This document discusses key information resources including data, application software, technology, information specialists, users, and facilities. It describes the role of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) in managing information resources, their responsibilities, priorities, and required competencies. The document also covers strategic planning for information systems, aligning IS strategy with organizational strategy, and issues around end-user computing.

1. Information Resources
Unit 4
Management Information Systems
CSVTU, Bhilai, Chhattisgarh
(Naren Chintada)

2. Types of Information resources
Key Information Resources
➢ Data
➢ Application Software
➢ Technology (Hardware, System Software, Communications)
➢ Information Specialists
➢ Users
➢ Facilities / infrastructure
Information should be treated as a resource by the organization at all levels. This will
enable firms to think about acquiring, protecting and utilizing appropriately

3. Role of IT
Key issues in managing information systems are:
1. To avoid organization level disruptions due to glitches in information technology
(failures resulting from hardware, software or networks)
2. To evaluate whether benefits promised by Information system projects are
realized
3. To ensure developments in technology are monitored and exploited for the
benefit of the organization
4. Being custodian of data and ensure security of data and availability as needed and
maintaining archival data (however ownership of data lies with organization
management)

4. Who manages information resources
Information resources have become very valuable and responsibility cannot be
delegated to lower level managers. It has now become responsibility of all managers.
However, there is a role created called Chief Information Officer who’s responsibilities
are as follows:
● Spend Time with business & in Business Training.
● Learn the Business not just the Technology.
● Build Partnership with business units & Line Management.
● Take Initiative ,do not wait to be Invited.
● Explain IS costs in business terms
● Build credibility by delivering reliable IS service.
● Be Non -Defensive

5. CIO Priorities
Outward looking:
● Align with Business strategy
● Provide/improve information access
● Enhance customer service
● Support Business Process reengineering
● Educate users about IT services
● Facilitate improvement in product quality
● Facilitate improvement in productivity of
the organization
Inward looking:
● Evaluate state-of-the-art technologies
● Implement state-of-the-art technology
● Implement standard systems and processes
● Implement standard architecture
● Achieve interoperability amongst different
systems
● Move to ‘open’ system technologies
● Implement distributed processing
● Reduce IT expenditure
● Centralize procurement

6. Competencies of a CIO
● Group decision making
● Conflict resolution
● Business domain knowledge
● Risk analysis
● Negotiations
● Change management
● Teamwork behaviours
● Metrics and measurements of s/w items
● Customer focus
● Quality focus and process definition
● Strategic alignment
● Project Management

7. Managing IT teams
● Software development takes place in organizations with flat structure, less
bureaucracy and participative culture
● Empowerment, decentralized decision making and self-determining process (read
Agile development)
● Managing cross-cultural teams is challenging due to differences in culture,
language and geography (not located at the same place; in different timezones)
● People management skills are as important as functional and technical skills
● Importance of team-building skills increase for a project in forming, norming and
disbanding teams
● Leadership skills are essential and need to be cultivated early on.

8. Strategic planning and information system
● Information system planning is essential for gaining competitive advantage
● IS planning should be based on the organizational strategic plan
● IS strategy should be aligned with organization strategy
● IS plan essentially is how various information resources are going to be used to
support organization goals and processes. For example,
a. If organization goal is to produce high quality widgets then organizational strategy would be to
establish quality control program for the widgets. Information system strategy should then be to
establish QC database
b. If organization objective is to implement quality circles, Information system objective would be
implement QC reports to suit quality circles and provide access to QC database to quality circle
members

9. Strategies from Porter’s model
Three generic strategies suggested by Porter are:
1. Overall cost leadership: Here IS can contribute either in reducing cost directly or
enhance ability to reduce cost (may be by supply chain efficiency)
2. Overall differentiation: IS can contribute in adding unique features to the product
or service or enhance ability to do so.
3. Focus/Niche: IS can help in environment monitoring to identify and create
market niche or enable such capability through some functions

10. Strategic option generator
Customer Supplier Competitor
Differentiation
Low Cost
Innovation
Growth
Alliance
target
Thrust area

11. Strategic thrust table
The table is an example of how an organizations can analyse. By asking following
questions, an organization fill the boxes to build the strategy appropriate for them.
1. What are our strategic targets ? [ Customers, Suppliers, Competitor]
2. What strategic thrust can be used against the targets ? [5 rows shown in table]
3. What strategic mode can be used ? Offensive or defensive
4. What direction of thrust can be used ? [Usage or Provision]
5. What skills can we use ? [processing, storage, transmission]

12. Strategic set transformation
1. Define business
strategy set
2. Validate and get
approval
3. Each element of
strategy is taken and
equivalent IT strategy
identified
4. This shapes the
overall infrastructure
architecture and
business strategy

13. Richard Nolan’s evolutionary model
Nolan’s stage model provides a framework for IS planning that matches various
features of IS to different stages of growth. An organization progress through 6 stages:
➔ Stage 1: Technology is introduced in the organization
➔ Stage 2: This is a period of rapid uncontrolled growth of variety of applications
➔ Stage 3: Organization gains control over technology resources, implements formal
controls and standards
➔ Stage 4: Use of new technology, emphasis on integration of systems
➔ Stage 5: Recognize that data handled by systems is very important and focus on
data administration
➔ Stage 6: Maturity phase where planning is well established and alignment to
business achieved

14. Strategic planning modern approach

15. Modern approach to strategic planning
● It articulate organizational identity and business model from elements such as
your organization’s geographic, programmatic and customer scope, as well as
your organization’s competitive advantage and market conditions.
● Use informal and formal market research techniques to gather and analyze
intelligence from a variety of stakeholders, including clients, competitors and
employees.
● Helps to create an environment in which ongoing decisions are made from a
strategic perspective
● Support decision-making that builds on organization's values, mission, and vision
● Identify and focus on the top opportunities and challenges facing within
organization.
● Develop complete business plans to serve as a blueprint for future.

16. Framework for managing information technology
Vision for the Organization and
Information technology
IT and Organization structure
Integration of IT and Decision
making
Corporate Strategy PlanStrategy
Alliances &
Partnerships
Ongoing IT
operationsIT InfrastructureIT initiatives

17. Framework terms
1. IT & decision making - Management awareness how new technology can create
opportunities results in integrating decision making with technology
2. Corporate plan - A corporate strategic plan comes from the firm's vision for its
future activities which includes IT
3. Alliances and partnerships - Various types like Intel and Microsoft
4. New IT initiatives - As technology advances stimulates new ideas. The corporate
strategic plan should identify broad areas in which technology can contribute to
the firm.
5. IT infrastructure - includes network, building and other facilities
6. Ongoing IT - developing new apps and operating existing apps

18. End-user Computing
● End-user computing (EUC) refers to systems in which non-programmers can
create working applications.EUC is a group of approaches to computing that aim
at better integrating end users into the computing environment.
● End-user-developed computer-based information systems for personal,
departmental or organisation-wide use, where the end-user is a non-IT
professional.
● Today’s end-users have a broad array of computing tools at their disposal, from
mobile devices to productivity apps to cloud services.
● The end-user has a great deal of control over how these tools are accessed and
used and where data is stored
*End users are also referred to as knowledge workers in some books

19. Need for proper approach to EUC
The user-centric approach to IT gives employees greater flexibility, creating an
environment that facilitates productivity, agility, responsiveness and collaboration.
However, offering more control and more options to the end-user introduces more
variables, complexity and headaches for IT departments that must support an ever-
broader array of devices and applications.
Without a thoughtful approach to EUC, end-users may use the wrong tools, the right
tools incorrectly, or unapproved applications to do their jobs. This will hamper
productivity, increase costs and impact customer service. Worse, if end-users don’t
follow company policies or IT best practices, you may face serious risks related to
security, regulatory compliance and data governance

20. Issues with EUC
Initial issues with end-user computing are concerned with documentation, backups of data and security related.
Support and education/training to end-user community became necessary for IT. However, critical issues with
EUC were found to be:
1. Security & Integrity: While IT department has good control on database, with EUC several databases
with often conflicting data can result in threat to security and integrity and chaos
2. Database access to PCs: Providing access to centralized to individual managers desktop systems. An issue
of which is ‘private’ data and which is organization data will arise. Greater control on shared data is
needed
3. Education: about data security, compliance and integrity will be required for end-users as well as
stringent policies and actions need to be taken by management to avoid data security
4. Information services: IT has additional role to support end-users with technical consulting
5. Top-level planning: There is a need for top-management to recognize and include EUC as part of
information revolution

21. Expansion and control strategy for EUC
End-user computing expands in an organization, control has to be in place:
1. Laissez-faire – this is the ‘no policy’ situation. EUC is neither encouraged nor
controlled.
2. Containment – here there is a high level of control, EUC is channelled.
3. Acceleration – EUC is encouraged with very little control, high risks involved.
4. Controlled Growth – policies are put in place both to encourage expansion and at
the same time controlled growth. This is a situation in which the roles of the end-
users and the computer centre are clearly specified.