THE RIGHT MIND-SET FOR MANAGING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Too many managers in the West are intimidated by the task of managing technology. They tiptoe around it, supposing that it needs special too ls, special strategies, and a special mind-set. Well, it doesn't, the authors say. Technology should be managed-controlled, even-like any ot her competitive weapon in a manager's arsenal. The authors came to thi s conclusion in a surprising way. Having set out to compare Western an d Japanese IT-management practices, they were startled to discover tha t Japanese companies rarely experience the IT problems so common in th e United States and Europe. In fact, their senior executives didn't ev en recognize the problems that the authors described. When they dug de eper into to leading companies that the Japanese themselves consider e xemplary IT users, they found that the Japanese see IT as just one com petitive lever among many. Its purpose, very simply, is to help the or ganization achieve its operational goals.The authors recognize that th eir message is counterintuitive, to say the least. In visits to Japan, Western executives have found anything but a model to copy. But a clo ser look reveals that the prevailing wisdom is wrong. The authors foun d five principles of IT management in Japan that, they believe, are no t only powerful but also universal. M. Bensaou and Michael Earl contra st these principles against the practices commonly found in Western co mpanies. While acknowledging that Japan has its own weaknesses with te chnology, particularly in white-collar office settings, they neverthel ess urge senior managers in the West to consider the solid foundation on which Japanese IT management rests.