Chapter 17 IntroductionChapter 17 Introduction

Final ConsiderationsFinal Considerations

OverviewOverview

Organizational Response to Business Organizational Response to Business DriversDrivers

Business Success FactorsBusiness Success Factors Reasons Companies Fail When Trying to Reasons Companies Fail When Trying to

Use Information Systems to CompeteUse Information Systems to Compete Information System GoalsInformation System Goals

• New Markets, Opportunities and Competitors • Time, Flexibility and Responsiveness as Competitive Factors

• Product Customization

• Process Reengineering, Redefining and TQM

• Employee Empowerment and Cross-functional Teams

• Organization Downsizing, Outsourcing Business Partnering and Alliances

Organizational Response to Business DriversIS Significance

High Medium Low

Figure 17-1

• Business Leadership• Fitting Pieces into the Big Picture• Organizational Responsiveness and Resilience• Realizing that Solving Customer Problems Requires a Team Approach• A Strong Company Culture• Ability and Willingness to Innovate, Change and Take Risks• Accomplishing All of These Factors While Maintaining Necessary Balance• Good Communication Throughout the the Entire Organization

Business Success Factors I/S RoleImportant Necessary Marginal

Figure 17-2

Why Aren’t All Companies Why Aren’t All Companies Successful in Using IS to CompeteSuccessful in Using IS to Compete??

1. Business Reasons1. Business Reasons

2. Information Technology Reasons2. Information Technology Reasons

Business RelatedBusiness Related

Lack of Senior management sponsorship or support

Poor employee acceptance or use General resistance to change within the

organization Poor alignment of IS with the business strategy Impatience for results Vision and direction of the business is not clear Poor business strategy Poor timing

IT ReasonsIT Reasons Inadequate staffing and/or funding. Project size was extremely large. Poor project structure. Organization lacked experience with IT

(user and/or IS organization) Poor systems performance.

Information Systems GoalInformation Systems Goal• To help achieve organizational goals and objectives.

• By providing necessary information.

• By providing a communication network.

• By accommodating change within the organization.

• By approaching this with a general manager’s perspective.

ConclusionsConclusions

Understanding the business is no longer a single dimension.

Reasons for using information system must parallel with business needs.

Chapter 17Chapter 17

Final ConsiderationsFinal Considerations

I regard information technology as a precocious teenager: full of energy, irreverent, unpredictable, a source of both joy and heartache--and frequently in need of close supervision.

Kent "Oz" Nelson

Chairman and CEO United Parcel Service

Three Definite ConclusionsThree Definite Conclusions1. The way to gain acceptance of information

systems by senior management is to focus on using it to gain a competitive advantage.

2. The way to capitalize on this opportunity 2. The way to capitalize on this opportunity is thorough a marketing approach.is thorough a marketing approach.

3. The way to sell anything over time is by 3. The way to sell anything over time is by emphasizing value.emphasizing value.

There Has Never Been a Better There Has Never Been a Better TimeTime

1. For candor relative to key business and IT issues.

2. For real world success stories versus theory.

3. For business and IS leadership versus techniques

and methodologies.

Company MentalityCompany Mentality

Most people buy the premise that managing information and information systems is a key, fundamental aspect of running the business.

An issue can be selling the best specific approach.

The Sell CycleThe Sell Cycle

• Identify Prospects

• Gain Interest

• Develop Need

• Quantify the Need

• Build the Sale

• Market the Solution

• Gain Commitment

Marketing/Sales ProcessMarketing/Sales Process

Research / Planning / Enabling

CampaignsProgram Programs Programs

Delivery VehiclesProducts and Services

Create/ Capture Demand

Define/ Agree on Solution

Gain Commitment

Implement Maintain Customer

Targeted Opportunities

Customer Satisfaction and Revenue

An IS Marketing Therefore ListAn IS Marketing Therefore List

Determine the 3 - 5 things that your customers spend 75% of their time doing.

Do an analysis of the major focus and priorities of the CEO.

Read the annual report and look for the presence or absence of information systems endorsements.

Take a hard look at the marketing job being done by the IS organization.

Build a personal network for competitive information sources.

IS Competitive MarketingIS Competitive Marketing

Ten Commandments

1. Solving customer problems has always been a logical and successful marketing strategy.

2. During adverse times, your customers really need you.

3. Eighty percent of winning is showing up!

4. Go to your customers with questions, not answers.

5. Remember that quality products and services are the foundation of competitive success that also includes leadership of skilled employees using advanced methods.

6. A winning approach should provide long term advantages, include benefits for the organization as a whole and not distort the logical balance among major business functions.

7. Successful systems are built on harmony in the work place, discipline in the work place and automation that is consistent with the first two factors.

8. Redefine your business, products or services and business processes based on how this redefines value to customer.

9. The company reward system should endorse and

reinforce the major factors cited above.

10. Watch the arrogance and stay current.

• New Markets, Opportunities and Competitors • Time, Flexibility and Responsiveness as Competitive Factors

• Product Customization

• Process Reengineering, Redefining and TQM

• Employee Empowerment and Cross-functional Teams

• Organization Downsizing, Outsourcing Business Partnering and Alliances

Organizational Response to Business DriversIS Significance

High Medium Low

Figure 17-1

• Business Leadership• Fitting Pieces into the Big Picture• Organizational Responsiveness and Resilience• Realizing that Solving Customer Problems Requires a Team Approach• A Strong Company Culture• Ability and Willingness to Innovate, Change and Take Risks• Accomplishing All of These Factors While Maintaining Necessary Balance• Good Communication Throughout the the Entire Organization

Business Success Factors I/S RoleImportant Necessary Marginal

Figure 17-2

Why Aren’t All Companies Why Aren’t All Companies Successful in Using IS to Successful in Using IS to

Compete?Compete?

1. Business Reasons1. Business Reasons

2. Information Technology Reasons2. Information Technology Reasons

Business ReasonsBusiness Reasons A lack of senior management sponsorship.

Poor employee acceptance or use.

General resistance to change within the organization.

Poor alignment of Information Systems with business strategies.

• Impatient for results--management and employees.

• Vision and direction of the business was not clear. • Poor business strategies. • Good vision, strategy and implementation but bad timing results in no value to the customer.

Business ReasonsBusiness Reasons

IT ReasonsIT Reasons Inadequate staffing and/or funding. Project size was extremely large. Poor project structure. Organization lacked experience with IT

(user and/or IS organization) Poor systems performance.

2002 Best Practices Study2002 Best Practices StudyThe effectiveness (quality and value) and efficiency

(cost and productivity) of the information technology

function across five performance dimensions:

1. Strategic alignment with the business.

2. Ability to partner with internal and external customers.

3. Use of technology.

4. Organization.

5. Processes.

Study Done ByStudy Done ByHackett Benchmarking (www.answerthink.com/hackett) is

considered the world's foremost best practices benchmarking

firm.

With offices in Atlanta, Georgia; Hudson, Ohio; and

Frankfurt, Germany, Hackett maintains ongoing benchmark

studies in finance, human resources, information technology,

procurement, customer contact centers and related areas.

Study ConclusionsStudy Conclusions

1. Given that technology now permeates every aspect of

business operations, management of the corporate IT

infrastructure has evolved into a CEO-level issue.

2. While it is understandable that in today's economy

companies want to cut or at least slow the rise of IT costs, it

is alarming that most companies persist in viewing IT as a

subsidiary support function, rather than a key competitive

lever.

Study ConclusionsStudy Conclusions

3. Principal improvement strategies utilized by the best-

managed companies include simplifying and automating

processes from end-to-end and leveraging the maximum

business value from technology investments and Web

infrastructures.

Significant FindingsSignificant Findings

1. An 85% increase since 1998 in the number of CIOs who

report directly to the CEO indicates that the linkage between

technology and business is growing tighter.

2. With a tight link between the overall business strategy and

the company-wide IT strategy, world-class IT organizations

actually spend 17% less per end-user than their average

counterparts ($12,236 versus $10,111) while delivering

projects to business specification 23% more often.

3. While outsourcing has been embraced by companies as a way to keep IT costs in check, for most it has proved to be a break-even proposition, at best. 4. In highly standardized companies, process costs are virtually the same, regardless of whether functions are largely outsourced or completely in-house. 5. For companies with a very low level of standardization, outsourcing sharply increases process costs.6. Application development costs at companies with low standardization levels rise by 300% when outsourced.

Significant FindingsSignificant Findings

7. Outsourcing adds value only when part of an overall IT strategy aimed at leveraging maximum efficiency and effectiveness from people, processes and technology.8. Greater centralized control of IT operations delivers

significant savings in operational support without necessarily

sacrificing performance.

9. World-class companies with centralized IT organizations

have 24% lower operations costs while enjoying 21% fewer

help-desk calls than their decentralized counterparts.

Significant FindingsSignificant Findings

Additional FindingsAdditional Findings

1. A comparison of staff at average and world-class IT

organizations indicates that 163% more professionals and

108% more managers in the latter group have advanced

business degrees.

2. Companies are increasingly relying on IT for advice on

improving the business with technology, which requires that

IT staff add an understanding of business issues to its

traditional core competencies.

Additional FindingsAdditional Findings3. The consistent use of IT standards enables top-performing

companies to not only trim IT development costs by 41%

(from $661 to $391 annually per end-user), but also reduces

end-user support and training operations costs by 17% (from

$968 to $801 annually per end-user).

4. As companies adopt new technologies, integrate

acquisitions and operate in a more real-time global

environment, the case for standardization becomes even

stronger.

Additional FindingsAdditional Findings

5. While 100% of organizations with world-class IT process

performance have disaster-recovery plans in place, only 77%

of average companies maintain such a plan, suggesting the

presence of a penny-wise, pound-foolish approach to risk

management in the latter group.

Some Appropriate QuestionsSome Appropriate Questions1. Do you really believe that information systems can make your organization more competitive?2. Is this a technical or an internal marketing challenge?3. What is the current credibility of the IS organization?4. What are the basic prerequisites for an

organization to use IS to compete?

5. How do you align information systems with the goals and objectives of the business?

6. What is the scope of competitively focused systems?

7. How important is determining the value of IS within an organization?

8. What are the organizational and personnel implications of using IS to compete?

9. Does the use of IS to compete ever get easy?

More Questions!More Questions!

Manufacturing System GuidelinesManufacturing System Guidelines

1. Never implement a new system without first simplifying the process.

2. Stay around to help the user articulate your solution to their problem.

3. Automate where appropriate but only if you have senior management commitment.

4. Implement through user ownership of the system.

In a period of unprecedented opportunity driven by business and technological change made difficult by:

• Competition

• Complexity

• The Pace of the Change

So where are we?

Getting A JobGetting A Job

Student Services and Job Fairs (Westech)

Specific Company Web Pages

Personal Networking With People You Know

Job Search Web Pages

GraduationGraduation

A very good time to kick tires and test the job market.

What are your financial What are your financial expectations!expectations!

Don’t give a specific number.

Always give a range.

“I just want to be sure that I am being treated fairly.”

Why him/her and not me!Why him/her and not me!

You can go crazy trying to second guess the entire interview and hiring process.

Don’t even try but do try to be philosophical about the entire process.

If it is meant to be, it will happen. If not, there are other good opportunities.

If philosophical about a jobIf philosophical about a job

• You will do better in the interview process.

•You will appear more in control of your efforts to make sure you find the best fit for yourself.

• You will be more inclined to ask tough questions.

Company AssessmentCompany Assessment

1. Longer term potential of the company.

2. Your opinion of the people you interviewed with.

3. The initial job assignment.

4. The offer.

Valued experience for the next two years and the marketability of that experience.

Tough QuestionsTough Questions• What role does information systems play within the company?

• How important is the role of information systems?

• How successful have you been in retaining quality information systems personnel in the recent job market?

• Has job burn-out been a problem within the IS organization?

• What factors play a key role in getting promoted or rewarded within the information systems organization?

• Has anyone from Information Systems ever moved into higher level management within the company?

Why do they call it Commencement?Why do they call it Commencement?

• 90 day sponge strategy.

• Pick two areas of expertise.

• Continue to develop your big picture mentality.

• Improve oral communications skills like

Ollie Wight did.

• Everyone should have a pitch.

Commencement!?Commencement!?

• Develop a personal network.

• Develop a reading material profile.

• Really understand the desired mode of

operation versus the specific tasks of a job.

What about an MBA?What about an MBA?If you are not happy with your current job and more importantly your career path, then a full time MBA program is an excellent fork in the road.

It allows you to repot yourself and build a whole new set of personal networking contacts.

If you are happy with what and how you are doing, then wait for two years and consider an evening MBA program like 80% of those in those doing this.

Realize that Stanford, UC Berkeley and UCLA are three of the five toughest MBA programs in the world to gain acceptance.

Why not a full-time MBA?Why not a full-time MBA?

Tuition

Other Student Costs

Living Costs

Lost Opportunity Costs

Information Systems GoalInformation Systems Goal

• To help achieve organizational goals and objectives.

• By providing necessary information.

• By providing a communication network.

• By accommodating change within the organization.

• By approaching this with a general manager’s perspective.

Leadership is your personal challenge, whatever your organizational role.

My Job as an IS professionalMy Job as an IS professional

is to help my company compete!