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Unit 1: IT for Managers

has evolved from a back-office component to a core operational constituent that can improve Notes
business performance and increase shareholder value.
Information technology now is as important to the enterprise as finance, marketing, and sales.
In fact, IT is central to an organisation’s success in that it provides critical day-to-day operational
support and enables enterprise-wide change. Yet some still view IT only as an internal service
bureau available to the business areas to review and execute their requirements as best as
possible. That approach may help to create a good company, but not a great one.

The Chief Information Officer (CIO) who leads merely from a technology perspective is relegated
to the secondary role of the “IT guy.” But the CIO who leads from a broader business perspective
earns respect and trust from C-suite peers and from the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Just as the
firm’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) uses financial expertise to drive enterprise strategy, the CIO
can leverage technical expertise. Today’s CIO has an opportunity to demonstrate a truly executive-
level leadership role in defining the enterprise.
How does a CIO lead from a business perspective and gain credibility in the C-suite? The
CIO must understand the business — and demonstrate the ability to make difficult business
decisions — as well as anyone else in the organisation. This means the CIO must know the
company’s products and services, profit-drivers, competition and organisational dynamics.
The CIO’s level of influence in the C-suite can be elevated by transforming the culture of IT. The
CIO needs to develop a technology vision based on the company’s business objectives.
Technology should become a key component of the business strategy, achieving a unique breadth
of power and influence in the organisation.
Managing IT as a business provides several benefits:
It fosters an entrepreneurial environment for the IT staff, creating more business awareness
for tomorrow’s leaders.
It enables benchmarking of costs. And it positions the CIO as a true operational leader.
A comprehensive IT framework establishes the CIO as a proven executive who can extend
influence across other areas, such as administration, operations, and management of
business services.
Business and IT management should act as a team, participating jointly in key business-unit
activities, such as research and development, customer involvement, competitive assessment,
and strategic planning. Companies should reward CIOs based more on how well IT initiatives
drive profits and less on completing assigned projects. The CIO should be proactive, not passive.
Information technology should help a company set strategic business goals, not simply work on
tactical objectives.

Example: The enterprise IT include TPS, ERP, Inter organisational information system,
EDI.

In case of Enterprise IT there is no compulsion of web. One can use web also in case of TPS.

Example: When one has to share information then it is to be shared across business
functions and all level of management.

Did u know? Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is the corporate executive responsible for the
operations of the firm; reports to a Board of Directors; may appoint other managers.

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