The Role of Management

Transcription

1 The Role of Management Department of Informatics Outline Introduction The IT function SIX IT governance archetypes The ICT strategy for Umeå 1 1

2 Introduction The role of management in IS strategy can mean two things: (1) The importance of management in general, or (2) The importance specific departments and/or managers We will focus on management in general It is difficult to speak about the role of management Can be very different in different organizations, depending on size, the nature of the business, organizational culture Varies depending on the strategy of the specific organization Tends to vary over time As we have seen earlier it isn t that long ago since IS strategy became a concern for senior mgm 2 Introduction We will look at two key issues; the IT function, and five IT governance archetypes The key issues also tends to vary over time Which issues that are regarded as key issues and how they are managed often depends on Who controls IT direction How central IT is seen to business strategy The value placed on IT knowledge and skills How IT investments are justified Who are deemed winners and losers when a new IT system is implemented 3 2

3 The IT function The term IT function includes all tasks necessary to plan, build, run, maintain and further develop systems and applications This requires professional staff as well as technical facilities Staff often includes software developers, database administrators, project managers, support personnel and information specialists Don t confuse the IT function with a functional department. The functions it performs can be organized in different ways It can be a central department, it can be decentralized, or large parts of it can be outsourced 4 The IT function Agarwal & Samamurthy (ch. 8, Galliers & Leidner) describes three different organizational models The partner model (being a catalyst for innovation IT is an active partner in business innovation Business leadership in IT innovation through divisional information officers Corporate IT catalyzes innovation through strategic consulting Focus on 3 types of costs; business application costs, infrastructure costs, utility costs Works in environments where There is a need to promote business innovation through IT Senior management lack a deep understanding of IT Organizations with multiple related businesses Strong IT leadership trusted in the organization 5 3

4 The IT function The platform model (providing resources for global innovation) IT provides the assets, services and resources for business innovation across the organization But, business ownership of IT innovation, senior managers in business units owns strategic information systems The IT function as a factory, delivers scalable and flexible infrastructure, often organization-wide platform and capabilities that can be used in business innovation Account managers in IT function collaborates with business unit executives to get IT capabilities in line with business needs Works in environments where There are unique IT needs across units (often global organizations in multiple lines of business) Strong level of IT knowledge among senior business managers 6 The IT function The scalable model (using sourcing to be flexible) IT provides flexible and scalable resources for the organization Centralized IT organization for uniform use of IT capabilities, but at the same time strong IT Presence in business units Multisourcing arrangements, permits the IT function to control costs and change staff in response to the business cycle Scaling for variable resource needs, flexible staffing in order to be able to enhance the IT function s ability to scale up and down along with business growth Works in environments where Business is global with related lines of business The industry is cyclical (an industry that is sensitive to the business cycle, revenues are generally higher in periods of economic prosperity and expansion, and lower in periods of economic downturn and contraction) 7 4

5 The IT function There is no best IT organizational structure The IT function needs to respond to the unique environment in which it exists Most research on how to organize the IT function is done in large, often global organizations => Findings may not be that useful for smaller, more local businesses 8 Six IT governance archetypes IT governance refers to Decision rights; who makes each type of decision Input rights; Who has input to a decision Accountability; How are people or groups of people with decision and/or input rights held accountable for their role The 6 archetypes are based on an empirical study of more than 250 organizations in 23 countries Note that these are large organizations perceived to be top-performing In the study decision rights are related tor the right to decide regarding 5 key IT decisions; IT investment and prioritization, IT architecture, IT principles, business application needs, IT infrastructure strategies 9 5

6 Six IT governance archetypes Business monarchy Senior business mangers make IT decisions affecting the whole organization Decisions can be made by a group of executives, including the CIO and senior executives from business units Often, input for key decisions come from many sources, the CIO, business units, the budget process, etc. IT monarchy IT professionals make the IT decisions Decisions are often made by a committee of senior IT managers IT professionals can come from both business units and the IT department 10 Six IT governance archetypes Feudal IT decisions are made decentralized By business units, business functions or geographical regions Not so common, hard to create synergies across business units Federal Coordinated decision making involving both the central part of the organization and business units Representatives can be business unit leaders, business process owners, or both. IT executives from both business units or the IT department may also participate Can be difficult to use because of differences in perspectives between business units and central functions 11 6

7 Six IT governance archetypes IT duopoly Decisions are agreements between IT executives and one business group The IT executives may be any combination of IT groups The business group is typically CxOs, business unit leaders or business process owners An IT duopoly always includes both IT and business representation, but only one group of business representatives in each duopoly (federal decision making always have two or more levels of the hierarchy involved) Anarchy Individuals or very small groups make their own decisions based only on their own needs Smaller size of the organization than feudal decision makers => Expensive to support Formally sanctioned anarchies are rare 12 The ICT strategy for Umeå Not an IT strategy, rather a strategy for educational technology Been developed by a group lead by the Pro-Vice- Chancellor with representatives from most facultys. The CIO of UmU is also part of the group UmU has never had an strategy for educational technology but recent developments has stressed the need for such a strategy Developments in technology has changed the conditions for how education can be distributed Many students and teachers view IT as a natural part of their lives, both professionally and private => Changed habits Many teachers and departments are experienced IT users UmU has been successful developing net based courses and programs 13 7

8 The ICT strategy for Umeå Year 2009 UmU was the leading Swedish university in distance education; 11 programs, 406 courses => There is a huge interest in untraditional forms of teaching Many believe that in the future we will see more flexible educations, the borders between campus and off-campus will disappear => We need more technology on campus However, to introduce more educational technology poses some challenges with respect to Competence development Coordination of resources Development of technical infrastructure Financing of the whole effort Development of new pedagogical models => UmU needs a strategy 14 The ICT strategy for Umeå The major visions and goals of the strategy are Conditions for learning Vision: UmU offers possibilities for teachers and students to grow and develop in expected and unexpected meetings in both physical and virtual learning spaces Prioritized goal: UmU should offer physical and virtual learning spaces with excellent pedagogical quality Organisation and management Vision: UmU has effective structures and processes that manages and organizes the activities related to ICT in learning Prioritized goal: ICT in learning is a strategically prioritized development area with clearly defined areas of responsibility and management responsibilities 15 8

9 The ICT strategy for Umeå Technology and services Vision: UmU provides a technical infrastructure with high international standard in which functionality, robustness and pedagogical use are in focus Prioritized goal: It should exist a well functional base package of technology and related services for the whole university that supports students learning and teachers work, and at the same time there must be room for variation Culture UmU should be characterized by creative and experimenting development work that supports innovations for ICT in learning Prioritized goal: UmU should have a creative environment for development and experiments that finances initiatives in new pedagogical models for ICT in learning 16 The ICT strategy for Umeå Finances Vision: UmU should have a well-reasoned and effective use of the resources that are reserved for ICT in learning Prioritized goal: UmU should reserve resources on all levels to maintain and further develop UmU s investments in ICT in learning Of special interest is how to organized the function for educational technology Today there are several units active in this area Individual departments The IT department Centre for teaching and learning services The library 17 9

10 The ICT strategy for Umeå Your task: Propose how UmU should organize the function for Educational Technology (a typical task for senior management ) 18 10