<\/p>\n
Please read the case and answer 4 questions at the end:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Forrester, NMSU, Exante Financial Services, and Others: Getting Real about Strategic Planning.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
It must be nice to be the CIO of a FedEx, or a GE, or a<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Credit Suisse, where IT and the business are so tightly<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
aligned you can barely tell the two apart. In such companies,<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
corporate leaders understand that IT is a strategic asset<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
and support it as such. These are places where the CIO is<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
encouraged to spend the majority of his time on the Big Picture.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
If one works in that kind of IT Wonderland, getting a<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
good strategic plan down on paper is probably a snap.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The vast majority of CIOs, however, work in places where<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
the business itself may not have a clearly articulated strategy.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
In such companies, corporate leaders don\u2019t care too much for<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
IT, much less value it strategically. These are places where the<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
CIO\u2019s time is devoured by day-to-day operations and there\u2019s<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
little time left to look beyond the next few months. If one lives<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
with that kind of tactical IT reality, getting a good strategic<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
plan down on paper is practically impossible.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
For most CIOs, putting together an IT strategic plan\u2014<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
that annual road map to guide IT through the next 12 months<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
and beyond\u2014is dauntingly hard. Although the odds may be<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
stacked against the average CIO, the truth is that those IT<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
leaders who don\u2019t master the art of strategic planning won\u2019t<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
last long. \u201cThe purpose of the IT strategic plan is to improve<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
the business-IT relationship. A CIO needs it to communicate<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
with the business, to tell them that he understands the company\u2019s<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
needs and to set expectations,\u201d says Alex Cullen, Forrester<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Research vice president and research director.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cA CIO can\u2019t succeed without it.\u201d Michael Jones, CIO of<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
the National Marrow Donor Program, calls it \u201cthe business<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
case for IT.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The cardinal rule in developing an IT strategy is to<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
connect it to the business strategy. \u201cThe business should<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
have desired outcomes\u2014market share gains, higher customer<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
satisfaction levels, shortened cycle times,\u201d says independent<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
IT analyst Laurie Orlov. \u201cIT has to figure out<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
where they factor into that.\u201d Yet for all the whining CIOs<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
have had to endure about how IT needs to be more strategic,<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
the businesses they support are often in even more dire<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
strategic straits. \u201cBusinesses very often don\u2019t have a strategy.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Or they do, but it\u2019s very high-level and vague. Or they reserve<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
the right to change it. Or they have some strategies,<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
but they don\u2019t apply to all the business activities taking<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
place,\u201d says Forrester\u2019s Cullen.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
So, CIOs who operate in strategy-free organizations are<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
off the hook, right? Wrong. \u201cIt\u2019s the ultimate cop-out for<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
CIOs to say they can\u2019t do an IT strategy because the business<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
doesn\u2019t have an articulated strategy,\u201d says Orlov. Fuzzy<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
business goals present a challenge, but smart CIOs should<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
see that as an opportunity. \u201cPeople in the business are very<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
focused on operations or other minutiae,\u201d says Dave Aron,<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
vice president and research director for Gartner Executive<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Programs. \u201cIT can help the business articulate what will<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
help it win and how IT fits into that. Then you go from just<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
being an order taker to actually influencing overall strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael Hites knew the lack of vision at New Mexico<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
State University (NMSU) would be a challenge. \u201cIf you<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
don\u2019t have the highest level plan in place, even the best IT<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
strategic plan won\u2019t work,\u201d explains Hites.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen it; I\u2019ve lived it.\u201d When he became CIO in<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
2003, NMSU\u2019s plan was no different from any other school\u2019s.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
So Hites\u2019s first IT strategic plan was standard and risk-averse.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
IT plodded along doing good work but nothing particularly<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
strategic. In the absence of a more ambitious university plan,<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
there was nothing to anchor a real IT strategy, says Hites. \u201cIf<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
you stick your neck out [in that environment], the university<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
may or may not be behind you,\u201d he notes.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then a funny thing happened. After several years of<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
bugging people about the lack of a strategic plan for the university,<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hites was put in charge of strategic planning for the<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
entire university and named vice president of planning and<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
technology.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hites and his team have lots of great ideas\u2014about $15<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
million worth of them, he says\u2014but his organization is<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cfunded to the tune of half a million a year.\u201d The question<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
he\u2019s faced with each year is \u201chow to spend that little bit to do<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
something strategic. If the university has the \u2018mom-and\u2013<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
apple-pie\u2019 strategy of \u2018helping students succeed\u2019 or \u2018increasing<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
research,\u2019 anything you do is going to foster those objectives.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
And you can never be sure you\u2019re making the right choices.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
But if a university steps out on a limb and says, \u2018We will have<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
best online education program in criminal justice in world,\u2019<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
then that becomes the strategic focus,\u201d says Hites.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt can be appropriate for the CIO to help push business<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
along in terms of strategy,\u201d says Forrester vice president and<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
principal analyst Bobby Cameron. That doesn\u2019t necessarily<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
mean the CIO takes on a second full-time job.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
When Kelly Clark joined Exante Financial Services, a<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
financial services provider for the health care industry, he<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
wanted to change the IT strategic planning process.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGenerally, it\u2019s done at the end of the year,\u201d explains<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Clark. \u201cYou look at the budget, see you have X number of<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
dollars, and figure out what you can do. It\u2019s reactive.\u201d Clark<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
wanted a proactive process, a \u201cbusiness overlay that said,<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018here\u2019s what the market is looking for, here\u2019s what we have,<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
here\u2019s what we need.\u2019 \u201d Exante had a business road-mapping<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
process but no business and systems strategy, so Clark told<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
his CEO and CFO they needed one\u2014and they bought it.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo off we went,\u201d says Clark. \u201cWe created an enterprise strategic<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
plan and IT became a piece of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bethesda Lutheran Homes and Services (BLHS), a<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
faith-based provider of services for individuals with developmental<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
disabilities, was a couple of years into a five-year organizational<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
strategic plan when Brian Tennant became its<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
CIO. The plan, however, was strategic in name only. \u201cIt was<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
generic: Be the best and grow by this amount,\u201d recalls Tennant.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it was unclear why they picked the growth<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
number or how they would measure it. And they hadn\u2019t paid<\/p>\n
much attention to whether it was on track. Nothing was<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
grounded in reality.\u201d Frankly, that didn\u2019t matter much to<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tennant at first. BLHS had acquired Good Shepherd Communities,<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
based in Orange County, California, in 2005. It<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
increased its size by two-thirds, and there was a \u201cwhole pile<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
of modernization to do,\u201d recalls Tennant, including adjusting<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
the core ERP system. Even with an overarching business<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
strategy, IT\u2019s mission was clear: Integrate and upgrade.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now that all that work is wrapping up, Tennant knows<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
it\u2019s time to create a plan to guide his department of 10<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
through the next three to five years. But Tennant is not waiting<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
for the 105-year-old organization to come up with a new<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
five-year plan specific enough to guide IT; he\u2019s helping<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
shape it. \u201cI see myself as a member of the senior management<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
team who just happens to be in charge of IT,\u201d says<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tennant. \u201cSo I\u2019m taking the opportunity to weigh in early<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
and weigh in on all disciplines, not just my own.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Senior leaders, Tennant included, are vetting the new<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
plan with the board, operating divisions, donors, and families<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
of those to whom they provide aid. The goal is to create what<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
they\u2019re calling \u201cstrategic positioning statements,\u201d such as attracting<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
a younger demographic as donors or expanding services<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
or creating financial stability. \u201cI\u2019m already starting to<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
think about how IT will fit into those goals,\u201d says Tennant.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Exante\u2019s Clark says that if strategic planning is important,<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
IT needs to put its money where its mouth is. \u201cOften<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
the problem is financial,\u201d Clark says. \u201cEverything is focused<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
on capital expenses.\u201d Clark says he has invested in people<\/p>\n
and processes to make sure the IT strategic plan remains a<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
priority. \u201cYou need a dedicated team,\u201d he says. \u201cMost organizations<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
don\u2019t assign IT strategic planning to someone as<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
a full-time job. Hence it doesn\u2019t become a discipline; it becomes<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
a burden.\u201d Clark made strategic planning the fulltime<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
responsibility of his directors. \u201cOnce the positions were<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
open,\u201d he says, \u201cwe found people were itching to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone in IT should be thinking about IT strategy<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
most of the time,\u201d agrees Orlov. \u201cAnd their job the rest of<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
the time should be making sure they\u2019re connected to everything<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
that\u2019s going on in the business.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
If an IT leader can set aside extra time now, the theory is<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
that strategic planning will become an organic part of the<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
company\u2019s life and interactions. It will no longer be like a<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
series of appointments that you\u2019d just as soon cancel\u2014and it<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
will get easier.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you did a strategic plan for the first time last year,<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
you\u2019ll find that this year it takes less time. And next year will<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
be even better,\u201d says Cullen. \u201cYou can focus more time on<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
discussions with people and less time on the mechanics of<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
putting it together. It could even become the part you like<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
best about your job because that\u2019s where you can talk about<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
what you want to do and why it matters to the organization.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
It could be fun\u2014which is why strategic planning isn\u2019t<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
really like a root canal. Root canals have no fun parts.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
QUESTIONS:<\/p>\n
1.<\/strong>Consider statements made in the case about business<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n often not having an overarching business strategy that<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n can serve as guidance for the development of a strategy<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n for IT.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 2.<\/strong>How is it possible that companies get by without some<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n sort of stable and clear direction? What does this tell<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n you about the business and industry environment in<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n which they operate?<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 3.<\/strong>Dave Aron of Gartner notes that in some cases the<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n lack of clear business strategy provides an opportunity<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n for IT leaders to step in and help articulate it and the<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n role IT will play in the new strategy. This sounds like<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n a good thing for IT people. What is the downside of<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n being in this situation?<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 4<\/strong>. Why do you think IT\u2019s success is dependent on the<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n overall business strategy of an organization? Why must<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n they be tied together ? Provide several reasons.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Please read the case and answer 4 questions at the end: \u00a0 Forrester, NMSU, Exante Financial Services, and Others: Getting Real about Strategic Planning. \u00a0\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10601,10596,10882,479,537,172,478,10597,10599,10595],"tags":[10524,10522,10890,10561,10883,10889,10515,10521,10696,10518,10888,10887,10886,10885,10884,10525],"class_list":["post-124732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-assignment-help-by-uks-no-1-writing-service","category-assignment-writers-canada-university-cost","category-free-ai-english-assignment-writers-china","category-nursing-course-hero","category-nursing-essay-pro","category-nursing-study-bay","category-nursing-study-pool","category-professional-assignment-writers-usa","category-uae-1-cheap-assignment-writing-service","category-write-a-word-essay","tag-apa-citation-format-assignment","tag-assignment-writers-australia-college-student","tag-best-nursing-case-study-writing-services","tag-buy-essay-usa","tag-case-study-nursing-writing-services-for-care-plans","tag-free-nursing-case-study-writing-services","tag-help-write-a-page-assignment","tag-i-need-someone-to-do-my-assignment-within-hours","tag-need-assistance-completing-the-assignment","tag-need-to-write-an-essay","tag-nursing-case-studies-with-answers","tag-nursing-case-study-paper-example","tag-nursing-case-study-template-examples-of-case-studies-nursing","tag-pharmacology-case-study","tag-soap-note-case-study","tag-write-pages"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.studyproessays.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124732","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.studyproessays.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.studyproessays.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.studyproessays.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.studyproessays.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124732"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.studyproessays.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124732\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.studyproessays.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.studyproessays.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.studyproessays.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}