Corporate Information Systems Management BiMBA, Fall 1999 Dr. Jason Chen Gonzaga University Spokane, WA 99223

Corporate Information Systems Management

BiMBA, Fall 1999

Dr. Jason Chen

Gonzaga University

Spokane, WA 99223

Dr. Chen, The Challenge of the Information Systems Technology TM -2

The Basics

• ProfessorJason Chen

OfficeOffice hours before and after class by appt.

• TextApplegate, L. M., McFarlan, F.W., and McKenney,

J. L., Corporate Information Systems Management: Text and Cases. 4th ed. Chicago: Irwin, 1996


Conduct of the Course

• Discussion of text material (instructor)

• Presentation of cases (groups of students)

• Technology briefings (groups of students)


Evaluation

• Participation in discussions and preparation (10%)

• Case presentations (15%)

• Technology briefing (10%)

• Papers (20%)

• Midterm exam (20%)

• Final exam (25%)


Why the course? (Corporate Information Systems Management)• … In the tumultuous last years of the 20th century,

when change was the only certainty and, one after another, fierce new competitors rose up from every corner of the globe to vie for dominance of the world marketplace, enterprise organizations came to understand that their only hope for survival lay with Information Technology. And they called out to their IT managers to instruct them in the ways of IT and to fashion IT into a brave, finely-honed competitive advantage with which to vanquish their enemies ...


Overview of the Course

• “The broad objective of this book is to help individuals and their organizations to better adapt new technologies to their circumstances and thus to compete in their industry segments more effectively.”


Topics

• The Challenge of Information System Technology (Chapter 1)

• The Changing Environment of Information Technology (Chapters 2–5)– Trends– Competitive Advantage– Electronic Commerce– Information, Organization, and Control


• Organization, Management, and Control of the Information Technology Function (Chapters 6–9)– Architectural Alternatives– Organizing and Leading the IT Function– IT Operations– IT Management Processes

• Trends in IT Management (Chapters 10-13)– Strategic Partnerships– IT Development Portfolio– Transnational IT Issues– The IT business


Chapter 1The Challenge of Information

Systems Technology

• What specific components are included in the definition of “Information Systems”?

INFORMATION SYSTEMSINFORMATION SYSTEMS

ORGANIZATIONSORGANIZATIONS TECHNOLOGYTECHNOLOGY

MANAGEMENTMANAGEMENT

INFORMATIOINFORMATIONN

SYSTEMSSYSTEMS

Dr. Chen, The Challenge of the Information Systems Technology TM -TM -1010

SYSTEM INTERDEPENDENCE

BUSINESSBUSINESS

StrategyStrategy

RulesRules

ProceduresProcedures

ORGANIZATION ORGANIZATION INFORMATION SYSTEMINFORMATION SYSTEM

HARDWAREHARDWARE

SOFTWARESOFTWARE DATABASEDATABASE

TELE-TELE-COMMUNICATIONSCOMMUNICATIONS

INTERDEPENDENCEINTERDEPENDENCE



Information Systems Resources

• Hardware• Software• Telecommunication• Data• Procedure• People



Information Technology

• What specific technologies are included in the definition of “Information Technology”?ComputersTelecommunicationsOffice automationSoftware tools


The IT Business

• What are the aspects of “The IT Business” that must be understood and managed?Strategic relevanceCorporate cultureContingencyTechnology transfer

• 1950s: TECHNICAL CHANGES

• 60s-70s: MANAGERIAL CONTROL

• 80s-90s: INSTITUTIONAL CORE ACTIVITIES

• 90s and beyond:

GROWING IMPORTANCE

SCOPE OF INFO SYSTEMS

Automation

Information

Innovation

Paradigm Shift



Challenges in IT Management

• What are the challenges in IT management?Young technologyTechnological growthIT end-user coordinationSpecializationShift in focus


Paradigm Shift

I. Computing Paradigm Shift

II. Business Paradigm Shift



I. Computing paradigm

Users

Networks

Computers Networks

Users

Computers


II. Business Paradigm Shift

Open Systems

Proprietary Systems Mainframes

New Enterprise, Expert Systems

BPR, Paperless Office

Automated Enterprise,

Back Office Automation

On-Line Transaction Processing

Legacy Enterprise, Manual Back Office

Manual Front Office

Client/Server, MultimediaDistributed ComputingObject-Orientation

1970s

1960s

1980s

1990s

and Beyond


NEW OPTIONS FOR ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN

• FLATTENING ORGANIZATIONS• SEPARATING WORK FROM LOCATION• INCREASING FLEXIBILITY• REFINING ORGANIZATIONAL

BOUNDARIES• REORGANIZING WORK FLOWS

*


THE CHANGING MANAGEMENT PROCESS

• ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING

• ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

• ELECTRONIC BUSINESS

*


ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING

SOFTWARE INTEGRATES ALL FACETS:

• PLANNING, MANUFACTURING, INVENTORY, SALES, FINANCE, ACCOUNTING

• TRANSACTIONS ALERT ALL INVOLVED FACTORS

• UPDATES FILES, SPEEDS ACTION, CUTS COST

*


ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

• Electronic commerce (EC) is an emerging concept that describes the buying and selling of products, services and information via computer networks, including the Internet.

&

Dr. Chen, The Trends of the Information Systems Technology TM -24


ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

• INTERNET LINKS BUYERS, SELLERS

• LOWERS TRANSACTION COSTS

• GOODS & SERVICES ADVERTISED, BOUGHT, EXCHANGED WORLDWIDE

• BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS INCREASING

*


ELECTRONIC BUSINESS

• INTRANET: BUSINESS BUILDS PRIVATE, SECURE NETWORK

• E-MAIL, WEB DOCUMENTS, GROUP SOFTWARE EXTENDS EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION & CONTROL

• VIRTUAL ORGANIZATION

*

WHAT YOU CAN DO ON THE INTERNET

• COMMUNICATE & COLLABORATE

• ACCESS INFORMATION

• DISCUSSIONS

• OBTAIN INFORMATION

• ENTERTAINMENT

• BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS

*


SALES & MARKETING

COMPANY

FINANCE COMPANY

LOGISTICS

COMPANY

DESIGN

COMPANY

MANUFACTURING

COMPANY

VIRTUAL ORGANIZATION

CORECORECOMPANYCOMPANY



Virtual Companies (Portable Computing)Virtual Companies (Portable Computing)

A Virtual Company is an Organization composedof several Business Partners that Uses

Information Technology to Link/Share People, Assets, Ideas, Costs, and Resources

for the purpose of producing a product or service.

Virtual Companies are Adaptable and Opportunity-Exploiting Organizations Providing World-Class

Excellence in Their Competencies and Technologies.

A Virtual Company is an Organization composedof several Business Partners that Uses

Information Technology to Link/Share People, Assets, Ideas, Costs, and Resources

for the purpose of producing a product or service.

Virtual Companies are Adaptable and Opportunity-Exploiting Organizations Providing World-Class

Excellence in Their Competencies and Technologies.


Characteristics of Virtual CompaniesCharacteristics of Virtual Companies

Borderless

Opportunism

Adaptability

Trust-Based

Excellence

Technology

SixCharacteristics

of VirtualCompanies

N

A Network Structure Facilitates the Creation of Virtual Companies

Figure 04.10TM - 31

Five Challenges of Five Challenges of Information SystemsInformation Systems

• STRATEGIC: competitive and effective• GLOBALIZATION: multinational IS• INFO ARCHITECTURE: support goals• INVESTMENT: value of IS• RESPONSIBILITY & CONTROL: ethics and

social responsibility– Government regulations

– Government deregulation

– Shrinking budgets and subsidies


N


Six Questions often asked by senior management

1. Is the firm being affected competitively either by omissions in IT work being done or by poor execution of this work?

2. Is the firm targeting its IT application development efforts effectively?

3. Is the IT asset of the firm being managed efficiently?

4. Is the firm’s IT activity sufficiently insulated against the risks of a major operational disaster?

5. Are IT and business leaders capable of dealing with IT-related management challenges?

6. Are the IT resources appropriately placed in the firm?


Systems As Planned Organizational Change

• When we design a new IS, we are redesigning the organization. New IS frequently mean new ways of doing business and working together: – the nature of tasks– the speed with which they must be completed– the nature of supervising (its frequency and

intensity)

*


Systems As Planned Organizational Change

– who has what information about whom and when, where, and how will all be decided in the process of building an information system.


Six Issues in Information Technology

The IT environment What are the eras of IT environment?

IT Architecture and Organization Is the firm’s IT architecture and organization of IT

resources evolving appropriately?

Management Processes Are the firm’s IT planning and control processes

appropriate?

*


Six Issues in Information Technology

Project Management Is the firm’s project management process appropriate?

IT Strategy Is the firm competitive and effectively focused on the

right questions?

The IT Business Is the overall direction of the IT asset appropriately

linked to general management and middle management needs and values?


The IT Environment

Figure 1–1 AdministrativeFramework

PrimaryTarget

Justification/Purpose

Era I Regulatedmonopoly

Organizational Productivity/Efficiency

Era II Freemarket

Individual Individual/Groupeffectiveness

Era III Regulatedfree market

Business process/Interorganizational

Strategic/Competitive

Era IV Collaborative Electronicintegration

Organizationaleffectiveness

1950S -1970S

DP mger

1970S-1980s

End

users

1980S-1990s

Intra-

Orga.

1990S -

beyond

Inter-

Orga.


IT Architecture and Organization

• Distribution of resources

• Networking and international coordination

• Outsourcing– cost effectiveness and reliability– outsourcing strategy

• IT operations– cost efficiency and reliability


Management Processes

• Cost allocation– cost/profit

• Budgeting– policy (fixed vs. transaction-driven)

• Performance monitoring– types of reporting (batch vs. on-line)


TYPES OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS

SALES & MANUFACTURING FINANCE ACCOUNTING HUMAN

KIND OF SYSTEM GROUPS SERVEDKIND OF SYSTEM GROUPS SERVED

STRATEGIC LEVEL SENIOR STRATEGIC LEVEL SENIOR MANAGERSMANAGERS

MANAGEMENT LEVEL MIDDLE MANAGEMENT LEVEL MIDDLE MANAGERSMANAGERS

OPERATIONAL OPERATIONAL

OPERATIONAL LEVEL OPERATIONAL LEVEL MANAGERS MANAGERS

KNOWLEDGE LEVEL KNOWLEDGE & KNOWLEDGE LEVEL KNOWLEDGE &

DATA WORKERSDATA WORKERS

RESOURCESMARKETING


Vision

Mission,Principles,and Values

Goals / Objectives

Strategies

Plans

Tactics

Figure: Hierarchy of Leadership Tools



Project Management

• Implementation risk– project management processes and

methodologies– advocates vs. opponents

• Development methodology– SDLC, JAD, Rapid Prototyping– single vs. multiple


IT Strategy

• IT’s differing strategic roles in different companies– who should be involved, time and financial resources

• Familiarity with nuances of technology– complete the project on time and within the budget

• Congruence with corporate culture– nature of the corporate planning process, – e.g., formality vs. informality of organizational decision

making


IT Business

Is the overall direction of the IT asset appropriately linked to general management and middle management needs and values?

• The marketing of IT solutions– carefully blend the new product opportunities

posed by new technologies with the changing needs of customers.


Five Questions to be asked every six months

1. Do the perspective and skills of the IT team, IT users, and general management team fit the firm’s changing strategy and organization and the IT applications, operating environment, and management processes?

2. Is the firm organized to identify, evaluate, and assimilate new information technologies on a timely basis?

3. Are the three main management systems for integrating the IT environment to the firm as a whole in place and implemented?(strategic planning, management control, project management)

4. Are the security, priority-setting, and control systems for IT operations appropriate for the role it plays in the firm?

5. Are organization structures and coordinating mechanisms in place to ensure IT is appropriately aligned to the needs of the firm?


Modern Manager’s Roles Today's managers are not only expected to use

systems (Information Technology) but are also expected to:

Know how to use information technology (IT) to design competitive and efficient organizations.

Understand the business and system requirements of a global environment.

Use information systems to ensure quality throughout the firm. Participate in the design of a firm's information architecture and

systems.

*


Modern Manager’s Roles Manage the procurement of a variety of IT. Choose among alternative telecommunications options. Manage and control the influence of systems on employees

and customers. Allocate resources to competing system alternatives. Suggest new uses for systems. Understand the ethical dilemmas and controversies that

surround the use of advanced information systems.

11. Understand a global perspective on business and support systems needed to conduct business on an international scale.


Conclusion

• In essence, contemporary managers (like you) are expected to know enough about IT to use in the design and management of their organizations.

• These new management responsibilities require a deeper understanding of IT and systems than ever before.


Documents

Corporate Information Systems Management BiMBA, Fall 1999 Dr. Jason Chen Gonzaga University Spokane, WA 99223