Week 6 Monday, October 3

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Week 6Monday, October 3

• IT Architecture and Infrastructure
• Communications Infrastructure
• Information Management

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Scenario Planning

• Steps
• Define a decision problem and timeframe to bound
  the analysis (What if)
• Identify the major known trends that will affect
  the decision problem
• Identify just a few driving uncertainties
• Construct the scenarios based on uncertainties
• Trigger events

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Organizational Flexibility

• Designing flexibility into the organization
• Enhance the robustness of the business
• Hedging against unpredictable events
• the degree to which an organization possesses a
  variety of actual and potential procedures, and
  the rapidity by which it can implement theses
  procedures, in order to increase the control
  capability of the management and improve the
  controllability of the organization and
  environment, De Leeuw and Volberda, 1996
• the ability to precipitate intentional changes,
  to continuously respond to unanticipated changes,
  and to adjust to the unexpected consequences of
  predictable changes, Bahrami, 1992

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Architecture and Infrastructure

• Architecture a blueprint that shows
  interrelationships of the components of a system
• Emphasis on the whats
• Based on the business model
• IT Infrastructure implementation of the
  architecturePurpose To deliver the right
  information to the right people at the right time
• Two parts
• Technical IT infrastructure (processors,
  telecommunication, database, etc.)
• Human IT infrastructure
• Emphasis on the hows

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Architecture

• Defines guidelines and standards
• Service Oriented Architecture (SOA)
• Emphases on accessibility of others systems to
  data and functions, and reusability of
  programming code
• Supports the organization's agility
• Four attributes Distributed vs. Centralized
• Location of processing
• Connectivity among processors
• Location of data repository (data storage)
• Systemwide rules (information security,
  accessibility, etc.)

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Architecture

• Four pillars of an architecture
• Linking Communication and networks
• Storing - Database
• Processing System design and applications
• Securing Information security

An architecture should address these
Data is a resource of the business and must be
managed
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IT ArchitectureAnother View

• defines the technical computing, information
  management, and communications platform.
  provides an overall picture of the range of
  technical options available to a firm, and as
  such, it also implies the range of business
  options.

Enables Opportunities
Coordination (information flow and linkages)
Vision
Control
What design gives the organization the best use
of its information? What technology
configurations will best support the business?
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Anthony's Taxonomy of Managerial
ActivitiesMatching Information to Management
Levels
Aggregate
Infrequent
Quite old
External
Future
Wide
Low
Strategic Planning
Management Control
Source
Scope
Time Horizon
Currency
Frequency of Use
Required Accuracy
Level of Aggregation
Operational Control
High
Internal
Detailed
Historical
Well defined
Very frequent
Highly current
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Programmed (Structured) vs. Non-Programmed
(Unstructured) Decision Making

• Programmed Decisions
• A procedure (i.e., rules, algorithms, etc.) can
  be followed in each phase of decision making and
  provides the decision-maker with a correct
  solution.
• Non-Programmed Decisions
• No procedures are available to guide the
  decision-maker during any of the phases of
  decision making.

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Semi-Structured Decision Making

• Semi-structured decisions occur when procedures
  are available to guide the decision-maker in one
  or two of the decision making phases, but not in
  all of them.

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Decision Making in the Organization
Management Level
Operational Control
Management Control
Strategic Planing
Structured
Greater Opportunities
Types of Decisions
Semi-Structured
Greater Opportunities
Unstructured
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IT Architecture and Advances in IT

• Era I - Mainframe (1950s - 1970s)
• IT paradigm
• Centralized computing
• Automated functions
• Information management
• Focus on data (i.e., data processing and
  efficiency)
• Fixed reporting
• File-based

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IT Architecture and Advances in IT

• Era II - PC (1970s - 1980s)
• IT paradigm
• Microcomputer
• Decentralized, end-user developed computing
• Information management
• Focus on information (i.e., specialized
  applications)
• Specialized and personal software (i.e.,
  electronic spreadsheets, word processing, file
  management)
• Islands of information

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IT Architecture and Advances in IT

• Era III - Network (1990s - present)
• IT paradigm
• Client/server (fat and thin clients)
• Internet, intranet (within the organization),
  extranet (between the organization and its
  suppliers/partners)
• End-user computing
• Information management
• Focus on knowledge (i.e., OLAP tools, data
  warehousing/mining)
• Relational and OO database (centralized data
  repository)

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InfrastructureDelivering the right information
to the right people at the right time

• Delivering IT resources to support users
  throughout the organization
• Four layer infrastructure (Weill and Broadbent)
• IT components
• Human IT infrastructure
• Shared IT services services that users can draw
  upon and share to conduct business
• Shared and standard IT applications stable
  applications that change less frequently

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Structure of the IT Infrastructure
Local applications
IT infrastructure
Shared and standard IT applications
Shared IT services
Human IT infrastructure
IT components
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Three Views of Infrastructure

• Economies of scale (utility) providing IT/IS as
  a service to the business to facilitate
  operations
• Emphasis on reducing costs
• Support for business programs (dependent) IT
  tied to business plan and value-added initiatives
• Flexibility to meet changes in the marketplace
  (enabling) IT planning tied to business
  strategic plan
• Co-alignment between business strategy and IT
  strategy
• Strategic IT and strategic IT planning

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Centralized vs. Distributed Processing

• Centralized processing Processing centrally
  located usually at a single site (at least
  logically centralized)
• Distributed process Processing divided between
  (among) different physically dispersed sites
• Transparency The user or customer is unaware
  where the processing is handled
• Reduces network traffic to one location
• Closely places the data to where they are needed
  or used
• Follows a system-wide protocol

Depends on the organization
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Centralized Processing
Single Site
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Distributed Processing
Geographically Distributed
Network
Transparency
Site 1
Site 3
Site 2
Heterogeneous vs. Homogenous
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Communications Infrastructure

• Purpose To link processes within the
  organization, and between the organizations and
  other entities
• Customers
• Suppliers
• Distributors
• Wired vs. wireless devices

Dedicated vs. undedicated medium
Wired
Applications dictate medium
Wireless
ISP
Wireless
Mobile Service Provider
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Value Creation in a Networked Environment
Category V Community
Category IV Content
Category III Commerce
Category II Options value
Category I Platform improvements

• Sharing information, communicating, coordinating,
  controlling activities

• Functionality, flexibility, and life of IT
  infrastructure

• Improve core activities inside firm

• Improve decision making
• Enhance organizational learning

• Enhanced collaboration and coordination of work
• Commitment and loyalty of individuals and teams

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Open Systems Interconnection (OSI)
searchnetworking.techtarget.com
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Communications Infrastructure

• LAN (local area network), WAN (wide area
  network), MAN (metropolitan area network)
• Intranet, Extranet, Internet
• Internet
• Ubiquitous
• Reliable
• Scaleable

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Managing Communications Resources

• Policies and rules for its design and use
• Connectivity communicating within the
  organization
• Interoperability hetergenous operating systems
• Operating the network
• 24/7 operations
• Monitoring
• Resolving (problems)

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Information Resources

• Data
• Information
• Knowledge

Data 3 colors
Information Red stop, yellow caution, green
go
Knowledge How to best apply information in
practice
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What is Database?

• Definition "A shared collection of logically
  related data, and a description of this data,
  designed to meet the information needs of the
  organization."
• Data repository

Management system controls access
Customer transactions
Payroll
Inventory
Vendors
Operating expenses
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Database Schema and Subschemas
User
User
User
User
User
User
Individual Views
Subschema
Subschema
Subschema
Complete catalog of all data retained in the
database
Schema
DBMS Software
Manages the database
Physical Database
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Type of Information
Records Based
Traditional EDP/MIS
Public Databases
Structures
Documents Based
Records Management
Corporate Library
Internal
External
Sources
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Data Warehousing

• A subject-oriented, integrated, time-variant, and
  non-volatile collection of data in support of
  managements decision-making process.

Ad hoc queries
External data
Tools
Decision-making
Time-variant
Internal data (within the organization)

• Report generators
• EIS
• OLAP
• Data mining

Information
Summarized data
Competitive or Strategic Advantage
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Data Warehousing Characteristics

• Subject-oriented - Organized around the major
  business subjects or entities, such as customers,
  order or products
• Integrated - Operational (internal) data and
  external data are integrated into the data
  warehouse to provide a single unified database
  for decision support
• Time-variant - Use time stamps to represent
  historical data. Data warehouses consist of a
  long series of snapshots, each of which
  represents operational data captured at a point
  in time
• Nonvolatile - New data are appended, rather than
  replaced, so that historical data are preserved

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Data Warehouse
Warehouse Manager
External sources
Outflow
Highly summarized data
Inflow
Upflow
Outflow
Load Manager
Query Manager
Meta-flow
Lightly summarized data
Meta-data
Outflow
Detailed data
Warehouse Manager
End-user tools
Downflow
Archive/backup data
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Data Mart
Data Warehouse

• A subset of a data warehouse that supports the
  requirements of a particular department or
  business function

• End-user tools
• Reporting
• EIS
• OLAP
• Data mining

Summarized data
Relational database
Oracle
Extraction
Multi-dimension database
Summarized data
Oracle Express
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Knowledge Management Definition

• Knowledge management (KM) entails recognizing,
  capturing, categorizing, codifying, retaining,
  manipulating, disseminating and presenting
  information in such a manner that the knowledge
  gained through these processes and activities
  adds unprecedented and exceptional value to the
  organization. Value can assume many forms,
  including improved organizational effectiveness
  in decision making, organizational innovativeness
  and competitive advantage. Thus, knowledge
  management involves IT-enabled methods coupled
  with systematic business practices that lead to
  the discovery, development and application of
  knowledge.

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Knowledge Management

• The term knowledge management has no standard
  definition yet (Shoemaker, 2001)
• For example
• A marketing oriented definition The practice of
  harnessing and exploiting intellectual capital to
  gain competitive advantage and customer
  commitment through efficiency, innovation and
  faster and more efficient decision making.
  (Barth, 2000)
• KM software can be classified into five process
  categories gathering, storage, communication,
  synthesis and dissemination (Jackson, 1999)

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Knowledge Management Definition

• (Cont.)
• Knowledge management is a process that helps
  organizations identify, select, organize,
  disseminate, and transfer important information
  and expertise that are part of the organizational
  memory that typically resides within the
  organization in an unstructured manner. This
  enables the effective and efficient problem
  solving, dynamic learning, strategic planning and
  decision making. Knowledge management focuses on
  identifying knowledge, explicating it in a way so
  that it can be shared in a formal manner and thus
  reusing it. (Turban and Aronson, 2001)

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Enterprise Systems Triad
CRM (customer relationship management)

• Knowing how to maintain and satisfy customers

Data ? Information ? Knowledge
Information
ERP(enterprise resource planning)
KM(knowledge management)

• Supply chain management

• Leveraging and exploiting knowledge

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Knowledge

• Information that is contextual, relevant and
  actionable
• Used for problem solving
• Applied in a context
• Relevant to the task
• Used to support an action
• Fuzzy and loosely coupled
• Must be understood within a context
• Foundational resource
• Implied understanding of its use

Meaningful and valuable, but ephemeral (i.e.,
transitory)
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Types of Knowledge

• Descriptive knowing what
• Procedural knowing how
• Reasoning knowing why
• Presentation knowing how to communicate or
  deliver knowledge
• Linguistic knowing how to interpret
  communication
• Assimilative knowing how to maintain knowledge
  by improving existing knowledge

Basic knowledge
Communicating, understanding and learning
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Characteristics of Knowledge

• Ground truth grained from experience, not theory
• Complexity as applied to problem solving
• Simplification of problem space
• Judgment puts knowledge in actionable form
• Heuristic and intuitive approaches to problem
  solving
• Value and beliefs applied to defining the problem
  space

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Knowledge ManagementOrganizational Perspective
Organization Culture

• Individuals
• Information
• Culture
• Transformation
• Structural (formal and informal)
• Ecology (physical)

Memory
Knowledge
Learning

• Knowledge acquisition
• Knowledge sharing
• Knowledge utilization

Explicit
Tacit

• Descriptive knowledge
• Procedural knowledge
• Reasoning knowledge
• Presentation knowledge
• Linguistic knowledge
• Assimilative knowledge

Advantage knowledge Base knowledge Trivial
knowledge
Types of knowledge
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Knowledge ManagementOrganizational Perspective
Organization Culture

• Individuals
• Information
• Culture
• Transformation
• Structural (formal and informal)
• Ecology (physical)

Memory
Knowledge
Learning

• Knowledge acquisition
• Knowledge sharing
• Knowledge sharing

Subjective, cognitive and learning experience
Objective, rational and technical knowledge
Explicit
Tacit

• Descriptive knowledge
• Procedural knowledge
• Reasoning knowledge
• Presentation knowledge
• Linguistic knowledge
• Assimilative knowledge

Advantage knowledge Base knowledge Trivial
knowledge
Types of knowledge
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Knowledge ManagementOrganizational Perspective
Organization Culture

• Individuals
• Information
• Culture
• Transformation
• Structural (formal and informal)
• Ecology (physical)

Memory
Knowledge
Learning

• Knowledge acquisition
• Knowledge sharing
• Knowledge utilization

Explicit
Tacit

• Descriptive knowledge
• Procedural knowledge
• Reasoning knowledge
• Presentation knowledge
• Linguistic knowledge
• Assimilative knowledge

Advantage knowledge Base knowledge Trivial
knowledge
Types of knowledge
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Knowledge ManagementOrganizational Perspective
Passive, active and interactive (face-to-face)
Organization Culture

• Individuals
• Information
• Culture
• Transformation
• Structural (formal and informal)
• Ecology (physical)

Memory
Knowledge
Learning

• Knowledge acquisition
• Knowledge sharing
• Knowledge utilization

Explicit
Tacit

• Descriptive knowledge
• Procedural knowledge
• Reasoning knowledge
• Presentation knowledge
• Linguistic knowledge
• Assimilative knowledge

Advantage knowledge Base knowledge Trivial
knowledge
Types of knowledge
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Knowledge ManagementOrganizational Perspective
Organization Culture

• Individuals
• Information
• Culture
• Transformation
• Structural (formal and informal)
• Ecology (physical)

Memory
Knowledge
Learning

• Knowledge acquisition
• Knowledge sharing
• Knowledge utilization

Explicit
Tacit

• Descriptive knowledge
• Procedural knowledge
• Reasoning knowledge
• Presentation knowledge
• Linguistic knowledge
• Assimilative knowledge

Advantage knowledge Base knowledge Trivial
knowledge
Types of knowledge
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Knowledge ManagementOrganizational Perspective
Organization Culture

• Individuals
• Information
• Culture
• Transformation
• Structural (formal and informal)
• Ecology (physical)

Save, represent and share
Memory
Knowledge
Learning

• Knowledge acquisition
• Knowledge sharing
• Knowledge utilization

Explicit
Tacit

• Descriptive knowledge
• Procedural knowledge
• Reasoning knowledge
• Presentation knowledge
• Linguistic knowledge
• Assimilative knowledge

Advantage knowledge Base knowledge Trivial
knowledge
Types of knowledge
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Knowledge Management
Organization Culture
Org. Memory
Intelligence
Org. Knowledge
Org. Learning
intendedly adaptive, and is undertaken
typically in response to unfamiliar, unexpected,
or nonroutine problems. -- Glynn, 1996
Process of brining new, problem-solving ideas
into use -- Amabile, 1988 Kanter, 1983
Innovation
Objective To improve a range of organizational
performance characteristics and add value by
enabling an enterprise to act more intelligently.
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