ICT GovernanceName Name of InstitutionMarch 11TH, 2016

1.0 ICT GOVERNANCE The ability to direct and control the firm or organization’s use of Information

Technology resources in line with its strategic goals. ICT governance also address the description and implementation of structures,

processes, and relational mechanisms in a firm in order to enable both business and IT professionals execute their function in support to business-IT alignment and in the creation of business value within all IT enabled business investments.

ICT Governance

ICT Governance

Internal business rules and

regulations

Business processes

and operations

External business standards

and regulations

ICT Governance With relevance to the above diagram, it is clear that ICT governance acts as the

center pillar to standardizing business process and operations such that they all align to the internal and external business regulation regulations and standards.

ICT governance;Manage performance and creating valueSpecifying the decision rights and an accountability framework to encourage

desirable behavior in the use of IT

Compliance Officers They promote ethical conduct and compliance with regulations, rules, and

standard processes that govern how technology-based services organizations should conduct business

They provide real time monitoring and correction of employee conduct and operations.

Within an organization, compliance officers are specific to a unit of operations such as the ICT department.

Compliance Officers: Roles and Responsibilities Compliance officers ensure there is an utmost focus on value creation efforts and

to better manage the performance of those responsible for creating this value in the best interest of all stakeholders.

They have to ensure that business is conducted with full compliance to the national and international laws and regulations within a specified industry or unit of operations.

All professional standards, internal standards, and the accepted business practices must be followed.

Compliance Officers: Roles and Responsibilities The responsibilities of a compliance officer can be defined within two levels of

operation:Level 1: Compliance with the external rules that are imposed upon an organization

as a wholeLevel 2: Compliance with internal systems of control that are imposed to achieve

compliance with the externally imposed rules.

ICT Compliance Officers: Roles and Responsibilities Within these different levels of operations, the ICT compliance officers are

expected to effect the following within the ICT department:Monitor adherence to policies and report on compliance activitiesWork with the business to remediate incidents of non - complianceMaintain regulatory awarenessDevelop policy to support compliance

ICT Governance and Compliance Officers When ICT governance is assigned with a mandated officer, this person is referred to as

the ICT compliance officer. Within his clearance level, the ICT compliance office gains some operations powers

which include: Inspection Investigation powers Surveillance powers The imposition of corrective or remedial action The imposition of penalties These powers cut across all organizational processes that use and comprise information

technology.

ICT Governance and Compliance Officers Therefore, the ICT compliance office is always on the look for risks to all IT-based

operations in order to impose the appropriate mitigation strategies. The officers always match and contrast the following operations’ factors whenever

searching for risks: The nature of the operation The diversity of its operations The complexity of its business The scale of its business The volume of transactions The size of the transactions

Value Creation by Compliance Officers The roles and responsibilities of ICT compliance officers define their absolute

efforts in creating value within the organization. The diagram below define the absolute position of an ICT compliance office within

the corporate governance structure.

Value Creation by Compliance Officers Organizational value

creation

ICT Compliance

Officer

Corporate Manager

Corporate governance ICT governance

Timely risk assessment

Timely risk mitigation

Operation compliance with national and

international standards

Insured data and information

confidentiality

Value Creation by Compliance Officers Second to the corporate managers, the ICT compliance officers are responsible in

supervising the efficiency in all IT-based organizational processes. Therefore, any task completed by an ICT compliance equals to added value to the

overall operations of the organization. These value creation practices include but not limited to:Reporting institutional compliance with external business standards.Ensuring both internal and external business standards are effectively implemented.Timely reporting on risk assessment and risk mitigation measures. Ensuring organizational awareness to both internal and external business standards.Maintaining a hierarchical and confidential flow of information within the organization.

Value Creation by Compliance Officers For this reason, the ICT compliance officers should bear the following skills:Ability to conduct governance, risk and compliance sessionsExcellent written and verbal communications skills.Ability to feedback on governance, risk and compliance issues in a structured

mannerDemonstrated initiative and commitment for results and the ability to set priorities

and manage multiple initiatives.Ability to adjust to changing priorities while multitasking effectively.Time ManagementSolid work ethic with attention to detail

Monitoring and Measuring Value Creation The corporate managers or corporate governors are responsible for monitoring the

effectiveness of ICT compliance officers in affecting their roles within the organization.

All the value creation practices assigned to the compliance officers are superseded by the managers and implemented by the compliance officers.

Similarly, all milestones made in value creation are reported and approved by the managers.

Monitoring and Measuring Value Creation Measuring the ability of ICT compliance officers to affect value creation by other

corporate employees is based on the ability of these officers to efficiently complete their tasks.

These include:To maintain a low probability of insolvency.To maintain a low probability to any consequential loss to an organization's

ultimate customersTo ensure the resolution of the position of any organization whose viability is

impaired, while protecting the interests of their customers to the maximum possible extent.

Reference List Burton, P., Wu, Y., & Prybutok, V. (2010). Social network position and its

relationship to performance of IT professionals. IEEE Computer Society, 7, 121-137.

Dillardm, J. (2015). The data analysis process: 5 steps towards better decision making. The big sky associates, 2(1), 1-18.

Henderson, K. J. (2012, April 30). Small Businesses: the Disadvantages of Information Technology in Business. Retrieved March 11, 2016, from Demand Media: smallbusiness.chron.com/…advantages-information...

2.0 COMMUNICATION IN ICT GOVERNANCE Strategic communications planning refers to the process of driving alignment

between the communications function and the organization’s core objectives. The core relevance of the communications function is to contribute to the

organization’s strategic value. Therefore, effective communication strategy planning also lie as function of ICT

compliance officers.

Stakeholder groups in Organizational Communication The compliance officers need to adequately learn and understand their audience if

at all the communication strategies are to work effectively. Any group influential individuals to the organizational matrix is considered as

stakeholders. Whenever possible, the stakeholders should be involved in the planning process.

Stakeholder groups in Organizational Communication To better review and understand the strategic position and influence of each of the

corporate stakeholders, they are categorized into the following groups:Political stakeholders.Economic Stakeholders.Social stakeholders.

Stakeholder groups in Organizational Communicationd

Stakeholder Groups in Organizational Comm.

POLITICALGovernment and Political leaders,

City agency representatives.

SOCIALFamilies,

Educators, Directors of

community-based organizations,

Cultural and ethical groups, Healthcare providers , Media representatives, Social services

agencies

ECONOMICCustomers, Suppliers,

Distributors, Leaders in business.

The stakeholder groups can be divided into:

Principles of Effective Communication Planning The communications strategy is basically the heart of strategic communications

planning. This implies that the ICT officers will require sound guidelines to guide them while

developing effective communications strategies. Below are the major governing principle in developing sound communications

strategies:

Principles of Effective Communication Planningi. Communications should be designed to deliver a measurable result.ii. Effective communications does not happen by accident but by planning.iii. Communications should be focused on results rather than on activity.iv. Communications is a support function and thus must support and propel

organizational objectives and mandate.v. Communications should be planned from inside out.

ICT Compliance in Effecting the Communications Strategy ICT compliance officers are tool to effecting value creation in the best interest of all

stakeholders. This makes creating and overseeing effective communications strategies their

primary concerns. Below are some of the best practices that ICT compliance officers may engage in

to ensure that the communications strategies are on point to organizational value creation:

ICT Compliance in Effecting the Communications Strategyi. Set clear and measurable objectives.ii. Initiate and drive alignment.iii. Set oneself up for success.iv. Focus on the audience.v. View messaging as the core product.vi. Design and implement the tactical mix strategy.vii. Measure, refine, and report on the effectiveness of the various communications

strategies.

Steps in Effective Communications Planning

Based on the above principles, the figure on the side can summarized the primary steps involved in developing effective communications strategies (Henderson, 2012).

Messaging in Communications Planning Fundamentally, communication is all about bringing the organizational message to

life. Compliance officers should invest more time in crafting a powerful message

architecture. The message should be deliberately crafted through audience-centric approaches

with an outside-in thinking structure. Therefore, the officers must clearly know and understand their audience or the

stakeholders.

Key Communication Messages to Address Key messages include what the stakeholders should know and understand about

the organization. Identifying and clearly defining the key messages help avoid confusion within

stakeholders in understanding the organization. Key Messages should be repeated in all organizational communications and to all

stakeholders.

Key Communication Messages to Address Given the above requirements, the key messages should be:

Flexible. Such that they are easy to adapt in a campaign situation.Persistent but respectful.Clear and concise. They should be sent out along with clearly written executive

summaries and factsheets.

How to Message the Stakeholders Given the diversity in stakeholders base, the compliance officers need to select the

most appropriate communications strategy. The strategy should be comprehensive enough. It should feature a diversity of audience-appropriate programs and resources. Below include some of the models that can be used on a real-life situation to

achieve the highest stakeholder coverage during organizational communication:

How to Message the StakeholdersLeverage the media to provide editorial coverage of the issue and the ongoing

programsOutreach to grassroots organizations and nonprofit groups with a vested interest in

OST programsUse key influencers to help deliver the messages, through community forums,

media opportunities and organized eventsCreate direct mail pieces that can be distributed to your target audiencesLeverage the internet for outreach to and education of your audiencesUse local businesses that reach the community to help deliver messages

Conclusion Organizational communication is a very crucial element in ICT governance . Communications planning should be done to effect successful ICT governance. The communications strategy is basically the heart of strategic communications

planning. The compliance officers need to adequately learn and understand their audience if

at all the communication strategies are to work effectively.

Reference List Carillo, J. (2013) “IT Policy Framework based on COBIT 5”, Governance and

Management of Enterprise IT, ISACA Journal p.24. Dillardm, J. (2015). The data analysis process: 5 steps towards better decision

making. The big sky associates, 2(1), 1-18. Lallana, E. (2010), ICT for Development policy, process and governance, Briefing

Note 2, United Nations Asian and Pacific Training Centre for ICT for Development, January 2010.

Miller, K. (. (2012). Organizational Communication: Approaches and Process (Sixth edition ed.). Boston, MA, USA: Wadsworth.