Case Study: Petrie Electronics

The purpose of this article is to illuminate the need for any organization to have its IT strategy and business strategy properly aligned. While many organizations view IT and business alignment as an event – it is actually an on-going process, or continuous journey. Therefore, the main problem is that many organizations of today still hold these two principles (business mission & IT strategy) as two separate entities. However, in the Information Age – collaboration is key to capturing and retaining market penetration. To not have alignment with the IT and business strategy together is not a matter of want it is a matter of survival. This report will expand upon the need for business and IT strategic alignment as well as examine what happens in lack of a comprehensive plan. This will be done by examining the Vermont Teddy Bear company prior to and after the arrival of Bob Stetzel, the Vice President of Information Technology. This document will view it findings and make recommendations on the immediate and future operations of the company.

This article makes up Chapter 1 of the free, open access book titled, Information Systems: A Manager's Guide to Harnessing Technology, by John Gallaugher. Please ensure that you read the entire Chapter 1 of the book consisting of 3 parts (Part 1 Introduction; Part 2 Don’t Guess, Gather Data; and Part 3 Moving Forward).

In the world of business, information technology strategy has been overlooked by owners for they are so focused on marketing strategies. Keeping up with the use of information technology is in just about all types of industrial process and just as important. It has been a proven fact that it contributes to the development of strategies and tactics when developing a product or service. During the twentieth century the accelerated progress in information technology has developed a large variety of technologies for the collecting and storage of information such as the Internet, software companies, and personal computers.

Why is alignment of employees’ perceptions critical for proper strategic actions to make place? Why do you think executives’ perceptions might differ from those of other staff?

2. Again, review the DFDs you developed for the Petrie's Electronics case. (I have placed the level 1 diagrams in the Project Workbook - Week 3 folder in doc sharing, use your homework solution for the Record Customer Activities level 1) .

Pearlson, K. E., & Saunders, C. S. (2013). Managing & Using Information Systems. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

O’Brien, J., Marakas, G. (2011). Management of Information Systems. New York, NY. McGraw-Hill Irwin.  Retrieved from https://www.betheluniversityonline.net

McKeen, James D; Smith, Heather (2012). IT strategy: Issues and practices (2nd ed.). Boston: Prentice Hall. Kindle Edition.

The world is a rapidly changing canvas that visits a dynamic and turbulent environment on senior managers changing how Information Systems (IS) are used and needed in each organization. The power to collect, assess, and disseminate information is a valuable strategic resource that any organization can use to improve its competitive advantage. At the same time, technological advances are changing rapidly, thus requiring frequent updates in hardware and software as well as new competencies for IS professionals. As strategic managers face the challenges of optimizing the use of information systems, they are called to address a number of issues so they can make informed and effective

It is generally accepted that information is a vital commodity for the successful operation of today’s organizations. Nowadays modern business organizations are using computerized information systems in order to obtain such information. However as the technology advances rapidly the main issue is how can an organization should effectively use such an information system - which its management sometimes can be unpredictable - in order to effectively help the whole organization structure to improve and take the most out of it.

An information system is a base in today’s business world. Everything is electronic. In various businesses, the survival and ability to succeed strategic business goals is challenging without extensive use of information system. Businesses improve the efficiency of their operations in order to accomplish higher profitablity. Besides that, information systems are important tools available to managers for achieving higher levels of efficiency and productiviy in business operations. For an example, Zara uses the PDA technology to gather customer feedback and input.

Monitoring and control activities are essential components to effective project management (Chrissis, Konrad, & Shrum, 2011; PMI, 2013). The main purpose of monitoring and control activities are to having an understanding of project progress/performance against the agreed upon plan, identify potential risks, provide accurate forecasts, and to ensure corrective actions are taken when necessary (Chrissis et al., 2011; PMI, 2013). Successful cost and schedule control involves much more than merely monitoring project progress and costs, it involves thorough analysis of the data (Kerzner, 2013, p. 738). One of the most effective tools for performance measurement, monitoring, and control is earned value management (EVM); a powerful technique which employs quantitative data to objectively monitor and control project progress (De Marco & Narbaev, 2013).

Q：Large numbers of companies are using their information systems as a strategic tool to improve their competitive advantage. Choose one of these companies (Toyota or Wal-Mart) and prepare an essay of 1500 words on: a) how information systems are used strategically by the company to gain a competitive advantage b) discuss if it is possible for the company to maintain this advantage in the future.

An information technology (IT) strategic plan incorporates all components in an organization relevant to the administration of technology including cost, human capital, management, hardware and software management, vendor management, risk management and all other considerations in the enterprise IT environment. This comprehensive roadmap is used by IT professionals and leaders as a directive for setting an organization’s future technology objectives. (TechTarget, 2015).

The situation in which a company business strategy is enabled to support technology for organizations between priorities and activities of information system in