Chapter 9: ENTERPRISE AND GLOBAL MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Flashcards
Enumeration:
How should information technology be managed?
- Managing the Joint Development and Implementation of Business/IT
Strategies - Managing the Development and Implementation of New Business/IT
Applications and Technologies. - Managing the IT Organization and the IT Infrastructure.
Led by the CEO (chief executive officer) and CIO (chief information officer), proposals are developed by business and IT managers and
professionals regarding the use of IT to support the strategic business priorities of the company. This business/IT planning process aligns IT with strategic
business goals. The process also includes evaluating the business case for
investing in the development and implementation of each proposed business/
IT project.
Managing the Joint Development and Implementation of Business/IT
Strategies
This step is the primary responsibility of the CIO and CTO (chief technology officer). This area of IT management involves managing the processes for information systems development and implementation we
discussed in Chapter 12, as well as the responsibility for research into the strategic business uses of new information technologies.
Managing the Development and Implementation of New Business/IT
Applications and Technologies.
The CIO and IT managers share responsibility for managing the work of IT professionals who are typically organized into a variety of project teams and other organizational subunits. In addition, they are responsible for managing the IT infrastructure of hardware, software, databases, telecommunications networks, and other IT resources, which must be acquired, operated, monitored,
and maintained.
Managing the IT Organization and the IT Infrastructure.
Enumeration:
Major components of information technology management.
- Managing Business and IT Strategy
- Managing Application Development and Technology
- Managing the IT Organization and Infrastructure
which focuses on discovering innovative approaches to satisfying a company’s customer value and business value goals. This planning process leads to the development of strategies and business models for new business applications, processes, products, and services.
business/IT planning process
Enumeration:
The business/IT planning process has three
major components:
- Strategy Development
- Resource Management
- Technology Architecture
Both the ______ and the _____ of a company must manage the development of complementary business and IT strategies to meet its customer value and business value vision
CEO and CIO
This ___________process is necessary because, as we have seen so often in this text, information technologies are a fast-changing but vital component in many strategic business initiatives
coadaptation
Enumeration:
The business/IT planning process
- Customer and Business Value
up arrow: key insights
down arrow: more questions - Business Strategies and Models
up arrow: key objectives
down arrow: feedback - Business/IT Strategies and Architecture
up arrow: priorities
down arrow: feedback - Business Application Development and Deployment
Developing business strategies that support a company’s business vision
Strategy Development
Developing strategic plans for managing or outsourcing a company’s IT resources, including IS personnel, hardware, software, data, and network resources.
Resource Management
Enumeration:
Major Components of IT Architecture
- Technology Platform
- Data Resources
- Applications Architecture
- IT Organization
Making strategic IT choices that reflect an information technology architecture designed to support a company’s business/IT initiatives.
Technology Architecture
The ____________ created by the strategic business/IT planning process is a conceptual design, or blueprint, that includes the 4 major components
IT architecture
The Internet, intranets, extranets, and other networks, computer systems, system software, and integrated enterprise application software provide a computing and communications infrastructure, or platform, that supports the strategic use of information technology for e-business, e-commerce, and other business/IT applications.
Technology Platform
Many types of operational and specialized databases, including data warehouses and Internet/intranet databases, store and provide data and information for business processes and decision support.
Data Resources
Business applications of information technology are designed as an integrated architecture or portfolio of enterprise systems that support strategic business initiatives, as well as cross-functional business processes.
For example, an applications architecture should include support for developing
and maintaining the interenterprise supply chain applications and integrated enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management applications
Applications Architecture
The organizational structure of the IS function within a company and the distribution of IS specialists are designed to meet the changing
strategies of a business. The form of the IT organization depends on the managerial philosophy and business/IT strategies formulated during the strategic planning process.
IT Organization
Year when radical shift is occurring in corporate computing(recentralization of
management). It’s when a data processing
manager could sit at a console and track all
the technology assets of the corporation.
1970s
Year that departments got their own PCs and software; client/server networks sprang up all across companies.
1980s and early 1990s
Enumeration:
Three things have happened in the past few years in managing the IT function
- The Internet boom inspired businesses to connect all those networks;
- companies put on their intranets essential applications without which their businesses could not function; and
- it became apparent that maintaining PCs on a network is very, very expensive. Such changes create an urgent need for
centralization.
In the early years of computing, the development of large mainframe computers and telecommunications networks and terminals caused a ____________ of computer hardware and software, databases, and information specialists at the corporate level of organizations
centralization
Next, the development of minicomputers and microcomputers accelerated a _____________ trend, which prompted a move back toward _________________ by many business firms
downsizing, decentralization
involves managing activities such as systems
analysis and design, prototyping, applications programming, project management, quality assurance, and system maintenance for all major business/IT development projects. Managing application development requires managing the activities of teams of systems analysts, software developers, and other IS professionals working on a variety of information systems development projects
Application development management
is concerned with the use of hardware, software, network, and personnel resources in the corporate or business unit data centers (computer centers) of an organization.
IS operations management
T or F.
the management of IT within organizations has evolved from centralization to decentralization and now towards a hybrid model. Companies are also exploring outsourcing options to streamline their IT operations and focus on their core business activities
True
The success or failure of an information services organization rests primarily on the
quality of its people. Many firms consider IT staff planning, or recruiting, training,
and retaining qualified IS personnel, as one of their greatest challenges.
IT Staff Planning
One of the most important jobs of information services managers is to recruit qualified personnel and develop, organize, and direct the capabilities of existing personnel. Employees must be continually trained to keep up with the latest developments in a fast-moving and highly technical field.
IT Staff Planning
oversees all use of information technology in many companies and brings it into alignment with strategic business goals. Thus, all traditional computer services, Internet technology, telecommunications network services, and other IS technology support services are the responsibility of this executive
chief information officer (CIO)
______________concentrate on business/IT planning and strategy
CIO
They also work with the CEO and other
top executives to develop strategic uses of information technology in e-business and
e-commerce that help make the firm more competitive in the marketplace
CIO
Developments in information systems technology have had, and will continue to have, a major impact on the operations, costs, management work environment, and competitive position of many organizations.
Technology Management
In many companies, ________________ is the primary responsibility of a ___________ , who is in charge of all information technology planning and deployment.
technology management. chief technology officer (CTO)
Teams and workgroups of business professionals commonly use PC workstations, software packages, and the Internet, intranets, and other networks to develop and apply information technology to their work activities. Thus, many companies have responded by creating _______________, functions to support and manage end-user and workgroup computing.
user services, or client services,
provide both opportunities and problems for business unit managers
End-user services
T or F. Also important is the development of applications with proper security and quality controls to promote correct performance and safeguard the integrity of corporate and departmental networks and databases.
True
__________________is the purchase of goods or services that were previously provided internally from third-party partners.
______________is a generic term used for a broad range of information technology functions that are selectively contracted to an external service provider.
Outsourcing
Enumeration:
Five main reason behind a decision to outsource
- Save Money—Achieve Greater Return on Investment (ROI)
- Focus on Core Competencies
- Achieve Flexible Staffing Levels
- Gain Access to Global Resources
- Gain Access to Global Resources
Outsourcing IS/IT functions to skilled service providers is often a strategic approach to stretching strained budgets. Companies that take a well-managed approach to outsourcing can gain cost savings of upwards of 40–80 percent.
Save Money—Achieve Greater Return on Investment (ROI)
Outsourced professionals allow an organization and its employees to focus on the
business they are in rather than a business in which they are not. By using an outsourcing strategy for application development, an organization can focus its IS
professionals on identifying and solving business problems rather than on programming and prototyping new applications.
Focus on Core Competencies
Strategic use of an outsourcing approach to IS/IT functions can result in business
growth without increasing overhead. Outsourcing provides a pool of qualified
professionals available for unique, niche, or overflow projects. If the unique skill
set required by an organization is difficult to find or expensive to maintain in-house, outsourcing can allow for the acquisition of the needed expertise.
Achieve Flexible Staffing Levels
The Outsourcing Institute asserts that the rules for successfully growing a business have changed: “It’s no longer about what you own or build. . . . [Instead]
success is hinged to resources and talent you can access.” Using global expertise
allows an organization to gain the advantage of skilled labor, regardless of location, and significantly increase the quality of its deliverables. As such, outsourcing
can create opportunities for smaller businesses that might not otherwise be possible due to costs or geophysical constraints.
Gain Access to Global Resources
Outsourcing extends the traditional small business benefits of flexibility and
responsiveness, allowing smaller organizations to compete effectively against
bigger firms. Supplementing an existing workforce with offshore support could
allow for productivity 24 hours a day. Having access to resources able to work on
key projects even while local employees are asleep can serve to accelerate time to
market and provide a key competitive advantage.
Decrease Time to Market
________is also increasingly becoming part of a strategic approach to IS/IT management.
____________ can be defined as a relocation of an organization’s business processes (including production/manufacturing)
to a lower-cost location, usually overseas.
Offshoring
Coupled with the digitization of many services, it became possible to shift the actual delivery location of services to low-cost locations in
a manner theoretically transparent to end users.
Offshoring
India, the Philippines, Ireland, and Eastern European countries benefited greatly
from this trend due to their large pool of English-speaking and technically qualified
workers.
Offshoring
T or F.
Managing information technology is an easy task. The information systems function often has performance problems in many organizations. The promised benefits of
information technology have occurred in many documented cases.
False
Enumeration:
Failures in IT Management
- Information technology is not being used effectively by companies that use IT primarily to computerize traditional business processes instead of developing innovative e-business processes involving customers, suppliers, and other business partners, e-commerce, and Web-enabled decision support.
- Information technology is not being used efficiently by information systems that
provide poor response times and frequent downtimes, or by IS professionals and
consultants who do not properly manage application development projects.
Involving business managers in the governance of the IS function and business professionals in the development of IS applications should thus shape the response of management to the challenge of improving the business value of information technology
Management Involvement
Information technology governance (ITG) is a subset discipline of corporate governance focused on the information technologies (IT), information systems (IS), their
performance, use, and associated risks.
IT Governance
T or F.
International dimensions have become a vital part of managing a business intelligence in the inter-networked global economies and markets of today.
False
Developing appropriate business
and IT strategies for the global marketplace should be the first step in _______________________.
global information technology management
a major __________- is that many countries have rules regulating or prohibiting transfer of data across their national boundaries (transborder data flows), especially personal information such as personnel records.
political challenge
________________ in global business and IT refer to the effects of geography on the economic realities of international business activities. The sheer physical distances involved are still a major problem, even in this day of Internet telecommunications and jet travel
Geoeconomic challenges
____________facing global business and IT managers include differences in languages, cultural interests, religions, customs, social attitudes, and political philosophies.
Obviously, global IT managers must be trained and sensitized to such cultural differences before they are sent abroad or brought into a corporation’s home country.
Cultural challenges
___________ in which foreign subsidiaries are autonomous but depend on headquarters for new processes, products, and ideas
International strategies
___________ in which a company’s worldwide operations are closely managed by
corporate headquarters
Global strategies
__________________ , where the company’s
business depends heavily on its information
systems and Internet technologies to help it
integrate its global business activities.
Transnational strategy
Enumeration:
3 Global Business/IT Main Strategies
- International strategies
- Global strategies
- Transnational strategy
Their IT applications, however, also depend on a variety of _______________________, that is, business requirements caused by the nature of the industry and its competitive or environmental forces
global business drivers
The applications of information technology developed by global companies depend
on their____________________ and their expertise and experience in IT.
global business/IT strategies
Enumeration: Business Drivers of Global IT
- Global Customers
- Global Products
- Global Operations
- Global Resources
- Global Collaboration
Customers are people who may travel anywhere or companies with global operations. Global IT can help provide fast, convenient service.
Global Customers
Products are the same throughout the world or are assembled by subsidiaries throughout the world. Global IT can help manage worldwide marketing and quality control.
Global Products
Parts of a production or assembly process are assigned to subsidiaries based on changing economic or other conditions. Only global IT can support such geographic flexibility.
Global Operations
The use and cost of common equipment, facilities, and people are shared by subsidiaries of a global company. Global IT can keep track of such shared resources
Global Resources
The knowledge and expertise of colleagues in a global company can be quickly accessed, shared, and organized to support individual or group efforts. Only global IT can support such enterprise collaboration.
Global Collaboration
The management of technology platforms (also called the technology infrastructure)
is another major dimension of global IT management—that is, managing the hardware, software, data resources, telecommunications networks, and computing facilities that support global business operations
Global IT Platforms
T or F.
So the Internet and the World Wide Web have now become vital components in international business and commerce. Within a few years, the Internet, with its interconnected network of thousands of networks of computers and databases, has established itself as a technology platform free of many traditional international boundaries and limits.
True
T or F.
The Internet, along with its related intranet and extranet technologies, provides a low-cost interactive channel for communications and data exchange with employees, customers, suppliers, distributors, manufacturers, product developers, financial backers, information providers, and so on
True
_______________ have been a subject of political controversy and technology barriers in global business operations for many years but have become more visible with the growth of the Internet and the pressures of e-commerce.
Global data access issues
_______________ by the governments of
the countries deemed most restrictive by the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
Internet access
Other __________________ arise from disturbances caused by systems implementation and maintenance activities
systems development issues
Several strategies can be used to solve some of the systems development problems that arise in global IT. It requires development team collaboration and managerial oversight to meet the global needs of a business. So, global systems development teams are making heavy use of the Internet, intranets, groupware, and other electronic collaboration technologies.
Systems Development Strategies
