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Alignment of IT and Business Strategy: A Critical Component for Success
Author: Dr. Anya Sharma, PhD, MBA – Dr. Sharma is a renowned professor of Strategic Management and Information Systems at the University of California, Berkeley, with over 15 years of experience consulting Fortune 500 companies on strategic IT planning.
Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press – A leading publisher known for its high-quality business publications and its reputation for rigorous research and insightful analysis.
Editor: Sarah Chen, MBA – Sarah Chen is a senior editor at Harvard Business Review Press with extensive experience in editing and publishing articles focused on business technology and strategy.
Keywords: alignment of IT and business strategy, IT strategy, business strategy, digital transformation, strategic alignment, IT governance, technology strategy, business technology, organizational alignment, IT planning
Abstract: This article explores the critical importance of aligning IT and business strategy. It delves into the challenges organizations face when these two crucial elements are misaligned, outlining the benefits of achieving robust alignment and providing a practical framework for successful implementation. The article emphasizes the need for clear communication, shared goals, and iterative processes to ensure continuous improvement and adaptability in the dynamic business landscape.
1. Introduction: The Imperative of Alignment
The alignment of IT and business strategy is no longer a best practice; it's a necessity for survival in today's rapidly evolving digital economy. Organizations that fail to strategically integrate their IT capabilities with their overall business objectives risk falling behind competitors, losing market share, and ultimately failing to achieve their strategic goals. The "alignment of IT and business strategy" is not merely about technology; it's about using technology to effectively execute the business strategy. This requires a holistic approach that goes beyond simple technical implementation, encompassing organizational culture, leadership commitment, and a clear understanding of the business's vision and goals.
2. Challenges to Achieving Alignment
Several significant hurdles often impede the alignment of IT and business strategy. These include:
Lack of Communication and Collaboration: A common pitfall is the siloed nature of IT and business departments. Without open communication and collaborative planning, IT initiatives can easily become disconnected from the overall business strategy. This leads to wasted resources, duplicated efforts, and ultimately, a lack of alignment.
Misaligned Goals and Priorities: Different departments often have differing priorities and goals. If IT's goals are not directly supporting the overall business objectives, misalignment will inevitably occur. This requires a clearly defined strategic plan with shared goals and metrics that are understood and bought into by all stakeholders.
Inadequate IT Governance: Poorly defined governance structures can lead to a lack of control and accountability in IT projects. Without clear processes and responsibilities, it becomes difficult to ensure that IT investments directly support the business strategy.
Resistance to Change: Implementing new technologies and changing processes can often meet resistance from employees. Overcoming this resistance requires a strong change management strategy and clear communication about the benefits of alignment.
Lack of Strategic IT Planning: Many organizations approach IT planning reactively rather than proactively. A strategic approach is crucial to ensure IT investments align with the long-term business goals. A lack of a well-defined IT roadmap will hinder the alignment of IT and business strategy.
3. The Benefits of Achieving Alignment
Successful alignment of IT and business strategy translates to significant benefits, including:
Increased Efficiency and Productivity: Streamlined processes and optimized technology lead to significant improvements in efficiency and productivity across the organization.
Improved Decision-Making: Data-driven insights provided by aligned IT systems enhance decision-making capabilities at all levels of the organization.
Enhanced Innovation: Aligning IT with business strategy fosters a culture of innovation, enabling the organization to develop new products, services, and processes more effectively.
Competitive Advantage: By leveraging technology to achieve strategic goals, organizations can gain a competitive edge in the marketplace.
Reduced Costs: Strategic IT investments contribute to cost reduction through automation, process optimization, and improved resource utilization.
Improved Customer Experience: By utilizing technology to enhance customer interactions, organizations can significantly improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.
4. A Framework for Achieving Alignment
Achieving successful alignment of IT and business strategy requires a structured approach. A key framework involves:
Define Clear Business Objectives: Start by clearly articulating the organization's overall business objectives and strategic goals.
Conduct a Strategic IT Assessment: Evaluate existing IT infrastructure, capabilities, and processes to identify gaps and areas for improvement.
Develop a Strategic IT Roadmap: Create a roadmap that outlines specific IT initiatives designed to support the business objectives.
Establish Clear Metrics and KPIs: Define measurable metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress and measure success.
Foster Collaboration and Communication: Encourage open communication and collaboration between IT and business units.
Implement a Robust IT Governance Framework: Establish clear processes and responsibilities for IT planning, implementation, and maintenance.
Embrace Agile Methodologies: Utilize agile methodologies to ensure flexibility and adaptability throughout the alignment process.
Continuously Monitor and Evaluate: Regularly monitor progress, evaluate outcomes, and make necessary adjustments to ensure ongoing alignment.
5. Conclusion:
The alignment of IT and business strategy is not a one-time project; it's an ongoing process that requires continuous monitoring, evaluation, and adjustment. By embracing a strategic, collaborative approach and utilizing the framework outlined above, organizations can overcome the challenges and unlock the significant benefits of aligning their IT capabilities with their overall business objectives. In today’s dynamic business environment, this alignment is not just desirable; it's crucial for sustained success and competitiveness. Failure to align IT and business strategies will likely lead to missed opportunities, wasted resources, and a diminished capacity to achieve long-term business goals. By prioritizing this alignment, organizations can pave the way for growth, innovation, and sustained competitive advantage.
FAQs:
1. What are the key performance indicators (KPIs) for measuring the alignment of IT and business strategy? KPIs can include things like project success rates, IT budget utilization, employee satisfaction with IT systems, and the achievement of strategic business goals supported by IT initiatives.
2. How can we address resistance to change during the IT alignment process? Open communication, employee training, change management strategies, and demonstrating clear value are crucial for addressing resistance.
3. What role does leadership play in achieving IT and business strategy alignment? Leadership plays a crucial role in setting the vision, providing resources, fostering collaboration, and driving accountability.
4. How can we ensure that IT investments are aligned with long-term business goals? Through strategic planning, thorough needs assessment, and a robust IT roadmap that is integrated with the organization's overall business strategy.
5. What are some common mistakes organizations make when attempting to align IT and business strategy? Common mistakes include siloed operations, lack of communication, unclear objectives, and a failure to adapt to changing circumstances.
6. How often should an organization review and adjust its IT strategy to maintain alignment with the business strategy? Regular reviews, ideally annually, or even more frequently, depending on the pace of business changes, are essential to maintain alignment.
7. How can smaller companies achieve IT and business strategy alignment with limited resources? Prioritization, efficient resource allocation, the use of cloud-based solutions, and leveraging external expertise can help smaller companies achieve alignment.
8. What is the role of cloud computing in the alignment of IT and business strategy? Cloud computing can enhance flexibility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness, thus contributing to improved alignment.
9. What are the ethical considerations of aligning IT and business strategy? Ethical concerns like data privacy, security, and responsible use of technology need to be integrated throughout the alignment process.
Related Articles:
1. Digital Transformation and IT Strategy: This article explores how digital transformation initiatives should be directly linked to overall business objectives to ensure strategic alignment and ROI.
2. The Role of IT Governance in Strategic Alignment: This article discusses the importance of establishing robust IT governance frameworks to ensure accountability, control, and effective alignment between IT and business strategies.
3. Building a Strategic IT Roadmap: A practical guide to developing a comprehensive IT roadmap that aligns with long-term business goals and prioritizes initiatives based on strategic importance.
4. Agile IT and Business Collaboration: This article examines how agile methodologies can enhance collaboration, flexibility, and responsiveness in achieving IT and business strategy alignment.
5. Measuring the Success of IT Investments: This article provides detailed insights into measuring the effectiveness of IT investments and demonstrating their contribution to the achievement of business objectives.
6. Overcoming Barriers to IT and Business Alignment: This article delves into the common challenges and provides practical solutions for overcoming them, helping organizations achieve stronger alignment.
7. IT Strategy for Competitive Advantage: This article focuses on how strategic IT planning can deliver competitive advantages by enabling organizations to innovate, improve efficiency, and exceed customer expectations.
8. The Future of IT and Business Strategy Alignment: This article explores emerging trends such as AI, IoT, and blockchain and how organizations can leverage these technologies to maintain alignment and achieve future success.
9. Case Studies in IT and Business Strategy Alignment: This article presents real-world examples of organizations that have successfully aligned their IT and business strategies, highlighting best practices and lessons learned.
| alignment of it and business strategy: Align Jonathan Trevor, 2019-11-28 Shortlisted for the 2020 Business Book Awards Why do some businesses thrive, while many more struggle and fail? A key reason – and the focus of this book – is strategic alignment. This is the careful arrangement of the various elements of an enterprise – from its business strategy to its organisation – to best support the fulfillment of its long-term purpose. The best-aligned enterprises are the best performing. Most executives recognise that their enterprises should be managed in this aligned way, but lack a robust system of thought to allow them to execute strategic alignment effectively and realise its full benefits. There are thousands of organisations globally that are operating below their potential simply because they are not aligned. This book aims to change that. In Align, Jonathan Trevor provides a blueprint for how strategic alignment can be effectively developed, implemented and sustained. Drawing upon active research at the University of Oxford's Saïd Business School (with contributions from the joint works of Dr Jonathan Trevor and Dr Barry Varcoe), Jonathan also provides practical case studies and evidence-based insights – culminating in a thoughtful and compelling message to help leaders everywhere to improve their alignment and enterprise performance. |
| alignment of it and business strategy: Business Transformations in the Era of Digitalization Mezghani, Karim, Aloulou, Wassim, 2019-01-22 In order to establish and maintain a successful company in the digital age, managers are digitally transforming their organizations to include such tools as disruptive technologies and digital data to improve performance and efficiencies. As these companies continue to adopt digital technologies to improve their businesses and create new revenues and value-producing opportunities, they must also be aware of the challenges digitalization can present. Business Transformations in the Era of Digitalization is a collection of innovative research on the latest trends, business opportunities, and challenges in the digitalization of businesses. Highlighting a range of topics including business-IT alignment, cloud computing, Internet of Things (IoT), business sustainability, small and medium-sized enterprises, and digital entrepreneurship, this book is ideally designed for managers, professionals, consultants, entrepreneurs, and researchers. |
| alignment of it and business strategy: Strategic IT Governance and Alignment in Business Settings De Haes, Steven, Van Grembergen, Wim, 2016-09-23 Technology is constantly changing the way enterprises conduct business by optimizing current practices. As information technology continues to evolve and become a prevalent feature in day-to-day activities within organizations, it has become necessary to manage these technologies in order to meet the strategic objectives of an organization. Strategic IT Governance and Alignment in Business Settings investigates emergent research methodologies involving the application of information technology in organizations. Focusing on best practices, implementation issues, and empirical research within the field, this book is ideally suited for researchers, academics, students, and practitioners interested in the governance, strategy, architecture, and management of information systems. |
| alignment of it and business strategy: Competing in the Information Age Jerry N. Luftman, 1996 Synthesizes a body of research and theories relating to the way firms can undergo transformation in order to remain competitive in a changing business environment. This book includes the coordination and alignment of a firm's business strategy. |
| alignment of it and business strategy: Aligning Human Resources and Business Strategy Linda Holbeche, 2009 New edition of best-selling classic by top HR thinker--an essential addition to your HR bookshelf--Resource description page. |
| alignment of it and business strategy: Aligning Strategy and Sales Frank Cespedes, 2014-08-12 The best sales book of the year — strategy+business magazine That gap between your company’s sales efforts and strategy? It’s real—and a huge vulnerability. Addressing that gap, actionably and with attention to relevant research, is the focus of this book. In Aligning Strategy and Sales, Harvard Business School professor Frank Cespedes equips you to link your go-to-market initiatives with strategic goals. Cespedes offers a road map to articulate strategy in ways that people in the field can understand and that will fuel the behaviors required for profitable growth. Without that alignment, leaders will press for better execution when they need a better strategy, or change strategic direction with great cost and turmoil when they should focus on the basics of sales execution. With thoughtful, clear, and engaging examples, Aligning Strategy and Sales provides a framework for diagnosing and managing the core levers available for effective selling in any organization. It will give you the know-how and tools to move from ideas to action and build a sales effort linked to your firm’s unique goals, not a generic selling formula. Cespedes shows how sales efforts affect all elements of value creation in a business, whether you’re a start-up seeking to scale or an established firm looking to jump-start new growth. The book provides key insights to optimize your firm’s customer management activities and so improve selling and strategy. |
| alignment of it and business strategy: Strategic Alignment N Venkatraman, Sloan School of Management Center Fo, John C Henderson, 2023-07-18 Learn how to harness the power of information technology to transform your organization with this groundbreaking model. Developed by the Sloan School of Management's Center for Information Systems Research, this model provides a step-by-step framework for achieving strategic alignment and driving organizational change. This book is an essential read for anyone looking to leverage technology to achieve business success. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant. |
| alignment of it and business strategy: Mastering the 7 Dimensions of Business-Technology Alignment Ashish Pachory, 2019-11-26 The force-multiplying power of business-technology alignment is acknowledged among the biggest contributors to enterprise success in the digital age. Even so, it is a missed opportunity in most organizations, or at best, restricted to a unidimensional coalition. Successful digital enterprises define alignment between business and technology along multiple dimensions. They invest in this alignment at the level of their culture, strategy, structure, process, intellect (innovation), function, and tactics. A systematic understanding and embracement of these seven dimensions of business technology alignment is at the core of a successful digital enterprise. Using familiar workplace paradigms and relatable examples, this book builds on each dimension of business-technology alignment towards strengthening the foundation on which a successful digital enterprise stands, using tricks and tips not found in textbooks and classrooms. If you are, or aspire to be, in an organization that relies on a convergence of business and technology to achieve success, this book is meant for you. It builds upon fundamental ideas in a manner designed to strike a chord in everyone—from interns to entrepreneurs. |
| alignment of it and business strategy: Strategic Organizational Alignment Chris Crosby, 2016-12-26 Business results, major change, project initiatives can be achieved more easily than imagined. Strategic Organizational Alignment shows you how and points out the reasons why most excuses businesses make for inadequate implementations are wrong. Through stories, illustrations, and step-by-step guides, Crosby shows you a simple, profound, and repeatable way to ensure your business aligns its employees and has a clear path to success. This book will help you to learn how to focus your workplace on the dynamics critical to achieving greater productivity. |
| alignment of it and business strategy: Alignment Robert S. Kaplan, David P. Norton, 2006 How to align all organisational units to the organisational strategy. Amplifies the ideas in the Balanced Scorecord and Strategy Maps. |
| alignment of it and business strategy: Total Alignment Riaz Khadem, Linda Khadem, 2017-05-16 ALIGN YOUR BUSINESS FOR SUCCESS From overarching vision to individual competency scorecards, Total Alignment arms you with powerful concepts and tools to run a successful, efficient business. No matter what size or type of business you run, business strategy experts Riaz Khadem and Linda Khadem show you how to align your team and operations from the ground up and from the top down. Total Alignment is the result of innovative thinking, solid research, and thirty successful years of consulting experience with major companies. Whether your team struggles most with communication, accountability, or motivation, this book will help you inspire your organization to produce efficiently, engage in the company's vision, and hold each other accountable for solid, sustained progress. Implement these concepts and tools to gain coherence, strength, and value: • Measure and narrow alignment gaps in key areas of your business using the Alignment Survey • Plan for your company’s growth and measure it along the way with the Alignment Map • Define clear roles and responsibilities for each member of your team to ensure accountability with Accountability Assignment worksheets • Eliminate silos, inefficiencies, and redundancies with the one page management strategy • Set short- and long-term goals that add value to each branch of the company as well as the business as a whole Plus, gain access to easy-to-use templates to analyze your company’s alignment, including Business and Individual Scorecards, the Competency Worksheet, an Action Plan Commitment chart, and the Performance and Effort Indexes. |
| alignment of it and business strategy: Strategic Execution Kenneth J. Carrig, Scott A. Snell, 2019-09-17 CEOs regularly identify strategic execution as their biggest challenge, and the top priority facing today's business leaders. Based on their research with senior executives across a variety of industries—and including firms like Marriott, Microsoft, SunTrust, UPS, and Vail Resorts—Kenneth J. Carrig and Scott A. Snell have distilled the elements that are most critical for execution. This book addresses the challenges of execution, why it matters, and why the approach remains elusive. It introduces an integrated framework for understanding four priorities underlying execution excellence. Ultimately, it all comes down to alignment, agility, ability, and architecture. The authors lay out a process for applying the framework, helping business leaders to diagnose their challenges and to determine their path toward breakthrough performance. |
| alignment of it and business strategy: Strategic Alignment Etido Oliver Akpan, 2007-07 In Strategic Alignment: The Business Imperative for Leading Organizations, Dr. Akpan paints a clear case for making the necessary investments in IT. Whether we lead business units or technology units, we must invest our time, resources and energy into enabling teams to succeed through proper alignment. |
| alignment of it and business strategy: Strategic Alignment Process and Decision Support Systems: Theory and Case Studies Shimizu, Tamio, de Carvalho, Marly Monteiro, Laurindo, Fernando Jos Barbin, 2005-12-31 This book deals with strategic organizational decision-making providing techniques for improving the intelligence of actions by organizational decision-makers--Provided by publisher. |
| alignment of it and business strategy: Handbook of Research on Recent Developments in Internet Activism and Political Participation Ibrahim, Yasmin, 2020-06-26 International politics is witnessing a rapid transformation due to the emerging impact of the internet and digital media. Activists in various countries have been given a new medium to voice their views and opinions, resulting in governments adapting to the digital environment in which we currently live. As the role of social media and online communities continue to grow, empirical research is needed on their specific impact on governmental policies and reform. Recent Developments in Internet Activism and Political Participation is an essential reference source that explores the modern role that digital media plays within community engagement and political development. This book discusses real-world case studies in various regions of the world on how the internet is affecting government agendas and promoting the voice of the community. Featuring research on topics such as digital ecosystems, information technology, and foreign policy, this book is ideally designed for researchers, strategists, government officials, policymakers, sociologists, administrators, scholars, educators, and students seeking coverage on the societal impact of social media in modern global politics. |
| alignment of it and business strategy: Aligning the Stars Jay W. Lorsch, Thomas J. Tierney, 2002-04-26 Most businesses rely on talent to succeed, but none so much as professional service firms. Within this rapidly expanding, trillion-dollar industry, professionals--and how they're managed--are the primary source of competitive advantage. In fact, success in this sector is determined more by the people you pay than the people who pay you. This path-breaking book provides readers with a practical and integrated perspective on how to win in the unique and tumultuous world of professional services. From strategy to organization to culture, it offers customized insights for businesses in which professionals drive bottom-line results and long-term company success. Respected academic Jay W. Lorsch and accomplished practitioner Thomas J. Tierney apply their broad experience to the realities of Monday morning decision making. Their work reflects decades of personal experience, combined with a rigorous study of outstanding professional service firms in industries that include law, information technology, accounting, advertising, investment banking, executive search, and consulting. Aligning the Stars explains what differentiates the best of the best within professional services. By describing how to attract, retain, motivate, organize, and lead the stars that shape a company's destiny, this book provides valuable lessons for the current and future leaders of every talent-driven business. |
| alignment of it and business strategy: Organizational Physics - The Science of Growing a Business Lex Sisney, 2013-03-01 There are hidden laws at work in every aspect of your business. Understand them, and you can create extraordinary growth. Ignore them, and you run the risk of becoming another statistic. It's become almost cliche: 8 out of every 10 new ventures fail. Of the ones that succeed, how many truly thrive-for the long run? And of those that thrive, how many continually overcome their growth hurdles ... and ultimately scale, with meaning, purpose, and profitability? The answer, sadly, is not many. Author Lex Sisney is on a mission to change that picture. After more than a decade spent leading and coaching high-growth technology companies, Lex discovered that the companies that thrive do so in accordance with 6 Laws - universal principles that govern the success or failure of every individual, team, and organization. |
| alignment of it and business strategy: Partner for Performance Ingrid Guerra-Lopez, Karen Hicks, 2017-07-13 As an L&D professional, you know not to take a client request at face value. But can you steer misguided initiatives in the right direction, arriving at a solution that works for your customers and your company? Partner for Performance is the key to aligning your learning and development role with your organization's greatest needs. Performance improvement specialists Ingrid Guerra-López and Karen Hicks offer a framework for fast-tracking your growth as an ally to managers and a consultant to business leaders. Their structured, yet versatile method is a fit for any organization, and you can use it throughout the learning-solution process. Form lasting partnerships with stakeholders. Generate, share, and use performance data that support decision making and action. And help your organization avoid failed training initiatives that waste effort, time, and money, while brewing employee disengagement. Change the L&D status quo and build credibility for your department --Partner for Performance will show you how. |
| alignment of it and business strategy: Start-Ups and SMEs: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications Management Association, Information Resources, 2020-01-03 Smaller companies are abundant in the business realm and outnumber large companies by a wide margin. To maintain a competitive edge against other businesses, companies must ensure the most effective strategies and procedures are in place. This is particularly critical in smaller business environments that have fewer resources. Start-Ups and SMEs: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications is a vital reference source that examines the strategies and concepts that will assist small and medium-sized enterprises to achieve competitiveness. It also explores the latest advances and developments for creating a system of shared values and beliefs in small business environments. Highlighting a range of topics such as entrepreneurship, innovative behavior, and organizational sustainability, this multi-volume book is ideally designed for entrepreneurs, business managers, executives, managing directors, academicians, business professionals, researchers, and graduate-level students. |
| alignment of it and business strategy: Does It Matter? Nicholas G. Carr, 2004-04-07 Over the last decade, and even since the bursting of the technology bubble, pundits, consultants, and thought leaders have argued that information technology provides the edge necessary for business success. IT expert Nicholas G. Carr offers a radically different view in this eloquent and explosive book. As IT's power and presence have grown, he argues, its strategic relevance has actually decreased. IT has been transformed from a source of advantage into a commoditized cost of doing business--with huge implications for business management. Expanding on Carr's seminal Harvard Business Review article that generated a storm of controversy, Does IT Matter? provides a truly compelling--and unsettling--account of IT's changing business role and its leveling influence on competition. Through astute analysis of historical and contemporary examples, Carr shows that the evolution of IT closely parallels that of earlier technologies such as railroads and electric power. He goes on to lay out a new agenda for IT management, stressing cost control and risk management over innovation and investment. And he examines the broader implications for business strategy and organization as well as for the technology industry. A frame-changing statement on one of the most important business phenomena of our time, Does IT Matter? marks a crucial milepost in the debate about IT's future. An acclaimed business writer and thinker, Nicholas G. Carr is a former executive editor of the Harvard Business Review. |
| alignment of it and business strategy: Enterprise Governance of Information Technology Steven De Haes, Wim Van Grembergen, 2015-03-04 Featuring numerous case examples from companies around the world, this second edition integrates theoretical advances and empirical data with practical applications, including in-depth discussion on the COBIT 5 framework which can be used to build, measure and audit enterprise governance of IT approaches. At the forefront of the field, the authors of this volume draw from years of research and advising corporate clients to present a comprehensive resource on enterprise governance of IT (EGIT). Information technology (IT) has become a crucial enabler in the support, sustainability and growth of enterprises. Given this pervasive role of IT, a specific focus on EGIT has arisen over the last two decades, as an integral part of corporate governance. Going well beyond the implementation of a superior IT infrastructure, enterprise governance of IT is about defining and embedding processes and structures throughout the organization that enable boards and business and IT people to execute their responsibilities in support of business/IT alignment and value creation from their IT-enabled investments. Featuring a variety of elements, including executive summaries and sidebars, extensive references and questions and activities (with additional materials available on-line), this book will be an essential resource for professionals, researchers and students alike |
| alignment of it and business strategy: The Power of Strategic Alignment Dennis C. Miller, 2013-11 Dennis has written a practical approach to an issue that plagues so many organizations. The Power of Strategic Alignment is important for any corporation but it is an absolute imperative for a non-profit organization. There is such a temptation to follow the money. Additionally, there are so many needs in the world that can easily distract good-hearted people and cause organizations to splinter in various directions. David Williams, President and Chief Executive Officer Make-A-Wish(r) America Any organization's impact depends on strong leaders and not just the CEO. The Power of Strategic Alignment helps senior leaders harness the power of your non-profits' strategy to achieve even more for those you serve. Carolyn S. Miles, President & Chief Executive Save the Children This is a must-read book for nonprofit CEOs and board members that highlight the importance of communication and developing an organization's leaders, strategies and goals to be successful. The book really illustrates the key elements to make things happen and getting positive results. Jonathan R. Pearson, Executive Director, Corporate Philanthropy and Community Affairs Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey Drawing on his rich experience as the CEO and now as a highly regarded nonprofit strategic advisor, Dennis Miller provides the reader with a succinct yet comprehensive formula for nonprofit organization leaders and boards to maximize their effectiveness and success. He stresses how an organization, in order to have a successful strategic plan, must have a clear and compelling vision; have completed a comprehensive assessment of key strengths and critical weaknesses; possess a comprehensive funding plan; and complete a detailed plan for implementation and execution. I urge senior executives and board leaders of nonprofit organizations to read this book. Charles M. Dombeck, Chairman National Institute for People with Disabilities in New Jers |
| alignment of it and business strategy: Handbook on Business Process Management 2 Jan vom Brocke, Michael Rosemann, 2016-09-22 Business Process Management (BPM) has become one of the most widely used approaches for the design of modern organizational and information systems. The conscious treatment of business processes as significant corporate assets has facilitated substantial improvements in organizational performance but is also used to ensure the conformance of corporate activities. This Handbook presents in two volumes the contemporary body of knowledge as articulated by the world's leading BPM thought leaders. This second volume focuses on the managerial and organizational challenges of BPM such as strategic and cultural alignment, governance and the education of BPM stakeholders. As such, this book provides concepts and methodologies for the integration of BPM. Each chapter has been contributed by leading international experts. Selected case studies complement their views and lead to a summary of BPM expertise that is unique in its coverage of the most critical success factors of BPM. The second edition of this handbook has been significantly revised and extended. Each chapter has been updated to reflect the most current developments. This includes in particular new technologies such as in-memory data and process management, social media and networks. A further focus of this revised and extended edition is on the actual deployment of the proposed theoretical concepts. This volume includes a number of entire new chapters from some of the world's leading experts in the domain of BPM. |
| alignment of it and business strategy: Agile Strategy Management Soren Lyngso, 2014-03-21 Your strategic initiatives are constantly under fire due to the evolving nature of markets, technology, laws, and government. To ensure your strategy succeeds, it must remain flexible while confronting these shifting challenges. Agile Strategy Management: Techniques for Continuous Alignment and Improvement explains how to achieve this flexibility by building agility into the initiation, development, implementation, and governance of your strategic initiatives. The book details what it takes to initiate, develop, implement, and govern a healthy strategy that delivers the benefits expected by all stakeholders. It presents insights gained by the author’s organization over the last 25 years helping their clients achieve success with their strategic initiatives. Filled with real-world examples and case studies, it illustrates wide-ranging situations where the author’s company helped clients reach important business objectives. Readers can use the book to look up examples that describe the various ways to use agile methods and techniques for critical business functions, including: Scope definition of strategic initiatives Stakeholder identification Team building Project and program quality management Change management Procurement of resources Solution development, implementation, and quality management Strategy governance In this book, you will find guidelines that explain how to establish internal organizations for change and how to ensure these intermediate organizations stay motivated until final solution delivery. Presenting success stories as well as major blunders, the book can help you avoid many of the pitfalls that other organizations have experienced while governing their strategic initiatives. |
| alignment of it and business strategy: Alignment Robert S. Kaplan, David P. Norton, 2006-02-23 Most organizations consist of multiple business and support units, each populated by highly trained, experienced executives. But often the efforts of individual units are not coordinated, resulting in conflicts, lost opportunities, and diminished performance. Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton argue that the responsibility for this critical alignment lies with corporate headquarters. In this book, the authors apply their revolutionary Balanced Scorecard management system to corporate-level strategy, revealing how highly successful enterprises achieve powerful synergies by explicitly defining corporate headquarters’ role in setting, coordinating, and overseeing organizational strategy. Based on extensive field research in organizations worldwide, Alignment shows how companies can build an enterprise-level Strategy Map and Balanced Scorecard that clearly articulate the “enterprise value proposition”: how the enterprise creates value above that achieved by individual business units operating alone. The book provides case studies, actionable frameworks, and sample scorecards that show how to align business and support units, boards of directors, and external partners with the corporate strategy and create a governance process that will ensure that alignment is sustained. The next breakthrough in strategy execution from the field’s premier thinkers, Alignment shows how today’s companies can unlock unrealized value from enterprise synergies. |
| alignment of it and business strategy: Strategy Harvard Business School Press, 2005-07-01 Strategic execution drives business success. This book covers strategy from the ground up, explaining what strategy is, how to put together a strategic plan, what tools and resources are necessary to execute it, and how to measure results. The Harvard Business Essentials series is designed to provide comprehensive advice, personal coaching, background information, and guidance on the most relevant topics in business. Whether you are a new manager seeking to expand your skills or a seasoned professional looking to broaden your knowledge base, these solution-oriented books put reliable answers at your fingertips. |
| alignment of it and business strategy: Beyond Control Fred Lachotzki, Robert Noteboom, 2005-09-12 Technology has made it possible to apply a new management philosophy. Leaders can let go and still be in control. They can involve key people without losing momentum. Companies can consistently measure organizational capability over time, and accurately benchmark 'soft' management areas, and a virtual CEO office really does work. Founded on three key insights (the operating arena; managing by pull and push; and the web-based dialogue centre), Beyond Control offers a revolutionary model for shifting the management focus from structured control to guided interaction. Using this approach companies can build a participative operating system that creates space for managers to excel, and avoids the unpleasant surprises that can lead to corporate scandals. |
| alignment of it and business strategy: Knowledge Driven Service Innovation and Management: IT Strategies for Business Alignment and Value Creation Chew, Eng K., 2012-11-30 This book provides a comprehensive collection of research and analysis on the principles of service, knowledge and organizational capabilities, clarifying IT strategy procedures and management practices and how they are used to shape a firm's knowledge resources--Provided by publisher. |
| alignment of it and business strategy: Best Practices for the Knowledge Society. Knowledge, Learning, Development and Technology for All Miltiadis D. Lytras, Patricia Ordóñez de Pablos, Ernesto Damiani, David Avison, Ambjörn Naeve, David G. Horner, 2009-09-28 It is a great pleasure to share with you the Springer LNCS proceedings of the Second World Summit on the Knowledge Society, WSKS 2009, organized by the Open - search Society, Ngo, http://www.open-knowledge-society.org, and held in Samaria Hotel, in the beautiful city of Chania in Crete, Greece, September 16–18, 2009. The 2nd World Summit on the Knowledge Society (WSKS 2009) was an inter- tional scientific event devoted to promoting dialogue on the main aspects of the knowledge society towards a better world for all. The multidimensional economic and social crisis of the last couple of years has brought to the fore the need to discuss in depth new policies and strategies for a human centric developmental processes in the global context. This annual summit brings together key stakeholders involved in the worldwide development of the knowledge society, from academia, industry, and government, including policy makers and active citizens, to look at the impact and prospects of - formation technology, and the knowledge-based era it is creating, on key facets of l- ing, working, learning, innovating, and collaborating in today’s hyper-complex world. The summit provides a distinct, unique forum for cross-disciplinary fertilization of research, favoring the dissemination of research on new scientific ideas relevant to - ternational research agendas such as the EU (FP7), OECD, or UNESCO. We focus on the key aspects of a new sustainable deal for a bold response to the multidimensional crisis of our times. |
| alignment of it and business strategy: Information Technology Alignment and Innovation Yolande E. Chan, Rashmi Krishnamurthy, Ali S. Ghawe, 2021-05-17 This monograph bridges this gap and presents findings from a review of the alignment and innovation literature streams published between 1990 and 2020. The authors summarize approaches, challenges, and opportunities seen in the alignment and innovation literature streams. |
| alignment of it and business strategy: Aligning Business Strategies and Analytics Murugan Anandarajan, Teresa D. Harrison, 2018-09-27 This book examines issues related to the alignment of business strategies and analytics. Vast amounts of data are being generated, collected, stored, processed, analyzed, distributed and used at an ever-increasing rate by organizations. Simultaneously, managers must rapidly and thoroughly understand the factors driving their business. Business Analytics is an interactive process of analyzing and exploring enterprise data to find valuable insights that can be exploited for competitive advantage. However, to gain this advantage, organizations need to create a sophisticated analytical climate within which strategic decisions are made. As a result, there is a growing awareness that alignment among business strategies, business structures, and analytics are critical to effectively develop and deploy techniques to enhance an organization’s decision-making capability. In the past, the relevance and usefulness of academic research in the area of alignment is often questioned by practitioners, but this book seeks to bridge this gap. Aligning Business Strategies and Analytics: Bridging Between Theory and Practice is comprised of twelve chapters, divided into three sections. The book begins by introducing business analytics and the current gap between academic training and the needs within the business community. Chapters 2 - 5 examines how the use of cognitive computing improves financial advice, how technology is accelerating the growth of the financial advising industry, explores the application of advanced analytics to various facets of the industry and provides the context for analytics in practice. Chapters 6 - 9 offers real-world examples of how project management professionals tackle big-data challenges, explores the application of agile methodologies, discusses the operational benefits that can be gained by implementing real-time, and a case study on human capital analytics. Chapters 10 - 11 reviews the opportunities and potential shortfall and highlights how new media marketing and analytics fostered new insights. Finally the book concludes with a look at how data and analytics are playing a revolutionary role in strategy development in the chemical industry. |
| alignment of it and business strategy: Mastering the Cube Reed Deshler, Kreig Smith, Alyson Von Feldt, 2014-07-26 Mastering the Cube skillfully lays out proven organization design principles. Comparing today's complex organizations to a Rubik's Cube, the authors explain how focusing improvement efforts on just one or two facets of the organization is akin to concentrating on just one side of the cube. Doing so is bound to affect-and more likely jumble-the other areas needed to generate a healthy and sustainable organization. They advocate stepping back and taking a systems-wide, comprehensive view of change and bringing all elements into alignment with strategy. They describe eight common beliefs and missteps that cause leaders to stumble, and they offer eight building blocks to effectively orchestrate complex organizational change. Written for both business leaders and their change partners in human resources, organization effectiveness, organization design, strategy, information technology, and process or continuous improvement (e.g., Lean Six Sigma), the book offers practical wisdom to help readers develop a shared perspective on organization design and achieve positive business results. It also outlines key principles and concepts for leading effective organization alignment-and moving your organization into a productive, rewarding future. Whether the transformation before you involves restructuring, consolidations, or mergers and acquisitions, this resource provides the guidance you'll need to become skilled in the important, real work of strategic organizational alignment. This is a great step-by-step how-to manual on defining and changing the design of your company. If you're facing such challenges and have only time to read one thing, read this. It is omniscient, efficient and sufficient. --Clayton Christensen, Professor, Harvard Business School A must read for C-Suite execs interested in cutting the fat and preserving the muscle. Mastering the Cube: Overcoming Stumbling Blocks and Building an Organization that Works is a blueprint for smart, engaging cost reduction and efficiency no matter the circumstances. --Joe Nothwang, President, Rentals and Leasing, the Americas and Asia, Hertz Corporation The 8 stumbling blocks are an excellent reminder of the all-too-often misguided approach and beliefs at play within businesses tackling organization transformation and change. Mastering the Cube offers thoughtful and practical wisdom and techniques for any leader who seeks to ensure that the organization design efforts they undertake are aligned with strategy and result in sustainable business impact. --Angela S. Lalor, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Danaher This book doesn't sugar coat the tough choices with which organization leaders are confronted For those who have the courage to move forward, Mastering the Cube is a practical and valuable guide to aligning organization choices to strategy. I found the guidance equally applicable to all types of organizations: for-profit, government, and non-profit. --Ann R. Henry, Vice President, Global Operations, Cisco Capital Mastering the Cube is a guide organization architects can use to maneuver through the critical steps to produce an organization that works. Nicely done. --Larry Costello, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resource Officer, Tyco International AlignOrg Solutions is an international consultancy serving enterprises of all sizes and types to clarify strategy, align organizational choices, build organization capabilities, manage and implement change, and develop alignment leadership. The firm offers a high-engagement approach, exceptional alignment tools, and hard-won expertise in leading organization transformation projects. They are respected worldwide for helping leaders and their change partners align the choices in their organizations with a differentiated strategy for future success. |
| alignment of it and business strategy: Enterprise Architecture Planning Steven H. Spewak, Steven C. Hill, 1993 Enterprise Architecture Planning (EAP) is a high-level blueprint for data, applications, and technology that is a cost-effective long-term solution. The authors give you a common-sense approach to EAP, supported by examples of architectures, procedures, checklists, and useful guidelines. |
| alignment of it and business strategy: ITIL Service Strategy Great Britain. Cabinet Office, Great Britain. Stationery Office, 2011 This volume provides updated guidance on how to design, develop and implement service management both as an organisational capability and a strategic asset. It is a guide to a strategic review of ITIL-based service management capabilities, with the aim of improving their alignment with overall business needs. It is written primarily for senior managers who provide leadership and direction in the form of objectives, plans and policies. It is also benefits mangers at other levels, by explaining the logic of senior management decisions. |
| alignment of it and business strategy: Scaling Up Verne Harnish, 2014 In this guide, Harnish and his co-authors share practical tools and techniques to help entrepreneurs grow an industry -- dominating business without it killing them -- and actually have fun. Many growth company leaders reach a point where they actually dread adding another customer, employee, or location. It feels like they are just adding more weight to an ever-heavier anchor they are dragging through the sand. To make matters worse, the increased revenues have not turned into more profitability, so at some point they wonder if the journey is worth the effort. This book focuses on the four major decisions every company must get right: People, Strategy, Execution and Cash. The book includes a series of One-Page tools including the One-Page Strategic Plan and the Rockefeller Habits Execution Checklist, which more than 40,000 firms around the globe have used to scale their companies successfully. |
| alignment of it and business strategy: In Search of Excellence Thomas J. Peters, Robert H. Waterman, Jr., 2012-11-27 The Greatest Business Book of All Time (Bloomsbury UK), In Search of Excellence has long been a must-have for the boardroom, business school, and bedside table. Based on a study of forty-three of America's best-run companies from a diverse array of business sectors, In Search of Excellence describes eight basic principles of management -- action-stimulating, people-oriented, profit-maximizing practices -- that made these organizations successful. Joining the HarperBusiness Essentials series, this phenomenal bestseller features a new Authors' Note, and reintroduces these vital principles in an accessible and practical way for today's management reader. |
| alignment of it and business strategy: Strategic Alignment Norman Chorn, Terri Hunter, 2010 This book tackles the issue of successful organisational development as it should be - head on. Most medium to large businesses and organisations spend significant amounts of time and money strategising for the future -- but much of this is wasted because the key managers fail to see how their businesses are really positioned in their operating environments. Dr Chorn uses organisational archetypes -- the pragmatic, the administrative, the divergent and the intergrative (PADI) -- to show how developmental pathways can be created to achieve winning goals. The book provides a practical way to navigate the choppy waters of strategic planning by aligning the organisational reason for being with the external moment of truth. |
| alignment of it and business strategy: StratPro(TM) Allen E Fishman, 2016-04 StratPro(TM) encompasses everything you need to know for starting and implementing your organization's strategic planning, thereby achieving the desired results. StratPro(TM) is a unique, holistic approach for strategically leading an organization to greater success. |
| alignment of it and business strategy: Simplified Strategic Planning Robert W. Bradford, J. Peter Duncan, Peter Duncan, Brian Tarcy, 2000 Future success? or future shock? Only companies that plan ahead will survive the changes in business today--and tomorrow. |
| alignment of it and business strategy: Measurement of Business Economic Performance N Venkatraman, Vasudevan Ramanujam, 2023-07-18 This book provides a comprehensive overview of the latest approaches to measuring business performance and the methods used to achieve convergence across different analytic techniques. A vital resource for business professionals and academics seeking to expand their understanding of measurement and evaluation strategies in the modern business ecosystem. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant. |
WHY STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT MATTERS— AND HOW TO …
Strategic alignment delivers important advantages. Namely, it helps organizations execute their strategy. Regardless of the nature and direction of a strategic change an organization wants to …
Benchmarking Strategic Alignment of Business and IT …
Business and IT strategy alignment is a complex dynamic process in which organizations are in a position to enable extensive IT capabilities to achieve their business objectives.
STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT BETWEEN INFORMATION SYSTEM …
alignment of Information system (IS) with business strategy in order to enhance business or organizational performance. Various approaches and models to achieve this alignment have...
IT/Strategy Alignment
IT strategy sets the priorities that govern decision making by users and data processing professionals. It forms the policy framework for the firm's use of IT, and describes how the …
Alignment of Information Technology and Strategic Business …
To contribute towards realising alignment between IT and business, this paper investigates factors that influence the alignment of IT with strategic business objectives in the context of a South …
Alignment of Business and IT Introduction - Hinkelmann
"There are no IT projects, only business projects." Digital business strategy is an organizational strategy formulated and executed by leveraging digital resources to create differential value.
Aligning IT with Business Strategy - ictknowledgebase.org.uk
Quite simply, we need a tangible alignment plan that will help us to realise our ambition of complete harmony between our IT and business strategy. These Guidelines illustrate how to …
Benchmarking strategic alignment of business and IT …
Results indicated several difficulties affecting the strategic alignment implementation transcend the business and IT strategies like communication, corporate culture, governance, resource …
Business strategy and IT strategy alignment in SMEs - DiVA …
this topic has, primarily, concentrated on determining whether, and how, the alignment of business strategy and IT strategy increases profitability and generates value for the firms that …
How Does Alignment of Business and IT Strategies Impact …
Alignment between information technology (IT) and business stakeholders on their strategies has traditionally been viewed as the means to achieve greater IT delivery capabilities, but there is …
THE BUSINESS-IT ALIGNMENT IN THE DIGITAL AGE - itais.org
Based on an updated instrument to achieve this measurement, a study was conducted to measure the strate-gic alignment degree between business and IT, applied to a sample of …
Alignment of Information Systems Strategy with Business …
Alignment of information systems (IS) strategy with business strategy is an important objective if organizations are to use information technology resources effectively. Alignment is especially …
ALIGNMENT OF BUSINESS STRATEGY AND IT STRATEGY: A …
Using a case study approach, this research study identifies the reasons why alignment gaps exist between business strategy and IT strategy and suggests methods which can be used to...
Aligning IT/IS goals with business objectives; facilitating ... - Scirj
Considering the growing interest and the vital role of Information Systems in improving the competitive position of firms, this paper reviews both academic and practitioner research in …
Strategic Alignment Between Business and Information …
ness-IT strategic alignment facilitates business effect of IT and that contextual fac-tors affect business-IT alignment. However, the role of knowledge considerations in the relationship …
Aligning IT with Business Goals through Strategic Planning
Intel IT has a new strategic planning process that better aligns our activities with those of the corporate business groups. We’ve developed and implemented a new approach that identifies …
Strategic Information Systems Alignment: Alignment of IS/IT …
Information Systems Alignment (SISA) is to help implement information systems to integrate with its business strategy. It assists in transforming information into a usable form for...
Challenges of information technology alignment to business …
Organizations may align IT to business strategy so as to realize business objectives such as improved efficiency/turn-around time and maximum return on investment. However, due the …
Business Architecture: Strategy Execution’s Secret Weapon
Nov 7, 2019 · •Does alignment lie with strategy? There is, hopefully, a business strategy. It might be to double the focus on core markets, or expand into new product areas, buy up smaller …
Assessing Alignment Between Business and IT Strategy: A
Strategic alignment between business and IT is a topic of high importance to modern businesses, but it remains problematic to implement structured methods to improve and assess...
WHY STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT MATTERS— AND HOW TO …
Strategic alignment delivers important advantages. Namely, it helps organizations execute their strategy. Regardless of the nature and direction of a strategic change an organization wants to …
Benchmarking Strategic Alignment of Business and IT …
Business and IT strategy alignment is a complex dynamic process in which organizations are in a position to enable extensive IT capabilities to achieve their business objectives.
STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT BETWEEN INFORMATION SYSTEM …
alignment of Information system (IS) with business strategy in order to enhance business or organizational performance. Various approaches and models to achieve this alignment have...
IT/Strategy Alignment
IT strategy sets the priorities that govern decision making by users and data processing professionals. It forms the policy framework for the firm's use of IT, and describes how the …
Alignment of Information Technology and Strategic Business …
To contribute towards realising alignment between IT and business, this paper investigates factors that influence the alignment of IT with strategic business objectives in the context of a South …
Alignment of Business and IT Introduction - Hinkelmann
"There are no IT projects, only business projects." Digital business strategy is an organizational strategy formulated and executed by leveraging digital resources to create differential value.
Aligning IT with Business Strategy - ictknowledgebase.org.uk
Quite simply, we need a tangible alignment plan that will help us to realise our ambition of complete harmony between our IT and business strategy. These Guidelines illustrate how to …
Benchmarking strategic alignment of business and IT …
Results indicated several difficulties affecting the strategic alignment implementation transcend the business and IT strategies like communication, corporate culture, governance, resource …
Business strategy and IT strategy alignment in SMEs - DiVA …
this topic has, primarily, concentrated on determining whether, and how, the alignment of business strategy and IT strategy increases profitability and generates value for the firms that …
How Does Alignment of Business and IT Strategies Impact …
Alignment between information technology (IT) and business stakeholders on their strategies has traditionally been viewed as the means to achieve greater IT delivery capabilities, but there is …
THE BUSINESS-IT ALIGNMENT IN THE DIGITAL AGE - itais.org
Based on an updated instrument to achieve this measurement, a study was conducted to measure the strate-gic alignment degree between business and IT, applied to a sample of …
Alignment of Information Systems Strategy with Business …
Alignment of information systems (IS) strategy with business strategy is an important objective if organizations are to use information technology resources effectively. Alignment is especially …
ALIGNMENT OF BUSINESS STRATEGY AND IT STRATEGY: A …
Using a case study approach, this research study identifies the reasons why alignment gaps exist between business strategy and IT strategy and suggests methods which can be used to...
Aligning IT/IS goals with business objectives; facilitating ... - Scirj
Considering the growing interest and the vital role of Information Systems in improving the competitive position of firms, this paper reviews both academic and practitioner research in …
Strategic Alignment Between Business and Information …
ness-IT strategic alignment facilitates business effect of IT and that contextual fac-tors affect business-IT alignment. However, the role of knowledge considerations in the relationship …
Aligning IT with Business Goals through Strategic Planning …
Intel IT has a new strategic planning process that better aligns our activities with those of the corporate business groups. We’ve developed and implemented a new approach that identifies …
Strategic Information Systems Alignment: Alignment of IS/IT …
Information Systems Alignment (SISA) is to help implement information systems to integrate with its business strategy. It assists in transforming information into a usable form for...
Challenges of information technology alignment to business …
Organizations may align IT to business strategy so as to realize business objectives such as improved efficiency/turn-around time and maximum return on investment. However, due the …
Business Architecture: Strategy Execution’s Secret Weapon
Nov 7, 2019 · •Does alignment lie with strategy? There is, hopefully, a business strategy. It might be to double the focus on core markets, or expand into new product areas, buy up smaller …
Assessing Alignment Between Business and IT Strategy: A
Strategic alignment between business and IT is a topic of high importance to modern businesses, but it remains problematic to implement structured methods to improve and assess...
