The person who runs the company sees IS as being the provider ofsolutions. “Don?t tell me about function point productivity. Whatwe want is faster turnaround time for systems and we?re not gettingit!” The person who runs the IS division recognizes that it has astrategic role. “The management is locked into a 1980s timewarp ?how do I persuade them that IS has more to offer than in the past?”The aim of the book is to step into the middle ground. Itemphasizes the important role an IS manager plays in thedevelopment of the company strategy. It will show how the everydayproblems need to be seen in a fresh perspective ? that of balancingthe competing pressures of business and technology. Get too farfrom the technology and too close to the business, and technologywill pull you back. Get focused on technology and lose sight of thebusiness, and the business will make sure you know about it. Thegoal of this book is to provide IS managers with balancedinformation to guide them. Why does it matter? Because, in manyways, the future of our organizations is in the hands of today?s ISmanagers. Management Challenges in IS will help them make wise andthoughtful choices.
Book Details:
- Author: James D. McKeen
- ISBN: 9780470865576
- Year Published: 2001
- Pages: 374
- BISAC: BUS063000, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS/Strategic Planning
About the Book and Topic:
The person who runs the company sees IS as being the provider ofsolutions. “Don?t tell me about function point productivity. Whatwe want is faster turnaround time for systems and we?re not gettingit!” The person who runs the IS division recognizes that it has astrategic role. “The management is locked into a 1980s timewarp ?how do I persuade them that IS has more to offer than in the past?”The aim of the book is to step into the middle ground. Itemphasizes the important role an IS manager plays in thedevelopment of the company strategy. It will show how the everydayproblems need to be seen in a fresh perspective ? that of balancingthe competing pressures of business and technology. Get too farfrom the technology and too close to the business, and technologywill pull you back. Get focused on technology and lose sight of thebusiness, and the business will make sure you know about it. Thegoal of this book is to provide IS managers with balancedinformation to guide them. Why does it matter? Because, in manyways, the future of our organizations is in the hands of today?s ISmanagers. Management Challenges in IS will help them make wise andthoughtful choices.
Today’s Information Systems Manager faced a great deal of uncertainty: decisions must be made using partial information; risks taken with new and unproven technologies; and massive business and technical change is part of everyday life. I/S managers are expected to use Information Technology (I/T) to help business become more responsive and flexible and to produce higher-quality systems in faster and faster time frames. Managing Information Systems explores the key issues facing organizations managing I/T. Each is examined in detail and viewed from the perspective of the practicing I/S Manager or User of I/T. The book, developed in conjunction with senior I/S manager, includes practical strategies, proven methods, and appropriate actions for dealing with these issues. In addition, four CIOs provide in-depth insights into the realities of managing I/T in a large corporation. Managing Information Systems will provide the current (or future) manager with the necessary knowledge to make informed decisions pertaining to I/T Management.
Explores the key issues and decisions facing organizations. Explores each topic fully and places it in the perspective of both an organizational and management point of view. Integrates IT with current management problem/issues. Each chapter includes practical strategies, methods and actions for dealing with each issue.
About the Author
James D. McKeen and Heather A. Smith say that they never planned to write a book. When they started the Queen’s IT Management Forum, their interests were purely academic. They wanted to find out what was happening in the front line of the “IT wars” in organizations. They quickly discovered that if there was a need in academia to learn more about IT in organizations, then there was an equal need in organizations to learn more about the big picture trends in using IT. Their work, and this book, is the outcome of a new form of scholarship. It bridges the gap between the practical, everyday knowledge of the IS manager and the measured thoughtful knowledge of the academic researcher. The former is anecdotal and incomplete — the latter is methodologically sound and thorough but often of little practical help to the IS manager.