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 based information 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
Managing organizational interdependencies

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 business processes 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, and other problems 3. Economically- this problem arises if IT costs rise faster than other costs in many businesses.
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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 competitive advantage. 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 Strategic management- it must be managed to contribute to a firms strategic objectives and competitive advantage, not just for operational efficiency. 2. Resource management-data, information, HW, SW and telecommunication networks and information 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 functional organizational 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 and data in the organization should be managed as integrated systems of organizational resources. 1.
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5. Distributed management-managers at any level with in any functional area must be responsible for the 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 planning Information 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.

Participant Education and Training

Planning Process Resources

Organizational / External Environment

Planning Output

Planning Outcome

Information Input

Input

Process

Output

Outcome

Information systems planning model

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 planning A strategic information systems plan formulates policies, objectives and strategies for delivering information 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 performance 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 planning The 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 planning It 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 are delivered/ implemented and put into operation. IS planning level strategic Primary issues Organizational culture Strategic business goals Value chain Project selection Project portfolio analysis Resource allocation Project management Meeting deadlines and budget limits Primary responsibility Senior management Chief information officer Middle managers Steering committee IS professionals Project mangers and teams Line managers

Tactical level Operational level

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