Lazar Rusu

Business and IT Alignment: An Evaluation of Strategic Alignment Models

The process by which business and IT are brought inline with each other to enhance the performance of business and to achieve business goals is called strategic alignment. Some models have been developed for the assessment of strategic alignment but an evaluation and comparison of capabilities of the models has not been studied due to the absence of a structured evaluation criteria.. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the strategic alignment models, collected through a comprehensive survey. For this purpose, we develop a strategic alignment evaluation framework which is a composition of a number of criteria. We further use this framework for the evaluation of six main alignment models. These models present concrete ways to evaluate strategic business IT-alignment.

Management of IT-enabled change in a public organisation in Tanzania

The implementation of Information Technology (IT) is always associated with organisational change issues and in developing countries this is even more complex due to poorer and less established IT resources and governance. Therefore, our paper has focused to analyse the management of IT-enabled change in a public organisation in Tanzania by using Ward and Elvin framework, and see how these changes affected the organisations performance. The results indicate that, despite the contextual complexity, the IT-enabled change that considers techno-organisational issues, is likely to meet the change objectives. Moreover, using the Ward and Elvin framework we have summarised six main success factors (which are involvement and commitment of top management; engagement of the key stakeholders; alignment of IT and business; developing necessary skills, competence and motivation; institutionalisation of the change process and incorporation of the learning process for adjustment and future intervention) that worth noting for replication to other similar IT-enabled changes.

Information Technology Leadership in Swedish Leading Multinational Corporations

This paper presents a comparative study of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) role, responsibilities, profile and the IT impact in five leading multinational corporations (MNCs) in Sweden. The first part of the paper comprehends a research review regarding the CIO role, responsibilities and barriers that the CIO is facing today in MNCs with references to the European business environment. After that in the second part of the paper a comparative analysis is provided regarding the CIO role, responsibilities and CIO profile using the Sojer et al. model [25] in the Swedish leading MNCs. Moreover the paper is providing in this part an analysis upon if the CIO is adding value by using Earl and Fenny profile [7]. In the last part of the paper an analysis is done concerning the IT impact in the Swedish MNCs by using McFarlan strategic grid framework [20] together with IT strategies used by the CIOs to support the business operations and strategies. The results of this analysis provide a detail overview that can be usefully for Swedish IT executives or top managers about the development of the CIO role, responsibilities and profile.

Strategic Use of Information Technology in Profit and Non-Profit Organizations from Tanzania and Sweden

Organizations have to deal with a dynamic environment such as new technologies, entrepreneurial ideas, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, and regulatory change. A key for a well-functioning company is an efficient and effective strategic use of Information Technology (IT) supporting the business strategies, goals, and needs. It is also referred as Strategic Business and IT Alignment which is interpreted as a continuous process of conscious and coherent interrelation of all components and personnel of the business and the IT in order to contribute to the organization’s performance over time. This paper reports an analysis of the Business and Information Technology Alignment by using Luftman’s Strategic Maturity Assessment Model in case of a Tanzanian Profit Company and a Swedish Non-profit Company where both organizations have an intensive use of Information Technology.

The Strategic Role of IT: A Case Study of Two Swedish Retail Companies

The purpose of this paper is to study how IT can play a strategic role in retail business through a case study research approach of two Swedish companies. The main focus in this research approach is looking to examine: (1) how IT supports business and organizational strategies and (2) how business-IT strategies can be aligned. For this purpose we have applied two evaluation frameworks through which we have analyzed the business, organizational and IT strategies and compared business-IT alignment maturity. Finally, we have concluded with a discussion and suggestions for (a) successful relationship between three business, information and organizational strategies and for (b) improving business-IT strategic alignment that will help the IT decision makers in these retail companies to understand in which areas they should act in order to improve the strategic use of IT resources.

An Analysis of IT-Enabled Change in a Public Organization in Tanzania

The implementation of information technology (IT) is always associated with a series of complex organizational change issues. In developing countries, these issues are even more complex because the IT infrastructure, technology and governance are still poorer and information systems development and associated resources are less established. Therefore in our research paper we have analyzed the IT-enabled change in Tanzania Revenue Authority, a public organization in Tanzania by applying Ward and Elvin framework. Using this framework, we have analyzed the changes from almost paper to computerized-based business operations and how such changes affected the performance of the organization. The results indicate that, although there is some problems related to the maturity of technology deployment in the country and scarcity of resources, the IT-enabled change (that takes into account both technology and organizational issues) is likely to meet the organizational change objectives. Based upon the results arrived from use of the Ward and Elvin framework, we have summarized six main success factors that are worth noting for replication to other similar IT-enabled changes or research programs including the ones focusing to developing countries. It includes involvement and commitment of senior/top management; engagement of the key stakeholders; alignment of IT and business; identifying and developing necessary skills, competence and motivation; institutionalization of the change process; and incorporation of the learning process for adjustment and future intervention. Finally in conclusion, we could notice that the alignment of IT with business is the backbone of any meaningful IT-enabled change process and is illustrated by use of a benefit dependency network schema.