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Kevin and Debra Rollins Center for eBusiness - e-Business Readiness
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Kevin and Debra Rollins Center for eBusiness

e-Business Readiness

e-Business Readiness

A Customer-Focused Framework
James Craig and Dawn Jutla

A book review by D. Richard Dance, CPA and Principal of SoftResources LLC

February 2001

The purpose of this book is to explain the stakeholder model and eBiz Readiness framework so the readers can assess their e-business readiness and formulate a plan to become e-business ready.

A. Purpose of the Book

The purpose of this book is to explain the stakeholder model and eBiz Readiness framework so the readers can assess their e-business readiness and formulate a plan to become e-business ready.

B. Mind Map of the Book's Contents

This table charts out the approach the book takes.

Intro Chapter 1. Let's Get Ready - the Big Picture
Chapter 2. EBiz Readiness Framework - the Details
Stakeholder Discussions Chapter 3. Customers
Chapter 4. Community
Chapter 5. Operational Partnering
Chapter 6. Strategic Partnering
Chapter 7. Governance
Chapter 8. Agents
Chapter 9. Employees
End Notes Chapter 10. Strategic Planning: Attack and Defend
Appendix Components, Enablers, and Metrics for All Stakeholders

Each chapter follows this outline.

Getting You Prepared Sets the expectations for the chapter
Defining the Horizon Presents the chapter's core concepts
Bob's Perspective Presents the big business viewpoint
Sue's Perspective Shows the small to medium sized business viewpoint
Doing it Today Includes interviews from leaders of actual businesses
Mini Case Studies Gives examples of the framework in action
Are You Ready? Summarizes the chapter's highlights and metrics

C. Definitions

Their Definition of e-Business
In the foreword they say, "E-business is the transformation of key business processes through the use of Internet technologies." Later in Chapter 1 they expand this definition by saying, "E-business is using the network and distributed information technology, knowledge management, and trust mechanisms to transform key business processes and relationships with customers, employees, suppliers, business partners, regulatory parties, and communities. E-business is about changing business models to create new or increase value for the customer."

Their Definition of e-Commerce
E-commerce is a small subset of e-business. It is the small part of e-business that focuses on selling and purchasing goods and services electronically.

D. The Main Message

Three Main Questions This Book Answers
The writer's main premise is that today's businesses are struggling with how to transition into e-business, and how to identify what types of components comprise an e-business. Therefore, they believe an e-business readiness assessment framework is needed to answer at least three of the questions commonly asked by people who are talking about e-business:

1. What is the e-business big picture? (Macro View)
2. Which components and enablers must be in place to support e-business? (Micro View Details)
3. How do we monitor the performance of stakeholder interaction and get feedback? (Measures and Metrics)

What Do they Consider as the Stakeholder Components?
E-Business stakeholders consist of external and internal entities that must communicate with each other in two-way interactions to create the value chain and value web for the customer:

A. External stakeholders
1. Strategic partners: Partners who are planning for the future of your business.
2. Operational partners: Partners who are helping you run your business today.
3. Governance: The individuals applying the rules and regulations that are relevant to your business stakeholders.
4. Customers: The end-purchasers of the product from business and consumer transactions.
5. Community: The people who are interested in your products and services; people who may or may not include your business customers.

B. Internal stakeholders
1. Shareholders: The financial investors in your business (can be external stakeholders).
2. Employees: The people who run your business.

What are Enablers?
To authors Craig and Jutla, the three major enablers that are common to all stakeholders are knowledge management, trust, and technology.

E. Pleasant Surprises Found in the Book

This table shows the page number and idea presented that represented an expected and pleasant surprise of information:

Page #
Pleasant Surprises
16 There is a diagram with a good continuum of what lies in between and brick and mortar business with an intranet and a pure virtual company.
28 The explanation of how stakeholders add value for customers helps bring clarity to the role of stakeholders.
30-38 The author's summary explanation of the three enablers is very good. A must read for executives seeking to understand e-business from a historical and current perspective.
46 The rating scale for e-business components provides useful definitions for many decisions.
50 Figure 2-3 The "star chart" concept is useful for a great many pictures where you want to show what the target might be along various coordinates and how reality stacks up to it.
68-90 The discussion on customer stakeholder components and enablers is a must read. Engage, Order, Fulfill, and Support is the name of the game.
113 The chart of Community components and enablers is illuminating. Engage, Interaction, Services, and Governance are the four shown.
146 The operational partner continuum helps.
148 The content for figures 5-2A and B on the subsets of Trust and Knowledge Management for the Operational Partner Stakeholders is excellent.
158 The discussion on dispute resolution is right on.
197 The chart and discussion of the components and enablers for strategic partnering gets you thinking about your own deals you have done.
246 The discussion of Localization will get you thinking about what is required to have a truly global web site.
272-276 The questions in the area of Governance are complete and useful.
331 The components and enablers for Internal Operations are also very good.
370 The difficulty index to successful e-strategies might get a company thinking about what price it really takes to be successful.
Appendix The appendix is a quick-reference guide to all of the components, enablers, and metrics for each stakeholder that is discussed in the book. It is a marvelous thought-provoking tool that could actually increase one's awareness of how to go about measuring what a company is doing to increase their e-business.

F. Disappointments Found in the Book
As I was reading the book there were several disappointments where the book didn't meet my expectations.

Page #
Disappointments
xxv Dawn Jutla says that she made scrappy rough diagrams on bits of paper because she can't draw to save her life. Others then generated digital graphics for the book. To me that is always problematic because only the author can create the vision of what they really mean. Others can approximate it only. Therefore many of the diagrams in the book are basic block diagrams that make the point, but not creatively in such a way that would make you bookmark the page.
Page 9 Figure 1-3 Essentially, this is the foundational figure for the whole book. It is adequate but utilitarian. With this particular figure, I wish the authors had made an attempt to make it memorable and thereby much more useful to the reader over time.
12 & 13 Repeated clip art. It isn't my favorite, especially when the same piece of clip art is used for different things such as on these two pages. There is so much more creative clip art to choose from these days with the Internet.
56 The math concepts shown might be accurate, but I wonder how many readers will actually use them.
118 Bob and Sue's pictures are basic art; they could be more detailed and artistic.
153 Figure 5-3 on Access Control and Transmission Control just doesn't do it for me.
156 Contract management has too light of discussion on service level agreements (SLA's) and payment models. There is much more too these two topics than the authors let on. However, the discussion on dispute resolution is right on.
211 If you are going to have an interview with someone to show how they really do things make it longer like on pages 211-217, rather than the one page of notes on 203-204.
Chapter 8 This chapter on "Agents" is kind of a misfit. It doesn't show up in the foundational charts as a stakeholder, yet it occupies a chapter like a stakeholder description.
364-368 The section on strategies will not move you ahead to establish one.

G. Who the Book is Best Suited For, and Who is it Not Suited For?

Suited For Not Suited For
A decision-maker who wants to understand the stakeholders, components and enablers of e-business. This is neither a technical book, nor a book for someone who wants to understand all the various forms of e-business such as B2C, B2B, etc.
Someone who wants to know how to measure how effective his or her company is at moving towards e-business or along the business continuum. It is not a book for someone who wants to understand exchanges either public or private.

H. Where to Obtain the Book

The book can be purchased directly from the following sources:

Amazon.com's web site (www.amazon.com) for $ 31.99.
Booksamillion web site at (www.bamm.com) for $ 31.96.
Barnes and Noble web site (www.bn.com) for $39.95
Contentville.com web site (www.contentville.com) for $31.96.

Suggested retail is $39.95 U.S. and $59.95 Canadian.

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