Del DeVries : Strategic IT Articles

Strategic IT articles in Harvard Business Review and Sloan Management Review (within the past year)

It is time to update some of my teaching materials on strategic IT. These 2 journals are a great place to start. The Executive Summaries in HBR are excellent tools to quickly scan "in detail" the contents of an issue. EBSCO Research database search string =

JN "Harvard Business Review" AND TI executive summaries

Mastering the Three Worlds of Information Technology., By: McAfee, Andrew, Harvard Business Review, Nov2006, Vol. 84, Issue 11

There are three categories of IT, each of which provides different organizational capabilities–and demands very different kinds of management interventions

Letter to the Editor & Response - By: Dearstyne, Bruce W., Harvard Business Review, Feb2007, Vol. 85, Issue 2

Function IT - technologies for increasing the efficiency of tasks such as personal tools for word process, spreadsheets, and data analysis. Enhances experimentation and improves precision of results.
Network IT - applications for communication between individuals which facilitate collaboration and allow expression of opinions
Enterprise IT - applications that restructure the interaction between employees and business partners. Includes redeisgn business processes, standardize workflows, efficient monitoring of activities and events

Information Technology and the Board of Directors., By: Nolan, Richard, McFarlan, F. Warren, Harvard Business Review, Oct2005, Vol. 83, Issue 10

Board practices for monitoring technology investments vary widely and often wildly. As technology's cost, complexity, and consequences grow, directors need a framework to develop IT policies that fit the companies they oversee.

Letters to the Editor & Response - Harvard Business Review, Feb2006, Vol. 84, Issue 2

Give Me That Real-Time Information., By: McGee, Ken, Harvard Business Review, Apr2004, Vol. 82, Issue 4

It's not hard to head off disasters before they happen. You just have to know what to look for

Finishing Off IT, H. A. Marquis, Sloan Management Review, Summer 2006, Vol. 47, No. 4, pp. 12-15

re-examines the role of IT as a commodity and considers whether IT can still be used to provide strategic advantage. In discussing regulation, outsourcing relationships and corporate dependence on IT, this article further clarifies the argument that IT will soon be handled by larger corporate utilities.

The Transforming Power of Complementary Assets, Alan Hughes and Michael S. Scott Morton, Sloan Management Review, Summer 2006, Vol. 47, No. 4, pp. 50-58.

Successful companies recognize that information technology can fundamentally alter the very nature of work. Such a transformation, however, often requires that an organization rethink its corporate strategy and remake its basic structure and processes.

References interviews with Schneider International related to GPS and satellite tracking for dispatch, customer service for delivery times, driver availability, and altering pickup and drop-off locations. These examples show the benefits from organizations adapting structures, processes and culture. Thus, complementary assets (to support IT) such as people skills, new organizational structures and new work processes can transform existing business services into new products that can continue to evolve into additional new services. This continued innovation and complementary fit with IT can create a unique competitive advantage.

Proven Practices for Effectively Offshoring IT Work, Joseph W. Rottman and Mary C. Lacity, Sloan Management Review, Spring 2006, Vol. 47, No. 3, pp. 56-63

... identify 15 emerging best practices in dealing with offshore suppliers of IT throughout each of the phases of development. ... Overall, offshore outsourcing can deliver on its promises, but it takes a tremendous amount of detailed management on both the client and supplier sides.

Generating Premium Returns on Your IT Investments, Peter Weill and Sinan Aral, Sloan Management Review, Winter 2006, Vol. 47, No. 2, pp. 39-48

... investing the right amounts in the right IT asset classes is only the first step — IT portfolio management techniques must be complemented by a suite of interlocking business practices and processes collectively labeled “IT savvy.” ... a tangible IT savvy premium: ... higher net profits and other performance gains for IT-savvy companies in the year following their investments in key IT asset categories.

Companies cited: 7-Eleven Japan, Amazon.com, Raytheon, Carlson Companies, UPS, Eli Lilly and Mohegan Sun.

Evolving From Information to Insight, Glover Ferguson, Sanjay Mathur and Baiju Shah, Sloan Management Review, Winter 2005, Vol. 46, No. 2, pp. 51–58

Business leaders often believe their organizations are swamped with business process information, but that information is a relative trickle, say the authors, compared with the wealth of physical-world, biological, public and personal-preference data that is being made accessible by powerful technologies. The sheer quantity of all this information is unprecedented, but so is the complexity of working with it.

Provides the motivation for understanding data analysis to get to understanding. Company examples include: Best Buy, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., Ford Motor Co., the Irish government, Payless ShoeSource, UPS and Walgreens. To get ahead of this information companies must move quickly and must address how to increase data gathering / accessing new forms of data while simultaneously building the capability to process the data for insight.

Management

What Your LEADER Expects of You., By: Bossidy, Larry, Harvard Business Review, Apr2007, Vol. 85, Issue 4

And what you should expect in return

1. What the boss expects

Get involved
Generate ideas
Be willing to collaborate
Be willing to lead initiatives
Develop leaders as you develop
Stay current
Anticipate
Drive your own growth
Be a player for all seasons

2. What to expect from your boss

Clarity of direction
Set goals and objectives
Give frequent, specific, and immediate feedback
Be decisive and timely
Be accessible
Demonstrate honesty and candor
Offer equitable compensation

3. Performance appraisal

simple format
direct, not vague
What I like
What can improve

Business Processes

The Process Audit., By: Hammer, Michael, Harvard Business Review, Apr2007, Vol. 85, Issue 4

A new framework, as comprehensive as it is easy to apply, is helping companies plan and execute process-based transformations. The Process and Enterprise Maturity Model (PEMM), is a new framework to review and assess process-based transformation efforts.

five process enablers…

Design: The specification of the process.
Performers: The people, particularly in terms of skills and knowledge.
Owner: A senior executive responsibile for both the process and the results.
Infrastructure: Information and management systems that support the process.
Metrics: Performance measures.

…and four enterprise capabilities.

Leadership: senior level
Culture: values
Expertise: process redesign skills
Governance: project and change management mechanisms

Ethics

The Ethical Mind., Harvard Business Review, Mar2007, Vol. 85, Issue 3

A Conversation with Psychologist Howard Gardner. It's not enough to espouse high standards. To live up to them - and help others do the same - requires an ethical cast of mind that lets you practice your principles consistently.

Tags: Strategic IT - Ethics - Business Processes - Management

3-27-2007

Back to Blog Notes-March 2007

If you give someone a program, you will frustrate them for a day; if you teach them how to program, you will frustrate them for a lifetime.

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