Relationship Between Business Plan & Information Systems Plan

It is quite difficult to answer the question because when searched in the internet using the keywords, the exact answers are hard to find. However, I found a related study which I hope can answer the problem.

The said research is entitled Differences in Stage of Integration between Business Planning and Information System Planning according to value configurations by Petter Gottschalk and Hans Solli-Sæther of Norwegian School of Management BI, Sandvika, Norway. It is concerned with how stages of integration between strategic business and IS planning are related to different value configurations and eras of IS growth. The aim of the study is to investigate how and Information System planning is integrated with business planning.

Integration between Information System planning and business planning is considered to play a significant impact on the extent of information systems involvement to organizational performance. It is an important enabler of business-IS alignment. The content analysis of IS plans is conducted to identify stages of integration. The companies were also classified according to value configurations and eras of IS growth.

The word planning is used in the literature in many and various meanings: as future thinking, as controlling the future, as decision making, as integrated decision making, and as a formalized procedure to produce an articulated result, in the form of an integrated system of decisions (Mintzberg 1994). In this paper, a planning approach is defined as strategic decision making through a rational process that allows managers to formulate and document strategies. The aim of this study was not to do process research, but rather to investigate how IS planning (ISP) is integrated with business planning (BP).

Business planning is usually conducted when starting a new organization or a new major venture, for example, new product, service or program. Essentially, a business plan is a combination of a marketing plan, strategic plan, operational/management plan and a financial plan. Far more important than the plan document, is the planning process itself.

Business planning usually includes a thorough examination of the idea for a new product/service, if there's really a market for it, who the competitors are, how the idea is uniquely positioned to be competitive and noticeable, how the idea will be produced to a product/service, how much it will cost, how it will be promoted, what overall goals must be accomplished, how the development and ongoing operations will be managed and what resources are needed (including money). As noted above, a business plan is a combination of a marketing plan, financial plan, strategic plan and a operational/management plan. Here are a variety of perspectives. (McNamara, 1998-2007)

The information systems plan is the plan by which databases and information systems of the enterprise are accomplished in a timely manner. A key facility through which the ISP obtains its Adata@ is the meta data repository. The domain of the meta data repository is set forth in Figure 1, and, as seen through Figure 1, persons through their role within an organization perform functions in the accomplishment of enterprise missions, they have information needs. These information needs reflect the state of certain enterprise resources such as finance, people, and products that are known to the enterprises. The states are created through business information systems and databases.

The information systems plan project determines the sequence for implementing specific information systems. The goal of the strategy is to deliver the most valuable business information at the earliest time possible in the most cost-effective manner.
The end product of the information systems project is an information systems plan (ISP). Once deployed, the information systems department can implement the plan with confidence that they are doing the correct information systems project at the right time and in the right sequence. The focus of the ISP is not one information system but the entire suite of information systems for the enterprise. Once developed, each identified information system is seen in context with all other information systems within the enterprise.
IT projects are accomplished within distinct development environments. The two most common are: discrete project and release. The discrete project environment is typified by completely encapsulated projects accomplished through a water-fall methodology.
In release environments, there are a number of different projects underway by different organizations and staff of varying skill levels. Once a large number of projects are underway, the ability of the enterprise to know about and manage all the different projects degrades rapidly. That is because the project management environment has been transformed from discrete encapsulated projects into a continuous flow process of product or functionality improvements that are released on a set time schedule. Figure 3 illustrates the continuous flow process environment that supports releases. The continuous flow process environment is characterized by:
• Multiple, concurrent, but differently scheduled projects against the same enterprise resource
• Single projects that affect multiple enterprise resources
• Projects that develop completely new capabilities, or changes to existing capabilities within enterprise resources

Value configuration can be defined as an organization of activities, resources, and technologies, in order to create firm level competitive advantage. Our assumption is that there exist three basic value creation logics. Based on this assumption, this paper discusses differences in stages of integration between businesses and IS planning according to companies’ value configurations, and attempts to relate these differences to eras of IS growth.

Today many companies make large investments in information systems (IS) (Earl and Feeny 1994). Yet executives often question the business-IS alignment, namely whether these investments support their strategic objectives or whether opportunities to exploit IS for competitive advantage are being overlooked (Henderson and Venkatraman 1993).

There are both enablers and inhibitors of business-IS alignment (Luftman, Papp et al. 1999) and one area considered important for improved alignment is integration of strategic business and IS planning (Teo and Ang 1999).

Strategic alignment is said to be present when:

i) business strategies are enabled, supported, and stimulated by information strategies (Broadbent and Weill 1993);

ii) the goals and activities of the business are in harmony with the information systems that support them (Woolfe 1993);

iii) information systems support organizational goals and activities at every level (Lederer and Mendelow 1989); and

iv) choices within content and process dimensions of IS planning are mutually supportive and the two dimensions themselves are harmonized in a manner that is consistent with competitive strategy (Das, Zahra et al. 1991).

Integration between business planning and information systems planning is one important enabler of business-IS alignment (Teo and King 1997; Luftman, Papp et al. 1999; Teo and Ang 1999). Teo and King (1997) found a significant positive relationship between the level of business and IS planning integration and the extent of information systems contribution to organizational performance.

King and Teo (1997) have suggested a stages of integration model for the evolution of integration between strategic business and IS planning. The first stage is a separate planning with administrative integration characterized by the integration mechanisms such as a technically oriented and non-strategic role of the IS function. The second is a one-way linked planning with sequential integration characterized by integration mechanisms such as performance criteria of business strategy contribution. The third is a two-way linked planning with reciprocal integration such as frequent IS executive participation in business planning. The fourth is joint planning with full integration.

Nolan’s (1973) theory, perhaps the best-known and most widely cited model of IS evolution of in organizations, provides an insight into the way IS evolves in organizations and offers IS management the possibility of managing this complex phenomenon. The model describing the theory does not appear in the literature as a single model, but rather as a number of versions of the same model, which have evolved over time (Khandelwal and Ferguson 1999). For example, the model has been expanded in the form of three S-curves, each curve describing an era, with a discontinuity between the preceding and the following eras. The three eras are identified as data processing (DP) era, information technology (IT) era, and network (NW) era. These eras are themselves subdivided into three phases each as shown in Table 3. The curves represent both the growth of the IS and the organization’s learning experience as IS progresses through these eras. Each era is characterized by a period of evolution, followed by a period of stability, ending with a period of discontinuity before the start of the next era. The discontinuity is more a revolution rather than an evolutionary transition. For example, the transition from DP era to IT era is characterized by technological discontinuities in the form of personal computers, data communication networks, and robotics, while the transition from IT era to NW era is characterized by business discontinuities in the form of strategic alliances with customers and suppliers, access to external data, and outsourcing.

Typically, value chains transform input into output (products) using a long-linked technology. Scale and capacity utilization are key cost drivers. For each basic activity in the business value system the effort of IS is to improve products and production processes. Information systems are developed to support the activities in the value chain: accounting systems, production planning and control systems, marketing and sales systems. A typical example of administrative integration between BP and ISP was the plan for a food producer: IT can assist business processes in realizing and exploiting solutions for value creation. Value chains belong to the IT era as indicated by their technology use and stage of planning integration.

Value shops rely on an intensive technology to solve a customer or client problem. Selection, combination, and order of application of resources and activities vary according to the problem at hand. The development and use of IS, such as diagnostics, simulations, project management tools, and collaborative technologies, is first of all to support or assist the solution of unique problems. A typical example of administrative integration between BP and ISP was the plan S for a municipal health and social sector: Our goal is for all health personnel to use IT as help in medical and administrative
matters better than before. Value shops belong to the DP era as indicated by their technology use and stage of planning integration.

Value networks rely on a mediating technology to link clients or customers who are or wish to be interdependent. The mediating technology facilitates exchange relationships among customers distributed in time and space. Technology development is basically a support activity, but technology may as well be core business in this value configuration. The growing convergence of telecommunications, computing and production technology is of special relevance for value networks. Development and use of IS might be to obtain operational efficiency and cost minimization, as well as to create new integrated
services or products. A typical example of reciprocal/full integration between BP and ISP was the plan AG for a telecommunication company: Business puts heavy demands on IT, as IT contributes heavily to new business. Value networks belong to the IT network era as physical and electronic networks converge towards each other.

References:

Gottschalk, Petter and Hans Solli-Sæther. “Differences in Stage of Integration between Business Planning and Information System Planning according to value configurations.”

http://managementhelp.org/plan_dec/bus_plan/bus_plan.htm

http://www.tdan.com/view-articles/5262

Ten years from now

Think about yourself worthy to be called as IT professional, how do you see yourself 10 years from now, what are your strategies to get there?

Reflecting ten years from now, I would probably be an Information Technology professional, expecting that I graduated with the degree of IT. But the word “worthy” makes a big difference. It implies that I should also be an IT professional not only by name but also by deeds.

In order to be worthy, I’m expected to possess valuable or useful qualities in the field of IT. I already have the expertise in my job and of course, I have to love what I am doing. In this high technology era, IT professional cannot lose its importance in the world. See how the companies are going with today’s innovations in order for them not to be obsolete and become even more competent despite the problems they are facing just like the global financial downturn scenario. We know that computers and using computers and other programmable devices are often more expensive than the manual system but the businesses and other organizations also consider the great advantages it offers. Thus, IT people has become as one of the important people for most organizations. “Let your profession be your vocation.”


I could still remember the day when I was still undecided to which path of the crossroads I have to take and now, I am already determined to stand with the career I am taking and I am eager to make it as a means to my aspirations. I already have the understandings of my present situation and where could it lead me in the future. I never knew I would come this far and suddenly realize, “This is it, I am really into it.” And I would try my best to prove it right.

Not so long ago, I dream on traveling abroad. Perhaps as a tourist, but I never dreamed to be a worker there. However, I wish to gain big salary. So what do you expect?
In one of our meeting in MIS2, our facilitator made me realize that I am a state university student. I am subsidized by the government which means that the government helps me sent to study a degree. In return, I have to thank the government by rendering the service I can offer to the country. The country needs us more than the foreign do.

In the near future, I’m not expecting to be an employer in an instant. Maybe, I could start from being a simple employee in a small company. I also had dreamed of becoming a database administrator and later on become an IT manager. It's really a dream.

Database Administrator
is responsible for installing, backing up, testing, securing and making changes to production databases within an IT environment. They work on ongoing development projects with developers and architects and, increasingly, with business-side workers. They also maintain operations on a day-to-day basis.

Duties

The duties of a database administrator vary and depend on the job description, corporate and Information Technology (IT) policies and the technical features and capabilities of the DBMS being administered. They nearly always include disaster recovery (backups and testing of backups), performance analysis and tuning, data dictionary maintenance, and some database design.

Some of the roles of the DBA may include:

* Installation of new software
* Configuration of hardware and software
* Security administration
* Data analysis
* Database design
* Data modeling and optimization
* Responsible for the administration of existing enterprise databases.

Striving hard for years maybe I would become a manager f a big company. I do dream about that. Ten years the, I would probably manage my own company Not only a company, but a company which strongly competes probably to the world. A company which is flexible to the demands of the fast-changing world.

IT MANAGER ROLE-SPECIFIC COMPETENCIES


Networking
Assists in the planning and implementation of additions, deletions and major modifications to the supporting regional infrastructure.
Implements network security at the regional level as established by corporate Security Director.
Oversees the administration and maintenance of the company's infrastructure, and directs more junior Innovators when necessary.
Oversees the administration of the company's WAN.

Telephony
Manages and develops upgrades to the company's telephone system at the regional level.
Oversees all telephone changes, including routing for seating assignments.

Training & Lab Maintenance
Oversees the administration and maintenance of computer stations and software for company training programs and the Learning Studio and provides additional support if necessary.

Internal Systems
Oversees troubleshooting, systems backups, archiving, and disaster recovery and provides expert support when necessary.
Works with project teams to help implement Internal Systems.

Help Desk Administration
Oversees all help desk activities at the regional level.
Responds to escalated help desk issues.
Oversees the administration and maintenance of our tracking software.
Interacts with internal clients on all levels to help resolve IT-related issues and provides answers in a timely manner.

Asset Management
Builds and maintains vendor relationships and manages the purchase of hardware and software products.
Manages the purchasing of all software, hardware and other IT supplies at the regional level.
Ensures that company assets are maintained responsibly.

CAREER PATH CORE COMPETENCIES


Communication
Facilitates team meetings effectively.
Holds regular status meetings with team.
Keeps team well informed of changes within the organization and general Etensity news.
Effectively communicates relevant IT-related information to superiors.
Delivers engaging, informative, well-organized presentations.
Resolves and/or escalates issues in a timely fashion.
Understands how to communicate difficult/sensitive information tactfully.
Relays relevant IT-related information to the company in a timely manner.

Management
Initiates and implements improvements in all areas of IT responsibility.
Serves as main point of contact on all IT-related matters for the office assigned.
Responds/acts on upper-management direction .
Identifies and provides standards for gathering information for use in trend analysis and reports information to company management.

PROFESSIONAL QUALITIES



Leadership
Challenges others to develop as leaders while serving as a role model and mentor.
Manages the development of team by ensuring, when possible, that project tasks are in line with each Innovator's career interests.
Inspires coworkers to attain goals and pursue excellence.
Identifies opportunities for improvement and makes constructive suggestions for change .
Manages the process of innovative change effectively.
Remains on the forefront of emerging industry practices.

Teamwork
Consistently acknowledges and appreciates each team member's contributions.
Effectively utilizes each team member to his/her fullest potential.
Motivates team to work together in the most efficient manner.
Keeps track of lessons learned and shares those lessons with team members.
Mitigates team conflict and communication problems.
Plans and facilitates regular team activities outside of the office.

Client Management

Manages day-to-day internal client interaction
Sets and manages internal client expectations.
Communicates effectively with internal clients to identify needs and evaluate alternative business solutions.
Continually seeks opportunities to increase internal client satisfaction and deepen client relationships.

ORGANIZATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES


Innovator Development
Conducts effective performance evaluations and mentors those with less experience through formal channels.
Helps team execute career development plans.
Seeks and participates in development opportunities above and beyond training required by Etensity.
Trains other innovators and clients through both formal and informal training programs.
Encourages more junior Innovators to take responsibility for their development within the company.
Challenges fellow Innovators to progress toward their professional development goals.

Internal Operations

Suggests areas for improvement in internal processes along with possible solutions.
Leads internal teams/task forces
Approves team members' time and expense reports in a conscientious and timely manner.
Reviews the status reports of team members and addresses issues as appropriate.
Complies with and helps to enforce standard Etensity policies and procedures.

I don’t really dream to be manager merely to manage people. I want it because I do want to contribute to the success of the company. You might say that even a simple employee can contribute to that success but the level of contribution really matters. That’s what I believe. I want to provide jobs to the needy and equip them with the proper training needed. I also want to implement a reward system that would motivate the employees to work hard and eager to contribute to the company’s success.

For the growth of the company, I with my co-decision makers should foresee the possible demands of the clients and the possible changes. On the other hand, the company’s equity should allot a budget for our own foundation or encourage our employees to give some of to the existing foundations.

Is dreaming to be a manager doesn’t fit to the so-called “worthy IT professional?” Being a manager means to help the company’s improvement and growth with the coordination of he employees. A worthy IT professional means to stand by its name “solutions provider” is it on your organization or the benefit of the other people. So I guess, the answer is YES, because I could be an IT professional by being a manager of the company by providing the employees and the company itself the necessary solutions for the crucial problems and situations.

Life never disallows us to dream. Dream the impossible and the unreachable. In fact it is given to us for free. It is up to us to reach our dreams. But, life doesn’t promise that the way is easy. Life does not come to you in great long gulps but one day at a time. We surely have bad days and everything may turn out wrong. Life has its own trials, annoyances and difficulties. Stormy seas are part of life. Don’t think it will be a smooth sailing. Remember, rough seas make us stronger and courageous to reach our destination. Trials will come as they must into each life but with each burden comes the promise of compensating reward.

It’s up to us to set our own ways and means in achieving our dreams. Theses are our personal strategy. For me, the best strategy is merely based on the values and virtues and striving to at least practice them. Strive and survive.


My personal strategies:

• Trust in Divine Providence

Every path we take every step we make, trust in God. When you feel like you are not sure of your chosen path, trust in the Lord that you are taking the right one and if the day has come when you feel like you’re not really fit to it, then learn to let go of it. I had gone so many of this instance. So I could say, it is the best strategy. I have to pray that what I planned to myself abides and fits to what are his plans for me. We really don’t know our real purpose unless we learn to understand it and pray it to God. I have to pray that God guides me, enlightens me and helps me to have the knowledge and wisdom that I may enable to solve existing problems and obstacles along the way to reach my dream.

• Have that confidence

Following the trust in God is to trust and believe in ourselves. Even if others believe in you that you have the capacity to do certain jobs, you are skilled and everything all will be useless without your confidence. If you don’t have the confidence that you may surpass the challenges you are facing in you studies, then definitely, it’s also a blurry result that you can. In applying for a job, you also have to be confident enough to comply the necessary requirements the employee needed for you to be accepted in their organization. In working for your job, it is also the same thing. You need your confidence that you can do it properly lessening the scolds and chides of your boss. That’s how it is.

• Do a Hard work

Even if I already have the above two but I don’t have the third, then definitely, I would not be able to reach my goal. It is because doing works hard simply means that we want the best result out of it. And if the outcome would not be the same as one we expected, then we could not feel some guilt because we already know that we have done our best. And if the outcome would be pleasant to us, then we can say that that is the best result we can get for our hard work.

• Being responsible

I have to be responsible of my self. As much as possible don’t learn to depend on others and be responsible of the choices I make with no regrets. Not only this, I also have to do my responsibilities as a student now, and a successful employee in the future or even an employer. Do the necessary duties in doing my own job. It is because why do I expect of the success in the future when I’m not doing the right thing to be successful.

•Have the Spirit of sacrifice

Sometimes, you have to sacrifice something just to fulfill the desired outcome. A simple instance is from being a student who wants to enjoy with her many-year unseen friends, but because of her studies to do for the final exams and projects, he has to sacrifice one thing. Here comes the pressure but because of her determination to pass all of her subjects for the semester, she has to sacrifice one thing even if it cost her once in a lifetime enjoyment with her friend. It sounds to be a ridiculous example but at least I believe I already shared what I mean. Anyway, there are so many examples that relate to this strategy.

• Self-discipline or self-denial


It is also important to control myself in all circumstances in my studies and work. Sometimes I also have to deny yourself and your impulses towards things you really love for the sake of the goal you are achieving. Be it short-term or long-term. In order to succeed, I also have to train my conduct in order to improve myself as a student and a career woman and a person. Any improvement in your life is your improvement. Right? When you know how to control and manage yourself, then you could also be followed by you employees. Be a leader of yourself first before becoming a leader of the other.


• Manage time wisely


It’s in college days that I realized the essence of deadlines. Maybe because our teachers in elementary and high school are not that strict on implementing these things unlike our instructor and facilitators in college and maybe because I’m not that time conscious before. Now, I learned that time really is as precious as gold. When I watched at the news saying something which happened unexpectedly, that’s when I’m enlightened about the importance of every second of our life. That’s why I also consider being curious on time management. It’s also because you have to focus in everything and that everything should not be focused simultaneously. You are going to be insane. So I have to focus one thing at a time. In short, I should learn to wisely manage the time allotted and to be conscious on deadlines. It is a part of a good performance of a student and a worker.

• Be flexible

It means that I have the capacity to be bent over and over again without being damaged or injured but it doesn’t mean that I have to be like Lastikman. It is just that I have to have the capacity to perceive changes and is able to adapt easily and wisely on these changes. These adjectives refer literally to what is capable of withstanding stress without injury and figuratively to what can undergo change or modification.

• Understanding

It is also needed to understand things on how it is in the reality. Actually, I can have many definitions to it but the important thought is the name itself. Understanding means to have a comprehension, good sense, or discernment. Understanding on all things, be it on the unfavorable circumstances, problems, solutions, teachers, classmates, facilitators, instructors, employers, colleagues and even you job.

• Possess selflessness not selfish(ness)

Before, I have no distinction between the two terms. But when I listen to the songs and read some articles, I had noticed that selflessness always refer to the good side while the selfishness on the bad. Later, I had realized that I was simply right because the former is the complete opposite of the latter. Selflessness means showing unselfish concern for the welfare of others. It is just synonymous to self-denying, self-forgetful, self-forgetting, and unselfish. Selfishness is being self-centered and egoistic. The quality or state of being selfish; exclusive regard to one's own interest or happiness; that supreme self-love or self-preference which leads a person to direct his purposes to the advancement of his own interest, power, or happiness, without regarding those of others.

IT people are selfless in nature because they provide solutions for the benefit of the other but not all of these people are worthy to be called. “Solutions provider” as they call it is tagged to IT and it’s also important that IT have been given the credit for the service they render. Be it on cash, rewards or salaries. But some are too demanding for the price of the service to the level of thinking that it is okay for their clients do not know how to use computers. For me, IT people should get the proper credits of their services and so must I.

• Real life experience

All those aforementioned strategies will not be enough to really fulfill my dreams if do not have the last one. Experience means to apprehend an object, thought, or emotion through the senses or mind, active participation in events or activities, leading to the accumulation of knowledge or skill, the knowledge or skill so derived and the totality of such events in the past of an individual.

In the way to reaching our goals, we have to have experience on the different fields that are really useful. These experiences made us equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills needed for the fulfillment of our dream.

REFERENCES:

http://www.mariosalexandrou.com/free-job-descriptions/it-manager.asp
http://shielamariepnara.blogspot.com/2009/07/assignment-2-in-hrm.html