managing info technology

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Managing Information Technology

IT management and planning issues

Managing information technology

When computers were first introduced into the business world, predictions were made that there

would be significant changes in managerial structures and organizations. The information processing

power and programmed decision making capabilities of computer based information systems were

supposedly going to cause drastic reductions in employees, including middle management and

supervisory personnel. Centralized computer systems would process all of the data of organizations,

control all of its operations and make most of its decisions. Such and other dramatic changes in the

entire aspect of organizational decision making and operations were expected to occur and the

resulting disruption and change was feared by both managers and other workers. They felt that they

would not be able to overcome the challenges of change management and felt that their very security

was threatened since the change would probably result in the termination of their work contracts.

However, these anticipated changes, which were thought to occur as a result of extensive IT utilization,

did not actually materialize to the extent or degree they were expected to occur. Of course, some

change did occur. For example there was reduction in labor force demand for many types of industrial

and factory workers was witnessed due to the application( usage) of process management and control

technologies along with factory automation with CAD and CAM. In addition to this, more technicians

and professionals were needed to develop and maintain the growing use of computer basedinformation systems in organizations.

But TODAY, in contrast, there are a variety of forces that seem to be causing a significant change in the

structure and distribution of mangers in organizations, where information technology plays a

significant role. So we can say that unlike the case where there was a limited change in organizational

structures and type of personnel when IT was first introduced in to the business environment, we now

observe a grate deal of change (which is IT driven)both in organizational structures and distribution of

managers.

Due to the use of IT, large businesses have lesser levels of management and number of managers as

compared to earlier periods.

Information technology now helps managers to manage organizational interdependencies.


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Driving factors

Business needs increased IT capability

Enabling technologies

*business needs include the need to:- overcome the impacts (challenges)of globalization, risk

management, reducing the time to access the markets, extending effective customer service,

management of operating costs etc..

*increased IT capabilities are in the areas of: - telecommunication networks, integrated databases,

cooperating systems, and other end user systems.

Information systems performance

The importance of performance measurement and evaluation has long been recognized in the field of

computer science. It is used in the analysis of existing systems, to make projections on the performance

of new or modified systems, and in the design and selection of new hardware and software. The tools

and methods used in performance measurement and evaluation are varied. They include such things as

timings, benchmarks, simulations, analytic modeling, and both hardware and software monitors. The

ones used in a given instance depend upon the goals of the investigator and the system being studied.

For instance, there are software monitors embedded in the systems which will gather system

performance statistics. Such soft wares help to discover the extent to which online systems are used

and to determine the patterns of user commands when conducting information searches.

In many organizations, information systems have performance problems. The promised benefits of

information technology have not occurred in many documented cases. Many businesses have not been

successful in managing their computer resources because it was not being used

1. Effectively-this means IT is being used merely/primarily to computerize traditional businessprocesses instead of being used for the support of managerial decision making and for innovative

purposes

2. Efficiently-in this case IT and information systems have poor response time ,un integrated data, andother problems

3. Economically- this problem arises if IT costs rise faster than other costs in many businesses.

Managing

organizational

interdependencies


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The solutions for these problems of poor information systems performance is extensive and sufficient

involvement of managers and ultimate end users in the process of planning, development and

operation of computer based information systems. Proper involvement off managers in the

management of information n systems requires managing the information technology and information

systems resources of their business units for operational efficiency, effectiveness and competitiveadvantage.

Centralization vs. decentralization

Modern computer based information systems support either centralized or decentralized orientation of

operations and decision making with in computer using organizations.

*centralized computer facilities connected to all parts of the organization through telecommunication

networks allow top management to centralize decision making formerly done by lower levels of

management .it can also promote centralization of operation which reduces the number of branches,

ware houses and other work sites needed by the firm,putting all these things under a centralized

control of higher level manager.

* on the other hand, distributed processing and networks of computers at multiple work sites allows

top management to delegate more decision making authority to lower levels of management, enabling

them to decentralize operations by increasing the number of work sites, while they still have access to

information as a result of the communication capabilities of the computer networks and control the

over all direction of the organization.

IRM (information resource management)

Information resource management has become a popular way to emphasize a major change in the

management and mission of information systems function in many organizations. IRM can be seen or

viewed as having five major dimensions

1. Strategic management- it must be managed to contribute to a firms strategic objectives andcompetitive advantage, not just for operational efficiency.

2. Resource management-data, information, HW, SW and telecommunication networks andinformation system personnel are vital organizational resources that must be managed just like

other business assets.

3. Functional management-information systems and technology can be managed functionalorganizational structures and techniques just like other business units. This is to say that it is

possible to organize the information services unit of the organization using the same way of

organizing the structure of other business units.

4. Technology management-All technologies that process, store and communicate information anddata in the organization should be managed as integrated systems of organizational resources.


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5. Distributed management-managers at any level with in any functional area must be responsible forthe management of information technology and information systems. The managerial responsibility

associated with information systems should be distributed across the organization so that managers

using information systems and managing subordinates who use information systems could be held

responsible for the effective use of information systems with in their domain.

Information systems planning

The role of information systems planningInformation technology has to be an important component of organizational planning, and requires a

planning process that is part of the strategic, tactical and operational plans of the organization. Hence,

IT has to be considered as one factor that needs to be given attention and needs to be planned, as

information technology is common in all the 3 levels.ISP is very important to continuing organizational

success and effective information systems performance, especially for those organizations characterized

by intensive reliance in information systems. One thing that needs to be noted here is that

organizations are still failing to deal effectively with information systems performance problems and the

reason for this is associated with ineffective information systems planning methodologies which do not

seem to realize that information system related problems not only arise form dealing with technological

problems but are also derived form paying too little attention to the interrelation ship between

information systems, the business processes and overall organizational factors.

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Information systems planning model

Information Input

PlanningProcess

Resources

ParticipantEducationand

Training

PlanningOutput

PlanningOutcome

Organizational / External Environment

Input Process Output Outcome

As the above diagram shows, we have to plan for information systems so that we obtain resources(

financial and facilities) and align information systems with business activities , identify needed

applications, and establishing goals and mile stones to track progress.


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The planning output refers to derivation of strategies and policies including funding criteria on IT,

organizational rearrangements and using of outside IT services or outsourcing.

Strategic information systems planningA strategic information systems plan formulates policies, objectives and strategies for deliveringinformation services and allocating information system resources. It involves a study of how

information systems function can contribute to the achievement of goals contained in the strategic plan

for the entire organization. This process is some times called enterprise analysis, which emphasizes the

planning of computer based information systems that will improve firms performanc e and competitive

position.

This plan also contains an analysis of a firms application portfolio, which tells us about the types of

information system solutions/application being developed and the business process/function supported

by each of these information systems. This is to insure that strategic business goals are aligned with the

strategic systems plans.

Linkage analysis- also tries to include other stakeholders in the strategic IS planning process. It

examines the links between organizations in order to create a strategy for utilizing electronic

channels. It is done in three steps defining the relationships among and between stakeholders;

map or recognize the extended enterprise i.e. identify important customers buyers and other

strategic partners; and plan electronic channels to deliver information component of products and

services.

The strategic plan starts with the assessment of:-

A.the capabilities of the IT department

B.the readiness of the company

C.the status of our customers and the industry

D.the status of the economy and economic sector of the organization

E.technology availability and relevance

A strategic information system planning has become more difficult and important at the same time.

Tactical information systems planningThe second level of planning starts with the specific assessment of an organizations current and

projected information requirements, which will be divided in to individual project proposals for the


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development of new/ improved information systems. The systems development process starts with

identification of new information system development ideas. End users and managers alike are usually

the sources of such ideas. But as a result of many constraints including time and money, organizations

will be forced to select only the project ideas/initiatives which require immediate attention and are

actually feasible. This means that project ideas will be screened and ranked according to their priority.At this level middle level managers of functional units are responsible for deciding what information

system solutions need to be developed for their units. The selected project ideas will then be

transformed in to actual project proposals to be implemented by project teams and the project

management process.

Operational information systems planningIt involves the preparation of annual operating budgets and planning for individual information system

development projects. It specifies the day to day financial and other resources needed to develop the

information systems project once its execution starts and also eventually maintain them after they aredelivered/ implemented and put into operation.

IS planning level Primary issues Primary responsibilitystrategic Organizational culture

Strategic business goals

Value chain

Senior management

Chief information officer

Tactical level Project selection

Project portfolio analysis

Middle managers

Steering committee

Operational level Resource allocation

Project management

Meeting deadlines and budget limits

IS professionals

Project mangers and teams

Line managers

managing info technology

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