Managing Information Technology Class 1 IT Environment

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Managing Information TechnologyClass 1 - IT
Environment Why IT Matters
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Class Agenda

• Introductions
• Syllabus Review
• Achieve Business Success through IT IT
  Environment Why IT Matters
• Reading AssignmentU.S. Top Business
  Technology Priorities in 2007
• China and Information Technology
• What Will China Look Like in 2035?

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My Story

• Associate Professor of Information Systems at
  Northern Illinois University, USA
• Teaching Database Management, Electronic
  Commerce, Business Information Technologies
  courses
• Received MIS Graduate Teaching Awards in 2001,
  2002, and 2006.
• Born and raised in Beijing, China
• Highest education degree received from
  Mississippi State University in 1997 Doctor of
  Business Administration in Management Information
  Systems (MIS)
• Taught at Beijing Institute of Business from 1988
  to 1992
• Served as a Project Manager for Motorola Inc.
  Beijing office from 1992 to 1994
• Interest
• Ping Pong
• Badminton
• Will lead a Study Abroad Program in Beijing,
  China, Summer 2008

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Introductions
Name Cards Please specify What do you want to
be called (Name)?
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Syllabus Review
Course Objectives

• Obtain a practical understanding of how
  organizations leverage various information
  systems strategies, practices, and technologies
  to support the successful implementation of their
  established business strategy.
• Gain an understanding of your role in the
  planning, selection, specification, development,
  and implementation of information systems to
  support dynamic business strategies and
  objectives.
• Present an overview of the rich variety of the
  managerial issues raised by the on-going
  evolution of new information sharing
  technologies.

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Syllabus Review
Course Format

• Instructor Lecturers
• Group Discussion
• Group Presentation
• Case Analysis
• Field Trip
• Guest Speaker Presentation

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Syllabus Review
Key Points

• Class Participation IS Important
• Come Prepared to Class
• Be An Active Participant in Small Group
  Discussions to Maximize Learning

NOTE You will learn from me and I will learn
from you!
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What We Will Learn?

• IT Environment Why IT Matters
• IT Current Applications in China in the World
• Strategic Uses of IT
• How Companies Succeed/Fail Using IT
• IT Applications and Their Benefits/Limitations
• How Organizations Apply IT to Address Currentand
  Future Business Challenges
• IT Business Process Management
• IT Project Management
• Data Management Options and Challenges
• Role of IT in Emerging Business Practices
• Electronic Business / Electronic Government
• IT Privacy and Security Issues

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What We Will Not Learn?

• Any IS Productivity Applications(PowerPoint,
  Dreamweaver, MS Project, etc.)
• Any IS Programming Languages or
  Meta-languages(VisualBasic, ASP.Net, Javascript,
  etc.)
• Any Specific Operating System(UNIX, Various
  Windows OS, etc.)
• In-depth Understanding of IT Networking and
  Architecture Technologies
• The Course Will Focus on Providing You With a
  Practical Understanding of How Organizations
  Leverage Information Technology to Support Their
  Established Business Strategies!

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What is Information Technology?

• General term for the communications and computer
  hardware, software, and services performed within
  an organization to achieve its business
  objectives.
• Management Information Systems (MIS) can be
  defined technically as a set of interrelated
  components that collect (or retrieve), process,
  store, and distribute information to support
  decision making and control in an organization.

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Dimensions of MIS
IT/MIS are more than computers!!
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IT Mission

• The Mission of IT improve the performance of
  people through the use of information technology
• To achieve operational excellence
• To develop new products, services, and business
  models
• To attain customer and supplier intimacy
• To improve decision making
• To promote competitive advantage
• To ensure survival

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The Organizational Environment

• The way IT is used depends on the environment
  surrounding the organization that uses it.
• Organizational Environment includes the external
  and internal business environment.

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The External Business Environment

• The Internet Economy
• B2C, B2B etc.
• IT is a major underpinning of the way the old
  and new worlds interface.
• Faster Business Cycles
• Rely on IT
• Global Marketplace
• The entire world has become the marketplace
• The Internet allows companies to work globally
• Globalization is a two way street
• Internet allows small firms to have a global
  reach
• Business environment is now global, but local
  tastes still matter

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The External Business Environment cont.

• Business Ecosystems
• Decapitalization
• Tangible items, such as capital, equipment and
  buildings were the tenets of power in the
  industrial age
• Today power of intangibles such as ideas and
  knowledge
• Managing talent as important as e.g. managing
  finance

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The External Business Environment cont.

• Accountability and Transparency
• Call for greater transparency of corporate
  operations and greater accountability of
  corporate officers
• IT will play a significant role in implementing
  the ensuing regulations and fostering
  transparency
• Rising Societal Risks of IT
• IT has negatively affected millions of people
• Network shutdowns
• Computer viruses
• Identity theft
• Email scams
• Movement of white collar jobs offshore

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The Internal Organizational Environment

• From Supply-Push to Demand-Pull
• Old
• Companies did their best to figure out what
  customers want
• Organized to build a supply of products or
  services and then push them out to end
  customers on stores shelves, in catalogs etc.
• New (Internet)
• Allows much closer and one-to-one contact
  between customer and seller
• Offer customers the components of a
  product/service then the customer creates their
  own version by pulling what they want

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The Internal Organizational Environment cont.

• Real-Time Working
• Sales people have up-to-the-minute information
  about customers
• Knowing e.g. inventory and cash levels as they
  are NOW not as they were a week or a month ago
• Being able to reach someone when you need them
• Anytime, Anyplace Information Work
• Team-Based Working
• Working together on projects

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The Internal Organizational Environment cont.

• Outsourcing and Strategic Alliances
• To become more competitive, organizations are
  examining types of work that should be done
  internally or externally by others
• Ranges from a simple contract for services to a
  long-term strategic alliance
• The thinking is We should focus on what we do
  best and outsource the other functions to people
  who specialize in them
• The Demise of Hierarchy
• Hierarchical structures cannot cope with rapid
  change
• Communications up and down the chain of command
  takes too much time for todays environment

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Waves in Technology
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Waves of Development and Adoption

• Devices

• Wi-Fi/Broadband

• Web Services

• XML/SOAP
• HTTP/HTML
• SMTP

• Email Clients
• Web Browsers

• Mouse
• GUI
• LANs

• PC Architecture
• DOS

• Spreadsheets
• Word Processors

Today
PC Mid 80s
Internet Mid 90s
Applications Late 80s-Mid 90s
Web Apps Mid 00s - . . .
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The Technology Environment

• Hardware Trends
• Major current development hand-held devices,
  wireless etc.
• Further distribution processing beyond
  organizational boundaries to suppliers, customers
  etc.
• Software Trends
• Prototyping quick development of a mock-up
• trend towards Customer Relationship Management
  (CRM), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) e.g.
  SAP, PeopleSoft
• DANGER BEWARE
• Expensive and troublesome, especially for
  companies wanting to modify the ERP software to
  fit their unique processes
• Need a fundamental Organizational Change!

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The Technology Environment cont.

• Software Trends cont.
• Purchasing software became viable alternative to
  in-house development
• Paying attention to applications and integrations
  other than transaction processing
• Push for open system
• End users develop their own systems
• Like hardware, software is migrating to be
  network centric toward Web Services.
• The significance of Web Services is that it moves
  software and programming to being truly network
  centric the network becomes the heart of the
  system, linking all Web Services

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The Technology Environment cont.

• Data Trends
• Corporate Databases
• Serving several applications
• Data management focuses on concepts
• Contains a much richer universe of digitized
  media including voice, graphics, animation and
  photographs (digitized media)
• Managing this expanded array of information
  resources requires new technologies
• Data warehousing
• Data Mining
• Two major data issues are now facing CIOs
• Security protecting data from those who should
  not see it
• Privacy safeguarding the personal data of
  employees, customers etc.

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The Technology Environment cont.

• Communication Trends
• Today the Internet Protocol has become the
  worldwide standard for LANs and WANs.
• Telecommunication-based IT links organizations to
  their suppliers, business partners, and
  customers.
• Explosion of Wireless
• 2nd generation, instant messaging, Wi-Fi, 3rd
  generation (3G), etc.
• Doesnt just enable mobility changes how people
  communicate, how they live and how they work
• Exciting Times!!!

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Competitive Advantage Who is Right?

• IT Doesnt Matter - Car 2003
• As IT becomes more pervasive, technology becomes
  more standardized and ubiquitous
• The result is that the same technologies are
  available to all competitors in an industry
• This produces no competitive advantage

• The Engine that Drives Success The Best
  Companies have the Models Because they Have the
  Best IT Strategies - Lundberg 2004
• Companies with bad business models fail
  regardless of IT systems or other capabilities
• Companies with good business models use IT to
  execute successful business models and succeed

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IT for Competitive Advantage Business Value

• Using IT to create/support business strategy is
  the most effective approach creating the most
  business value
• Strategic IT systems are typically custom built
  and are integrated to support the business
  strategy
• Strategic IT systems are by nature hard to
  replicate just as are good business models

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Type of Business Information Systems

• Transaction processing systems (TPS)
• Performs and records daily routine transactions
  necessary to conduct business
• Management information systems (MIS) and decision
  support systems (DSS)
• Provides summary reports on the companys basic
  operations and performance.
• Supports non-routine decision making for middle
  management (What If Analysis)
• Executive support systems (ESS)
• Provides information and analysis for the
  strategic issues and long-term trends, both in
  the firm and in the external environment

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Interrelationships Among Information Systems
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Current Enterprise IT Applications

• Enterprise applications are systems that span
  functional areas and automate processes for
  multiple business functions and organizational
  areas they include
• Enterprise resource planning systems (ERP)
• Supply chain management systems (SCM)
• Customer relationship management systems (CRM)
• Knowledge management systems (KMS)

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What Makes IT Personnel So Valuable?

• Technological Competency
• Business Competency
• System CompetencyIT Personnel should have a
  solid, integrated foundation in technical,
  business, and systems knowledge and skills.
  Perhaps most important, they should also have the
  social skills to understand how to work well with
  and motivate others.

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Distinct Skills for IT Managers

• Technical
• Knowledge of hardware, software, networking, and
  security
• Most IS professionals are not deep technical
  experts but can direct/manage others with the
  required technical skills

• Business
• Understand the nature of business including
  process, management, social, and communication
  domains
• Unique skills over those with only technical
  skills

• Systems
• Knowledge of approaches and methods, also possess
  critical thinking and problem solving skills
  necessary to build and integrate large
  information systems
• Unique skills over those with only technical
  skills

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The Future for IT
IT needs will continue to grow as technology
developments advance
Although outsourcing will continue, there will be
strong demand for IT professionals
There is a need for personnel that can speak the
language of technology and business and the
skills to manage projects and people

• Characteristics for success include continuous
  learning and growth, finding new ways to add
  value, flexibility, and developing unique skills

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Questions for Class Discussion

• Explain the direct and indirect benefits of using
  IT to address business challenges?
• Why does IT matter for
• Accounting and Finance?
• Operation Management?
• Human Resource Management?
• Sales and Marketing?
• Information Systems?
• What are the Top Management Concerns for using
  IT?
• What are the Top Application and Technology
  development in Business Organizations?
• What are the Top Enablers of IT and Business
  Alignment?
• What are the Top Inhibitors of IT and Business
  Alignment?
• How the IT has been applied in China?
• What are the Trends of IT management in Business?

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QUESTIONS??