Discussion responses

Business strategy provides a company with a direction and the basic concepts of how the company will get to where they have decide they want to go (Pearlson, Saunders, & Galletta, 2019). Business strategy must drive all other forms of strategy within the organization including organizational and information systems strategy. Organizational strategy is the organizational design and the map of work processes that need to occur in order to accomplish the business strategy (Pearlson, Saunders, & Galletta, 2019). Information Systems strategy is the plan an organization creates and implements in order to provide technological services that support the business strategy (Pearlson, Saunders, & Galletta, 2019). Essentially, the business strategy is like a map that lays out how to get to a destination; the organizational strategy provides the details on who is needed to get to that destination and how what each person will do to contribute; and the information systems strategy provides the details on what technological equipment is needed in order to get to the destination. It becomes clear that it would be impossible to put the other two strategies before the business strategy. If we are taking a trip, we can load the car with the people and equipment, but we can not be sure we have the right people or equipment because we would not know where we are going or what we are doing once we get there.

Business strategy must be the driving force for organizational and information systems strategy. Business strategy provides a company with an understanding of who the “right” people are for the job and what tools (or information systems) they will need to move the company toward its goals. The information systems strategy triangle is a concept that shows how all three strategies are connected and must be in balance in order for the company to be successful (Pearlson, Saunders, & Galletta, 2019). If one strategy changes, it is critical for the company to evaluate the other two strategies in order to ensure that balance continues between this triad. The goal of a company in regards to these three strategies is to find an alignment, which means that the business strategy is fully supported and enabled by the other two strategies (Pearlson, Saunders, & Galletta, 2019). If a company does not ensure that strategies are aligned with one another, the strategies can be conflicting and can actually constrain one another from being accomplished. Tallon (2008) found that right type of fit between technology and business strategies is critical to the success of processes within the company, and that alignment of strategies should be the tightest when a process is considered critical to the business strategy.

When a business strategy is aligned with the organizational and information systems strategy, then the company will create value and run more effectively and efficiently. If a company, however, creates or modifies the organizational or informational systems strategies before having a business strategy, then chaos will potentially ensue. The strategies may conflict with one another, creating barriers to meet the strategic goals. For instance, a company may purchase an expensive information system to match their information systems theory that is unnecessary and does not accomplish what the company actually needed. It is impossible to make decisions on how to design an organization and the needed information systems without knowing where the business is going and how they plan to get there. The business strategy is provides this guidance and allows for successful decision making to occur across the organization.

References

Pearlson, K., Saunders C., & Galletta, D. (2019). Managing and Using Information Systems: A Strategic Approach (7th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Tallon, P.(2008). A Process-Oriented Perspective on the Alignment of Information Technology and Business Strategy. Journal of Management Information Systems, 24(3), 227-268.