Field Marshal Ferdinand Foch (1920) once wrote “The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire.” Nevertheless, what sets the human soul on fire? For many, it is possessing the passion to accomplish great endeavors, being righteous towards all human beings and maintaining a balance of equality in the world. Doing so requires a leader who espouses respect and demonstrates power. However, many individuals in such positions are conflicted with the classic stockholder versus stakeholder challenge which suggests it is easier to make shortsighted decisions that are only in the interest of a select few while sacrificing the wellbeing of a greater population. The stockholder versus stakeholder conflict has always posed a threat to disrupting a leader’s focus, but true passion and well-developed power can overcome such conflict so that a leader may work towards the greatest benefit of the organization he or she commands. In the New Millennium, leaders must be ever aware of the changing landscape in which they operate. In developing an understanding of the global marketplace in which humans must coexist, it would be futile to underestimate the impact that information technology (IT) has in defining how objectives are achieved. While technology has made our lives more efficient, it also presents interesting challenges when it does not function as expected or does not provide immediate benefits to hasten our thinking. Creighton University’s Seminar: Business and IT
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).
Case Study Assignment KL Worldwide Enterprises Inc.: Putting Information Technology to Work Submitted by Mark Lemoine September 14th, 2012
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.
Valacich, J., & Schneider, C. (2012).Information systems today: Managing in the digital world(5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
With any organization, rather it be civilian or military focused, there is a common element that resides; organizational competencies. These competencies is what makes any organization unique and identifies how they do the things they do, how relationships with institution division and external entities are developed and handled. With Information technology shifting from an administrative support tool to a strategic role within the organization, the question, or debate, is whether or not the planning and implementation of information technology, based on strategic goals, essentially share the same organizational competencies. This article will
Kellerman exhibits different examples of leader and follower relationships from American military following 9/11, international corporations, and Nazi Germany during World War II (Kellerman, 2008). First consideration of the power a leader has over an individual is apparent and one can ultimately have a positive or negative effect in the success of any manager through followership. Basically, followers have the ability to have equal or more power over a leader and we should value the lessons learned from the different stakeholders across different sectors. This book reflecting through the different examples of leaders through distinctive sectors permits one to understand how individuals at the lower levels of establishments are regarded as isolates, bystanders, participants, and activists, and
The role of leadership is an important position within an organization or group, since this position may influence an environment, both, the individual, and the climate. In the event of concentrating on how influential leadership may be, some leaders have transformed the views or perspectives of individuals within a society. Therefore, it’s possible for leadership traits to motivate, persuade, or stimulate visions, rather they are appropriate or unethical.
Copyright 2009 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America This chapter was originally published as chapter 1 of The Adventures of an IT Leader, copyright 2009 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the
“No longer is IT just another tool the CEO might use to accomplish costs saving and operational ends. Today, information technology can help solve product problems, set new levels of service and create new distribution and communication channels.”
Information Technology (IT) is a foundation for conducting business today. It plays a critical role in increasing productivity of firms and entire nation. It is proven that firms who invested in IT have experienced continued growth in productivity and efficiency. Many companies' survival and even existence without use of IT is unimaginable. IT has become the largest component of capital investment for companies in the United States and many other countries.
“It is important for leaders to tell a compelling and morally rich story, but ethical leaders must also embody and live the story. This is a difficult task in today’s business environment where everyone lives in a fishbowl—on public display. So many political leaders fail to embody the high-minded stories they tell at election time, and more recently, business leaders have become the focus of similar criticism through the revelations of numerous scandals and bad behaviours. CEOs in today’s corporations are really ethical role models for all of society.”
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.
In 1999, with the release of his book “Business at the Speed of Thought” Bill Gates attempted to enlighten the world to the fact that in order to succeed and become leaders in the future, businesses throughout the world would have to implement digital technology. The book itself is written entirely from Mr. Gates’ point of view. He wrote it in response to a number of requests from multi level business managers, organizational and corporate leaders, and IT professionals that wanted to know more about digital technology, and what he called a “digital nervous system”, which he claimed would help information flow.
Information Technology (IT): The hardware and software technologies a firm needs to achieve its business objectives (Kenneth C Laudon and Jane P Laudon., 2010).
This paper will discuss the processes and pitfalls faced by Information Technology managers in today’s world of business. Today’s IT managers need not only be savvy about existing equipment and upcoming technology; but must also understand the budget issues they face and how to properly address them. The IT manager is asked to look into a crystal ball and predict what products will be beneficial and which requirements can be cut from the budget. They must be able to differentiate between the new shiny fad and products that will be a true asset to the company’s visions and goals. An IT budget can no longer be a static number on the company’s finance sheet; it must be a clear vision of the department’s future spending while falling in line with the goals and expectations of the company.