IS for Managers (INFO 640)

L1(b): Challenges in introducing and managing IS/IT in modern day

organizations

GP Dhillon, PhDAssociate Professor of ISSchool of Business, VCU

Assessing your IT departmentIT does not support customer relations. It’s generally viewed as an

overhead. And is often the first target for reduced spending when profit

margins get tight. The IT manager generally reports

to the CFO

The CEO delegates technology responsibility to a CIO who is more concerned with standards than changing customer relationships. IT is still very much an overhead

item

Co. commits significant capital to

IT but follow, not lead, the industry in automation efforts

Characterized by a CIOs who reports

to the CEO. Absolute need to execute strategic

plans

The eras

Automate basicprocesses

(productivity /efficiency)

Affect businessstrategy

(competitiveness)

Satisfyindividual/gp

information needs (effectiveness)

Transaction &exceptionprocessing

Informationenquiry &

analysis

Organizationaleffectiveness

Era 1

Era 2

Era 3

Era 4

DATAPROCESSING

MGTINFORMATION

SYSTEMS

STRATEGICINFORMATION SYSTEMS

Interorganizationalcooperation &

analysis

IOS; INTERNET; ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

Justification /purpose

Current trends and challenges• The challenge of IS planning• The challenge of time required for

successful organizational learning about IT limits the practical speed of change

• The challenge of managing disruptive technologies (e.g. the Internet)

• The challenge of developing competencies for harnessing IT

• The challenge of remaining ethical• The challenge of information security

The challenge of IS planning• Achieve two way strategic alignment• Develop effective relationships with the

line management• Deliver and implement new systems• Build and manage infrastructure• Reskill the IT organization• Manage vendor partnership• Redesign and manage the federal IT

organization

The challenge of time required for successful organizational learning about IT limits the practical speed of change

Innovate

Realize

Deliver

A

B

Loop A dominant: Innovate/Change: Increasing returnsLoop B dominant: Supply/Stability: Decreasing returns

The challenge of managing disruptive technologies • Companies that utilize disruptive technologies or have a

product or a service that is disruptive, should remember that their success depends on both the customers and investors for resources.

• Since small markets don't solve the growth needs of large companies, the launch and sustainability of a disruptive product or service needs to be positioned accordingly.

• Since disruptive technology products and services are novel, it is hard to analyze their respective markets, which do not exist.

• Ability to create a business model, product or a service does not necessarily mean that there is a demand for such a product or service, i.e. technology supply may not equal market demand.

The challenge of developing competencies for harnessing IT

Culture

Strategy

SupplyExploitation

The challenge of remaining ethical

• Issues of privacy and confidentiality• Accessibility to technology issues• Property rights and ownership issues• Freedom of speech issues• Issues of quality and reliability of

information and the related systems

The challenge of information security

IS S

ecur

ity

Internal

External

Technical Formal Informal

ChecklistsRisk ManagementMalicious codeFormal models (CIA)

Security policies (s/w; h/w, network)Evaluation methods (TCSEC, ITSEC etc)Information modelingResponsibility modelingSecure ISD

Practically none(except perhaps work by Baskerville and Dhillon)

Formal models (CIA)Intrusion detectionFirewallsEncryptionPKI

Legal, regulatory andPublic policy

None within security except some work in information privacy and internet privacy.