Chapter 5: Organizational Structures That Support Strategic Initiatives

IT Roles and Responsibilities 

Information technology is a relatively new functional area,having been only around formally around 40 years. It can divide into five parts of each position in usually in large companies or certain company that have establish in doing business organization :-

• Chief Information Officer (CIO)
• Chief Technology Officer (CIO)
• Chief Security Officer (CSO)
• Chief Privacy Officer (CPO)
• Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO)

Chief Information Officer (CIO)

 

Business personnel must seek to increase their understanding of IT
IT personnel must seek to increase their understanding of the business
It is the responsibility of the ......... to ensure effective communication between business personnel and IT personnel

• Oversees all uses of IT and ensures the strategic alignment of IT with business goals and objectives. For example,in an organization,the CEO give the instructions to the Chief Information Officer to set up or redesign our product information through the website.Then,the CIO will make a meetings with the employee that involve in Information system department, how to make the website become more easiest to customer when finding information.

Chief Technology Officer (CTO)

• Responsible for ensuring the throughput, speed, accuracy, availability, and reliability of IT.For example, in produce a product,we used a machines to produce it. When demand form customer is high,we must changes our production through upgrade the good technology machines that can produce more in a each day. Hired the skilled worker that able to managed the system of machines and have a skill and knowledge in technology.

Chief Security Officer (CSO)

• Responsible for ensuring the security of IT systems and developing strategies and IT safeguards against attacks from hackers and viruses.For example, the CSO must make sure their system such as a website must protect and have a strength security to prevent from hacker. For example, in UITM Student Portal,have a person that controlled or managed the website.

Chief Privacy Officer (CPO)

• Responsible for ensuring the ethical and legal use of information. CPO also is a senior level executive within a business or organization who is responsible for managing the risks and business impacts of privacy laws and policies.The CPO position is relatively new and was created to respond to both consumer concern over the use of personal information, including medical data and financial information, and laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, legislation concerning the protection of patient medical records. For example, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and the use and safeguarding of consumer financial and banking transactions.

  Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO)

• Responsible for collecting, maintaining, and distributing the organization’s knowledge. The CKO is responsible for managing intellectual capital and the custodian of Knowledge Management practices in an organization. CKO responsibilities include such things as :

• Collecting relevant data that is useful for the organization as knowledge
• Developing an overall framework that guides knowledge management
• Actively promoting the knowledge agenda within and beyond the company
• Overseeing the development of the knowledge infrastructure
• Facilitating connections, coordination and communication

Gap Between Business Personnel And It Personnel

The gap between the business arm in a company and information technology is exist because presence of perception business people that the Information Technology Department generates expenses not income. This means, they looks alike liability and not asset to the company. In the same time, The Information technology department is “hidden” from the customer often classified as a “back office” business initiative or process. This create a different perspective to the business  personnel and the result, a gap is exist.

Ways To Decrease Gap Between Both IT Personnel And Business Personnel

Communication

Communication is the main ingredient that will close the gap between the business personnel and the IT Department. Business leaders must understand, really understand, that Information Technology is not optional but critical to the success of the business.

The head of the company sets the tone for the entire business.

In addition IT department teams need to understand the business practices of the company.

Cross Training

Rettig suggests that initiating cross training is one way to reduce the distance between business and IT.

Cross   training  

Is a loaded  concept  and  most  technologists  will be specialists  with  years  of  training  in  their  chosen  field. This mean, the IT personnel could be train with other department skills to install some confidence in them. Not to give them other job.

ORGANIZATIONAL FUNDAMENTAL

1.    ETHICS

Ethics is the principle and standards that guide our behaviour toward other people.

Descriptive ethics is exactly that a description of "what is"       in the land of business ethics.  This perception seeks to recognize moral & ethical systems shared by people, cultures, and societies.  This form seeks to know prevailing views and actions about ethical performance.  One problem to this school of thought is that using this perspective may lead one to believe that an actual unethical behaviour is satisfactory because "everyone is doing it."

 Issues Affected By Technology Advances :

i) Intellectual property - Intangible creative work that is personified in physical form.

ii) Copyright - The legal protection afforded an expression of an idea, such as a song, video   game, and some types of proprietary documents.

iii) Fair use doctrine - In certain situations, it is legal to use copyrighted material.

iv) Pirated software - The unauthorized use, duplication, distribution, or sale of copyrighted software.

v) Counterfeit software - Software that is manufactured to look like the real thing and sold as such.

2. SECURITY

Security is a major ethical issues.

The right to be left alone when you want to have control over your own personal possessions and not to be observed without your consent.

Privacy

It is the the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves and thereby reveal themselves selectively. The boundaries and content of what is considered private differ among cultures and individuals, but share basic common themes.

i-Information Security

Information security means protecting information and information systems from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, perusal, inspection, recording or destruction.^[1]

The terms information security, computer security and information assurance are frequently used interchangeably. These fields are interrelated often and share the common goals of protecting the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information; however, there are some subtle differences between them.

ii- Electronic Business

Electronic business, commonly referred to as "ebusiness" or "e-business", or an internet business, may be defined as the application of information and communication technologies (ICT) in support of all the activities of business. Commerce constitutes the exchange of products and services between businesses, groups and individuals and can be seen as one of the essential activities of any business

The term "e-business" was coined by IBM's marketing and internet teams in 1996.

Electronic business methods enable companies to link their internal and external data processing systems more efficiently and flexibly, to work more closely with suppliers and partners, and to better satisfy the needs and expectations of their customers.