IT Strategy:Issues and Practice

Second Edition

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.  Publishing as Prentice Hall

Mini-Cases

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Delivering Business Value with IT at Hefty Hardware

1. How effective is the partnership between IT and the business at Hefty Hardware? Identify the shortcomings of both IT and the business

Mini-cases-2

2. Create a plan for how IT and the business can work collaboratively to deliver the Savvy Store program successfully

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Investing in TUFS

1. What went wrong with the TUFS investment and what can be done to prevent these problems in the future?

Mini-cases-3

2. What does Northern need to do to realize the benefits that were projected for TUFS?

3. How can they measure these benefits?

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IT Planning at ModMeters

1. Develop an IT planning process for ModMeters to accomplish the demands as set out above

Mini-cases-4

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Building Shared Services at RR Communications

1. List the advantages of a single customer service center for RR Communications

Mini-cases-5

2. Devise an implementation strategy that would guarantee the support of the divisional presidents for the shared customer service center

3. Is it possible to achieve an enterprise vision with a decentralized IT function?

4. What business and IT problems can be caused by lack of common information and an enterprise IM strategy?

5. What governance mechanisms need to be put in place to ensure common customer data and a shared customer service center? What metrics might be useful?

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Creating a Process-Driven Organization at AgCredit

1. Propose an organizational structure for the IT department that you feel would support the transformation of AgCredit into a process-centric organization

Mini-cases-6

2. Outline a project selection process for AgCredit to ensure alignment with the enterprise business vision

3. How should Manley “make the case” for SOA to ensure that the executive team at AgCredit buys in?

4. What new internal IT capabilities will have to be developed in order to create an IT department to support AgCredit’s future business architecture?

5. What aspects of IT governance do you think would be important in supporting this transformation?

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IT Investment at North American Financial

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1. A thorough and rigorous method of project categorization and prioritization

2. A comprehensive and holistic governance of IT spending and benefits delivery at all levels

3. An annual IT planning process that provides transparency and accountability for all types of IT spending and which creates an integrated and strategically aligned development portfolio

Your task is to design and implement:

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Information Management at Homestyle Hotels

Mini-cases-8

1. Does it make good business sense to integrate across the different lines of business represented by Lifestyle Resorts and Home-Away Hotels? What exactly would you integrate (beyond financial information) and why?

2. Outline a process for Homestyle to follow in order to decide between the two software options (i.e., HC and CR)? What selection criteria would you use? Who should make the decision?

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Innovation at International Foods

Mini-cases-9

1. In a discussion with Josh, Tonya foreshadows “some serious obstacles to overcome”. Describe these obstacles in detail.

2. How can Josh win support for his team’s 3-point plan to use technology to help IFG reach its customers?

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CRM at Minitrex

Mini-cases-10

1. Explain how it is possible for someone at Minitrex to call a customer and not know (a) that this is a customer and (b) that this is the third time this week that they had been called?

2. Outline the steps that Bettman must take in order to implement CRM at Minitrex. In your plan, be sure to include people, processes, and technology.

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Customer Service at Datatronics

Mini-cases-11

1. Outline the specific information that Matt should collect to build a case for improving customer service at Datatronics.2. Describe your top ideas for Matt to present to Joel next week.

3. How would Matt get Joel to support his ideas?

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Leveraging IT Vendors at SleepSmart

Mini-cases-12

1. Identify the advantages and disadvantages of the SSTA. Do you think that this sort of vendor partnership can prosper in the long run? Why or why not?

2. Focusing IT on the “top line” (i.e., growing revenues) is very different than focusing IT on the “bottom line” (i.e., reducing costs). Explain.

3. Brainstorm some ideas of how SleepSmart could generate additional revenues using IT.

Board of Directors

SSTA(Vendors)

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Project Management at MM

Mini-cases-13

1. Some organizational factors increase a project’s likelihood of success. Identify these “facilitators” for the Green Project.

2. Other organizational factors decrease a project’s likelihood of success. Identify these “barriers” for the Green Project.

3. Outline the things that McCann needs to do right away.

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Managing Technology at Genex Fuels

Mini-cases-14

1. What evidence is the CEO using to suggest that Genex is not using technology competitively?

2. Did Devlin need to hire Sandy, a “high-priced technology consultant,” to tell him that technology at Genex was a mess?

3. Devise a strategy to successfully implement enterprise wide systems (such as SAP) at Genex.

Mini-cases-15

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.  Publishing as Prentice Hall