CIO - Need to answer 4 different discussion questions

Illustration of an exam template

Please do not make up your own template. Please do not copy what I placed in italics. Discussion 1 (so forth)

Reference: In APA

Citation: In APA

Major theme of the essay

This is an abstract.

Arguments used to support this theme

This is a summary of the selected reading.

Ideas that support the problem under review

This identifies ideas from the summary that specifically address the problem. It will be redundant from the summary, just focused/concise.

Discussion of the problem

This is your analysis placing this article within the context of the problem under review.

Now do the same for the next three. Use articles from the library, or through an Internet search. A few are computerworld.com; cio.com; informationweek.com; & imm.arma.org. There are others.

How long? Depends on the original. Strive to perfect your understanding of the authors’ intent and argument. This exam provides an opportunity for you to place your understanding within the context of the discussion problem.

Illustration of an exam

Discussion 1

Reference: Arandjelovic, P. (2015, February). Why CIOs should be business-strategy partners. McKinsey & Company. Retrieved from http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/digital-mckinsey/our- insights/why-cios-should-be-business-strategy-partners

Citation: (Arandjelovic, 2015)

Major theme of the essay Executives report that IT performance and business tasks improve if CIOs play an active role in business strategy (Arandjelovic, 2015). In addition, when CIOs don’t play that active role, view of IT within the business can suffer greatly.

Arguments used to support this theme Study of over 350 firms by McKinsey & Company. A survey found that executives are not satisfied with almost all parts of IT, from IT infrastructure to IT governance, let alone introducing innovative technologies to drive new business opportunities. Moreover, the survey found significant misaligned priorities between IT executives and non-IT executives. For example, when determining what they believe to be their current IT’s priorities are at their own organization, 43% of IT executives listed reducing IT costs while only 18% of non-IT executives thought the same was a priority (Ibid.).

The good news is that at those firms where the CIO is more involved and active in business strategy the same survey among non-IT and IT executives showed completely effective or very effective IT organizations in a number processes. For example, delivering new projects or enhancements on time and within budget showed that 72% of non-IT executives believed the process was completely or very effective. For managing IT infrastructure, 93% of IT executives believed the process was completely or very effective (Ibid.).

So, although there is widespread unhappiness around most of the IT performance within those surveyed as well as misaligned priorities, there was however widespread agreement on two priorities for the future - the importance of data analytics and the recruitment and cultivation of IT talent.

Ideas that support the problem under review If the CIO ‘hunkers down’ inside a siloed department then the business will suffer, along with the view internally of the IT department. The CIO should not only be the ambassador for the IT department, but also an active partner in the business, no different than the CFO, COO, or Director of Marketing. When that happens, IT performance and business both improve.

Discussion of the problem and how this article supports that analysis For the CIO to be valued as a strategic actor, he or she must ‘act’ like one, getting his or hands dirty more with the day-to-day of the business rather than the day-to-day operations of the IT department. In business, the CIO can empower his or her systems administrators with project management, so the CIO can work with the CFO on that idea to increase revenue. In K-12 or higher education, assign an enterprising tech employee to oversee the Helpdesk day-to-day so that the CIO can work with the Curriculum Director on finding digital educational resources and how they will be deployed out to staff with the proper professional development necessary for success.