MGMT 6180 – Strategic Information Systems Management

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MGMT 6180 - © 2012 Houman Younessi

MGMT 6180 – Strategic Information Systems Management

Course Convenor:

Houman Younessi

Tel: 860-548-7880

Email: [email protected]

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Course objectives:

The major objective of this course is to construct a solid foundation for understanding the role of information systems in formulating and executing business strategy and application of information systems principles, techniques and technologies used by progressive organizations in the development of effective business strategy.

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Key textbook:

Applegate, Austin, and Soule; “Corporate Information Strategy and Management; 8th Edition; McGraw Hill

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Teaching Method:The principal teaching is through lectures and discussions. There will be 11 lectures during the semester. While formal attendance is not taken, attending all lectures is expected of students and is deemed a critical success factor.

Assessment:Semester assignment and presentation 50 percentCase presentations 40 percentClass participation 10 percent

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Syllabus:

Introduction, strategic management and planning What are Information Systems? Crafting strategy based business models Strategic planning for IS and the IS strategy toolkit Frameworks for cogenerating IS strategy within business strategy Managing and IS organization The IS profession

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STRATEGIC Information Systems Management

Strategy:

A rule for making decision under conditions of partial ignorance. (Ansoff, 1965, Corporate Strategy)

Formulation of basic organizational missions, purposes and objectives…..(Steiner and Miner, 1977, Management Policy and Strategy)

Interpretation of the environment and the development of consistent patterns in streams of organizational decisions. (Mintzberg, 1979, The structuring of Organizations)

A Broad-based formula for how business is going to compete. (Porter, 1980, Competitive Startegy)

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Strategy:

Strategy comes from the Greek Stratos (camp), and Ago (to lead). In short it means “leading the camp”. It is a military term and in “leading the camp” is latent leading it to victory.

Business is often compared to war. But, perhaps similarly to war, it is not very clear when victory is attained.

The first thing we have to do is to define victory

In other words

Where do we want to get from here?

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Strategy:

So, great strategists first identify their specific and measurable overall goals.

Only when the overall goal is identified, can we then decide how we are going to get there.

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Strategy:

Great leaders are prepared for the challenges they have to face in order to get to their objectives.

We need to know what resources we need for victory and how much of those resources are available to us.

We then create the means of acquiring the additional resources we need but lack

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Strategy:

So, very simply, strategy is: The Way to a Victorious Future.

Make sure you have a great future, you will be spending the rest of your life there!

Make sure your business has a great future, you will be responsible for where it

is in the market forever.

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Strategy:

So in terms of business and business leadership, strategy is:

The overall plan of how we will attain our overall business objectives given the reality of our present resource set.

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Strategic Planning:

The project management of developing the strategy

We need to:

Set our overall goal

Make our goal measurable

Determine the best process available to achieve our

goalDetermine the resources needed for achieving our

goal

Determine what resources are

currently available

Clearly formulate and communicate the

strategy

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Strategic Planning:

Observations:

Strategic planning is:

1.Complex2.Cyclical (evolving)3.Itself just a phase (still must be implemented)

Do not confuse strategy with: Strategic planning (strategizing), The business model (process methodology), or The implementation plan

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Strategic Planning:

Determine the best process available to achieve our

goal

Business Model

The best process available to achieve our goal.

A business model defines how and organization (should) interact with its environment to

(execute) a unique (approach/set of tactics), attract the resources and build the capabilities

required to execute the (model and therefore the overall) strategy, and create value for all

stakeholders(page 43 of Applegate et al)

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A business model defines how and organization (should) interact with its environment to

(execute) a unique (approach/set of tactics), attract the resources and build the capabilities

required to execute the (model and therefore the overall) strategy, and create value for all

stakeholders(page 43 of Applegate et al)


Strategic Planning:

Do you buy it?

Does it have to be unique?

Sometimes established ways are as good if not better

Do we/should we create value for ALL stakeholders?

Sometimes we intentionally do not create value or actually create dis-value for some stakeholders (think of war strategy)

Overall, not a bad definition and the one we more or less use (with the provisos here) for the rest of the

course

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Strategic Planning:

We must first analyze where we are. We must analyze our:

Current goal Current environment Current resources

These each have several dimensions

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Strategic Planning: GOAL

Market Positioning (Determine whom to serve) Product Positioning (Determine what to offer) Boundary Positioning (Determine what not to offer, whom not to serve) Value Positioning (Determine what “added” value

to deliver to what “internal” stakeholder)Each “positioning” implies doing some

“analysis” to determine the correct positioning

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Strategic Planning: ENVIRONMENT

Socio-cultural Positioning Economic Positioning Technological Positioning Political and legal Positioning Competitive Positioning

with respect to forces that impact our goal from these perspectives

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Strategic Planning:

Socio-cultural Positioning:

Life-style changesCareer expectationsRate of family formationPopulation growth ratesRegional shifts in population and tasteLife expectanciesRaceParty and organizational affiliationEtc.

Economic Positioning:

GNP trendsInterest ratesMoney supplyInflation ratesWealth profileUnemployment levelsWage/price controlsDevaluation/revaluationsEnergy availabilityEtc.

Technological Positioning:

Total organization R&D spendingTotal Industry R&D spendingPatent protectionNew product innovation programsTechnology transfer programsProductivity improvement programsIndustry technology base (how sophisticated)

Organization technology baseLevel of technology and likely changeCost structure, economies of scaleDependence on particular raw materialsEtc.

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Strategic Planning:

Political and Legal Positioning:

Antitrust regulationsEnvironmental protection lawsTax lawsTechnology specific special incentivesForeign trade regulationsFDI special incentivesAttitude towards global/foreign/your company(ies)HR laws and regulationsGovernment stabilityStability of special incentivesEtc.

Competitive Positioning:

Number of competitorsSize of competitorsDistribution of competitorsBarriers to entryBarriers to exit (cost of exit)Your product’s unique characteristicsMarketing incentives possibleSegmenting and sealing potentialSize and growth of existing marketProduct demand elasticitiesNumber, potential and distribution of customersMarket structure (monopolistic/perfect competition)Etc.

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Strategic Planning: RESOURCES

Marketing and Sales Capability Positioning Production Capability Positioning Financial Capability Positioning Technological Capability Positioning (our technology) Organizational and Human Resource Capability Positioning Leadership Capability Positioning

NOW:

Marketing and Sales Capability Positioning Production Capability Positioning Financial Capability Positioning Technological Capability Positioning (our technology) Organizational and Human Resource Capability Positioning Leadership Capability Positioning

NEEDED TO ATTAIN GOAL

And then we need a GAP ANALYSIS

Documents

MGMT 6180 – Strategic Information Systems Management