Fluent Essays

Why is it important for business strategy to drive organizational strategy and IS strategy? What might happen if the business strategy was not the driver? Provide extensive additional information on the topicExplain, define, or analyze the topic in detailShare an applicable personal experienceProvide an outside source (for example, an article from the UC Library) that applies to the topic, along with additional information about the topic or the source (please cite properly in APA)Make an argument concerning the topic. At least one scholarly source should be used in the initial discussion thread. Be sure to use information from your readings and other sources from the UC Library. Use proper citations and references in your post.PLEASE SEE THE ATTACHMENTS FOR MATERIAL ch01_1_.pptx aligning_it_and_business_strategy_australian.pdf Unformatted Attachment Preview Managing and Using Information Systems: A Strategic Approach – Sixth Edition Keri Pearlson, Carol Saunders, and Dennis Galletta © Copyright 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Chapter 1 The Information Systems Strategy Triangle Kaiser Permanente (KP) Opening Case • What was KP’s business strategy in 2015? • On what were bonuses to doctors based under the “fix me” system? • What would the new idea be called instead of a “fix me” system? • What is the new basis for end-of-year bonuses? • What goal alignment has helped KP’s success? • What IS components are part of this? • Could only the IS components be changed to achieve their success? • Could only the strategy be changed to achieve their success? © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 3 The Information Systems Strategy Triangle Business Strategy Organizational Strategy Information Strategy These need to be balanced. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 4 What is a “Strategy?” • Coordinated set of actions to fulfill objectives, purposes, or goals • It sets limits on what the organization seeks to accomplish • Starts with a mission Company Mission Statement Zappos To provide the best customer service possible. Internally we call this our WOW philosophy. Amazon We seek to be Earth’s most customer-centric company for three primary customer sets: consumer customers, seller customers and developer customers. Sell good merchandise at a reasonable profit, treat your customers like human beings and they will always come back for more. L.L. Bean © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 5 Business Strategy What is a business strategy? • It is where a business seeks to go and how it expects to get there • It is not a business model, although it includes business models as one component of a business strategy • Business models include subscriptions, advertising, licenses, etc. • Business models do not include where the business seeks to go, and only the revenue portion of how it expects to get there © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 7 Generic Strategies Framework • Michael Porter: How businesses can build a competitive advantage • Three primary strategies for achieving competitive advantage: • Cost leadership – lowest-cost producer. • Differentiation – product is unique. • Focus – limited scope – can accomplish this via cost leadership or differentiation within the segment © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 8 Three Strategies for Achieving Competitive Advantage Strategic Target Strategic Advantage Industry Wide Uniqueness Perceived by Customer Low Cost Position Differentiation Cost Leadership Particular Segment Only Focus © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 9 Three Strategies for Achieving Competitive Advantage Examples Strategic Target Strategic Advantage Industry Wide Particular Segment Only Uniqueness Perceived by Customer Low Cost Position Differentiation Cost Leadership Apple Wal-Mart Marriott © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Focus Ritz Carlton 10 Dynamic Strategies • Beware of Hypercompetition • Can lead to a “red ocean” environment • Cutthroat competition – zero sum game • Every advantage is eroded—becoming a cost. • Sustaining an advantage can be a deadly distraction from creating new ones. • D’Avenis says: Goal of advantage should be disruption, not sustainability • Initiatives are achieved through series of small steps. Get new advantage before old one erodes. • Better to adopt a “blue ocean” strategy • Change the industry; create new segments/products © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 11 Creative Destruction • GE’s Approach under Jack Welch • Ask people to imagine how to destroy and grow your business • DYB: Imagine how competitors would want to destroy your business. • GYB: Counteract that by growing the business in some way to: • Reach new customers/markets • Better serve existing customers © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 12 Summary Strategic Approach Key Idea Application to Information Systems Porter’s generic strategies Firms achieve competitive advantage through cost leadership, differentiation, or focus. Understanding which strategy is chosen by a firm is critical to choosing IS to complement the strategy. Dynamic environment strategies Speed, agility, and aggressive moves and countermoves by a firm create competitive advantage. The speed of change is too fast for manual response making IS critical to achieving business goals. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 13 Organizational Strategy Organizational Strategy • What is organizational strategy? • Organizational design and • Choices about work processes • How do you manage organizational, control, and cultural variables? • Managerial Levers © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 15 Managerial Levers © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 16 Information Systems Strategy IS Strategy • What is an IS Strategy? - The plan an organization uses in providing information services. • Four key IS infrastructure components © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 18 Information systems strategy matrix. What Who Where Hardware The physical devices of the system System users and managers Physical location of devices (cloud, datacenter, etc.) Software The programs, applications, and utilities System users and managers The hardware it resides on and physical location of that hardware Networking The way hardware is connected to other hardware, to the Internet and to other outside networks. System users and managers; company that provides the service Where the nodes, wires, and other transport media are Data Bits of information stored in the system Owners of data; data administrators Where the information resides © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 19 Illustration in a Consulting Firm What Who Where Hardware Laptops, servers to store info and back up laptops Consultants have laptops, managed by the IS Dept. Laptops are mobile; servers are centralized Software Office suite; collaboration tools Software is on consultants’ laptops but managed centrally Much resides on laptops; some only resides on servers Networking Internet; hard wired connections in office; remote lines from home, satellite, or client offices ISP offers service; Internal IS group provides servers and access Global access is needed; Nodes are managed by ISPs Data Work done for clients; personnel data Data owned by firm but made available to consultants as needed Resides on cloud and copies “pulled” into laptops as needed. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 20 One IS Strategy: Social Strategy • Collaboration • Extend the reach of stakeholders to find and connect with one-another • Engagement • Involve stakeholders in the business via blogs; communities • Innovation • Identify, describe, prioritize new ideas © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 21 Managing and Using Information Systems: A Strategic Approach – Sixth Edition Keri Pearlson, Carol Saunders, and Dennis Galletta © Copyright 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 2015 Vol. 37, No. 5, 519–533, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1360080X.2015.1079395 Aligning IT and business strategy: an Australian university case study Alan Dent* Information Systems and Infrastructure, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, Australia Alignment with business objectives is considered to be an essential outcome of information technology (IT) strategic planning. This case study examines the process of creating an IT strategy for an Australian university using an industry standard methodology. The degree of alignment is determined by comparing the strategic priorities supported by both the IT and university strategic plans, using Sharrock’s ‘four agendas’ framework. The significant differences between the two strategies are examined and explained, revealing the need for IT strategic planning methodologies to include a framework to measure business alignment. Keywords: alignment; business; information technology; strategy Introduction: technology in higher education This case study presents an examination of the process of creating an information technology (IT) strategy for a small Australian university, and the university’s attempt to align IT to the business needs of the institution. The IT strategy was developed over a 3-month period, commencing in March 2014, using a strategic planning methodology from an IT research and advisory firm. The mass adoption of internet-enabled technologies and mobile devices has revolutionised both the way industries go about their business and their consumers’ expectations. These devices are powered by constantly improving communications and computing infrastructure, which in turn is enabled by Moore’s law, an observation about the rate of growth in semiconductor capacity (doubling approximately every two years). Moore’s law has become a metaphor for rapid rates of growth/ change everywhere (Schaller, 1997, p. 58). Changing technologies, services and student/consumer expectations represent both an opportunity and a threat for universities everywhere, including Australian universities. In their report on the effects of digital disruption on the Australian economy, Deloitte (2013) categorised education in the ‘Long Fuse, Big Bang’ quadrant, predicting a 15–50 per cent change in metrics over a period of 4–10 years, noting government regulation as a possible inhibitor of the rate of change. While the impact of digital disruption is large, the longer lead times give institutions a chance to (re)position themselves to take advantage of the new opportunities presented by the changing technology landscape. In a report on the future of Australian universities, Ernst and Young (2012) identified the most significant challenges currently facing higher education, including technology, and highlighted three business models likely to emerge in response to these challenges: streamlined status-quo, niche dominator and transformer. *Email: alan.dent@gmail.com © 2015 Association for Tertiary Education Management and the LH Martin Institute for Tertiary Education Leadership and Management 520 A. Dent In this case study, the university strategic plan is firmly located in the niche dominator business model, targeting specific areas of strength and focusing research and teaching operations in these areas. One of the key features of this business model is streamlining the back office and reducing the cost of operations. This is clearly the type of strategic objective that IT could contribute to if it is properly aligned to business strategies. The business/IT alignment imperative Alignment with the strategies and activities of the business has been widely recognised as one of the top issues or problems in IT strategy. In their early attempt to define a method of measuring this alignment, Reich and Benbasat (1996) refer to prior examples of this, dating back to the mid-1980s, around the time when the first lower cost personal computers (cheaper in comparison to mainframe computers) were appearing in organisations in any numbers. Referring to the concept as a ‘linkage’ rather than as an alignment, they defined it as ‘the degree to which the IT mission, objectives, and plans, support and are supported by the business mission, objectives, and plans’ (Reich & Benbasat, 1996, p. 56). Alignment is a priority for higher education IT, the first three items on the EDUCAUSE top 10 issues of 2014 also focus on business/IT alignment (Grajek, 2014). Similarly, the Council of Australian University Directors of IT (CAUDIT) also focuses on providing business solutions and alignment (CAUDIT, 2014). Table 1 shows how each body describes and ranks these priorities. Creating better alignment of business and IT strategies to provide valuable solutions to the business are goals that dominate the IT profession in all industries, but different types of organisations present different challenges for those responsible for making this happen. The challenges facing a publicly listed, for-profit manufacturing company will be very different from those faced by a university with multiple missions and broad-ranging social responsibilities inherent in the public good aspects of higher education. In itself, IT culture Table 1. Comparison of relative priorities of IT/business alignment. Business solutions Business/IT alignment EDUCAUSE Priority 1 Priority 2 Improving student outcomes through an Establishing a partnership between IT institutional approach that leadership and institutional leadership to strategically leverages technology develop a collective understanding of what information technology can deliver Priority 3 Assisting faculty with the instructional integration of information technology CAUDIT Priority 1 Priority 6 Supporting and enabling teaching and Establishing a partnership between IT learning leadership and institutional leadership to Priority 2 develop a collective understanding of Supporting and enabling research what information technology can deliver Source: CAUDIT (2014) and Grajek (2014). Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management Table 2. 521 Comparison of differences between Academic and IT culture. IT culture Academic culture Emergent profession Change agent Institutional focus Focus on production Quest for consensus and alignment Organisational anonymity Activities/services rendered transparent Speed is a valued objective Short life cycle for products, services, outcomes and underlying technology Uses a highly idiosyncratic and technical language to communicate intentions Mature profession Values tradition and scepticism Disciplinary focus Focus on innovation Quest for truth Reputation driven Labyrinthine processes and practices Speed may be antithetical to quality Work products designed to endure for years, decades or even centuries Uses a different highly idiosyncratic and technical language to communicate expectations Source: Albrecht et al. (2004, p. 129). Figure 1. Types of business/IT alignment (Albrecht et al., 2004, p. 129). differs from academic culture. Drawing from Albrecht et al. (2004), Table 2 highlights some of the potential difficulties. With this level of potential gap between the business and IT, the process of developing the strategy is important. Figure 1 from Albrecht et al. (2004) shows three methods of developing IT strategies, each demonstrating a different level of engagement with the business. The case study In this case study, the approach to IT strategy development followed by the university was an Alignment model. In this model, the business strategy is developed first, and then business and IT leaders collaborate to produce an IT strategy to support it (Albrecht et al., 2004). In the case study, the delay between creation of the business and IT strategic plans was nearly 2 years. Overall, the IT strategic planning approach undertaken was based on the Gartner IT strategic planning model shown in Figure 2 (Schulte, 2015). 522 A. Dent Figure 2. Gartner IT strategic planning model (Schulte, 2015). In the case study, the university’s nomenclature for these phases was 1. IT strategic vision (Demand) 2. IT strategic plan (Control) 3. Implementation (Supply) This paper focuses on the first of these phases, the IT strategic vision. The primary assumption underlying this phase is that it will provide the connection and alignment of IT to business strategy. Consultation in this phase involved interviewing senior executive staff and workshop groups with senior academic and professional staff (deans and directors) from several stakeholder communities: teaching staff, research staff, professional staff, IT managers and students. The results of this consultation were compiled into an IT strategic vision document that was presented to, and ratified by, the institution’s senior leadership. Methodology and analysis In order to analyse the degree of business/IT alignment, Sharrock’s ‘four management agendas’ framework (2012) was applied. Produced from a thematic analysis of Australian university strategies, this presents a higher education industry-specific set of institutional priorities, as shown in Table 3. The Sharrock model has been used to help assess the degree of alignment between the university strategic plan and the IT strategic vision. Using these definitions, business priorities are categorised into one of the four ‘management agendas’ to allow valid comparisons to be made. In order to determine the business priorities for IT, the strategic plan was examined for explicit or implied mentions of IT, or concepts related to IT capability. The results are shown in Table 4. The case study university’s strategic plan itself contained very few direct references to IT, but several indirect references were present. For example, new forms of student engagement could reasonably be assumed to include new technologies to Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management Table 3. 523 Four domains of university management. Professional community (PC) Creative engagement (CE) Shared aims, values and expertise; working with Pursuing learning, discovery and innovation; high levels of commitment, trust and group involved in outreach and activism; and affinity seeking external partners to support creative projects System integrity (SI) Sustainable enterprise (SE) Ensuring coherent processes to support Attuned to trends in external market conditions governance, planning, academic standards, and government policy and funding settings; quality assurance, financial probity, efficiency with well-defined priorities, and an explicit and effectiveness, and reporting game plan to acquire and invest the resources needed to build the capability to sustain academic programmes Source: Sharrock (2012). Table 4. Case study university priorities and enabling resources. University priorities Enabling resources Learning and teaching New forms of student engagement Modernisation of IT Research Research collaboration Engagement Modernisation of IT Internationalisation High-quality IT Enabling services Modern systems High-quality IT as a tool for research, teaching and professional operations supplement pedagogies. After duplication of items was taken into account, the four business priorities for IT remained. These are shown as rows in Table 5, which summarises the analysis. Initial analysis of the data using the four management agendas framework assigned each business priority to a single management agenda. Examination of these results gave an incomplete picture of the agendas being supported, as every priority clearly had impacts on other agendas. As a result, secondary categories were added to the analysis. Management agendas in the secondary categories are considered to be agendas that are supported as a consequence of activity in the primary agenda. Table 5. Strategic plan management agendas for IT. Priority New forms of student engagement Research collaboration tools Modernised systems and infrastructure High-quality IT tools as an enabler of teaching, research and professional operations Primary agenda CE CE SI SE Secondary agenda PC and SE PC and SE SE, CE and PC SI, CE and PC Notes: CE, creative engagement; SE, sustainable enterprise; SI, system integrity; PC, professional community. 524 A. Dent New forms of student engagement IT is an implied enabler of this priority. The main drivers of new forms of student engagement will have to be people and pedagogy, that is, the professional community (PC) agenda, where shared values across staff groups support the student experience. While new technology and software tools will undoubtedly play a supporting role in new types of student engagement, so too will other factors, such as the physical facilities, as learning spaces are transform ... Purchase answer to see full attachment