IT Leaders: Reinventing IT as a strategic Business Partner

1)      What are the business and political challenges that are likely to occur as a result of transformation of IT from support activity to a partner role? Use examples from the case to illustrate your answer.

Changes are very critical so it’s very hard to manage a change. When an organization thinks about making a change then it has to face several challenges. Information technology with just 40 years of history has been integral part of organization. It used to be a supporting activity for the functioning of an organization, but as result of transformation of IT in recent years, from support activity to a partner role, it has been the .... Click below to read all questions Answers

backbone of an organization. This transformation has helped organization from decision making to implementation and maintenance of that decision. But along with this there are several challenges that come around. Among which business and political challenges are discussed below.

Business challenges

·         To produce goods efficiently and at a lower costs.

·         To increase sales and service facilities of the products at the highest possible margins.

·         To create new products and services.

·         Reinvention of business and designing completely different business models.

              Political challenges

·         Changing the traditional work pattern.

·         Issues of cost and taxes.

·         Development along with advancement.

2)      What implications does this shift in the strategic outlook of IT have for traditional IT workers and for the educational institutions that train them? How does this change the emphasis on what knowledge and skills the IT person of the future should have?

Traditionally, IT was very specific. Within IT as well the one who is aware about operational activities of an IT was never concerned about hardware portion of it. But now the time has changed and IT worker should not only know about the information technologies but also should know about all the aspects of organization.

In order to maintain their career traditional IT workers should develop ability to learn about every single segment of organization, where IT exists and should prepare them to make the best out of the IT provided in order to make worthy decisions in management and strategic level. IT is no more just a technical field, a managerial and operational function comes along with it so, IT workers should come being more responsible towards the organization and it’s every aspect.

Educational institutions who train them should make the teaching more elaborate and practical. They should focus in increasing both the technological and managerial skill of an individual, So that training can be effective in real working environment. Overall organizational knowledge and skill to use and analyze information technology in every aspects of organization should be taught by such educational institutions. Because Future IT person should have ability to find out creative ideas and strategies in order to operate and grow by making the efficient and effective use of information technology.

3)      To what extent do you agree with the idea that technology is embedded about everything a company does? Provide examples, other than those included in the case, of recent product introduction that could not have been possible without heavy reliance on IT.

Every organization follows certain way of collecting information, keeping those information’s and using that at the time of need. From telephone to sophisticated processing media everything falls under the title, Information Technology. Every aspect of organization uses information technology to make the systematic and accurate records. From production to marketing and sales to service information technology plays vital role in today’s business organizations. So we cannot deny that information technology is used in almost every aspects of organization.

Currently Kumari bank launched its new service package, Mobile cash. Here a costumer can only use this service of buying and paying only through mobile phones and organization as well has to maintain high network of information technology that facilitates the transaction. Idea and availability of this service provided by the bank is totally based on the information technology. Without the information technology this service cannot be used as well as delivered.

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