How to Successfully Manage an IT Department under Turbulent Conditions

2011 ◽  
pp. 488-503
Author(s):  
A. C. Leonard
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Project Management ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
South African ◽  
End Users ◽  
Management Team ◽  
It Professionals ◽  
It Department ◽  
History Of

The case study describes the history of the IT department of a South African bank and how it started to introduce information technology to gain competitive advantage. Apart from explaining how the IT department made progress through the years, the case study explains the problems and frustrations end users and IT professionals experienced with regard to wrong decisions made by management. Furthermore, the case study describes how a new management team was appointed to solve the serious situation in the IT department and as such in the bank as a whole. It also describes the strategies followed, and the policies and actions introduced to overcome the problems. Special management models for problem management and project management that were used by the management team to organize and direct the actions of IT specialists are introduced.

How to Successfully Manage an IT Department Under Turbulent Conditions

2006 ◽  
pp. 130-145
Author(s):  
A. C. Leonard
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Project Management ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
South African ◽  
End Users ◽  
Management Team ◽  
It Professionals ◽  
It Department ◽  
History Of

The case study describes the history of the IT department of a South African bank and how it started to introduce information technology to gain competitive advantage. Apart from explaining how the IT department made progress through the years, the case study explains the problems and frustrations end users and IT professionals experienced with regard to wrong decisions made by management. Furthermore, the case study describes how a new management team was appointed to solve the serious situation in the IT department and as such in the bank as a whole. It also describes the strategies followed, and the policies and actions introduced to overcome the problems. Special management models for problem management and project management that were used by the management team to organize and direct the actions of IT specialists are introduced.

Knowledge Management Enablers within an IT Department

2011 ◽  
pp. 62-90
Author(s):  
Hope Koch ◽  
David Paradice ◽  
Yi Guo ◽  
Bongsug Chae
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Employee Turnover ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Information Technologies ◽  
It Department

In today’s competitive global economy, characterized by shorter product lifecycles, increased employee turnover and ubiquitous information technologies, an organization’s ability to manage knowledge may be the only remaining source of competitive advantage (Drucker, 1995, 1999; Kogut & Zander, 1992; Nonaka, 1994; Winter, 1987). Even though a number of researchers have outlined the importance of adopting knowledge management (KM) practices and many organizations have given lip service to the term, there is still some ambiguity concerning what KM actually is (Malhotra, 2000b), and little attention has been paid to factors that enable effective KM to occur (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995). This research uses technical and human-centric approaches combined with Holsapple and Joshi’s (1998, 2001) Kentucky Initiative to investigate KM within an information technology (IT) department. Based on our case study, modifications to Holsapple and Joshi’s architecture of a KM episode, a model of execution of knowledge manipulation activities and a model outlining factors enabling effective KM are proposed.

Conclusion

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael R. Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Golden Age ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Global Capitalism ◽  
Structural Factors ◽  
Cotton Industry ◽  
Reconstruction Era ◽  
History Of ◽  
American Jewish

The conclusion reaffirms how the history of Jewish merchants in the American cotton industry is not only a story of American Jewish success that accounts for a golden age for Jews during the Reconstruction era. It is also a more universal case study that speaks to niche economies and minority entrepreneurship more broadly, revealing the ways in which ethnicity mattered in the development of global capitalism. It suggests that the economic milieu in which a niche economy emerged was critical, and any explanation of how niche economies function must begin with a rigorous understanding of that particular capitalism. But within the confines of those structural factors, ethnicity fostered trust in the economic transactions upon which a particular capitalism relied. These forces worked together to provide minority groups such as Jews a competitive advantage that fueled their niche economies.

A Multiple Case Study on the Nature and Management of Shadow Information Technology

2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephan Zimmermann ◽  
Christopher Rentrop ◽  
Carsten Felden
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Transaction Cost Economics ◽  
Multiple Case Study ◽  
End User ◽  
It Department ◽  
Multiple Case ◽  
It Departments ◽  
Shadow It

ABSTRACT In several organizations, business workgroups autonomously implement information technology (IT) outside the purview of the IT department. Shadow IT, evolving as a type of workaround from nontransparent and unapproved end-user computing (EUC), is a term used to refer to this phenomenon, which challenges norms relative to IT controllability. This report describes shadow IT based on case studies of three companies and investigates its management. In 62 percent of cases, companies decided to reengineer detected instances or reallocate related subtasks to their IT department. Considerations of risks and transaction cost economics with regard to specificity, uncertainty, and scope explain these actions and the resulting coordination of IT responsibilities between the business workgroups and IT departments. This turns shadow IT into controlled business-managed IT activities and enhances EUC management. The results contribute to the governance of IT task responsibilities and provide a way to formalize the role of workarounds in business workgroups.

The Production of Learning Resources for the Study of Information Technology with Limited Project Management Capacity

2013 ◽  
pp. 32-56
Author(s):  
Jenny Lamont
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Project Management ◽  
Programming Languages ◽  
South African ◽  
Learning Resources ◽  
Learning Support ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Management Capacity ◽  
Management Experience ◽  
The Subject

Mindset Network is a non-profit organization that develops educational resources in several sectors, including the schooling sector. In 2011, Mindset Learn, the schooling division of Mindset Network, completed a project to plan, design, and produce learning resources for grade 12 Information Technology. The learning resources provided learning support to 5,000 students in the 425 South African schools that offer the subject. Numerous challenges presented themselves during the implementation of the project. Major project management challenges were insufficient project resources and inadequate project management experience. Several content-related challenges included: the need to include two programming languages simultaneously, the diversity of language and demographics in schools, and disparities in facilities and educator competencies. Despite the limitations experienced during the implementation of the project, Mindset Learn concluded and distributed an impressive set of learning resources to IT schools in South Africa. Several lessons for future projects are evident.

IT Professionals

2012 ◽  
pp. 32-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
António Trigo ◽  
João Varajão ◽  
Pedro Soto-Acosta ◽  
João Barroso ◽  
Francisco J. Molina-Castillo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Work Experience ◽  
Emerging Technologies ◽  
Chief Information Officers ◽  
It Professionals ◽  
Business Knowledge ◽  
It Department ◽  
Training Institutions ◽  
Development And Management ◽  
It Skills

Nowadays, Universities and other Training Institutions need to clearly identify the Information Technology (IT) skills that companies demand from IT practitioners. This is essential not only for offering appropriate and reliable university degrees, but also to help future IT professionals on where to focus in order to achieve better job positions. In an attempt to address this issue, this study rely on 102 Chief Information Officers, from Iberian large companies, to characterize current IT professionals and what is expected from future hirings. Results revealed that IT Technicians and Senior Analysts are the predominant positions and also that future hiring will request candidates with at least two to five years of work experience. The two most important skills found were core functions at the IT department: business knowledge and user support. In contrast, traditional competences such as web development and management of emerging technologies were less demanded.

A Critical Review of Information Technology Innovations

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 63-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruben Xing ◽  
John Wang ◽  
Qiyang Chen
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Technology Innovations ◽  
History Of ◽  
History Of Information ◽  
Key Terms ◽  
National Competitive Advantage

The authors critically review the history of information technology innovations, from a national competitive advantage perspective. Definitions of key terms are grounded in a thorough literature review, to inform a future meta-analysis. The authors identify the most significant US-based innovations, which in turn are driving future IT development. Propositions are generated for future IT-related studies.

scholarly journals The Nurse in the University: A History of University Education for South African Nurses: A Case Study of the University of the Witwatersrand

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Simonne Horwitz
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Education ◽  
South African ◽  
Nursing Program ◽  
University Education ◽  
Medical Community ◽  
History Of ◽  
The University ◽  
University Training ◽  
First Time

This paper charts the history and debates surrounding the introduction of academic, university-based training of nurses in South Africa. This was a process that was drawn out over five decades, beginning in the late 1930s. For nurses, university training was an important part of a process of professionalization; however, for other members of the medical community, nursing was seen as being linked to women's service work. Using the case-study of the University of the Witwatersrand, one of South Africa's premier universities and the place in the country to offer a university-based nursing program, we argue that an historical understanding of the ways in which nursing education was integrated into the university system tells us a great deal about the professionalization of nursing. This paper also recognises, for the first time, the pioneers of this important process.

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