ITEC321 Information Systems Strategy and Management

A Synopsis

This case illustrates the development and execution of an chief IT department organization to support the company’s IT needs by Vince and to rule out solution for another company RR communications to mitigate customer billing issue.Vince’s company’s stock lied in dumpster and with the dramatic rivalry in the telecommunication industry he was at great loss. Despite uncertainties regarding scope, deliverables, and strategic alignment, the project was launched and Vince built up his IT organization within two years but the issue with the customers of RR communications remained as it is. Now, Vince only is faced with the DIO’s problem which he must convince to resolve it.

Identified Key Issues

The following are several issues which has made it impossible for the company to implement the plan visioned.

1. In this case, there are clear differences of how IT value isperceived. The DIO’s of the company were not in favor of an IT organization and created obstacles on the path of Vince.
2. Vince believed that technology could simply be plugged in to deliver value, without any recognition of the work the business would have to do. The business was running low due to not having an flexible IT organization.. Therefore, it is not surprising that it got an “IT view of the world”.
3. There was no central IT at the organization but only four keys of business-Mobile, Internet, cable TV service and landline each functioning on their own. Business requires communication and teamwork.
4. The company was in trouble with its telecommunication regulators and software vendors.
5. Insecurity of the DIO’s about being more powerful after the implementation of IT department. They believed that they would be given less freedom and increased bureaucracy to implement on their money making initiative.
6. The company was in no compliance with the software licensing agreement. They also don’t know about the quantity of their customers.
7. The company badly needed a steering committee to ensure about the funding of any rouge projects.
8. Lack of teamwork
9. Lack of funding in the company so Vince decided to make the account department realize about how to back up their file while saving time.
    

Case Analysis

RR communication is a good company and also contains some good visions and objectives which could be executed with the task of ensuring that the business maximizes its customer satisfaction and sales. As observed the challenge in the case study is to establish an IT department in the RR communication to deal with the IT needs and customer billing issue. In this report identification of relevant challenges has been done (just as it is in real organizations) and thus needs an IS strategy viewpoint to solve the issues. Setting the context we know that the IT organization alone is not capable of delivering functions(McKeen& Smith, 2015). The required solution is the achievement of a good partnership between the IT and the business. As known, IT is responsible for the technical compartment and the business is responsible for the transformation of the company sales (e.g., required changes in process). In this case study the combination of both as a whole is necessary to relate to the customer centric issue which needs software to correctly dispatch the bill of the products and business point of view to know about the issues the customers are facing and their needs. The implementation of ioT driven automation billing system must be done. An automation billing system offers errorless bills to the customers( Mahmud,Ahmed&Shikder, 2019). The customer will be providing personal details like name, email ID, mobile number etc. and the billing system will check up with the product the customer has bought and will make the bill accordingly. As this tool is an electronic one there is a less chance of sending double bills to the customers. There is a critical need for partnership, but at RR communication there appears to be a problem in this regard as the DIO’s of the company were never in for of such an upgrade. They thought that if Vince would be successful in doing so, they would lose their importance inside the company and this would increase much more beaurocracy in the system.  There is specific evidence in the case to support these accusations such as “Vince had offered Helen a position as sourcing director, but she’d turned it down, seeing it as a demotion rather than a lateral move”.It is obvious that The DIO’s are to be blamed as the real issue; compliance issue being another one. The analysis of the blame uncovers what went wrong with RR communications. Outlining Responsibilities within the Partnership with Ross Roman, the blame equally distributed it is important to investigate what “should have been done” by Vince and RR. Regarding the customer issue it was important to allocate IT professional and had a compliance with the software vendor. For instance, Vince’s plan was to control the multiple sales, unified customer care and take responsibility of the billing in the telecommunication arena.. A corporate governing strategy was needed to be implemented inside the company which will outline the accuracy of communication and the relations of how the corporate governing management and board will handle the customers, employees and the DIO’s connected with the corporation.The business clearly lacks communication and teamwork. Teamwork and communication is vital in any project(Tripathy,2018). This could be achieved by clear definition of goals, strategies and injecting knowledge about the move to each and every staff of the company.The importance of a steering committee was clear in the organization which will ensure to take any step taken, to be better for the company as a whole not for any particular division. The funding issue of the company will be mitigated it the proper observation is implemented on the sales of the products, Funding includes the sales of items mainly with collaboration with other profitable companies, foundations and private donations. Two years after the Creation of the organization Vince still dealt with DIO’S issue. This issue can be solved by a proper knowledge about the vision of Vince and Ross Roman of the RR Company. This might be so, because that was not a “win-win”, but rather a “win-lose” situation, i.e., where IT wins and the DIO’s loses. Insecurity lies in every organization regarding the roles and positions. Better knowledge about what they will benefit along with the company’s advantage must be clearly stated by Vince. Given that both parties of the organizationwork for the same company, it might have been preferable that the possible outcomes for the partnership to be limited to a “win-win” or a “lose-lose”. In this context it is also noteworthy that the first contract signed by the organization isrede-signing that relates to the  internal computer infrastructure to set up a good quality of technology to solve the customer billing issue. Also proper customer service was scarce at the company which is necessary to be the mode of communication between customers and the company. This shows that IT stands on its one with regard to the success and failure of the project and reinforces the identified lack of trust and partnership. In a developed and existing partnership both IT and business would be responsible for the status and outcome of the project. Taking the past into account As part of the case analysis it is appropriate to look further back and decide upon the DIO’s solution because at this moment only they are being the sole problem. The question is what must be needed to do to convince the DIO’s and to make the customer centric division possible. There are at least two possible answers to this question and justifications:

1. List and describe all of the potential benefits (and costs) that Nationstate would realize from the establishment of an enterprisewide architecture as envisioned by Jane Denton?

Answer -

The below are some of the advantages of developing an enterprise-wide architecture:

• Senior management would have a clearer view of the corporate divisions and their processes as a whole.
• Cost benefits from minimising internal customer support unit duplication, as well as savings from having all units use the same processes and applications.
• Since everyone has access to the same system, it's easier to cooperate and connect between business units.
• Spaghetti of applications is generated by layering further framework layers on top of existing systems(Blumenthal, 2019). Any new process or framework would be easier to execute if you start over with a solid basis based on a single enterprise approach.
• With a centralised structure, security can be more efficiently handled and upgraded.
  
  

The below are some of the latest system's costs and risks:

• The organisation may loses whatever the business organisations have also already created. Many of the roles are currently satisfactory.
• The current system's training and implementation expenses.
• Business divisions and CIOs can't develop their own IT structures to meet their specific requirements, which may lead to unreliable and complex procedures.
• The fear of "architectural police in such an ideological bubble" trying to dictate structures and practises without respect for the needs of business segments.
• In a large system, both administrators and staff would have a difficult time operating if system protocols are not met or effective governance policies are not enforced(Petricevic&Teece, 2019).
  
  

2. Build a business case for Seamus O’Malley to present to the senior management team at Nationstate in order to get their buy-in. In addition to benefits and costs, the business case must answer the “what’s in it for me” question that the BU 3presidents all have.

Answer –

Nationstate has to develop a single business structure and enterprise demonstrates the ability to take the initiative in the IT sector. The current IT methods at Nationstate allow for duplicate programmes and records, and each business entity has its own implementation team applying its own interpretation of best practises(O’Malley, 2018). Furthermore, good ideas generated by a single business unit remain within that business segment. With this top - down approach, it is incredibly difficult for top leadership to keep track of both systems and devise a collective plan.However, the architectural community knows that the overarching plan and corporate processes for those employed in the business divisions are seen as an obstacle.

The optimistic implications of going towards an organisational structure must be emphasised by Seamus. In keeping with his divisional duties, he is trying to incorporate industry solutions(O'Malley, Sandlin & Burdick, 2020); he has reputation with the other architects. He will be influenced by all decisions taken at corporate level, as will all other architects in divisions. All agencies concerned with an emphasis on risk control, legal challenges and market prospects should be included in the Business Case. The following points should be highlighted by Seamus:

• Working as a unit: In order to achieve its key goals, a company must work as a unit. As a result, working in independent silos is not in the best interests of the company. The firm's performance would be boosted by a concerted effort.
• Cost-cutting: Many programmes incur excessive expenses due to duplication of effort and "reinventing the wheel." As a result, it is in each division's best interests to use a single central activity to conserve money that could be invested on programmes with a higher return on investment.
• Take advantage of cutting-edge technologies: New technology is released every day. Upgrades and improvements can be done more quickly in a single system, which saves money, time, and flexibility.
• Risk control: Since risk management is done together, security procedures and infrastructure can be checked and updated more frequently. Data leaks would be less frequent as a result of a standard authentication protocol. It would also save the business units money.
• -The company's priorities: The organization has a mission and goals that direct it in its day-to-day operations. A complete business model allows divisions to rely on the company's overall requirements rather than divisional requirements alone.
• Value to all: While the ultimate purpose of implementing the centralized organization structure is to ensuring that certain shareholders in the economic viewpoint, each division retains some latitude in researching and recommending modifications or enhancements that benefit particular parts of the business but also the whole organisation(Kennedy, 2021). Performance incentives should be restructured to represent not just the achievements of the business segment, as well as the corporation's overall performance.

3. Seamus O’Malley is rightfully worried about governance (i.e., making sure that the enterprise architectural standards are adopted by all BUs). Both he and Jane are wary of forced compliance because such measures lead to “architecture police.” What governance procedures could they put in place that would win “hearts and minds”; that is, BU architects would comply with the enterprise architecture standards because they believe in them—not because they are forced to comply with them?

Answer -

In organisations, technical and operational, there are two types of government. To survive, O'Malley must pay heed to both. The final architecture, and the criteria to accomplish the target, is what O'Malley as well as the other Professional Architects will incorporate at the strategic stage. People from each business entity are included at the tactical stage(Corburn, 2017). They are in charge of the business system's development and ensuring that the objectives are accomplished. All departmental demands can be fulfilled by building a good team of feedback from all business divisions. In order to prevent the “architectural police” problem, the architecture community should have representatives from all divisions concerned.To stop the problem of "architectural cops," business people from both architectural departments have to deal with the problems facing business units.

• Emphasizing the importance of each stakeholder's position in the organisation, rather than relying solely on highest level manager to ensure decisions. As a consequence of implementing a new framework, guidelines must be established that account for variances and deviations(Kappelman el at., 2019). These differences will be temporary and will be restored over time. As a result, there would be less discontent as a result of the pressure to set ambitious target goals.
• Maintain partnerships with the executives of the corporate groups and consult with them on a regular basis about the company's and divisions' future plans.
• Schedule weekly or monthly discussions with both the members of the various business divisions, as well as information sessions with the whole organization's employees to hear their perspectives on the venture(MacKay, Chia & Nair, 2020). The conference championship executives should embrace the organization initiative until they see that the gains greatly outweigh the loss of any sovereignty.
  
  

References

Blumenthal, E. (2019). The Practice and Politics of Exile: Nation-State Formation from Abroad. In Exile and Nation-State Formation in Argentina and Chile, 1810–1862 (pp. 171-217). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.

Corburn, J. (2017). Urban place and health equity: critical issues and practices. International journal of environmental research and public health, 14(2), 117.

Falco, G., Eling, M., Jablanski, D., Miller, V., Gordon, L. A., Wang, S. S., ...&Nutter, S. F. (2019). A research agenda for cyber risk and cyber insurance.In Workshop on the Economics of Information Security (WEIS).

Hess, W. (2021). Enterprise Risk Management as a Measurement of Cybersecurity Effectiveness: A Correlational Study (Doctoral dissertation, Capella University).

Kappelman, L., Johnson, V., Torres, R., Maurer, C., & McLean, E. (2019). A study of information systems issues, practices, and leadership in Europe. European Journal of Information Systems, 28(1), 26-42.

Kappelman, L., Johnson, V., Torres, R., Maurer, C., & McLean, E. (2019). A study of information systems issues, practices, and leadership in Europe. European Journal of Information Systems, 28(1), 26-42.

Kennedy, R. (2021). Art and the Nation State: The Reception of Modern Art in Ireland. Oxford University Press.

Kennedy, R. (2021). Art and the Nation State: The Reception of Modern Art in Ireland. Oxford University Press.

MacKay, B., Chia, R., & Nair, A. K. (2020). Strategy-in-Practices: A process philosophical approach to understanding strategy emergence and organizational outcomes. Human Relations, 0018726720929397.

Mahmud, S., Ahmed, S., &Shikder, K. (2019, January). A smart home automation and metering system using internet of things (IoT). In 2019 International Conference on Robotics, Electrical and Signal Processing Techniques (ICREST) (pp. 451-454). IEEE.

Mini Case from: Smith, H. A., and J. D. McKeen (2015). Mini Case “Shared Services at RR Communications.” In McKeen, J. D., & Smith, H. (2015). IT strategy: Issues and Practices (third edition) Boston: Pearson, pp. 178-181, #1-L07-1-002, Queen’s School of Business, reproduced by permission of Queen’s University, School of Business, Kingston, Ontario, Canada

O’Malley, P. (2018). Migration and conflict. New England Journal of Public Policy, 30(2), 14.

O'Malley, M. P., Sandlin, J. A., & Burdick, J. (2020).Public pedagogy theories, methodologies, and ethics.In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education.

Petricevic, O., &Teece, D. J. (2019). The structural reshaping of globalization: Implications for strategic sectors, profiting from innovation, and the multinational enterprise. Journal of International Business Studies, 50(9), 1487-1512.

Tripathy, M. (2018). Building quality teamwork to achieve excellence in business organizations. International research journal of management, IT and social sciences, 5(3), 1-7.

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