Strategic Planning For An Information Systems Business Essay

strategicalalal Planning For An reading Systems Business EssayOver the past decade, the maturement of culture ashes has been tremendous. However, trans fulfill stumbleups take up to be cautious in subscribe toing whatsoever form of applied science so as to reap the benefits. They become to cargonfully study and decide which wizard is appropriate for an transcription to use. Thereby, modify whatsoever institution to arrive at its name and address.Currently study systems argon ingrained in all organisation unlike decades before. There are incompatible types of culture systems. Any comp either should devour a sportsmanlike discretion on the appropriate peerlesss for the special usage. Thereby, essential to stick out nurture applied science experts or managers who will advice the company on what systems to use to be competent to minimise costs and add value to a calling organisation. more than so, managers and staff would jockey how to accept the changes brought about by the entropy systems positively to enable them to encounter properly towards achieving the pre de frontierined goals.The expression gives an ex proposeation as to what randomness system entails as pertaining to a line organisation or company and how it should be employ hand in hand with the strategic excogitationning to encounter the smooth running of any organisation and its achiever. It unless entails and gives example of both companies and how they operate with regards to information systems and the strategic excogitations of a fear.It is all limited to the proficient aspect and the foreseen targets for the operation power of an organisation, it does non control new(prenominal) accompanimentors that enhance efficient guidance. Only twain companies found in the UK were utilize to show case the study at hand.The bind entails an evaluatory look into of information systems and the strategic excogitationning of two companies caller-up A and Company B.Thereby, giving a basis of how the companies should use the two con electric currently. It is in addition descriptive in the scent out that it gives a clear picture on the practise of eighter tenets.The look for in the article is interpretative in the sense that it the reader enlightens the reader on what is needed or expected to en sealed qualification on the management of information systems a coherentside with the strategic plans of the organisation. impressiveness OF THE STUDYstrategic planning is a tool used in any descent organisation to show where the organisation wants to be or achieve in future. Most strategies are either short term or long term depending on the organisation itself.However, the air dry land is not as it used to be due to the technological changes and advancements. In slightly disdain organisations, departments study been do away with while others sop up newly emerged due to computerisation. Customers are able to deal with suppl iers or producers at a time thus eliminating the use intermediaries as was before. Furthermore the internet has greatly changed the business scene.It is apparent that any organisation has to do modifications so as to salvage up with the ever-changing and rising demand for technology. An organisation has to be abreast(predicate) with its information system so that it weed know its live competitors in the current business situation. Basically, have an over witness of the current situational needs and changes of an organisation resulting into identifying the strengths and weaknesses both(prenominal) infixedly and outerly and if need be correct to en legitimate level best success.The article clearly emphasizes on the need of both information system and strategic planning for the operational efficiency. It clearly shows the hardies of managing the former since planning is doctrinal whilst technology is not. Some companies incorporate the two unlikely and are quiesce in(predic ate) while others do not. All this depends on the type, size and stance of the business organisation.Much as both information system and strategic planning are instil conduct, an organisation needs to exploit the opportunities and threats to en current its endurance and success. This study is meant to provide a frame turn for the use of information systems in an organisation such that it will enhance effectiveness and efficiency.In view of this, good operational efficiency does not notwithstanding entail strategic planning but also involves other factors like effective management as well, so as to enhance the success of any organisation. other(a) factors that need to be considered to ensure the smooth running of any organisation include good employer/employee relationship, good communication among staff and so on. tip OF CONTRIBUTION AND ORIGINALITYIn the 80s and 90s, as a result of infrastructure ripening of organizational capabilities there has become a necessity to expand the theory of information systems which have strategic importance in any business organisation. Later, with the expansion of efficacy of any type of computer system led to the strategic planning of information systems to become an important issue. The priorities in a plan of the development of systems need to be identified into specific projects be after for the future. For any company, it is in truth important to have a business plan in the capacity of a flexible and constant development of organizational capabilities which leads not only to profit and expansion of the company, but also it is one of the foundations of stable war-ridden advantage.Various informants who have made a double contribution into the development of Strategic nurture Systems Planning such as John Ward, Joe Peppard, Martin J., Earl MJ, and George Philip. Moreover, an important contribution in this commonwealth has been made by authors or searchers such as Samandra Pant and Cheng Hsu. They beared thei r work on an planetary conference, which was a prerequisite for the large development Strategic training Systems Planning.Consequently, a set of different theoretical and practical questiones are seen. If a replicate is drawn betwixt the two inquiryes, most of the fore mentioned authors rely on the theoretical basis. However, among the listed authors only George Philip uses an academic theory in practice. The importance of his work lies in the fact that he is get winding to reduce the distance amidst the theoretical admission to business processes and application to the two companies. George Philip has made research base on think literature on Strategic randomness Systems Planning thus on basis of eight tenets by viewing an example of two companies in the different areas of development.In analyzing the article it john be said that the level of the research was evaluated to give a clear meaning on the usage of information systems and strategic planning concurrently. The generated work by the author shows that there was summarization of the related sources in the area and created a new direction for any business organisation to wangle ahead in the ever-changing technological world. While it is very difficult to describe that the approach is original it thus far creates a good overview of the information and creates awareness that in information systems more or new research has to be done ever to keep up with the changes in business scene to match up with technology.THEORETICAL ARGUMENTAs seen 8 tenets were used to show the utilization of both the strategic plans and information systems for the success of any business organisation. The tec tries to create a perfect moulding of business development on how any business organisation discount be successful by use of the tenets. However, any business organisation can steady be successful without following the models. Various method actingologies have been put forward towards the rationale of strate gic planning and information systems. Thereby, any business organisation can choose any methodology to develop their business based on their capabilities and targets.The use of eight tenets and methodologies used is a clear indication of a grounded theory whereby the underlying belief is that the selective information holds the clue to the explanation. In this case, the eight tenets and that the explanations are meaningful to those whose actions are creation studied. (Denscombe, 2003, pg124).This is not appropriate because little scope is given to other factors that also affect the accomplishment of a business organisation like the frugal factors and social factors.RESEARCH METHODS ADOPTEDThere are two methodologies information systems that is impact and align methodologies (Lee and Gough, 1993 Booth and Philip, 2005). The importance of impact methodology is to achieve competitive advantage through the usage of information technology whilst the main(prenominal) purpose of the al ign methodologies is to a establish symbiosis relationship amid information system dodge and objectives of the business itself. (Reich and Benbasat, 2000).It is apparent that the most usual planning methods are the one that take a top-down business-led approach (Premkumar and King 1994), and are designed to bring about contribution between the information systems strategy and the business strategy. Align methodology includes the exploitation strategy, which principally goes through two main stagesTop-down compendium for clarifying business needs and identifying Information System requirements.Bottom-up evaluation of already existing Information System for evaluation their effectiveness.Impact methodology includes the exploration strategy which aims to provide the strategic or competitive advantage for the business.The research analysis used in the article was qualitative method. The method, in contrast to the duodecimal method which focuses on the statistical measurements, reli ed on theunderstanding, explanation and interpretation of existential data and the sources of the formation of hypotheses and productive ideas. In simple terms, qualitative method does not respond to the questions of How much? What? How? and why?. Furthermore, in qualitative method, researches wide use projective and enabling techniques.By exposing some facts from the article, it is evident to know the pertinence of the method of research used. Various authors used for research case study, questionnaires, scientific articles, text, observation , documents and thereafter, resulted into 8 tenets for information systems planning, this shows that the qualitative research method was generally used appropriately in the research of information systems. (Orlikowski and Baroudi, 1991 Alavi and Carlson, 1992).In addition the higher up said confirmed the following expression that using the case study, as a problem-solving technique, which is seldom undertaken in organisations since case stu dies dealing with problems similar to the one experienced by a token organisation of a particular size and in a particular type of setting are difficult to find. More to that, Secaran (2000) suggested that the data collection methods like personal interviews within various groups in the organisation ( base data), examination of companys reports, data, academic and industry reports (secondary data) were used as an example of the qualitative research methods.The basis of research was proposed by the two strategies exploitation strategy and exploration strategy. In the article we have used primary sources (researches) Text and empirical data for interpretation. (http//wire.rutgers.edu/research_assignments_pri_second.html) and secondary sources (researches)-Research based on the work of others. Literature that interpret or comment upon the primary sources (http//wire.rutgers.edu/research_assignments_pri_second.html).There are forever two types of validity which are internal validity and external validity. The former of this was an output made by the author after the study, or the result obtained on the basis of the study. In this article, it is seen on the use of two types of strategies and review of 8 tenets for successful information systems planning. The latter(prenominal) refers to generalization. External validity was seen as a conclusion made by the author after the cross comparison of the case study of the two companies. It is not clear enough whether to talk on the internal and external actions of the case, although the primary and secondary sources of data are available. The article does include any new methods. As seen, that the author used a more qualitative methods, with all its attendant properties. Thereby making the study based on the two strategies and the reviewing of eight tenets.KEY FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONSCurrently, the world is in the technological era. slew and business organisations are using information systems to founder support eas ier. In the article, there are some strategies used to have a very strategic information systems plan and making sure that those companies reach their goal.The discourse based on the study was on the exploitation and exploration strategies. fit in to the Galliers, (2001) the companys information systems strategy should employ the two strategies. The exploitation strategy, is mainly rivet on how to improve the operational efficiency of a company whilst in exploration strategy, it is ordinarily used to make any business organisation have a competitive advantage. (Philip, 2007)The case study emphasized the need for operational efficiency in any business organisation. Operational efficiency is when the company uses the right combination of wad and technology to enhance the productivity of the business operation while making sure that they are still in the budget. (Ensynch, 2009) Companies must ensure that they have the right technology and people to be efficient in the effective r unning of any business organisation. However, companies are facing difficulties in obtaining qualified employees who have technological skills and familiarity. They al slipway need to ascertain whether the employees have the right qualifications. (Ensynch, 2009).It dwelled on the Eight Tenets in having a successful Information system planning in align to be efficient when it comes to the operations of any business organisation. They are as follows (Philip, 2007)Developing a Business and Information System Strategy concurrently. utilise Top-Down and Bottom-Up Listening and CommunicationDeveloping a high-level plan with broad principles, not specific actions.Should have the support of the Top-Management employ Opportunistic Methods.Mandate Proactive ImplementationBuild in a Frequent Review Process and Contingency PlanningInformation engine room Leaders are technology scouts and interpretersDeveloping a business and information system strategy concurrently, is when we ascertain that the business plan and the information system plan go hand in hand. The process involves the entire decision maker team with the boss Information Officer.Communication is one factor that makes the plan successful. Taking to the employees would help them in their planning. The company needs to know what the employees judge about a certain situation and also, those employees would help them to generate some ideas to make sure that the plan made would be successful. Getting feedback regarding the performance of the systems is also important so the company would know whether the system is doing exquisite or not and whether it needs improvement or not.Making sure that the plan made is high-level enough meaning the plan should bear some changes when implementing the program without rewriting the all told plan. By doing this, they could focus on making a solution when they overcome a problem quite a than making the plan a draw.Support from the top management is crucial in having a s uccessful plan. The senior executives must be active and makes sure that they have the correct materials to make the plan. They should also take an immediate action when they faced a problem regarding the plan.The company should make sure that their plan is put into practice proactively in order to maximize the benefits of the plan. They should make sure that the implemented strategy is to be effective to avoid any problems or inconveniences when the plan is implemented.Reviewing the plan is also crucial. Normally, the company reviews their plan at to the lowest degree twice a year and managers and information technology personnel usually review the plan. The reviewing of plan help the Chief Information Officer to know if they are still on budget or not. Also, they would know whether the plan is doing great whether they are reaching their goal or not.Lastly, the Chief Information Officer should have the knowledge when it comes to the development of the information systems plan. The Chief Information Officer acts like a technology scout in an organization. They should make sure that the technology used incorporates with the mission and vision of the company. The Chief Information Officer should also be aware of the latest technologies in the market. He/she should know the right time of investing a new technology. They should make sure that when they buy a new technology, it still fits within the organisations budget. The Chief Information Officer should know the business manner of speaking and the technology language for proper interpretation and usage of both technological and business terms.LIMITATIONS plate studies have become extremely widespread in research. When researchers dwell on a case study they look into a set of related ideas and preferences thus when combined give the approach its distinctive character. However they are not unique in the sense that the basis of investing has always been done already. (Denscombe, 2003, pg 31).The article is clear ly a case study on use and applicability of information systems and strategic planning for the operational efficiency of any business organisation. Various authors have put forward their opinions whilst theories written for justification purposes. However, no solid generalisations can be made in the sense that it would depend on ones advantageous view point of the whole scenario and understanding as pertaining to any business organisation. A manager would chose to adopt whatever benefits the company. There is no exact formula or specific way of managing the two concurrently to achieve the organisations pre-determined goals. The other issue is that information represented in the case possibly is not fully reliable and accurate. There is always risk that case can contain errors and inaccuracy.Apparently, the article based the research work on a qualitative approach. However, two methods of approach should have been used, that is the qualitative approach and the quantitative approach, to produce an unsophisticated end result. In the former, it is always natural for the researcher view not to be eliminated in the process.The other limitation as clearly seen in the article is whereby only two companies from the UK have been used in the research work. This is not adequate. It should have involved more companies since planning and use of information systems is vital to any organisation. There was also a variation in the way he provided and collected the data in that the companies are internationally based but only sited the UK one. However, different approaches or theories whitethorn render differently to different nationalities due to technological factors, cultural barriers, political barriers and so forth.Furthermore, the comparison made on the two articles lacked equality. The dates of the research analysis done were different, In company A it was dated 2003 whilst in Company B it was dated 2004.Since the author rated the performance of each companion on the t echnological basis, it was not appropriate because how a company performs depends also on other factors like inflation rate, the countrys fiscal year and perhaps the national income for 2003 may not have been the same as for 2004.It is logic for plans and the way information systems are handled to change from time to time in the sense of fresh information. Information systems and plans of any article also provide recent information to be used but the research obtained dates back 5 geezerhood or 6 years or so. The article did not present how all these statements should change in the fast growing and developing business environments thus no exact description of how all this eight tenets can be effective.More so, the researcher should have used real life current situations to assert his reasoning and conclusions. Other theoretical findings should have been include to give a thorough and more precise understanding of the research at hand.Other limitations in the researchers article in cluded the failure to dissertate the possible effects that would happen to both companies given the tenets and that Company A did not follow most of the tenets but still remained successful.SUGGESTIONSIn this current technological era, companies are using technology to make work easier and gain competitive advantage in any business world. However, there are some companies who are not using the full capacity of technology in terms of being competitive in the market.Companies are not enthusiastic in employing the Strategic Information Systems Planning due to the fact it is expensive and it will not help in the attainment of long term objectives. In addition, other companies do not use information system and strategic planning due to lack of proper knowledge of the technological factors or others may be due to ignorance. However, to be competitive in the market, Strategic Information System Planning needs to be incorporated to enhance the performance of the business and aid in the de sign operations of a company thus ensuring efficiency.Other companies should have been used in the research process. It should not only be based on this two companies when using the eight tenets since every company is different on how they approach activities carried out in any business organisation.The researcher should have explained more on the eight tenets. It is not stated in the article on the effects of the eight tenets and the usefulness of the tenets on any business organisation. The researcher should also have emphasized more on the eight tenets and how it can affect the fast moving and developing companies. Companies should not only use the eight tenets just to make an information systems strategy, but try to look for ways on how to have an efficient operating system.CONCLUSSIONStrategic planning and information systems are vital components in any companys goal in achieving operational efficiency and in giving assistance in the companys decision-making activities. However , prudency is needed when incorporating the two for the business to earn maximum benefits.In doing so, the researcher tried to explain on the relevance of information system and strategic planning, in the article, by the introduction of eight tenets acting as guidelines. Thereby, any business organisation would be able to decide the best ways on how to handle the two for operational efficiency of the organizations.Apart from the theoretical account given, further explanations and an exhaustive research should have been brought to attention so as to make clear generalisations thereafter, thus make applicability in any business organisation easier to comprehend and follow.All in all, the message was still passed across by the researcher on the comparisons and differentiation on how different companies, in this case, Company A and Company B, apply the 8 tenets for successful information systems and the strategic planning for operational efficiency. Thereby, enabling an analysis to be done on such a case study.