Chapter 12 Introduction

1
Chapter 12 Introduction

• Using Information Systems to Compete A Success
  Factor Profile

2
Success Factor Profile to Understand Successful
Use of IS

• Initial Planning Process to focus information
  systems on competitive issues.
• Assessment of the Progress assessment of new
  systems and how they are meeting competitive
  objectives.
• Audit Device for Mature Systems to make sure the
  company has not missed a shift in the dynamics of
  the organizations competitive environment.

3
Important Factors Included in the Profile

• Business Vision A documented outlook addressing
  logical and achievable goals that can be both
  understood and accepted throughout the
  organization.
• Culture the way we do things around here.
• Risk Management Financial factors, risks that
  the company is willing to take in running the
  business.
• Plan Implementation Must be viewed as a process
  and not a document driven by calendar dates.
• Information Systems Integral to the Business
  What would happen to the business if the
  information systems suddenly stopped working?

4
Important Factors includes in the Profile

• Information Systems Justification Process
  Financial strategies specific to IS and an
  ability to articulate the value of information
  systems to the business.
• Executive and Information Systems Management
  Partnership Senior management and information
  systems managers developing an open dialogue and
  an ongoing working relationship.
• Executive Information Systems Experience Senior
  executives that truly understand the key factors
  relative to the effective use of information
  systems.

5
Important Factors Included in the Profile

• Operational Automation Internal operations is
  one of the major opportunity areas for the
  effective use of information systems.
• Linkage to Suppliers and/or Other Business
  Partners Strong alliances and information
  systems use to build a stronger competitive
  position.
• Linkage to Customers Major value to customer
  realized with customers through electronic links.
  

6
Important Factors includes in the Profile

• Linkage to Customer Service This is the
  services part of the value chain. It deals with
  linking the customer for on-line diagnostics and
  in some cases actual repair.
• Pervasive Computing Literacy Is the computer
  literacy of the people in the organization good
  enough to effectively utilize more advanced
  systems that have a competitive advantage
  objective?

7
Important Factors includes in the Profile

• Information Systems Architecture A major factor
  in the success of the company based on
  identifying an architecture on how to design and
  build future systems.
• Information Systems Marketing The information
  systems organization had a pro-active effort to
  market and sell possible new information systems.
• Information Systems and User Relations A good,
  ongoing relationship between the information
  systems organization and users.

8
Evaluating Profile Factors in Section III of the
ATP

• Identify five or six key factors.
• How important were each of these factors as they
  related to gaining a competitive advantage?
• Who played a key role in making them key success
  factors senior management, functional
  management or information systems management.

9
Conclusions

• The Success Factor Profile is
• The fifth and final part of the structured
  analysis process.
• It can be used as a planning vehicle to identify
  key factors that must be addressed for an
  organization to use information systems to gain
  competitive advantage.
• It can also be very effective in summarizing the
  reasons why a specific company was able to gain
  competitive advantage through the use of
  information systems.
• This last approach is how it will be used in our
  papers.

10
Possible Exam Questions

• Is there a single factor that dominates the
  explanation for the successful use of information
  systems to gain a competitive advantage?
• In what three modes (time frames) can the Success
  Factor Profile be used?

11
Chapter 12

• Using Information Systems to Compete
• Success Factor Profile

12
Success Factor Profile
13
Federal Express Success Factor Profile
1. Vision 2. Culture 3. Executive and Information
Systems Management Partnership 4. IS
Integral to the Business
14
British AirwaysSuccess Factor Profile
1. Vision 2. Culture 3. Information Systems
Integral to the Business 4. Executive and IS
Management Partnership 5. Information
Systems Architecture
15
Organizational Improvement
Three Essential Elements
Tools
Which one is most important?
Processes
Culture
16
Culture
The ability to change the culture of a company
is both necessary and sufficient since it is the
beginning, the middle and the end to making
change.
17
Culture Importance!
Corporate culture is amorphous but crucial, hard
to nail down and harder still to change.
There is also a fear that too much change risks
killing the best a company offers or what made
them successful.
Corporate culture is not unlike a human body when
faced with a transplant. Whether it needs help
or not, the immune system is set up to fightand
sometimes reject what is foreign.
18
Company Cultures
Southwest Airlines culture is spirited and
customer oriented.
Microsofts culture is brilliant and ruthless.
Gannetts culture is only the fittest
survive. When USA Today turns a profit we will
release the prisoners.
Alan Neuharth
19
Harley-Davidson Culture
1. Ethics and honesty. 2. Have fun! 3. Renewal,
not survival. 4. Total experience. 5. Commitment,
not compliance. 6. Community.
Richard Teerlink
20
Company Culture or Marketing Slogans?

• DuPont Better things for better living through
  chemistry.
• Federal Express Absolutely and positively
  overnight delivery.
• Allstate Insurance Youre in good hands with
  Allstate.
• Frito-Lay There is no such thing as doing too
  much for a customer.

21
Risks and Pitfalls of Cultures

• A strong culture can become a deterrent to
  necessary change.
• It can cause inconsistency if you cant adhere
  faithfully and consistently to the values it
  intends to promote.
• It can cause organizational obsolescence.

22
Chapter 13

• IS Organization
• and
• Personnel Considerations

23
Information Systems Management Issues
IS Organization and Personnel Considerations
IS Value and Financial Strategies
Roles, Roles and Relationships
Integrating Business and IS Planning
TQM and Information Systems
24
A Successful Enterprise

• Based on a Clear and Simple Theory of Business.
• Clearly Understood Objectives.

25
Information Systems Organization
IS Vice President
Data Base Administration
Data Base Administration
Administrative Staff
Office Systems
Planning
Development Maintenance
Network Operations
Computer Operations
Systems Support
Project Managers
Systems Programming
Systems Analysts
Programmers
Figure 13-1
Development Center
Information Center
26
Scope of IS Organization
DP Dept.
MIS Organization
Corporate Information Systems
Office Systems
End User Computing
Tele- communications
?
27
IS Organization and Personnel
1. What is the logical skill profile for the
person that heads the information systems
organization? 2. How difficult is the
information systems manager job compared to other
major functions within a company? 3. To whom
should the information systems manager report? 4.
Is there something unique about information
systems that there is really a need for a
steering committee that spans the
organization? 5. Is there a logical alternative
to having a steering committee?
28
IS Organization and Personnel
6. If the information systems manager reported
to you, what major factors would you like to
review with her on a regular basis to assure
yourself that the information systems
organization is being well managed? 7. It is not
unusual to find people who feel that information
systems employees are different from other
employees. Is this actually the case? If so,
how would you suggest that they be treated and
managed? 8. What will the information systems
organization look like in the future? What are
the primary reasons that it is changing?
29
IS Organization and Personnel
9. Are there major issues to be addressed in
establishing the information systems
organization of the future? 10. Does the
current information systems environment call
for the creation of newly structured jobs and
skill profiles?
30
IS Organization and Personnel

• What is the logical skill profile for the person
  that heads the information systems organization?

31
IS Manager Profile

• Business Knowledge
• Management Experience
• People and Organizational Skills
• Politically Astute
• . . . On an IT Knowledge Base

32
A Non-IT Background Information Systems Manager
Short Changes Both Company Management and Users.
33
IS Organization and Personnel

• How difficult is the information systems manager
  job compared to other major functions within a
  company?

34
Difficulty of IS Manager Job

• Largest Staff Function
• A Dual Personality Job
• Provides Both Products and Services
• Must Interface with Multiple Groups
• Frequently Deal with Uniformed Publics
• Function in an Area of Rapid Change
• Under Frequent Financial Scrutiny

35
IS Organization and Personnel

• To whom should the information systems
• manager report?

36
The IS Executive Should Report To?

• CEO, President or General Manager

• Chief Financial Officer

• VP of Operations

• None of the Above

What criteria should be used to make this
decision?
37
IS Organization and Personnel

• If the information systems manager
• reported to you, what major factors
• would you like to review with her on a
• regular basis to assure yourself that the
• information systems organization is
• being well managed?

38
If the IS Executive Reported to You
1. Status of major projects. 2. Future capacity
projections. 3. Assessment of support to key
users. 4. Productivity improvements within the
I/S organization. 5. Contribution to the
competitiveness of the business.
39
Successful Information Systems
A Product of Good Working Relationships

• Senior Management Who Run the Entire Business.
• Functional Management Who Run Major Parts of the
  Business.
• Actual Users of Information Systems on a
  Day-to-day Basis.

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Working Relationships

• Information Systems Steering Committees
• Functional Interface Managers
• Functional End-user Coordinators
• Service Level Agreements
• User Training and Education
• Application and Technical Consultation
• Joint RD Projects
• The Working and Personal Relationship of the I/S
  Manager Within the Company

41
IS Organization and Personnel

• Is there something unique about information
• systems that there is really a need for a
  steering
• committee that spans the organization?

• Is there a logical alternative to having a
• steering committee?

42
IS Steering Committees

• Frequently do not work the first time that an
• organization uses this approach.
• Should function as a true Board of Directors
• for the IS organization.
• Major benefit is often visibility of IS within
• the organization and communication regarding
• major activities.

43
IS Organization and Personnel

• It is not unusual to find people who feel that
  information systems employees are different from
  other employees.
• Is this actually the case?
• If so, how would you suggest that they be
  treated and managed?

44
IS Personnel
1. Does the organization have enough qualified
people? 2. Do their skills address both current
and future needs? 3. Does a migrant worker
mentality exist among the information systems
professionals? 4. Is the best way to grow a
strong information systems organization by hiring
and developing your own people?
45
IS Personnel

• 5. Can an information systems organization
• promote long term career growth?
• 6. What is the relationship between the
  satisfaction of IS employees and the success of
  the business?
• Are the above questions out-dated and is the
• right future information systems
  organization a small core of people with the rest
  sub-contracted to outside companies?

46
IS Personnel
1. Treat new hires for information systems the
same as any new employee within the company. 2.
During their first five years emphasize the value
of different experiences by not allowing an
employee to stay with the same manager for longer
than eighteen months. 3. Work to establish
parity in the perspective of information systems
employees towards jobs in operations,
applications development and systems
design/support.
47
IS Personnel
4. Promote information systems people into other
jobs within the company. At a later date bring
them back into the information systems
organization with another promotion. 5. Spend
more time on identifying and developing
management potential people within the
information systems organization. 6. Work to
eliminate a mentality that job "burn-out" is
inevitable with information systems employees.
48
IS Personnel
7. Make sure that the work environment is as
good as that of the rest of the
company. 8. Pay special attention to excessive
overtime. 9. Recognize and reward those that
make major contributions. 10. Have fun
within the information systems
organization. No one ever said that IS jobs are
supposed to be dull and completely
stressful.
49
IS Personnel

• 11. The old employment contract between
  employee and
• employer was Do a good job and you can
  expect lifetime
• employment. What is the new employment
  contract?

50
Customer Service Organization
Executive Review Board
Operations
Customer Service Organization
Application Development
Users
Technical Support
IS Management and Administration
51
IS Organization and Personnel

• What will the information systems organization
  look like in the future? What are the primary
  reasons that it is changing?
• 9. Are there major issues to be addressed in
  establishing
• the information systems organization of the
  future?
• 10. Does the current information systems
  environment
• call for the creation of newly structured jobs
  and skill
• profiles?

52
CIO Job
To provide technology vision and leadership for
developing and implementing IT initiatives that
create and maintain leadership for the enterprise
in a constantly changing and intensely
competitive marketplace.
53
Why a CIO?

• To forge and carry out a vision of IS as a vital
  
• corporate resource.
• To bring systems out of the back room and into
• the competitive marketplace.
• To coordinate an increasingly decentralized IT.
• To serve as a driving engine of change.

54
CIO Must Have Skill Profile

• Really understand the business.
• Earned a seat at the corporate table to become
  part of
• the corporate management power structure.
• A strategic thinker and planner.
• Political, organizational and communication
  skills.
• Experienced in managing various aspects of an
• organization particularly sales and production.
• Able to deal with and understand technical
  specialists.

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Personal Qualities
Superb leadership, communication and
interpersonal skills an ability to function in a
collaborative and collegial environment
sensitivity to others high integrity and
intelligence excellent judgment a conceptual
thinker -- strategic and well as pragmatic and
an ability to generate trust and build alliances
with co-workers.
56
CTO Shift or Threat to CIO?
The ascendancy of the Chief Technical Officer
role points to the importance of understanding
increasingly complex IT environment in general
and e-business technologies specifically.
57
Future IS Organization?
I/S Executive
CIO
General and Administration
Client Interface
I/S Utility
Telecommunications
Data Center
Competitive Systems
Data Networks
Administration
Professional and Technical Support
Performance and Planning
Voice Systems
Finance
Development Center
Client Systems Groups
Equipment and Facilities
Figure 13-2