Chapter 4. Environment, Sustainability, and Innovation
Chapter 4 Study Questions
What is in the environment of organizations?
What are key issues in organization–environment relationships?
What are the emerging challenges of sustainability and the environment?
How do organizations accomplish innovation?
Learning From Others, A Keen Eye Will Spot Lots of Opportunities
Who would have predicted that something called "cloud computing" would challenge the way software firms traditionally serve business customers? Marc Benioff did. He saw the great potential of offering software services through the Internet and started Salesforce.com, now a powerhouse in business-to-business computing. It sells online services that allow firms to track sales, update accounts, bill customers, and handle an expanding variety of customer relationship functions.
Cloud computing frees users from costly in-house hardware and software ownership. Instead, they basically "rent" services delivered from remote servers maintained by firms such as Salesforce.com. Benioff's genius in anticipating this market scored a bull's eye. His business model of on-demand computer services quickly moved from the fashion-forward stage to dead center in a popular and increasingly competitive industry.
Forward looking and confident in taking risk, Benioff recognized the opportunity in leading a shift away from selling business software as a product and toward selling it as a service. The Wall Street Journal now calls Salesforce.com "the ...
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