
• Collana: National Bureau of Economic Research monograph
• Disciplina: 336.2/06; 336.206; 336.24
• Soggetti: Charitable bequests - United States - Mathematical models; Corporations - Charitable contributions - United States - Mathematical models; Income tax deductions for charitable contributions - United States - Mathematical models; Voluntarism - United States - Mathematical models; Electronic books.
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Note generali: Description based upon print version of record.
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliography and indexes.
• Nota di contenuto: Front matter -- National Bureau of Economic Research -- Relation of the Directors to the Work and Publications of the National Bureau of Economic Research -- Contents -- Preface -- 1. Tax Policy and Support for the Nonprofit Sector: An Overview -- 2. Contributions by Individuals: Estimates of the Effects of Taxes -- 3. Contributions by Individuals: Simulating the Effects of Tax Policies -- 4. Volunteer Effort -- 5. Corporate Contributions -- 6. Charitable Bequests -- 7. Foundations -- 8. Charitable Giving Behavior and the Evaluation of Tax Policy -- Appendix A. Description of Pooled Data Set for Individual Contributions -- Appendix B. Means, Estimated Coefficients, Variances, and Covariances for Individual Giving Equations, I975 -- Appendix C. Volunteering and Giving in a Simple Model of Individual Behavior -- Appendix D. Description of National Study of Philanthropy and Related ; Transformations -- Appendix E. Calculation of Marginal Tax Rates on Corporate Income -- Appendix F. Top Marginal Tax Rates on Corporate Net Income, 1936-77 -- Appendix G. Comparison of Aggregate Tax-Rate Variables -- References -- Author Index -- Subject Index
• Sommario/riassunto: The United States is distinctive among Western countries in its reliance on nonprofit institutions to perform major social functions. This reliance is rooted in American history and is fostered by federal tax provisions for charitable giving. In this study, Charles T. Clotfelter demonstrates that changes in tax policy-effected through legislation or inflation-can have a significant impact on the level and composition of giving. Clotfelter focuses on empirical analysis of the effects of tax policy on charitable giving in four major areas: individual contributions, volunteering, corporate giving, and charitable bequests. For each area, discussions of economic theory and relevant tax law precede a review of the data and methodology used in econometric studies of charitable giving. In addition, new econometric analyses are presented, as well as empirical data on the effect of taxes on foundations. While taxes are not the most important determinant of contributions, the results of the analyses presented here suggest that charitable deductions, as well as tax rates and other aspects of the tax system, are significant factors in determining the size and distribution of charitable giving. This work is a model for policy-oriented research efforts, but it also supplies a major (and very timely) addition to the evidence that must inform future proposals for tax reform.