SCH-MGMT 632 IT mgt Assignment Fall 2009

IT Management and Governance

In this assignment you will learn about current IT management and governance issues as well as the
role of the CIO and the IT/IS department.
The assignment has 4 parts:
Part A: Gathering information from the literature
Part B: Gathering information from the field
Part C: Analysis of HBS cases (Enterprise IT at Cisco and VW: Managing IT priorities)
Part D: “putting it all together”
Part A: Gathering information from the literature
1. Read sections 13.1 -13.4 in the Turban Text book.
2. Read sections 14.1, 16.1-16.4 in the Turban Text book (chapter 16 is available online on the student
companion site for the text book at: http://bcs.wiley.com/he-
bcs/Books?action=resource&bcsId=4930&itemId=0470287489&resourceId=16863)
3. Read some publications about IT governance, spending, etc.– see list on pages 5-6 (some
references are ―classic‖ publications from Harvard or MIT, others are publications by
research/consulting companies such as McKinsey, Forrester, etc. and other references are
articles from magazines and journals such as Information Week, ZDNet, WSJ, etc.).
The list of references is long. You do NOT need to read all articles. I recommend that you divide
the references among team members so that each member reads 3-4 articles. Use your own
judgment regarding what and how much to read – remember that you are not required to read
everything.
4. Share with your team mates the information you gathered from your readings.

Part B: Gathering information from the field

1. Review Table 13.1 (page 490) as well as online file W2.11 in Wiley's additional text material for
6th edition: 'The Changing Role of the IS Department'. Create a list of 10-15 items that
represent, in your opinion, the most important issues that CIOs and IT departments are facing
today.
2. Share your list with your team and generate ‗the team‘s list‘ of most important IT issues (this list
can have more than 15 items but try to have less than 25).
3. Each team member should contact a business and interview an IT manager and a business
manager of that company.
o You can, but do not have to, interview managers in your company.
o If you choose to contact a non-profit or government organization, interview an IT
manager and a functional manager.
The objective of the interview is to have each manager rank the 5 most important issues. You
can (but don't have to) use the issue listed in your team‘s list of important issues (item 2 above);
if the interview reveals additional issues, they should be ranked as well. In addition, ask the
interviewees what they like or dislike about the way IT is governed and managed in the
organization.
To obtain the above information you can use email, phone or face to face meeting -- what ever
works best for you and the person you interview
4. Try to get additional information about IT in the above organizations. For example:
o Identify the organizational structure of the company; does the CIO (or CTO) report to the
CFO? COO? Directly to CEO? How do they govern IT?
o What % of revenue is IT spending?
o Who manages IT budget. If it is separated between IT organization and business units, what
are the allocation criteria?
o Do they outsource IT functions? which ones and what are the pros and cons of outsourcing
this function?

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SCH-MGMT 632 IT mgt Assignment Fall 2009
o Does the company have applications in the ―cloud‖? What about Saas? Virtualization? Do
employees use enterprise 2.0 applications such as social networks, social tagging, micro-
blogging, etc., if yes, does the company have one platform (e.g. Lotus connections, Social
Text, etc.) or is it used by departments and individuals and not as an application for the entire
organization.
Can you share any implementation challenges (e.g. security concerns, adoption, etc.)
o Brief overview about successful IT projects. Any IT projects that failed (did not meet
expectations)? if yes, why did they fail (what should have been done differently)?
o What are the IT projects that are planned for the next 2 years. Are these projects
implemented out of necessity or to provide strategic advantage?
You will probably not be able to get answers to all the above questions (some managers will
not know the answers, others might not want to reveal the information) -- it is ok; gather as much
information as you can and share it with your team (in case your interviewees are concerned: you
do not have to share names, titles, etc.)
5. Share with your team mates the information you gathered in items 3 and 4 above.

Part C: Analysis of HBS cases

1. Read the HBS cases: "VW of America: Managing IT Priorities" and ―Enterprise IT at Cisco‖.
2. Answer questions for each case
Enterprise IT at Cisco (2004)
a. What was Pete Solvik's approach to IT decision making at Cisco? Did he think that line
managers should get to make all IT decisions? If not, which ones did he want the IT functions
to make, and which did he want the business units to make?
How well did Solvik's model of IT governance work?
b. How did Cisco find itself in such trouble with regard to its internal IT in 2001? Why didn't the
single ERP system help? Why didn't it ensure more consistency?
c. Why did Boston pick the three big projects he did?
d. What is 'Shadow IT'? Why should a CIO want to control / minimize it? Are there effective
ways to do so? Do you think Boston's amnesty program will work? Does it stand a good
chance of uncovering all or most of Cisco's shadow IT projects?
e. What is BPOC's role? How much formal authority does it have?
f. Would you approve the call center project? Why?
g. Do you think that Cisco can easily transition to a more horizontal, process-oriented company
as described on pages 8-10. Why?
Volkswagen of America: Managing IT priorities
a. Who controls the budgets from which IT projects are funded at Volkswagen of America?
b. What is your assessment of the new process for managing priorities at Volkswagen of
America? Are the criticisms justified? Is it an improvement over the old process?
c. On page 8 we see that $16 million of the $60 budget is for SIB projects, under the spending
direction of Matulovic; on page 1 we see that some people consider this unfair - is it? Should
budget be "set aside" for IT projects? Why?
d. How should Matulovic respond to his fellow executives who are calling to ask him for special
treatment outside the new priority management system? What should Matulovic do about the
unfunded Supply Flow project?
e. In general, what characteristics should a process for deciding about funding of IT projects
have?
3. Share your answers and thoughts with your teammates and together write-up for each case a
summary that analyzes the case.

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SCH-MGMT 632 IT mgt Assignment Fall 2009

Part D: ―Putting it all together‖

Compile and analyze your findings from the readings (part A) as well as your interviews (part B)
and case analyses (part C). The following are examples of issues to explore:
o What are the IT management issues and challenges that companies are facing today? (ranking
of issues, budget, governance, outsourcing, IT projects, etc.).
o Do business and IT managers have different views?
o Does the IT governing or organizational structure impact the way managers view the role of
IS/IT? Does the industry or size of business have any impact?
o What is the role of the CIO in the 21st century? What challenges does he/she face? What is
the role of the CEO? other top managers? the board of directors?

Deliverables:

Project Plan Submit ONE short summary of team's decision about 5% of Due
channel (and frequency) of communication and project assignment Oct 17
plan (include list of tasks with tentative due dates, team grade
member(s) responsible for completion of each task, etc.).
Include also the ―team‘s list‖ of most important IT issues
(Part B.2) as well as (tentative) plan for
company/organization that each member plans to
interview (preferably provide name of organization, name
and/or title of the 2 managers that each member intends to
interview, whether the managers were contacted and
tentative date for completion of interviews)

Team Report Summary of current issues and challenges of IT 80% of Due

governance and management. The team should: assignment Dec12
o Submit ONE report (75% of assignment grade; format grade
of report: 4-8 pages mainly for part D. Add
appendices with exhibits, charts, tables, references,
etc. as needed. For example summaries of team‘s
work for parts A, B and C can be attached as
appendices).
You can submit a word or pdf file (single or double
space or anything in between; font of 10, 11, or 12
points). Alternatively you can submit a link to a
google doc, a wiki or any other way that you want to
present your collaborative work.
o On the discussion board titled: "IT mgt assignment -
sharing observations and thoughts" - Post ONE
SHORT summary of your findings (1-2 paragraphs);
this discussion board will open in the beginning of
December (5% of assignment grade)

Individual Reflection about this assignment - 15% of Due

Reflection Each team member should submit an individual summary assignment Dec 15.
of what he/she learned from this assignment; this may grade
include information and/or conclusions about IT
management and government (e.g. IT management in
one's company, in a particular industry, general
observations and conclusions from the assignment, etc.)

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SCH-MGMT 632 IT mgt Assignment Fall 2009
as well as reflections about the process of working on this
assignment (e.g. what worked well for me and what
didn't? why? what should I do next time I have to work
with a team assignment in an online class?, etc.).
This summary should be about one page long (either
single space or double space or anything in between; font
of 10, 11 or 12 pts.).
Please submit a word document or a pdf file. Drop box for
this assignment will open 2nd week of December and is
due by Dec 15.

Due:
Oct 17: project plan
December 12 submit written report and summary
Dec 15: submit individual reflection

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SCH-MGMT 632 IT mgt Assignment Fall 2009
List of References (for part A #3)
You do NOT need to read all articles. I recommend that you divide the references among team
members so that each member reads 3-4 articles; if you read more articles, especially if it is from the
same source you will find a certain level of repetition/overlap (you might want to divide the readings so
that each student reads at least one article from each group (―Classic‖, Consulting/research
companies, recent-shorter publications)).
Use your own judgment regarding what and how much to read – remember that you are not required
to read everything:
 Getting IT Right; Feld and Stoddard, HBR, Feb 2004
 Generating premium value from your IT projects; Weill, SMR, Winter 2006
 Avoiding the Alignment Trap in IT, SMR, Fall 2007
 "IT and the board of directors", by R. Nolan and F.W. McFarlan, Harvard
Business Review, October 2005.
―Classic‖
 The Practical Visionary, by M. Farber, T. Greespon and J. Tucker, Business articles
and Strategy, Feb 2008 (from HBR,
 In search of overhead heroes, G. Tillmann, Business & Strategy, summer SMR, etc.)
2005
 CEO vs. CIO: Can This Marriage Be Saved? Business and Strategy, Spring
2002.
 Six IT Decisions Your IT People Shouldn't Make, HBR, Nov 2002
 Investing in the IT That Makes a Competitive Difference, HBR, Jul-Aug, 2008
 Check 'Information Technology' articles that appear in McKinsey Quarterly
(http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com). Many of the articles require membership
however there are some free articles (you will still need to register with the site
even for the free articles). A few recommended (free) articles are:
o Five trends that will shape business technology in 2009, McKinsey
Quarterly, Feb 2009 Consulting/r
o Managing IT spending. McKinsey Quarterly, December 2008 esearch
companies
o IT‘s unmet potential: McKinsey Global Survey Results, McKinsey Quarterly,
(McKinsey,
Dec 2008 Forrester,
o Managing IT in a down turn: beyond cost cutting, McKinsey Quarterly, Gartner) –
September 2008 you should
not pay for
 Check research published at "Forrester Research"; as a umass student you these
publications.
can access their research. as a umass student you can access their research.
Please
See instructions on how how to access the database at the umass library Read the
"business research guide" page at: http://wws.library.umass.edu/forrester- instructions
research/ (then follow the directions on how to open an account, etc.). Here (on the left
are some examples of recent articles: column) on
o From Information Technology To Business Technology (September 2009) how to
access the
o Five Steps To Transform An IT Organization (August 2009) publication
o The IT To Business Technology Transformation — Learning From Utilities for free
(June 2009)
o Value-Based Communication Boosts Business' Perception Of IT (May
2009)
o Redesign IT Roles To Drive IT Cost Reduction (March 2009)
o IT Must "Get" Business Satisfaction (March 2009)

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SCH-MGMT 632 IT mgt Assignment Fall 2009
o A Best practices Sample IT strategic Plan (May 2008)
o The state of IT governance in North America (Feb 2008)
o Seven Trends that will shape the CIO role (Dec. 2007)
o Next up: The 21st century CIO (Dec 2007)

 For those who prefer audio. You can find interesting podcasts at Gartner
Voice. For example:
o Optimizing for IT Governance (January 2006)
o CIO Imperative: Growing IT‘s Contribution (May 2006)
o The Future of IT Leadership (October 2006)
o New Demands on IT (September 2007)

 Recent articles in magazines such as:

o Global CIO: Six Lessons CIOs Must Learn From Coke's Dazzling
Innovation , Info week, June 16, 09
o Top CIO Priorities for 2009 - IT Management, CIO insights
o CIO moving more into business, process optimization, CIOSearch.com,
May 21, 2009
o Businesses Quit Slashing IT Budgets --- Worst Is Over, Corporate Tech
Executives Say, But They Want to See Stability Over Several Quarters,
WSJ, May 14, 2009 Recent
o Creating unified strategy to cross the IT / business chasm, ZDnet, May 7, publications
2009 (shorter
documents
o Experts: CIO moving more into business, process optimization
from WSJ,
o Forbes.com Video Network | CIO Network: CIO Vs. CFO ZDNet,
o How to Get IT Projects Approved, HBR Voices, Aug 20, 2008 Forbes,
Information
o How to Tap IT's Hidden Potential, WSJ, March 10, 2008 Week, etc.)
o Business Technology: Taming Technology Sprawl; H-P Hits Snags in
Quest for Savings Through Systems Consolidation, WSJ, Jan 29, 2008
o Squaring Off; What's Next for IT? Are tech departments withering away --
or evolving to take on an even bigger role? Three experts weigh in, WSJ,
July 30, 2007
o Control Issues: Who Really Owns The PC?, Information Week, Nov 3, 2007
o Cisco's CIO Talks about the Challenges and Opportunities for Making IT a
Strategic Asset

 http://www.isaca.org/
 Chapter 2: ―Information Technology Governance‖ in the book "The
Effective CIO: How to Achieve Outstanding Success through Strategic
Alignment, Financial Management, and IT Governance", Brown et. al, 2009
You should be able to access the chapter via Umass library "books 24x7" which Other
are books in electronic format (you can try to access the chapter directly via the interesting
above link; if it does not work, go to UMass Amherst Libraries Home >> Subject resources
Research Guides Home >> Business & Management then go to Books 24x7
(which is on the left column under "Business Database Desktop"), and then search
for "the effective cio - at some point you will be prompted to enter your OIT umass
login and password (also -- there is a good chance that your local library carries
the book).

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