1. Information Systems and the Role of General and Functional Managers
Chapter 1
Information Systems and the Role of General and Functional Managers
Why every modern manager must be proficient with Information Systems
© Akhilesh Bajaj , 2013

2. Mini Case: Facing Termination
People create their own efficiencies/effectiveness in their functions
There can be technical glitches when systems have to talk to each other
Vendors may not tell you how long it will take and what the real ROI is
Should have metricized their sales processes first before the system was installed
Once the system was actually running, how would salespeople be incentivized to use it?
Was the investment a good idea?
© Akhilesh Bajaj

3. Different Roles
IT spending per employee has fallen. About $12,00 per employee per year, but varies by industry. Why is it falling?
Manager: A trained knowledge worker who is in charge of a team and is incentivized usually by the performance of the team.
General Manager: Knowledge worker in charge of an entire organization or business unit, incentivized usually by its performance
Functional Manager: Knowledge worker in charge of a functional area or team, incentivized usually by its performance.
Critical resources in an organization are its physical infrastructure, people and its information files. Which of these can be replaced if lost?
© Akhilesh Bajaj

4. Successful Use of IS: Examples
Caesar’s Entertainment: Customer knowledge creates loyalty. Enabled by a BI system.
Dell Computers: Young MBA Eckert creates Dell Online which allows customers to build their own computers.
Hotel Lugano Dante: Fanatical customer service using up to the minute operational information from staff’s interactions with the customer.
-Managers came up with the idea.
-The objectives of each system were business driven. Were they metricized and measurable? Should they be?
-The systems were used by customers and end-users. Managers themselves did not use them.
© Akhilesh Bajaj

5. End User Versus Manager Role
People who have direct contact with an IS and use it to fulfill their business processes are end-users.
Skilled end user: uses system well and individual productivity goes up.
Skilled Manager: Plans and manages systems for end users so their productivity goes up.
Managers need to be able to identify business opportunities where IS can make a difference, allocate IS resources and manage IS projects. Delegating critical decisions to IS people can cause misalignment between technology and business needs.
© Akhilesh Bajaj

6. Evolving Role of CIO CIO is a stepping stone to CEO or COO.
CIOs combine helicopter view with operational experience.
CIOs understand the firm at a very detailed level, down to individual processes and data in some cases.
Overall, the IS function is becoming permeable. People move in and out of IS to general management functions at all levels.
How many of us think we will be involved in an IS project within the first two years our post MBA career?
© Akhilesh Bajaj

7. Organizational Priorities
From Gartner EXP Jan, 2010
© Gabriele Piccoli

8. Key IS Trends
Moore’s law: 1965 to present, transistor count has doubled every two years. Hardware is cheaper and more powerful every 2-3 years.
Computing is all pervasive or ubiquitous. RFID, smart gadgets.
Computers increasingly mimic intelligence.
Centralized storage and access.
Computer interfaces are becoming more intuitive.
Cloud Computing
Sensors and monitors everywhere
Web 2.0 collaborative applications
Geo location based applications. Augmented reality.
© Akhilesh Bajaj

9. IT people versus IS managers
IT people keep the infrastructure ticking.
IS managers add business value to the enterprise by developing business information systems.
Examples of Infrastructure versus BIS:
©Akhilesh Bajaj