W15405 ABB INDIA LEVERAGING DIVERSITY AND IN.docx

W15405
ABB INDIA: LEVERAGING DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
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Version: 2015-09-14

Diversity and inclusiveness is a function which opens up
people’s mind and it gives a distinct
business advantage to the organization.
Raja Radhakrishnan, head of HR, ABB India
On a Friday afternoon, Radhika Muthukumaran received an
email from the office of the managing director
(MD), ABB India, regarding the visit of the ABB chairperson at
the end of June 2014, to review the status and
progress of the Diversity and Inclusion (DI) program that had
begun in 2010-2011. The email suggested
Muthukumaran should prepare a progress report and make a
brief presentation during the chairperson’s visit.
Muthukumaran, who had earlier headed the global inclusion and
diversity function at CISCO India, had
experienced a difficult time rolling out the DI initiative in ABB
India, which was dominated by a male workforce
and a conventional mindset. Although the situation had
improved over the past three years, much needed to
change. She described the present status of the DI program as
“the tip of the iceberg.” Muthukumaran was
concerned with a few issues yet to be resolved. First, compared
with ABB Global, the scenario of workforce
diversity, mainly in terms of gender and cross-cultural
representation, was far from the scenario desired for ABB
India. Second, the DI initiatives had yet to be fully integrated
and streamlined at the various manufacturing
facilities located in India. Third, the long-run business
implications of such efforts had not been clearly identified
by a cost-benefit analysis. In fact, finding satisfactory solutions
to these issues would strengthen the DI initiatives
by consolidating Muthukumaran’s position in the company for
the years to come.

ABB IN INDIA
ABB, a global leader in power and automation technologies,
operated in more than 100 countries with a
global strength of 130,000 people. A multinational enterprise
headquartered in Switzerland, ABB
represented the global culture in the true sense of the term. “A
walk along any corridor at corporate
headquarters in Zurich underscored the company’s cultural
diversity. People from more than 60 countries
were represented in the 700-strong workforce in the parent
campus.”1 In the words of an ABB executive:
1 ABB, “Our People: People at the Heart of Our Strategy,”
March 13, 2015, www.abb.com/cawp/abbzh258/
63795478c4961cddc125785c0071b697.aspx, accessed April 16,
2014.
For the exclusive use of a. patel, 2020.
This document is authorized for use only by alpita patel in
HRM6800 taught by Jonna Depugh, Johnson & Wales
University from Apr 2020 to Oct 2020.
Page 2 9B15C031
A total of 2,350 people had roles with global responsibility
across overseas units of ABB. They came
from 70 different countries, providing cultural awareness and
sharing experiences that helped

international teams work together in a unified way. ABB has
expanded rapidly in recent years as part
of ambitious growth plans. A highly trained, motivated and
well-integrated international workforce
was a key factor in achieving business success and strategic
goals. ABB recognized that a diverse
and talented workforce was a key competitive advantage.
The executive continued, saying that “as a truly global
company, our business success reflected the quality
and skill of our people. We believed that the wide array of
perspectives that resulted from a diversity and
inclusion focus promoted innovation and business success.”
ABB India had 12 manufacturing facilities with more than
10,000 employees at various offices and plants.
In India, the company had 25 marketing offices, eight service
centres, three logistics warehouses, two Power
& Automation Engineering Centres and a network of over 550
channel partners. The parent group actively
supported its Indian operations in terms of projects, products,
services, engineering and research and
development (see Exhibits 1 and 2). ABB India was known, at
its inception in 1949, as The Hindustan
Electric Company Limited which was later changed to
Hindustan Brown Boveri Limited. Following the
merger of Asea Limited with Hindustan Brown Boveri, the name
was changed to Asea Brown Boveri
Limited in 1989. In 1994-1995 in Germany, a joint venture
company — ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation
AG (Adtranz) was established by ABB Zurich and Daimler-
Benz AG Germany.
A subsidiary of Adtranz was incorporated in India, called ABB
Daimler-Benz Transportation Limited,

which took over the transportation business of the company in
1996 following the global restructuring of
ABB’s power generation business — in India, the power
generation business was demerged and transferred
to ABB Alstom Power India Ltd. with effect from April 1, 1999.
Each shareholder of the ABB was allotted
one share in ABB Alstom Power India for every share held in
the company. The same ABB code of conduct
was followed for ABB India as well (see Exhibit 3).2
THE DOMINANT CHARACTERISTICS OF INDIAN
CULTURE
India was a land of huge diversity in the sense that its 29 states
and seven union territories were represented
by a total of 21 dialects and one official language (Hindi) being
spoken in different parts and regions of the
country.3 As a result of the country’s colonial background,
English was widely accepted used in all major
official communication alongside the official language. Apart
from this linguistic diversity, each state
differed from all the others in terms of food habits, culture,
attire, rituals, ceremonies and practices. The
northern part of the country had the historic influence of the
ancient Indo-Aryan civilization, whereas the
southern part had grown under a strong Dravidian culture.4
Seniority, authority and positions were highly respected both at
work and in family life; thus, the country’s
national culture was predominated by hierarchy. The society
was patriarchal in nature, as reflected by the
lack of gender equality, fewer female executives at workplaces.
A general insensitivity toward the people
who were disadvantaged (both physically and financially) was
also common.

Unlike many Asian countries, Indians were characterized by
their duality of both individualism and
collectivism when dealing with others. Indian people were
ambitious and achievement- and career-oriented,
2 ABB, “ABB on the Indian Subcontinent,”
http://new.abb.com/indian-subcontinent/about, accessed April
27, 2014.
3 “States and Union Theritories,”
http://knowindia.gov.in/knowindia/state_uts.php, accessed
September 10, 2015.
4 Upinder Singh, “A History of Ancient and Early Medieval
India: from the Stone Age to the Twelfth Century,” 1990,
Oxford
University Press, New Delhi.
Page 3 9B15C031
enjoyed individual decision-making authority and preferred
privacy to a considerable extent. At the same
time, in their work and social relationships, they showed a
priority for family and friendship, conformity
towards rules and regulations, and concern for their social
circles and immediate community. Over the
years, in an attempt to overcome the challenges of the Indian

culture, many multinationals that had been
operating in India had adapted their practices and policies to
successfully integrate into, and acculturate to,
the Indian environment.
THE DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION (DI) PROGRAM
In 2010, ABB India’s country management team underwent a
major reshuffling, and the new members
decided to conduct a gender-parity survey. Among the many
outcomes, the survey results revealed that
females represented less than 5 per cent of all employees. In
fact, among all ABB overseas units, ABB India
ranked second last (ABB Saudi Arabia ranked last) in terms of
its percentage of female employees.
Accordingly, the new management team developed “Rewire 6,”
an action plan for ABB India, which included
DI initiatives (see Exhibit 4). In 2011, the recruitment of female
graduate trainees improved substantially,
rising to 27 per cent and then to 30 per cent of all recruitments
in 2013. As of 2014, the female workforce
representation across all ABB India’s functions and operations
had reached an average of 11 per cent.
In 2010, the country management team of ABB India appointed
Muthukumaran, who had 13 years of strong
industry background in human resources (HR), as the head of DI
for India, the Middle East and Africa. In
her interview, the top management team shared their ideas to
enhance the percentage of female employees
from (at that time) less than 5 per cent of the total workforce to
15 per cent in two to three years.
Muthukumaran asked the team for a few clarifications. First,
she asked whether 15 per cent was a realistic
target. In a company with close to 10,000 employees, an annual

average increase of 5 per cent of female
employees would require the hiring of 500 female employees at
different levels of the company in each of
the three successive years.
Furthermore, did the company intend to hire more female than
male candidates, or would it simply replace
its existing male workforce with female employees? Such
actions risked being labelled as a form of reverse
discrimination. Second, how would the company meet the
challenge of workplace-adjustment issues faced
by female employees in a work environment predominantly
occupied by a male workforce? Third, the
company would need to offer the female employees specific
support facilities and retention initiatives. “The
idea was not merely to promote the gender, but [to secure]
places for capable female employees who . . .
otherwise [would] not [be] considered for a suitable opening in
a hard-core engineering organization
dominated by male counterparts,” expressed Muthukumaran.
INITIAL ROADBLOCK
Muthukumaran and the head learning partner of ABB India
jointly conducted extensive sensitization
workshops across all ABB India’s operation units (both product
and project divisions) in a rigorous
schedule that spanned more than 18 months. Each workshop
accommodated 30 participants comprising the
HR partners, division leaders and division team members,
including shop floor managers. Muthukumaran
recalled that many of the business division heads and managers
had resisted adding female employees,
claiming that the project sites were not safe for females and
often lacked even basic facilities such as

washrooms. Some executives expressed the concern that if their
own daughters or close female relatives
were working in this division, they would face unsafe
conditions by accepting such work.
The counter question raised by Muthukumaran and her team
was, “if the worksite was not safe for female
employees, how could it be safe for male employees; therefore,
was the issue not the need for gender parity
Page 4 9B15C031
but the need for a safe work environment for all ABB India
employees?” Also, the company faced resistance
in recruiting female employees for the shop floor units, as the
objectors cited the work environment of a
large number of male employee groups having a rough attitude,
the need to handle heavy instruments and
bulky materials, and the risks posed by occupational hazards.
Many persuasive and constructive discussions took place during
the sensitization workshops, where
Muthukumaran was finally able to convince the business
division teams to adopt a more open-minded
attitude toward the hiring of female employees. Muthukumaran
explained that ABB India needed to
improve the balance of its gender representation because of the

increased number of women enrolled in
graduate engineering degree programs in all major streams,
including electrical engineering, as ABB was
a prime recruiter of the programs’ graduates. This approach
worked, and a few initiatives were later rolled
out to provide basic amenities to the employees posted at the
site as a result of negotiations with the client
organization. In this way, Muthukumaran was able to cross the
first hurdle. She admitted, however, that,
unlike many other organizational change initiatives, where the
change agent struggled for top management
support, this situation was reversed, as the new MD, all the
board members and the entire ABB India
executive team had extended their full cooperation. The real
challenge was to win over the confidence of
the business division leaders and team members in materializing
the company-determined DI initiatives.
Problems remained at some of the project divisions, as many
division heads were reluctant to assign female
graduate trainees to the project site, citing such reasons as the
unfavourable working conditions,
inhospitable climate and local challenges. As the HR partners
began to receive complaints from the female
candidates based on their having been discriminated against in
terms of learning opportunities, a mandate
was imposed, stating that site placement was compulsory for all
newly hired management trainees who had
successfully completed the induction and on-the-job training
programs. One year after their date of hire,
new employees were to make a presentation on their learning
from the site, and no discrimination would
be made between the male and female trainees in this regard.
This mandate helped to solve the gender-
imbalance issue to a great extent (see Exhibits 5 and 6).

SUPPORT AND INITIATIVES
The company later added three full-fledged child care facilities
to accommodate the needs of its female
employees. The company’s plants and worksites had set up
separate rooms for female employees, where
they could change their clothing and have a rest. Maternity
leaves were extended from an initial three
months (on a paid basis) up to one year. Although beyond three
months, the maternity leave was unpaid,
many mothers chose to take the unpaid time to spend with their
newborn baby, knowing that they could
later return to their job. Although the company did not have any
official policy to offer flexible hours to its
female employees, in a few instances, such flexible hours had
been granted to employees who approached
management on the basis of genuine grounds.
As the number of female employees gradually increased, the
company prepared itself to adopt a strong
sexual harassment policy. Also, following India’s passage of the
Sexual Harassment of Women at
Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act in
2013,5 extensive training programs were
organized separately for female employees and all operational
units. In a physical classroom facility, a full-
day program was conducted for different employee groups,
covering the Act’s legal implications, the
company’s code of behavioural conduct and the appeal
procedure for any incidence of sexual harassment
at the workplace. Simultaneously, e-module training materials
were also prepared and circulated among all
ABB India employees. At any ABB India worksite employing
more than 10 female employees, a sexual

5 “Sexual Harrasment of Women at Workplace (Prevention,
Prohibition and Redressal) Act,” Ministry of Law and Justice,
2013,
http://wcd.nic.in/wcdact/womenactsex.pdf, accessed 14
September, 2015.
Page 5 9B15C031
harassment committee was formed to deal with workplace
prejudice and unfair conduct. The company
described it as the “Respectful Workplace Policy.”
According to Rekha Subramanium, who headed the Network
Management Business Unit at ABB India:
I think the reason it was difficult to find and attract women in
the engineering field was partly the
perception that it was a male-dominated area — with long hours
of work, issues with work-life
balance, few facilities like childcare, or opportunities for
maternity leave. But I was happy to see that
these were increasingly becoming issues of the past, and
progressive companies including ABB have
come a long way by making that extra effort to create an
environment that encourages gender
diversity. Even three decades ago ABB was progressive enough

to make me a job offer — while also
clearly informing me that I would be a minority. I realized how
much of a minority when I first joined
the ABB factory in Vadodara. ABB provided me with a level
playing field — no gender
discrimination whatsoever, providing equal opportunities for
male and female employees alike.
She became emotional when looking back at her long tenure
with the company:
I started off as a design engineer for distribution relays and I
then moved through various roles like
Operations and Business Management, in a variety of business
lines. Since last year I have been
heading the local business unit of Network Management.
DI IMPLEMENTATION
The company’s DI initiative had started to attract the attention
of ABB’s other overseas units, as
Muthukumaran headed the DI Working Group for ABB’s Indian,
Middle Eastern and African units. The
same group comprised other representative members, including
regional heads, HR partners and business
division leaders. The group met regularly to review and
coordinate the progress of DI, identify gaps in
business divisions where DI needed to be addressed and design
a blueprint for implementation in each
region. The DI head reported to ABB India’s head of HR, who
reported to the MD. Also, the DI head had
parallel access to both the business division leaders and the HR

partners of each division, who played a
crucial role in implementing the DI initiatives in their own
divisions or units.
By this time, the DI modules had been totally embedded in ABB
India’s business divisions, and the HR
partners of each division worked diligently to link the DI
modules with several policy implications,
including recruitment, performance appraisal, peer review and
succession planning. The company even
selected a few specific women’s colleges where it conducted
campus placement interviews with graduate
engineering trainees. Recently, five women’s engineering
colleges were added to the campus hiring pool.
ABB India boasted of its recent progress in hiring a record of
35 per cent female engineers as a result of its
campus recruitment activities.
At the level of lateral hires, an inclusion talent program was
introduced, wherein a targeted development
plan was underway to develop female managers for senior
management positions in three to five years. The
DI head and the talent acquisition team were found to be
involved only up to the screening and short-listing
of candidates, and they never attempted to influence the hiring
decision once the selection process started.
A half-day DI module was conducted in the induction program
for all ABB India’s new employees. It was
Muthukumaran’s opinion that diversity also led to better
creativity and workplace innovation. However,
she accepted that the company had yet to develop the specific
metrics for measuring the impact of such DI
initiatives on tangible business improvements. She commented,
“[The] DI head should become redundant

Page 6 9B15C031
over time when it would become the DNA of the organization
and no separate function, department, or
designation would be required to carry out such initiatives in
ABB India.”
PARTNERING WITH HR
To carry out the recruitment activity for any identified position
in ABB India, the concerned HR partner
issued a directive noting that at least one female candidate
needed to be interviewed. However, the final
selection was to be based on the individual candidate’s
demonstrated competencies.
In 2013 and 2014, at least 20 per cent of the shop floor
replacements were filled by female graduate trainees,
leading to the current male-female ratio of 4:1 in the
operational units of ABB India’s various business
divisions. Some of the shop floor units had experienced a 25 to
30 per cent increase in productivity. The
female employees also handled some of the toughest jobs in the
power transformer division in the city of
Vadodara in the state of Gujarat. As noted by a female HR
partner in an ABB India division that boasted
of its 65 female employees out a total workforece of 922:

In some of the functions like project management, we did not
have any female employees at all. Then,
based on [her] performance review record, initially one female
employee was moved to the project
management group, and she continued to do well. Ultimately a
few others followed, and now this group
had a fair representation of female workforce. This also opened
up the scope of job rotation for them.
The HR partner of the company’s process automation divison
added:
It took quite some time to get the mindset of people changed at
business divisions. Even if, in the
recruitment activity, interviewing a few female candidates was
made compulsory for all identified
positions, in the performance and potential review, a few female
employees were ignored for higher
positions, citing family issues and lack of mobility. The HR
partner had to intervene and suggested
[to] the reporting authority, not to ignore them based on such
stereotyping, and, in case of genuine
issues, let the candidate come up to state her inability to adjust
with the new roles and responsibilities
requiring more time and travel.
Even in succession planning, a minimum number of potential
female employees needed to be considered
for short-listing on the basis of their previous performance
record (see Exhibits 7 and 8).

REFLECTIONS AND EXPERIENCES
“In my last 18 years . . . with this company I have never felt
here that I am physically challenged,” said
Ganesh, who needed a wheelchair to get around. He headed the
All India Vendor Payments Section at ABB
India. In 2004, when the company was consolidating its vendor
payment system, he was a commerce
graduate and had been asked by the chief financial officer to
take charge of this integrated section, a postion
that he gladly accepted. Despite his great physical difficulty,
his job responsibilities included coordinating
and visiting ABB India’s banks, financiers and vendors. He was
also a member of the DI Working Group.
Ganesh became emotional remembering his early days in
another company before joining ABB India. On his
third day with the previous company, he was asked to meet the
manager with some files but fell out of his
wheelchair while entering the manager’s office. He was
subsequently asked to resign, due to the company’s
perception of his inability to cope with the work environment.
He had been in tears that day. However, having
secured the full support of ABB India’s top management,
bosses, peers and team members, Ganesh proudly
said, “In my department when things got stuck because of
difficulty in getting done, it came to me.”

9B15C031
When asked to share their feelings about ABB India, a couple of
managers from various plants echoed that the
company had zero tolerance for safety violations, non-
compliance and any form of harassment toward its
employees. The company was known for its focus on the
modernization of technology, its incorporation of fresh
ideas from young employees at various levels, the support and
encouragement expressed from top management
and, last but not the least, its equitable treatment of employees
across all levels.
Raja Radhakrishnan, the HR head at ABB India, explained that,
as a group, ABB had always been held in
high regard in terms of diversity and inclusion. He further
clarified that ABB India’s board included a
female board member who had been acting as the independent
non-executive director even before the
amended Companies Act 20136 came into force, mandating the
presence of at least one female director on
the board of any publicly listed company. Radhakrishnan added,
“So at ABB India, we were not merely
concerned with compliance but welcomed a female director, to
have a perspective of inclusion.” It was
similar to the experimentation at a few organizations in
pursuing such innovative ideas as carbon credits,
water harvesting and green operations. ABB India’s DI agenda
had progressed through various phases,
from initial ignorance to changing resistive mindsets to gradual
acceptance and transition.
According to Radhakrishnan, the effect was also visible in ABB
India’s 2 to 3 per cent annual average

increase in the female workforce. The company could also boast
about its 40 expatriates engaged in the
various business verticals on short-term (three to six months) or
long-term (longer than six months)
assignments. The HR team also had three expatriates from
Tunisia, Germany and South Africa. Foreign
nationals were also found in ABB India’s corporate functions,
such as finance and public communications.
Radhakrishnan made it clear, saying that “the parent campus of
the company in Zurich had 65 foreign
nationals represented out of [the] total manpower of close to
700. Therefore, intercultural sensitivity and
pluralism was something the group always embraced.” As per
the ABB standard, in general, 1 per cent of
the total workforce in any overseas unit should have been
backed by the foreign assignment posting. For
managing the global operations in ABB, the parent company
identified nine critical leadership
competencies that were followed across units, one of which
related to intercultural sensitivity. Radhakrishna
commented, “Even if someone was technically sound with a
proven performance record, [that individual]
could not be selected for leading responsible global positions if
[that person] scored badly on the
intercultural sensitivity competency.”
TRANSLATING TO BUSINESS ADVANTAGES
Separate DI committees, comprising senior executives from the
corresponding divisions, were in place to
address issues in the product and project divisions. “The female
graduate trainees visited the client sites on
a regular basis for systems installation and integration,” said the
system integration (SI) leader, commenting

on the low-voltage product and system division, where, out of a
total of 307 employees, 37 were female
employees (including on the shop floor). He also commented
that the division’s research and development
unit had an engineer with a physical disability. The shop floor
manager added:
This division certainly benefitted from employing female
employees. The average productivity level
of shop floor workers went up by 25 per cent to 30 per cent in
the miniature circuit breaker unit. The
detailed analysis revealed that the female workers on the shop
floor took less frequent breaks, were
faster in a few manual operative activities because of [the] thin
and long shapes of their fingers, and
engaged in less gossiping while on the job compared to their
male companions.
6 “The Companies Act,” Ministy of Law and Justice, 2013,
www.mca.gov.in/Ministry/pdf/CompaniesAct2013.pdf, accessed
September 14, 2015.
Page 8 9B15C031

He continued, “Some products contained very thin silver
filaments that break easily. These filaments had
to be handled …
Running head: Relation b/w It Governance impact on org
Perform 1
Relation b/w it governance import on org perform 9The
Relation between IT Governance impact on Org Performance
Jyothirmai Korni (Lead)
Manoj Kumar Kukkala (Co-Lead)
Raghuvaran Kuruva
Harish Kurra
Eswari Madhubala Kommuri
Sudeepthi Mandava
University of the Cumberlands
Table of Contents
The Relation between IT Governance impact on Org
Performance 3
Background 3
Literature Review 4
BestBuy INC 5
Research Questions 6
Research Problems 6
Questions 7
Methodology 7
Research Design 7
Case Study Research 8
Data Analysis 8
Data Collection 8
Case Selection 9
Conclusion 10
Discussion 11
References 12
The Relation between IT Governance impact on Org

PerformanceBackground
Most organizations in today's markets tend to make massive
investments in Information Technology. Despite the
extraordinary investments in the sector, they tend to struggle to
direct their IT effectively in a bid to establish their business
value. Information governance through IT enhances an
enterprise's survival capacity, especially in a competitive
environment. Therefore, it means that IT is vital, especially in
the modern world. Embracing IT and its usage as a strategic
driver towards the business remains a priority for most
companies (Luftman, 2004). Despite the significance of IT,
which is mostly considered as a strategic driver, most
organizations end up struggling on how to govern their IT
systems.
Most companies, especially in the modern era, tend to invest
well in some of their IT projects. In as much as they invest well
in such projects, most IT projects end up failing to deliver their
projected business value (Van Grembergen & De Haes, 2009).
Previous research studies have shown that failure in IT projects
can be attributed to poor IT governance. There is always some
direct connection between IT project failures and poor IT
governance performance (El-Mekawy, Kaboudvand, and Rusu,
2012). In most cases, organizations can address such an issue
through IT management and governance using various
processes. In the end, it assists managers in tackling the
significant IT role in business.
Apart from that, it helps in identifying some of the
achievements in line with IT projects. In other words, IT
governance tends to have various positive effects, especially on
how a project function. Therefore, it would be essential to start
by defining IT governance for an organization in terms of how
it promotes or slightly enhances the business objectives and
improve the organization's overall performance (Mithas & Rust,
2016).
Previous research studies indicate that IT governance plays an
essential role in influencing project performance within the

organization. In their study, Weill and Ross (2004) indicate that
most high performing companies tend to gain at least 40% more
than their competitors, especially with IT investment in place.
Additionally, IT governance plays an instrumental role in
enhancing organizational performance and innovation. Despite
that, it remains a challenging prospect to determine an ideal IT
governance framework, which can operate for every firm.
Therefore, an understanding based on the different IT
governance aspects remains a challenge for most organizational
managers, especially today. Literature Review
Information Technology experts define IT governance as the
accountability framework and decision rights that are always
used to inspire desirable norms while using IT. There is a clear
correlation between corporate governance and IT governance.
IT governance remains an essential aspect of corporate
governance. Most concepts and issues, which are usually part of
corporate governance, tend to be involved in IT governance.
Weill and Ross (2004) claim that effective IT governance
remains the essential prognosticator of the value that a company
can engage in. Therefore, the extent to which IT governance
remains effective within the firm influences the organization's
general performance (Haes & Grembergen, 2017). In the end,
organizations need to quantify the levels to which their
organizational IT governance remains effective. A company can
achieve this through IT governance performance.
As the organizational IT systems continue to undergo some
transition, mainly from IT services providers to strategic
business partners, IT governance performance is becoming
essential. Simonsson and Ekstedt, (2006), in their study, claim
that not all companies have the ability to evaluate their IT
governance or establish effective decisions that are based on
such a prospect. Ineffective IT governance remains the basis of
the various issues, including some of the destructive
consequences within the IT sector.
Most negative experiences include low enterprise performances,
financial losses, core process issues, and failure to have

innovative IT solutions. Van Grembergen and De Haes (2009),
in their study, claim that some companies may enact IT
governance inversely, whereas the implementation of IT
governance can sometimes be established through various
frameworks, standards, and processes. Therefore, organizations
must start by measuring their current performance status
(Smallwood, 2014). While doing this, they can compare some of
their performance with their projected goals and objectives.
Most of these measurements are supposed to apply to IT
governance processes. Weill and Ross (2004), in their analysis,
insist that companies can assess their IT governance
performance using a formula that is based on at least four IT
governance outcomes. In this case, the four outcomes include
effective IT for growth usage, cost-effectiveness in IT usage,
business flexibility, and IT use for asset exploitation.
Companies, which are more advanced, especially in IT
governance performance, tend to have a much productive
performance (Mitra, Sambamurthy & Westerman,
2011).BestBuy INC
Best Buy Inc. probably provides the best example of an
organization that has continuously incorporated IT into its
business. Best Buy Co remains a multinational consumer that
deals in electronics. Being an electronic retailer, the company is
always in need of IT to perform most of its tasks. IT with the
organization has, in recent years, shifted to a strategic one from
a primary operational role (Van Grembergen & De Haes, 2009).
Such a factor highlights the company's need for ensuring that its
IT sector remains appropriately governed. The company has,
therefore, been forced to match part of its technology to its
organizational environment. This has been essential in attaining
some of the optimal value, mostly from IT.
Evolutionary roles within the sector demand that companies
such as Best Buy Inc. acquire adaptive and modern changes,
especially in their systems. In as much as Best But Inc. has
historically been using IT to manage most of its business
operations, information governance has sometimes been a

significant issue for the firm (El-Mekawy, Kaboudvand & Rusu,
2012). Some of the factors that have initially influenced IT
governance performance within the organization include
internal resources, environmental factors, structure,
organizational culture, and, finally, the organization's
leadership styles. In their analysis, Wilsson and Pollard (2009)
indicate that IT governance remains essential in distributing an
organization's decision rights and responsibilities based on
different organizational issues. Some of these issues include
organizational culture, structure, control systems, and
strategies. The functions of such organizational aspects in the
company's IT governance have previously been addressed in
other research. Research QuestionsResearch Problems
Most IT projects within large organizations such a Best Buy
Inc. have failed, causing losses and massive costs, especially to
the affected organizations. This simply means that effective IT
governance would be essential in bringing organizational value.
Governing IT remains essential in creating some value from IT
(El-Mekawy, Kaboudvand & Rusu, 2012). It highlights the
significance of IT governance, especially in most organizations
such as Best Buy Inc. The research literature demonstrates that
the aspect of information governance is essential. In most cases,
organizational culture tends to influence it. Organizational
culture is mostly used towards the positive enactment of IT
governance within the organization.
In the current markets, organizational structures tend to be
changing, since more companies seem to be adopting some of
the most complex structures they seek to establish themselves in
the market. Therefore, the organizational structure and culture
role, especially in IT governance performance has always been
vital (El-Mekawy, Kaboudvand & Rusu, 2012).Despite such
prospects, research studies indicate that most companies lack
extensive research into organizational cultural and structural
influence on IT governance performance. Previous researchers
have been insisting on the need for empirical research,
especially on IT governance. A significant emphasis is also

placed on some of the factors that tend to influence IT
governance. Therefore, there is a distinct lack of research in
line with IT governance's role, especially in IT-oriented
organizations.Questions
· What is the significance of information governance within an
IT-oriented organization?
· How can the organization apply information governance to its
information technology?MethodologyResearch Design
Perhaps the best way the researchers will classify this research
will be through the qualitative research method since the
research will be developed to study social and cultural aspects
within organizations. In this study, the social and cultural
science researchers will remain the main primary users in line
with the research methods category. Therefore, in this study, the
qualitative methods that the researchers are likely to use will
include action research and case studies. However,
incorporating ethnography will also be ideal in this research
kind.Case Study Research
The ideal qualitative method that this research will use is case
study research. Yin (2013) claims that case studies usually
involve analyzing or instead examining phenomena that are
dependent on specific contexts, whereas the same marvel in a
different context is likely to produce different results in line
with the study. This type of research analysis will be favorable
in this research kind since it is usually used in organizational
contexts.Data AnalysisData Collection
In line with this study, the researchers will use various
techniques during the data collection procedures. Conventional
techniques, in this case, will include observations, semi-
structured interviews, and open-ended questionnaires. In this
research, it would be advisable to incorporate the grounded
theory methodology. This research methodology that Charmaz
(2006) and Glaser and Strauss (1967) famously inspired is also
inductive. Given that the study extensively focused on the need
for technology governance within the organization, it was
essential to consider qualitative research as part of its

understanding. Here, the grounded theory specifically focuses
on some of the methodical guidelines that most researchers tend
to use while analyzing qualitative data.
While incorporating the Grounded Theory approaches that also
integrate the qualitative methodology, the researchers preferred
to use the semi-structured interviews as their main primary data
source towards the study. The semi-structured interviews, in
this case, lasted for at least 20 minutes for each participant.
During the process, the researchers opted to record the sessions,
which were interview sessions. The recording process was done
through individual recording devices, and the researchers
managed to translate the audio before converting them into
electronic documents. Other groups were also given the
questionnaires, which were supposed to be filled depending on
the questions at hand. The questionnaires were seen as
qualitative data forms. Perhaps the most useful module that the
researchers used during the process was by engaging in notes
taking whereby the researchers used the questionnaires to make
their assumptions or rather to record the organizational
happenings.
As previously mentioned, the research will be divided into
several phases. This meant that the researchers were, therefore,
forced to analyze most of the data based on the case studies
attained during the research analysis. As indicated earlier, the
researchers conducted semi-structured interviews to establish
the significance of information governance within an IT-
oriented organization and how the organization applies
information governance to its information technology;
therefore, it was essential to highlight how the data was
attained.Case Selection
In this study, the researchers opted to use BestBuy Inc. for the
research. Using the company for the case study was essential,
given that the company hugely depends on technology to
conduct most of its operations. The electronic retailer has a
large IT department with more than 50 IT experts that continue
to provide various IT services to clients and the organization.

Therefore, the first evaluation that the researcher's conduct was
through the use of IT governance performance results/outcomes
in which Weill and Ross (2004) introduced. Here, at least four
IT governance performance outcomes were used whereby the
researchers assessed them based on the 1-5 scale. In the end, the
researchers used the overall IT governance performance score to
determine the need for IT governance within the organization.
The eventual score was calculated as follows
(Importance of outcome) x (significance of IT governance) /
(importance of outcome) x 100
Conclusion
From the study, it remains evident that information governance
within the organization is essential because of several reasons.
In layman's language, it can easily be stated that information
governance in most IT-oriented organizations such as Best Buy
Inc. tends to determine how the organization project operates.
Poor governance results in negativity in terms of the eventual
result of the project. This means that in situations where the
organization fails to govern such aspects, the chances are that
the organization is likely to experience low enterprise
performances, financial losses, core process issues, and failure
to have innovative IT solutions. In other words, the organization
will end up losing more from such ignorance than it would gain.
Therefore, it is essential that organizations, more so the
technology-oriented companies fund their IT departments to
promote their business objectives and improve the
organization’s overall performance. As the research
demonstrates, companies that govern their information tend to
gain at least 40% more markets or businesses than organizations
with no such systems in place. In the end, it tends to give such
companies an edge over their competitors.
On the other hand, effective IT for growth usage, cost-
effectiveness in IT usage, and allows for business flexibility.
Special considerations should always be given to the factors
that influence the performance of IT governance within the
organization. Some of these factors include internal resources,

environmental factors, structure, and organizational culture.
Discussion
Having a high score, in this case, would simply mean that
information governance within the company has always been
successful for the organization. On the other hand, having lower
scores would mean that information governance within the
organization has failed to provide the company's IT department
with viable IT solutions. Apart from that, it also means that IT
governance has failed to influence the company strategically.
Therefore, the IT department's information governance does not
provide the company with a competitive advantage (Van
Grembergen & De Haes, 2009).
Recently, the Swedish company requested a change in the IT
role from simple business support to functioning strategic
partners. The need to change such prospects was because the
company felt the need to create some competitive advantage and
increase the organization's innovative factor (Cox, 2014). The
Sweden case study demonstrates a perfect example of how
companies such as Best Buy Inc. can change their initial
projects to accommodate information governance in case the
company is struggling to perform or remain innovative.
Findings from the internal documents and interviews show that
IT organizational structure in an organization such as Best Buy
Inc. sometimes fails to match with some of the IT governance
principles. Such occurrences would mean that the company is
likely to struggle to remain competitive in the market, given
poor information governance. Therefore, it would be essential
to adapt to some of the new IT governance structures that would
allow the company to govern its information effectively (Van
Grembergen & De Haes, 2009). Such principles, in most cases,
tend to act as essential lenses that would assist the organization
defines some of the new positions and roles in the IT
department.
References
Cox, S. A. (2014). Managing Information in Organizations.
Palgrave Macmillan.

El-Mekawy, M., Kaboudvand, E., and Rusu, L. (2012). An
organizational culture perspective in business-IT alignment.
International Journal of IT/Business Alignment and
Governance, 3(1), 1–26
Haes, S. ., & Grembergen, W.. (2017). Strategic IT governance
and alignment in business settings. Hershey, Pennsylvania:
Business Science Reference,
Luftman, J. (2004). Assessing business-IT alignment maturity.
In W. Van Grembergen (Ed.), Strategies for information
technology governance (pp. 99–128). IGI Global.
Mitra, S., Sambamurthy, V., and Westerman, G. (2011).
Measuring IT performance and communicating value. MIS
Quarterly Executive, 10(1).
Mithas, S., and Rust, R. T. (2016). How Information
Technology Strategy and Investments Influence Firm
Performance: Conjecture and Empirical Evidence. MIS
Quarterly, 40(1), 223-245
Simonsson, M., and Johnson, P. (2006). Defining IT governance
- A consolidation of literature. In Proceedings of the 18th
Conference on Advanced Information Systems Engineering
(CAISE 2006), Luxembourg.
Smallwood, R. F. (2014). Information Governance: Concepts,
strategies, and best practices. New York: Wiley.
Van Grembergen, W., and De Haes, S. (2009). Enterprise
governance of information technology: achieving strategic
alignment and value. New York, NY: Springer Science+Media.
Weill, P., and Ross, J.W. (2004). IT Governance: How Top
Performers Manage IT Decision Rights for Superior Results,
Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
Webb, P., Pollard, C., and Ridley, G. (2006). Attempting to
define IT governance: Wisdom or folly? In Proceedings of the
39th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences
(HICSS 39)
Willson, P., and Pollard, C. (2009). Exploring IT governance in
theory and practice in a sizeable multinational organization in
Australia. Information Systems Management, 26(2), 98 – 109

HRM6800 CASE STUDY INSTRUCTIONSUse the following
guide to organize your case study analysis.
This course was designed with intensive case analysis, requiring
you to recall and synthesize previous course materials as they
propose complex solutions to the observed problems.Writing the
case study analysis:
A case study analysis requires you to investigate the issues
presented, examine alternative solutions, and propose the most
effective solution supported with credible resources. In addition
to identifying the relevant issues, you should also incorporate
what types of training (or trainings) are necessary, who must
receive the training, how the training will be implemented, and
in what modes or mediums trainings will occur and why
(virtual, in-person). Then, strong analyses might recognize the
need to incorporate performance management and goal setting
to further strengthen the implementation of the training, thus
making recommendations within performance management. To
support this argument, one may then incorporate support from
organizational behavior and I/O psychology, referencing
learning and motivational theories to support how the
recommendation will succeed.Preparing the case:
Before you begin writing, follow these guidelines to help you
prepare and understand the case study:
1. Read and examine the case thoroughly.
· Take notes, highlight relevant facts, and underline key
problems.
2. Focus your analysis.
· Identify the major issues presented in the case
· Some questions to think about when reviewing the case study:
· What different HRM practices may need to be changed?
· What practices are strong?
· What theories support these observations?
· What specific changes may need to be changed to each
practice and how will these changes be implemented?
· What theories should be cited or referenced?

· What specialized materials or information will be necessary
for this implementation (9-box talent identification matrix,
performance evaluations, etc) and should example materials be
developed to further enhance the analysis?
· How will these practices be measured? What metrics should be
incorporated?
· Is there a global component that needs to be considered?
· Do I have all of the information necessary to make the right
recommendations?
· Is further inquiry necessary? If so, does this need to be
included in the recommendations?
· Describe possible solutions to the issue.
· Discuss each solution separately (with its advantages and
disadvantages).
· Use your course materials/outside research to help you with
this section.
3. Make your recommendation/s.
· Why did you choose this specific recommendation?
· How does it solve the issue/s presented in the case? (Is it
realistic?)
· Be sure that you use appropriate course materials and research
to support your recommendation. Drafting the case:
1. Introduction:
· Identify the key issues of the case
2. Background:
· Set the scene: provide background information on the
business/organization and any other details relevant to the case.
3. Evaluation of the case:
· Describe why these particular issues exist within the
business/organization.
· Discuss each issue one-by-one (you could organize each issue
by sub-heading).
· Describe who was responsible for creating the issue and who
is responsible for finding a solution.
4. Proposed solutions/changes:
· Discuss each solution/change separately.

· Explain why each solution/change was chosen.
· Use course concepts, materials, and outside research to
support your explanations.
5. Recommendation/s:
· Discuss your specific strategy for accomplishing your
proposed solution.
· Be sure to explain why you selected this particular one.
· Be sure to explain how the strategy solves the problem, and
who should implement it. Case Analysis Format:
1. APA Style with Cover Page and References
2. Minimum of 5 full pages

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