Senior Information Technology Research Articles

Break Down the Wall Between QA and IT

Break Down the Wall Between QA and IT

IT Organizational Transformation, Knowledge Integration, and IT Assimilation: A Case Study

This paper mainly analyzes how a firm assimilates information technology (IT) into organization work processes by restructuring the IT functions. Knowledge integration and organization coordination theory are used to build a conceptual research model to investigate the IT organizational transformation in Digital China as a case study. Then results indicate that the firm can integrate the individual knowledge of the senior executives, business managers/users, and IT professionals across the firm into the organizational knowledge through the IT organizational transformation, to effectively assimilate the information technology into the organizational business and decision-making processes.

The attribution of success and failure in IT projects

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to determine how project managers attribute information technology (IT) project success and failure.Design/methodology/approachIT personnel from large Australian organisations completed an adapted version of the Attributional Styles questionnaire, which asked them to attribute causes along a number of attribution dimensions, for IT projects which have either succeeded or failed.FindingsThe results indicate that IT support workers attribute failure to external factors, whilst attributing success to themselves. On the other hand, executive management took a more balanced perspective which attribute success to external factors and only partially to themselves, whereas they attribute significant personal responsibility for failure.Practical implicationsMore junior professionals and operational IT employees can learn from their senior professionals in attributing success and failure. Post‐implementation reviews and debriefings conducted by senior IT professionals are ways of passing on their experience in relation to project and self‐evaluations.Originality/valueThis paper takes a well established psychology theory and applies it to the management of information systems (IS)/IT projects. IS/IT research has not examined how IT professionals attribute success and failure within projects.

Technical and management perceptions of enterprise information system importance, implementation and benefits

Abstract. This paper compares information systems (IS) integration in high‐tech organizations from the information technology (IT) and general management perspectives. All the organizations studied have experience of integrated Enterprise Resource Planning systems, and some with their extension to Supply Chain Management and Customer Relationship Management systems. The operational scope of the sample systems, and senior IT and general management perceptions of the importance of their functions, benefits and implementation success factors, obtained by qualitative interviews with 49 senior managers and a quantitative survey of 219 high‐tech companies, are described and compared. Although the opinions expressed indicate some mutual hostility, IT and general management perceptions of IS implementation were very similar. IT managements overall importance assessments of business functions were more strongly correlated with their overall level of implementation, and they tended to rate system benefits and system reliability more highly. The significance of these findings is discussed and some suggestions for further investigation, placing them in a wider context, are made. Arguably, the similarities found are more important than the differences.

An Interview with Doris Hall Senior Vice President and CIO BAX Global, Inc.

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Additional informationNotes on contributorsJaak JurisonDoris Hall is senior vice president, Chief Information Officer (CIO) of BAX Global, a $2.4 billion dollar worldwide logistics and transportation company. Ms. Hall, who joined BAX in early 2000 with extensive supply chain technology experience, has global functional responsibility for the company's information technology, including strategy, enterprise architecture, software development and infrastructure management.At BAX Global, Ms. Hall initially was Vice President, Global Applications. She was promoted to CIO in December of the same year. Prior to BAX Global, she was with Emery Worldwide for eight years as a senior information technology leader. She also worked for a distribution center of James River Corporation as an analyst and spent ten years in IT project and senior manufacturing operations management for the Gardner Denver Mining and Construction division of Cooper Industries. Ms. Hall reports directly to Joseph L. Carnes, President, BAX Global Inc.Jaak Jurison is Associate Professor Emeritus and former Chair for Information and Communications Systems at the Graduate School of Business, Fordham University, New York. Currently he is Visiting Associate Professor at The Paul Merage School of Business, University of California Irvine. He received his MBA degree and doctorate in management from The Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management, Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, California. Prior to entering academia, he was with Rockwell International Corporation, where he served in various management positions. He has published numerous papers and co-edited two books. He has served several years on the Board of Directors of the Society for Information Management's New York Metro Chapter.

What ERP systems can tell us about Sarbanes‐Oxley

PurposeTo provide background for senior and middle management in information technology organizations who may be in the implementation phase of compliance for Sarbanes‐Oxley (SOX). As the information technology (IT) organization looks forward to additional compliance or other IT control frameworks such as COBIT, the paper can help construct a roadmap. Other audiences include senior management, accountants, internal auditors, and academics who may wish to evaluate the impact of SOX on the information technology organization.Design/methodology/approachSOX is surveyed to understand the four major compliance areas that must be supported in the IT organization. Recently published works are integrated into an evaluation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) research to identity several ongoing themes that point to practical advice for implementing SOX. The private sector of US business is saturated with ERP applications and provides a useful benchmark of what to expect with SOX compliance. The sections of this report include: SOX and IT governance; ERP systems: recurring themes; after the initial implementation of SOX; frameworks to support SOX compliance; IT governance and SOX: where we go from here; to best practice and competitive advantage; and conclusion.FindingsCompetencies in several related core disciplines including project management, change management, and software integration should be the top priority for SOX implementation. Enterprise architecting and related areas such as security and outsourcing can be managed more effectively with the appropriate competencies.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors' observations are based on several research reports but are not exhaustive, and are not specific to a particular industry.Originality/valueThe content is a very useful source of information for senior management, IT management, accountants, auditors, and academics to understand the impact of SOX on the IT organization and how to develop a roadmap to respond.

How Good Is the Professional's Aptitude in the Conceptual Understanding of Change Management?

As information technology (IT) functions and their professionals become partners in managing the information resource of the organization, contributors to the strategic planning process and major players in the business, rather than appendages which can be outsourced, new skills and competencies are needed for IT personnel. In particular, the proposition that IT specialists will have to function more like change agents has been echoed by a number of writers. However, there has been no prior empirical research that explicitly measures the degree of knowledge that IT specialists possess about fundamental concepts in the management of change in organizations. The present study offers to fill that gap. Data were collected using a survey instrument, the Managing Change Questionnaire, which was mailed to over 2,200 Canadian IT specialists. Of the sample, 18% returned completed questionnaires. ANOVA and t-test were used to identity differences among categories of respondents. Overall, IT practitioners’ scores were acceptable but not particularly impressive. Results indicate that most IT specialists could pass the test regarding their knowledge of the concepts underlying organizational change management, and in the techniques needed to implement such a process, but they were not outstanding in that knowledge. Further, senior IT managers and systems/business analysts demonstrated a better grasp of many of the issues inherent in organizational change efforts than did technical personnel. Implications of these results for research as well as practice and educational programs in IT are discussed.

Integrating IT into the radiology environment.

Rather than perpetuating the struggle, "who controls the PACS, Radiology or Information Technology (IT)," Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula (CHOMP) took the approach of incorporating IT support within the Radiology Department. CHOMP faced the challenge of staffing Radiology computer systems and networks by using a two-pronged approach; promoting and training clinical staff in IT functions and transferring an experienced IT person into the Radiology Department. Roles and responsibilities are divided. CHOMP's IT Department supports the Radiology Department's desktop devices, PCs, printers, and standard peripherals; while the department's DICOM print and archive network, specialized hardware (e.g., Merge DICOM interface computers), and applications are supported by the Radiology Department. The IT Department provides operating system support for multi-user VMS, Unix, and NT-based systems, e.g. Sun Solaris for the DICOM archive, and Windows NT for Mitra PACS Broker, the HL7/DICOM interface engine. IT also supports network communications, i.e., network electronics (routers, switches, etc.), TCP/IP communications, and network traffic analysis; and OS operations support for major Radiology systems, e.g. back-ups and off-site tape storage. Radiology staff provides applications support and troubleshooting, including analyst functions for RIS; and are the first point of contact with the Radiology systems vendors, e.g., GE Medical, or Siemens. The Radiology Department's senior IT person, the Clinical Technology Coordinator, transferred from CHOMP's IT Department after 7 years in that department. She performs analysis and design associated with Radiology's computer systems, coordinates development of the department's strategic plan, evaluates vendor proposals, and assists the department with product and application selection. Her IT experience and growing knowledge of Radiology's clinical tasks enhances communications between the Radiology and IT departments. Formal meetings between the two departments are held monthly; informal and project-related meetings and discussion are frequent and vital to the continued good relationship between them. When CHOMP either upgrades or replaces its DICOM archive, and Radiology becomes completely filmless, the vendor's contract will include an on-site vendor-supplied picture archiving and communications systems support person for at least 6 months after deployment, to insure a better knowledge transfer. Having an on-site support person would have reduced the number of technical challenges the Radiology Department has faced over the past 2 years. Finding and maintaining qualified staff versed in both IT and Radiology has been and will continue to be difficult. A blend of IT and Radiology support staff and open communication between the departments is working for CHOMP.

Mimetic Isomorphism and Technology Evaluation: Does Imitation Transcend Judgment?

Although contemporary technology adoption theories incorporate societal norms or peer references, it is unclear to what extent these factors influence choices. In this research, we apply institutional theory and the concept of mimetic isomorphism as peer influences to the technology evaluation process to determine the degree to which managers conform when selecting between competing information technologies. More specifically, we test if peer influence is sufficient to overcome a product evaluation where the choice is believed to be inferior. An experiment is conducted using the World Wide Web and a national sample of 348 senior information technology and business decision makers. Significant effects are found where inferior technologies are selected if respondents are informed that competitors have selected them. Further research is warranted to investigate the presence and extent of these effects but overall implications are that product evaluations may be more ornamental than substantive.

IT governance and management in large Australian organisations

This paper presents the result of a study on the governance and management of information technology (IT) in large Australian organisations. The study consisted of a questionnaire survey that was mailed to the most senior IT officer within the organisation. The respondents were categorised into three groups based on the intensity with which the company uses information, namely high tier, medium tier and low tier industries. The findings are compared between these three groups and show some interesting differences. The results are also compared with the findings from two other recent studies. Based on the results, the paper presents recommendations for companies in the high, medium and low tier industries.

Recruiting and retaining scarce information technology talent: a focus group study

Notes that it has become fiercely competitive to recruit and retain information technology (IT) talent in today’s tight labor market. Cites two main reasons for IT skills shortages. First, the number of students graduating in the USA with bachelor’s degrees in computer science declined more than 40 percent in recent years. Forecasts are that this trend will grow even more during the next few years. Second, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for trained IT employees has increased in the past few years. The predicted labor shortage for skilled IT staff will be increasing by 1.3 million by year 2005. This labor crisis has forced companies to develop new strategies specifically to address recruitment and retention of scarce IT specialists. Describes effective recruitment and retention practices, as described by participants in this study, with the goal being to provide useful information to other employers of IT specialists. The information used in this study was based on an intensive focus group study conducted with senior IT managers and recruiters from a number of local companies in the Pacific Northwest.

Getting a life at work: developing people beyond role boundaries

This article explores how managers adopt role‐oriented behaviours at work, often losing sight thereby of their values and personality. We refer to interview‐based research into the stereotype of the information technology (IT) manager as a clear example of a role which is technical in its nature, and consequently potentially lacking in flexibility and the ability to work with ambiguity which characterises organisational politics. This is supported by a case study of a course for senior IT managers which provides insights into how their initially naïve views of organisational politics can be changed by refocusing their attention upon themselves as people, and away from their roles as IT managers. We conclude that better interpersonal development for senior IT managers will make them more effective at board level, and enable businesses to better exploit IT, and gain significant benefits which many are missing.

The Influence of IT Management Practice on IT Use in Large Organizations

This paper draws upon the absorptive capacity as the theoretical basis for a pragmatic explanation of key factors affecting information technology (IT) use in large, complex organizations. IT use is defined as the extent to which an organization deploys IT to support operational and strategic tasks. The study uses results from a survey of senior IT managers from 132 firms to examine hypothesized relationships among the following constructs: IT management climate, managerial IT knowledge, IT-management-process effectiveness, and IT use. A structural-equation model is developed using LISREL to assess the relative effects of and interrelationships among these constructs. The study's findings indicate that managerial IT knowledge is a dominant factor in explaining high levels of IT use and that both managerial IT knowledge and IT-management-process effectiveness are influenced by IT management climate.

Auditing Information Centers

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Additional informationNotes on contributorsJohn EicherJohn Eicher, CISA, is a teaching fellow at the University of Houston-University Park. He received a BS in business computer information systems from the University of Houston-Downtown. Eicher also is a computer consultant with Elite Computer Consultants in Houston. He has held senior positions in the operations area of several Houston financial institutions. Eicher assisted in the editing and rewriting of the 1998 edition of EDPAA's Control Objectives and has held several positions in its Houston Chapter.Charles DavisCharles Davis, CISA, directs the computer information systems program at the University of Houston-Downtown. He received a PhD in management information systems from the University of Houston, masters degrees from Harvard and Columbia, and a BS from Oklahoma State. Davis has held senior information technology positions with several major US organizations. He has served as regional director for the ASM, as chairman of the Houston Chapter of the Computer Measurement Group, and as a member of American National Standards Institute's Technical Committee on Data Communications. Davis was EDPAA's Director of Research from 1991 to 1993.

Technology Issues Facing Corporate Management in the 1990s

This article discusses major issues raised by the authors and several senior information technology executives in large corporations that affect the way technology is introduced and used in major corporations. These issues and (primary causes of change) are likely to have the most significant impact on the management of information technology within corporations now and in the future. If these drivers are acknowledge as real (or validated by research as real), then the understanding of their impacts on both corporate organization and technology management would very much benefit by research. This article suggests some of the directions such research could take. The article is essentially a preview from the top of the intertwining of business, industrial operations, and technology management for the next five to ten years. Most of the issues, and their consequences, are subject to continuing research by the President's Council of the Society for Information Management.