Information Systems and the Role of General and Functional Managers

© Gabriele Piccoli

Chapter 1

Why every modern manager must be proficient with Information Systems

© Gabriele Piccoli

Course Roadmap

• Part I: Foundations– Chapter 1: Introduction– Chapter 2: Information Systems Defined– Chapter 3: Organizational Information Systems and

Their Impact

• Part II: Competing in the Internet Age• Part III: The Strategic use of Information Systems• Part IV: Getting IT Done

© Gabriele Piccoli

Learning Objectives

1. To define the terms general manager, functional manager, and end user. You will also learn to articulate the difference between these concepts.

2. To define the role of the modern chief information officer (CIO).

3. To identify organizational and information technology trends that have led to the current popularity of IT-based information systems.

4. To identify why it is important for general and functional managers to be involved in information systems decisions.

5. To identify, and avoid, the risks that arise when general and functional managers decide to abdicate their right (and duty) to make important information systems decisions.

Introduction

• It is very hard to escape the hype and publicity surrounding information technology (IT) and its business applications

• A key driving force has been the affordability and accessibility of IT and business applications

• This has resulted in IT and business applications becoming critical investments for business operations

© Gabriele Piccoli

© Gabriele Piccoli

Basic Manager Definitions

• Manager: A trained, knowledgeable worker who is in charge of a team and often holds a master’s degree in management or business administration

• General Manager: Manager in charge of an entire organization or business unit

• Functional Manager: Manager in charge of a functional area or team

© Gabriele Piccoli

The Importance of IS

“All the value of this company is in its people. If you burned down all our plants, and we just kept our people and our information files, we should soon be as strong as ever.” ~Thomas Watson Jr.

© Gabriele Piccoli

What This Means For You

• Selecting, designing, and managing IT and building IS: Not a job for the “IT guy”

• Modern general and functional managers are responsible for working in partnership with IT professionals.

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Critical Lessons

• Managers have to make educated decisions about the use of IT

• Organizations use new IT to serve growing/changing business needs

• Savvy managers partner with IT pros to ensure the success of information systems

• Managers may or may not be end-users of the new systems they help to create

What is an End User?

• End User: Individuals who have direct contact with software applications.

• Anyone who uses a software program is an end-user– Students who use office productivity tools to write papers– Customers who use online systems to order goods &

services– Suppliers who use business systems to deliver goods &

services– Managers & employees who use simple office productivity

programs (MS Office) or advanced programs (organizational business systems) for their day-to-day activities

© Gabriele Piccoli

© Gabriele Piccoli

The End User

• Comes into direct contact with the technology: Software and hardware

• Uses the technology to complete their day-to-day work and improve their own productivity

• General and Functional Managers are often also end-users, but their critical skills are different

• General and Functional Managers must:– Understand the role that IT plays in an information system– Be able to identify opportunities to use IT to their organization’s

advantage– Plan for the effective use of IS resources– Manage the design, development, selection, and implementation

of organizational information systems

Organizational Priorities

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Top 10 Business Priorities Top 10 Technology Priorities Business process improvement Virtualization Reducing enterprise costs Cloud computing Increasing the use of information/analytics Web 2.0 Improving enterprise workforce effectiveness Networking, voice and data communications Attracting and retaining new customers Business Intelligence Managing change initiatives Mobile technologies Creating new products or services (innovation) Data/document management and storage Targeting customers and markets more effectively Service-oriented applications and architecture Consolidating business operations Security technologies Expanding current customer relationships IT management

Adapted from Gartner EXP (January 2010)

© Gabriele Piccoli

Next Wave of CIOs

• Increasing prevalence of IT → necessary understanding of how to use resources

• Broad view of operations, business processes, inter-organizational coordination challenges, and opportunities

• Broad understanding of how the firm is positioned to execute strategies

• No longer seen as the endpoint of a career but as a stepping stone to other executive positions (CEO, president, etc.)

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Key CIO Skills

• Perpetually develop the IT Team/Organization• Effectively manage change while in pursuit of:

– Marketplace Innovation– Process Improvement– Maximum Agility– Leverage of Legacy Systems

• Achieve 100% Customer Satisfaction• Consistently improve business performance

© Gabriele Piccoli

What’s an Information System?

An organizational system that enables the processing and management of an

organization’s information

© Gabriele Piccoli

Key IT Trends

• IT enables new strategy, initiatives and effective management

• Processing power, storage capacity and battery life continues to increase rapidly

• IT costs continue to decline rapidly• IT continues to improve in user

friendliness, thus becoming accessible to more and more people

© Gabriele Piccoli

Key IT Trends

• Data storage cost continues to decline

• More and more devices are networked

• Intelligent devices are now mainstream

Used with permission from David Becker/ Getty Images, Inc.

© Gabriele Piccoli

Implications of IT Trends

Computing power (computation and

storage) increases.

Cost of computing power declines

Computers become

easier to use

Network bandwidth increases

Interconnected computing devices become more pervasive and

embedded in more aspects of our lives

Computers become

interconnected

Cost of data transmission

declines

Digitization and miniaturization increase

© Gabriele Piccoli

Effects of Managerial Significance

• Huge increases in capital expenditures related to IT has resulted in:– Advances in communication systems

• Affordable high-speed Internet access• Reliance on instant messaging tools

– Access to entertainment options• Access to games & movies online

– Increased productivity– Management relying on newer intelligence tools

to improve decision making capability

© Gabriele Piccoli

Hiring the “Right” IT Person

• Managers’ skills are complementary to those of IT professionals

• Communication and a good relationship are critical to capitalizing on those skills

• Hiring “good” IT professionals and letting them worry about all the IT stuff does not work

The Recap

• Chief information officers (CIOs) are increasingly being selected from the functional and managerial ranks rather than from the technology ranks.

• This job is no longer looked at as a dead-end. CIOs move on to CEO or President positions

• The enduring effects of Moore’s law have led to – increasingly powerful yet cheaper computing– declining costs of computer memory – dramatic improvement in the ease and breadth of use of digital devices

• Network connectivity and storage capacity, improved battery life for portable devices, and the proliferation of intelligent devices have dramatically changed the business and social landscape

© Gabriele Piccoli

The Recap

• Managers can no longer abdicate their right, and duty, to be involved in information systems and IT decisions

• Managers must act in partnership with the firm’s information systems and technology professionals

• The skilled manager is one who can:– use information technologies to the firm’s advantage– properly plan & manage the firm’s information systems

resources– manage, design, develop, select, and implement

information systems

© Gabriele Piccoli

© Gabriele Piccoli

What We Learned

1. To define the terms general manager, functional manager, and end user. You also learned to articulate the difference between these concepts.

2. To define the role of the modern chief information officer (CIO).

3. To identify organizational and information technology trends that have led to the current popularity of IT-based information systems.

4. To identify why it is important for general and functional managers to be involved in information systems decisions.

5. To avoid the risks of abdicating your right (and duty) to make important information systems decisions.