Information System Job - Lecture 17

Information System JobLecture 17Summary of Previous LectureWhat is information?System components and conceptsCharacteristics of informationWhat is information system? Why need information system?Historical background of information systemInformation system today.Terminology related to MIS and ISSummary of Previous LectureTypes of Information SystemsEarly history of IS with other disciplinesInformation system versus computer scienceInformation technologyContext and definitionsCapabilities of information systemSummarySummary of Today’s LectureInformation System Job ConceptsOld role versus new roleIT head responsibilitiesInformation System management FrameworkTerminologiesEscalating benefits of ITWaves of innovationSABRE system international, a case studyTraditions functions of ISSummary of Today’s LectureIS LITE, a new conceptCIO responsibilitiesCIO roles LeadingGoverningInvestingManagingCIO OfficeSummaryJob role - IntroductionDifferent Job roles are defined to manage the Information System of any organization.Since the evolution of modern trends and business styles, IS job roles with respect to business scenarios have been changed.Style of managing Information Technology has been completely change in past 50 years. Early days main focus was to manage the technology:Get it to workKeep the information technology systems runningReduce cost of doing businessJob role – A ChangeProblem with this approachApproach: Get the work done! May gather lot of redundanciesJob role – A ChangeThen come the concepts of managing the information resourcesSupport (management) decision makingDelivering information when and where it was neededNow = IT is pervasive and is a mandatory link between enterprisesResponsibilities of the head of IS now go far beyond operating highly efficient ‘production programming shops’.Traditionally, IT head roles were limited to managing IT projects and meeting the deadlines.These executives are now part of top management and help form the goals of the enterprise in partnership with the CEO, CFO and other members of top managementIT Head ResponsibilityCEO=Chief Executive OfficerCFO= Chief Financial OfficerInformation System Management: A new era frameworkCIO= Chief Information OfficerA new Job: Chief Information OfficerTerminologiesProcedure based workA work done using a series of steps. For example data entry job in any company or any daily office routine work Knowledge based information workA work concerned with the strategically information values in any organization.For example, top management wants to see overall business growth and comparisons.TerminologyInformation WorkersPeople in organization who deal with day to day business transactions.Procedural systemA system based upon some procedures like Transaction processing system. Procedure based information work is done using the support of this system. Support systemInformation systems for providing help to management of the organization for decision making and other purposes.TechnologiesDifferent hardware and software support solutions to carry out all the activities.System development and deliveryOverall enterprise information system applications and its execution in any organization.TerminologiesWhere Is The IS Organization Headed?The growing Benefits of Information TechnologyKenneth Primozic, Edward Primozic, and Joe Leben introduce the notion of “Waves of Innovation” which they define as how IT is used by industries and enterprises. There are five Waves of Innovation (Figure 2-1):Reaching the consumerEnhancing executive decision makingEnhancing products and servicesLeveraging investmentsReducing costWhere Is the IS Organization Headed?Escalating Benefits of ITWaves of Innovation- Below the line (Saving $)Wave 1: Reducing costsBegan in the ’60sFocused on increasing the productivity of individuals and business areas by e.g. automating manual processesWave 2: Leveraging InvestmentsBegan in the ’70sConcentrated on more effective use of corporate assetsSystems justified on ROI, cash flow etc.Waves of Innovation- Above the line (Making $)Wave 3: Enhancing Products & ServicesBegan in the ’80sAttention shifted to using IT to produce revenue by gaining strategic advantage or creating entirely new businessesWave 4: Enhancing Executive Decision MakingBegan in the late ’80sChanged fundamental structure of organizationsCreated real-time business management systemsWaves of Innovation- Above the line (Making $)Waves 1 & 2 = could be done at ‘any time’ (and are still being done!)Waves 3 & 4 = must be implemented once an industry leader has set a precedentCompanies that don’t do = cease to be competitiveWaves of Innovation- Above the line (Making $) cont.Wave 5: Reaching the ConsumerBegan in the ’90sUses IT to communicate directly with consumers leading to new:MarketingDistribution, andService strategiesChanges the rules of competitionWaves of Innovation- Above the line (Making $) cont.Management must be involved in guiding IT use once you ‘cross the line’Management must steer the company in the new (evolved) business environmentNot the ‘techies’Waves 1 and 2SABRE built to reduce costs of making airline seat reservationsWave 3System expanded so it could be used directly by travel agentsWave 4System expanded to include hotels and rental cars through alliances with these suppliersThe SABRE system (American Airlines)Case example: ‘Waves of Innovation’Wave 5 American extended their reach to the consumer:Introduced EAASY SABRE that enabled consumers direct access from their PCsAdvantage – frequent flyer programEnhanced their Wave 5 connections to consumers via the Web (and mobiles?)Targeted its most profitable customers = Frequent FlyersNote: this example also illustrates that as the benefits of IT increase, the importance of executive guidance also increasesThe SABRE system (American Airlines)Case example: ‘Waves of Innovation’ cont.IT has become an essential piece of business strategyNot keeping up in IT may even mean going out of businessThe job has become too large for one groupWhile the growing importance of IT is causing the IS Department’s work to expand into new areas of responsibility, management is realizing that the traditional and more operational portions of the job do not have to be performed by the IS departmentParticularly ‘centralized’ Traditional Functions Are Being Nibbled AwayIT Department LAB: Development of Software in ProcessThe traditional set of responsibilities for IS has included:Managing operations of data centers, remote systems, and networksManaging corporate dataPerforming systems analysis and design, and constructing new systemsSystems planningIdentifying opportunities for new systemsTraditional Functions Are Being Nibbled Away cont.The traditional functions still need to be performed but the following trends are moving their performance out of the IS department and into other parts of the organization or to other enterprises:Distributed systemsSoftware applications migrating to user areasEver more knowledgeable users have taken on increased IS responsibilitiesBetter application packagesLess need for ‘armies’ of programmers, analysts etc.OutsourcingTraditional Functions Are Being Nibbled Away cont. IS started ‘centralised’ and evolved into a ‘federal model’: Some things (standards, operations) = centralised Others (application development) = dispersed locally to best meet local needsToward IS Lite (another ‘view’)To make the federal model work better, companies are shifting attention from roles to processes The IS department can be viewed as managing three overall processes (Figure 2-6): Driving innovation Managing change Supporting infrastructureToward IS Lite (another ‘view’)The CIO’s ResponsibilitiesIn line with the evolution of IS departments, the emphasis of the top job has changed86 = Infrastructure89 = helping formulate corporate policy92 = IT as a catalyst for overhauling the way enterprises worked98 = Restore business operations using IT continued with the Internet (customers +)The CIO’s Responsibilities02 = the ‘technical member’ of top management04 = a cost and risk based approach Vs. “let’s get into e-commerce fast”12 = automated intelligent solutions dynamically growing business challengesToday the cost emphasis remainsOutsourcing continues to grow CIOs are expected to do much more with not much more $$ Also = under pressure:To implement protective measuresNew financial reportingKeep the IT innovations coming!!The CIO’s ResponsibilitiesCIO Responsibilities — History CIO Responsibilities — History cont. The Mainframe EraPredominated 1960s – early ’80sRole of IS Manager = operational manager of a specialist functionDistributed EraEnd of ’70s as PCs became commonplaceLANS and WANS linking computersTook on 4 more roles:Organizational DesignerTechnology AdvisorTechnology ArchitectInformed BuyerCIO Responsibilities — History cont. The Web EraStarted in the mid-1990s for someArose from the emergence of the Internet, and esp. the Web as a business toolEra is still in its ‘infancy’ but add to the CIO’s ‘job’ the role of business visionaryRelationship between CEO and CIO vary along a wide spectrum Four Aspects of the CIO roleLeading: Creating a vision by understanding the businessGoverning: Establishing an IS Governance structureInvesting: Shaping the IT portfolioManaging: Fostering changeLeading: Creating a Vision by Understanding the BusinessThere are seven approaches CIOs are using to understand the business and its environment:Encourage project teams to study the marketplaceConcentrate on lines of businessSponsor weekly briefings Attend industry meetings with line executivesRead industry publicationsHold informal listening sessionsBecome a “partner” with a line executive1. Leading: Creating a Vision by Understanding the BusinessIS executives are no longer reactive, providing only supportThey manage some of the most important tools for influencing the firm’s futureThey are becoming more “proactive” by helping to create a vision of the firm’s future and its use of IT and selling those ideas to others1.2 Leading: Creating a Vision of the Future and Selling ItWhat is a Vision?It is a statement of how someone wants the future to be or believes it will be“We will put a man on the moon and return him safely to earth, by the end of the decade” – John F.K., early 1960sOnce a vision is in hand, then a strategy can be formulated on how to bring the vision into being1.2 Leading: Creating a Vision of the Future and Selling It: Why develop a Vision?A vision of a desirable future can provide stability when it sets a direction for an organizationToday most corporate visions have an IT underpinning – leveraging the Internet for business purposesThat vision sets their direction1.2 Leading: Creating a Vision of the Future and Selling It: A champion is someone with a vision who gets it implemented by obtaining the funding, pushing the project over hurdles, putting his or her reputation on the line, and taking the risk of the project.1.2 Leading: Creating a Vision of the Future and Selling It: Encouraging Champions of IT ProjectsEncouraging Champions of IT ProjectsThe first step in encouraging champions is to find them (they can’t be ‘appointed’!) They are opinion leaders, and they have a reputation for creative ideas or being involved with innovations They have developed strong ties to others in their organization, and they command respect within the firm They have the organizational power to get strategic innovations implemented Information systems champions need three things from IS Management:They Need Information:Champions need information, facts, and expertise for convincing others that the technology will workInformation systems people can help them find the information they are lackingEncouraging Champions of IT Projects cont.2. They Need Resources: Giving champions “free” staff time is especially helpful during the assessment of a project Champions are likely to need material resources, such as hardware and software3. They Need Support: Champions need people who approve of what they are doing and give legitimacy to their projects1. Leading: Creating a Vision of the Future and Selling It: Encouraging Champions of IT Projects cont.2. Governing2. Governing:Establishing an IS Governance Structure The term ‘Governance’ has become prominent in all areas of business including IT.IT Governance“The assignment of decision rights and the accountability framework to encourage desirable behavior in the use of IT”Governance differs from management in that Governance is about deciding who makes decisions whereasManagement is about making decisions once decision rights have been assigned2. Governing:Establishing an IS Governance Structure cont. ‘Governance’ has become more important in the IS world because IT expenditures have become so large and diverse that management has had to find a way to bring order to all the decision makingCentralizing all IT decisions is not a solutionAll business units and local employees need a voice in the decisions to tailor their business to the local culture and customersStriking such a balance is a major IS emphasis2. Governing:Establishing an IS Governance Structure cont. Assigning Decision RightsSix governance stylesA business monarchy is where C-level executives (CIO..) hold the right to make decisionsIT monarchy = where IT executives hold the right to make decisionsFeudal is where business unit leaders (or delegates) have decision or input rightsFederal means that the rights are shared by C-level executives and one other tier of the business hierarchyA duopoly is where one IT group and one business group share a rightAnarchy is where individual process owners or end users hold a rightInvesting3. Investing:Shaping the IT Portfolio IT investments are large and important to company successHow to make such investments is getting increased attentionBusiness executives can no longer “blame CIOs” for poor IT investmentsCIOs can only implement good systemsThey are not responsible for changing business practices to take advantage of those systems.3. Investing:Shaping the IT Portfolio – A Strategic View of Making IT Investments Intense competition in ‘non-regulated’ industries forced executives in these to innovateBy investing in ITBy improving their business processes, andBy offering new products and servicesThese innovations, in turn, increased productivityVirtuous circle (Figure 2-10)Competition leads to innovation, which leads to productivity increasesManaging4. Managing:Establishing Credibility and Fostering Change CIOs are in the change businessInformation systems bring about changeBUT – before a CIO and the IS organization will be heard as a voice for change, they must be viewed as being successful and reliableTo foster change, a CIO must establish and then maintain the credibility of the IS organization4. Managing: Establishing Credibility The first job of IS management is to get the “today” operation in shapeUntil that task is accomplished, CIOs will have little credibility with other top managementManaging “today” includes:Computer operationsTechnical support (including networks)The help desk, andMaintenance and enhancement of existing systemsEstablishing CredibilityDelivery oriented with a high level of serviceOnce you have “today” working well – they will listen to your “tomorrow”4. Managing: Fostering Change ‘Techies’ presume a technically elegant system is a successful oneNot so. Many technically sound systems have turned into implementation failures because the people side of the system was not handled correctlyIT is all about managing changeNew systems require changing how work is doneFocusing on the technical aspects is only ‘half’ the job. The other job is change management4. Managing: Fostering Change cont.People resist change, especially technological changeMay react in several ways:Deny, distort or deceive4. Managing: Fostering Change cont.Working across Organizational LinesCIOs now find that systems they implement affect people outside their firmSupply side = fewer suppliers but deeper relationshipsCustomer side = need buy-in to building / using inter-business systems UNDERSTAND THE BUSINESS TALK TO PEOPLEKey to SuccessThe Office of the CIO?Some believe the office of the CIO is so broad it should be handled by a teamFour ‘positions’:Chief Information OfficerHeads IS and works with top management, customers and suppliersChief Technology OfficerHeads IT planning, which involves architecture and exploration of new technologiesChief Operations OfficerHeads day-to-day IS operationsChief Project OfficerOversees all projects and project managersCIO OfficeIT is so critical to enterprise success and the know-how needed to run it so deep and wide = management needs to become a team effortIT decision making must be ‘shared’ - The main responsibility for managing the use of IT needs to pass to the line, while the management of the IT infrastructure is retained by the IS groupIt is reflected in the following saying:“We used to do it to them”- IS required end users to obey strict rules for getting changes made to systems, submitting job requests, etc.“Next, we did it for them”-IS moved to taking a service orientation“Now, we do it with them”-which reflects “partnering”“We are moving toward teaching them how to do it themselves”SummaryTo achieve this transformation, CIOs must play a leadership role in their enterprise and develop partnerships with senior management, internal and external customers, and suppliersSummary