A CEO View of Key Issues in Australian Information Systems Management - 1997

Abstract

As part of a research programme on key information systems management issues, a survey of Australasia's largest 500 organisations was conducted to identify which issues were perceived by their chief executive officers (CEOs) as being important, problematic and critical over the next three to five years. The results reported are based on a relatively low response rate (though perhaps reasonable for the target group) so should be regarded as only exploratory. The most critical issues were revealed to be a mix of technology management issues (IT infrastructure, disaster recovery), strategic management issues (BPR, competitive advantage, information architecture), people management issues (organisational learning), systems development and data management issues (effective use of the data resource, effectiveness/productivity of IS, effectiveness of software development), and their own support systems (EIS/DSS). This reflects their interest in a wide range of issues, but all with an organisation-wide focus. Non-critical issues were mostly related to the individual technologies and the place and role of IS in the organisation. While the CEOs showed some agreement with their chief information officers (CIOs) on issues such as the IT infrastructure, competitive advantage, and organisational learning some distinct differences exist, particularly in relation to the quality and effectiveness of systems and processes and also how CEOs and CIOs perceive each other.