F. Nelson Ford

Executive or functional manager?: The nature of the CIO's job

The role of the chief information officer (CIO)_ continues to be the subject of much discussion and speculation. Is this just a new name for the MIS manager, or is there truly a new and significantly different function? How has the role of the information systems manager evolved with the changing needs of business? How does the CIO bridge the gap between the organizations strategy and its use of information technology?According to much of the prescriptive literature, bridging this gap is the CIOs definitive function. This article addresses these questions by studying five successful CIOs in five divergent industries. The CIOs were studied using the structured observation methodology employed by Mintzberg in his study of CEOs and by Ives and Olson in their study of MIS managers. The findings suggest that the CIO operates as an executive rather than a functional manager. He or she is an active participant in strategy planning and acts as a bridge between the information technology group, the functional areas, and external entities. This study provides a view of how these difficult tasks are accomplished on a day-to-day basis: through scheduled meetings, interaction outside the information technology unit, a skilled reading of situations, and a strategic focus. Factors affecting the CIOs participation in strategy planning meetings include whether he or she has formal are source allocation authority and their level of peer acceptance. Lessons learned from this research pertain to the delegation of day-to-day tasks, expenditure authority, avoiding adversarial relationships, liaison activities, careful use of language, being perceived as a user of information technology, and the need for quiet time.

Information security: management's effect on culture and policy

Purpose – This study proposes to put forward and test a theoretical model that demonstrates the influence of top management support on an organizations security culture and level of security policy enforcement.Design/methodology/approach – The project used a combination of qualitative and quantitative techniques. The grounded theory approach was used to analyze responses to open‐ended questions answered by 220 certified information system security professionals. Using these responses, a survey instrument was developed. Survey results were analyzed using structural equation modeling.Findings – Evidence suggests that top management support is a significant predictor of an organizations security culture and level of policy enforcement.Research limitations/implications – During instrument validation, a special effort removed survey items that appeared overly intrusive to the respondents. In this endeavor, an expert panel of security practitioners evaluated all candidate items on a willingness‐to‐answer scal...

An empirical study of the relationships between IT infrastructure flexibility, mass customization, and business performance

Information technology (IT) infrastructure deserves serious attention from both the practitioner and academic communities, especially concerning the factors for IT infrastructure flexibility. The issue of flexibility is viewed as a critical aspect of IT infrastructure, because organizations are faced with an ever-increasing rate of change in their business environments. One effort most business sectors have made to prepare for this change is the trend toward mass customization. Recently, many organizations have embraced mass customization in an attempt to provide unique value to their customers in a cost-efficient manner.The purpose of this study is to empirically investigate a sequential relationship between IT infrastructure flexibility, mass customization, and business performance. The process involves an investigation of the critical factors for IT infrastructure flexibility, along with the firms mass customization and business performance indicators. The findings of this study provide evidence that integration and modularity of an organizations IT infrastructure facilitate the organizations effort to accommodate mass customization. Additionally, the flexibility of the IT personnel, the human component of IT infrastructure, and mass customization directly affect the organizations business performance.

Intraorganizational Versus Interorganizational Uses and Benefits of Electronic Mail

The success of an organization depends on rapid, reliable, and direct communications within the organization and with the outside world. To determine if electronic mail e-mail provides a competitive benefit, a sample of 99 management-level participants in 41 companies responded to a survey that assessed their intraorganizational internal and interorganizational external uses of e-mail. Through the use of factor analysis and regression methodologies, the researchers investigated whether a significant relationship exists between the internal and external uses and benefits of e-mail. The intraorganizational uses of e-mail indicated a significant and positive relationship with the organizational benefits of e-mail, thus, supporting the electronic exchange of information within organizations.However, the results indicated that interorganizational uses of e-mail did not promote corporate communication outside the company. Thus, managers need to know which communication technology is appropriate for intraorganizational and interorganizational uses.

Information Security Effectiveness: Conceptualization and Validation of a Theory

Taking a sequential qualitative-quantitative methodological approach, we propose and test a theoretical model that includes four variables through which top management can positively influence security effectiveness: user training, security culture, policy relevance, and policy enforcement. During the qualitative phase of the study, we generated the model based on textual responses to a series of questions given to a sample of 220 information security practitioners. During the quantitative phase, we analyzed survey data collected from a sample of 740 information security practitioners. After data collection, we analyzed the survey responses using structural equation modeling and found evidence to support the hypothesized model. We also tested an alternative, higher-order factor version of the original model that demonstrated an improved overall fit and general applicability across the various demographics of the sampled data. We then linked the finding of this study to existing top management support literature, general deterrence theory research, and the theoretical notion of the dilemma of the supervisor.

Expert system support in the textile industry: End product production planning decisions

Abstract The textile industry is slowly developing expert system applications to increase production, improve quality, and reduce costs. Such systems are surfacing in a variety of areas throughout the textile manufacturing process. This paper describes an expert system developed to support an important decision scenario in the textile industry. The scenario concerns a sequence of production planning decisions necessary to produce a specific category of end product. This sequence is described as follows: given the decision to produce a particular type of end product, the appropriate fiber type is chosen; next, the appropriate yarn count group is chosen; next, the appropriate spinning system is chosen; and finally, the appropriate preparation method is chosen. Each decision in the sequence depends on the combination of decisions made in the preceding stages. The resulting system is described and its application is illustrated through the presentation of a sample consultation. The integration of the expert system into a broader environment for textile manufacturing decision support is also discussed.

Simulation in corporate decision making: then and now

We present the results of a 1985 study, which replicates a 1975 study by Cox, Ledbetter, and Smith (1977), and attempt to mea sure the use of simulation modeling to support decision-making in major U.S corporations. Specifically, the purposes of the paper are to (1) measure the development and use of simulation models at all levels of decision-making (operational, tactical, and stra tegic) ; (2) examine the use of simulation within each functional area; (3) identify specific application areas within each functional area where simulation is being used; and (4) compare this studys results with those from the Cox, Ledbetter, and Smith (1977) study.

Impact of Videoconferencing in Teaching an Introductory MIS Course

This research investigates the impact created by the use of videoconferencing technology in a large MIS class where, traditionally, the lecture had been used. The teacher presented a lecture on DSS from his office and collaborated with a colleague on solving a spreadsheet problem. A questionnaire was administered to measure the perceptions of the students. Even though 85 percent of the students who participated in the classes were non-MIS majors, students in the section where videoconferencing was used perceived it to be more useful, challenging, attractive, and clear compared to the section where videoconferencing was not used. The students preferred the videoconferencing method irrespective of their GPA or computer ownership. These results show that desk-top videoconferencing technologies could be effectively used to train those who are not familiar with information technologies. Videoconferencing technologies might show the potential for collaborative work to those workers even though they may not be very familiar with computer hardware and software.

An exploratory analysis of the impact of global telecommunications on electronics manufacturing site selection

The increased cost of doing business domestically and the impact of global competition are two reasons companies establish plants in foreign locations. To have a successful global business, manufacturers must have an effective global supply chain infrastructure, which requires effective information technology. Firms now routinely consider remote domestic and international locations when evaluating potential sites. Many factors must be considered when choosing the right location for manufacturing facilities. These include: physical infrastructure, proximity to suppliers and customers, tax considerations, international trade conditions, and as this research explored, telecommunications infrastructure. This study examined the degree to which the telecommunications infrastructure impacts the decision to select a specific foreign manufacturing site for the organisation. The results of four case studies of electronics firms indicated that telecommunications is a necessity to conduct business. Two of the firms indicated that telecommunications was considered in their most recent site selection. Although the other two firms did not overtly consider telecommunications in the site selection criteria, they did indicate that it is critical to the success of the company in a global market.

Knowledge-based system support for the information center's troubleshooting function

Abstract Knowledge-based systems support for the consulting/troubleshooting function within information centers was investigated. This function is defined and characteristics are identified which make it an appropriate target for knowledge-based systems support. A general architecture for a troubleshooting expert system was developed and its elements are described. A case is described which illustrates the application of an expert system in the provision of troubleshooting service by the information center of a major state university. The results illustrate the impact that such a knowledge-based system approach can have in the troubleshooting area, especially in relation to the efficient utilization of information center personnel.