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Conference 5, Chapter 4 CIO Best Practices & Rubric

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Going green. You could easily be very cycnical on the one hand, or very Pollyannish on the other regarding this chapter. My first reaction, frankly, was that Stenzil included it in the book because it was the correct thing to do. I really doubt that "green" is a self-conscious act of the executive to save the planet. Much of what we read in this chapter arises because the technology has presented itself, and there is a business case to be made for using it; virtualized servers is an example. I operate a virtualized computing environment because it is cheaper and easier to maintain. Many organizations have shifted to low energy fluorescent lighting. LED lighting will come into vogue as well when the cost comes down. What is the CIO's concern with "going green"? Do the benefits out weigh the costs at some point? If you are interested, you can introduce other "green" technologies to the discussion. Nanotechnologies are very prevalent in these conversations.

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Brief of Articles

Chapter 4: Leading with Green – Expanding the CIO’s Role in Eco-Efficient Information Technology Adoption

The main purpose of the article is to present Green IT business suggestions. Going green has five dimensions: 1) maximizing data center efficiencies, 2) encouraging policy controls for desktops and reducing printing, 3) considering energy efficiency, tax incentives and other incentives, recycling, less packaging, etc. in IT procurement processes, 4) decreasing the carbon-footprint and increasing the silicon-footprint, and 5) delivering shareholder value (Betancourt and Farrell, 2011).

The authors make the case that the CIO is well positioned to lead the enterprise in developing a Green IT strategy, due to the fact that the CIO has responsibility for high energy producing assets like data centers (Betancourt and Farrell, 2011). Plus, the CIO typically plays a leadership role in both transformation and best practices (Betancourt and Farrell, 2011). Two focus areas of the CIO for enterprise green initiatives are: 1) promote the enterprise initiatives, and 2) measure and validate the IT performance for the initiatives (Betancourt and Farrell, 2011). The CIO will need commitment from the other executives in the C-suite, and engagement from the employees (Betancourt and Farrell, 2011).

Betancourt and Farrell (2011) provide five areas for the CIO’s Green IT agenda: 1) end user working practices like teleworking and turning off assets not in use, 2) energy-efficient office equipment, 3) office infrastructure/data center optimization like virtualization and consolidation, 4) procurement green requirements for suppliers and products, and 5) corporate citizenship policies to encourage employee engagement, mitigate risk, assure compliance, and communicate performance outside of the enterprise.

While there are altruistic reasons for going green like reducing the carbon footprint in order to protect the environment, the CIO will need to present a business case with an acceptable ROI for the proposed Green IT investments (Betancourt and Farrell, 2011). Some of the opportunities are already being exploited for the clear ROI like server virtualization, but others may be harder to justify (Betancourt and Farrell, 2011).

Public policy is important to the enterprise and the CIO because of the reporting requirements, the tax incentives, new market opportunities, and the occasion to influence legislation (Betancourt and Farrell, 2011). Betancourt and Farrell (2011) state that there are 800 incentive programs available to organizations that adopt the energy saving practices in the United States.

There are five common challenges for going to Green IT: 1) inaccessibility of data, 2) absence of expertise, 3) vendor relationship complexity, 4) no clear standards, and 5) difficulty in developing a suitable business case (Betancourt and Farrell, 2011).

While CIOs have a responsibility to use innovation and best practices to optimize the use of the enterprise assets in order to maximize shareholder value, they also need to consider opportunities for the enterprise to become more energy-efficient (Betancourt and Farrell, 2011). To accomplish this, the CIO may need additional skills or acquire these skills by partnering with consulting companies that have expertise in this area (Betancourt and Farrell, 2011).

The Big Idea Saving the Planet: A Tale of Two Strategies

The purpose of this article is to articulate two prevailing strategies on how man can assure there are enough resources available in the future to sustain a growing population. Thomas Malthus proposes restraint and conservation, whilst Robert Solow promotes the idea that innovation will give us what we need (Martin and Kemper, 2012). At the extremes, both strategies are wrong, but they are also partly right (Martin and Kemper, 2012). Martin and Kemper (2012) suggest a combination of both restraint and the use of innovation, but cautions that policies that include both have failed. In the end, the authors suggest that citizens make a behavioral change or adopt a new technology, and businesses should innovate and create – in order to save the planet (Martin and Kemper, 2012).

Answer to Policy Question: What is the CIO's concern with "going green"? Do the benefits out weigh the costs at some point?

Given the fact that IT typically has high energy producing assets, there is an opportunity for the CIO to adopt technology that is more energy-efficient and provides an acceptable ROI for the enterprise (Betancourt and Farrell, 2011). It is important for the CIO to become familiar with the environmental policies in order to assure compliance, take advantage of tax or other incentives, and take advantage of market opportunities (Betancourt and Farrell, 2011). Given the lack of standards and potentially the lack of reliable data, it may be difficult for the CIO to make the business case for some of the Green IT investments (Betancourt and Farrell, 2011). However, some of these investments like for server consolidation and virtualization are easy to justify (Betancourt and Farrell, 2011).

Betancourt, R. and Farrell, A. (2011) Leading with Green: Expanding the CIO’s Role in Eco-Efficient Information Technology Adoption. In Stenzel, J. (Ed.) CIO Best Practices: Enabling Strategic Value with Information Technology (pp. 141-175).Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Martin, R. and Kemper, A. (April 2012). The Big Idea Saving the Planet: A Tale of Two Strategies. Harvard Business Review, 48-56.

Created by Justin Sudano on Jul 2, 2015 9:02 PM

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What is the CIO's concern with "going green"? Do the benefits outweigh the costs at some point? If you are interested, you can introduce other "green" technologies to the discussion.

(Martin and Kemper, 2012) detail two opposing economic theories; one by Thomas Malthus and the other by Robert Solow. Malthus theorized that resources and population expansion would directly affect one another. When population rises resulting in a simultaneous drain on finite resources which causes unsustainable consumption effectively leading to our [mankind] ultimate destruction.Solow, heir to Alfred Marshalls theory on productivity growth upon economic performance, theorized the antithesis of Malthus theory which established that the same capital which invests in new technology will become more productive and the innovation of that technology is the single most enabler of that productivity. Essentially, utilizing Solow theory, one could do more with the same initial investment [ non-descriptive capital] so long as technology effectively renders the resource to have a greater lifespan [time before the resource is exhausted or unusable].

While there have been environmental treaties focusing upon CO2 emissions [Kyoto protocol] and industries that have been developed based upon Malthus fundamental theory which attempt to impose conservation of resources and audits [consumption of resources/energy mitigation. (Martin and Kemper, 2012) finds that the dueling theory by Solow, which favors greater resource lifespan with the same resource and increasingly more efficient technology to exploit that resource, inherently generates inaction upon the consumer, industry, and also governments. (Martin and Kemper, 2012) believe that this inherent inaction results in those aforementioned groups to continue with the status quo quietly awaiting a theory to emerge as the victor causing universal adoption rather than further competition. The effective goal (Martin and Kemper, 2012) conclude and advocate for is that "government can regulate according to the desired outcome, citizens can commit to a behavioral change or adopt a new technology, and business can do what is does best which is to innovate and create to assist in saving our planet".

Utilizing the above article, the CIO's concern with going "green" while an opposing theory is still viable then that CIO would have to decide between voluntarily limiting their consumption [IT resources, manpower, etc ] and therefore effective production [ adopting Malthus theory] or adopt a standard process of maintaining the status quo of consumption and production while simultaneously expanding the organizations department which would research, develop, and innovate technologies to get more out of their existing resources or establish new methods and/or assets which can do more with the same resource. The above analysis would be a more "realist" approach which would not attempt to hybrid the models and commits to one singular theory. However, no such company which aspires to grow while mitigating its impact would choose to embrace only one of the singular theories. The CIO and the industry as a whole have adopted a mixture of the theories in order to appeal to the consumer and government [regulations] while also reducing their impact upon the environment and consumed resources. This hybrid approach has actually generated a method for consumers, industry, and government to consume the same resource but with less of an impact through reuse and recycle policies and new technology innovations. Industry expansion has come in many forms, such industries that come to mind first would be that of the recycled paper industry and additionally the natural gas & oil industry, see articles (Environmental Benefits, n.d.) and (Going Green, n.d.) for further information basis.

(Betancourt and Farrell, 2011), identify that the CIO holds an inherent and unique role within the organization as an enterprise [organizational wide] decision-maker which avails itself to innovative and develop mitigation strategies and policies. A "green" CIO recognizes that through the elimination and mitigation of inhibitors [waste, latency, and slack] the organization can identify and enable the reduction of dated and wasteful capital assets, processes and policies into more efficient and conciseness assets. Essentially, by going "green", appealing to consumers and appeasing government regulations, the CIO establishes and utilizes advancements in technology [hardware/software/industry culture] which limit its impact upon the environment and fundamental resource conservation to generate a strategic vision that empowers the organization to succeed.

(Bentancourt and Farrell, 2011) identified that the CIO effectively wears two hats favoring green initiatives which impact the organization in an enterprise wide manner:

• First hat: to promote supportive enterprise initiatives to measure and manage sustainability

• Second hat: measure and validate the IT organization's performance within all green enterprise initiatives

The most effective example represented by (Bentancourt and Farrell, 2011) came from Accenture's Stephen Nunn where his team was managing a project which would transform their data center and consolidate assets and reduce resource utilization. The enabler of this project to consolidate with cost efficiency, the company mandated that the goal of the project was to transform the data center carbon neutral [produces no CO2 emissions]. What occurred was the project through projections and assessing its future impact on resource utilization and carbon reduction beat the mandated goal over a five year period and offered a savings which amounted to $1 million via current value of carbon market credits.

Reference:

Betancourt, R. & Farrell, A. (2011) Leading with Green: Expanding the CIO’s Role in Eco-Efficient Information Technology Adoption. In Stenzel, J. (Ed.) CIO Best Practices: Enabling Strategic Value with Information Technology (pp. 141-175).Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Martin, R. & Kemper, A. (April 2012). The Big Idea Saving the Planet: A Tale of Two Strategies. Harvard Business Review, 48-56.

Environmental Benefits of Advanced Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Technology. (n.d.). Retrieved July 3, 2015, fromhttp://www.netl.doe.gov/kmd/cds/disk25/oilandgas.pdf

Going Green. (n.d.). Retrieved July 3, 2015, from https://www.usa.gov/green

Created by Omar Walker on Jul 3, 2015 10:56 PM

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This chapter begins by describing Green IT as the policies relevant to the management of assets lifecycle and the efficient usage of existing assets. It also discusses concepts that helps manage assets lifecycle such as driving data center energy efficiencies, promoting effective policy controls for the desktop environment, modifying IT procurement processes seeking energy efficiencies.

IT investors are revealing common programs and initiatives that make solid business case for Green IT. CIO who encourages purchases of low-power hardware and prioritizes power savings criteria are putting in place initiatives to obtain better investment returns. These initiatives also presents the opportunity for to lower energy cost (Bethancourt and Farrell, 2011).

Other areas are also identified where IT can demonstrate impact on reducing energy consumption.

• End user working practices - telework, consolidate shipping, switching off lights, and laptops when not in use.

• Office environment and equipment - energy-efficient equipment, VOIP, double sided print features.

• Office infrastructure/ data center – virtualization, server consolidation, distributed computing.

• Procurement – green supplier selection criteria, asset lifecycle management that includes disposal

• Corporate citizenship – manage risk and compliance, communicate performance externally and engage employees.

IBM also reports that energy savings can be maximized if managers adjust their power and cooling infrastructure (Bethancourt and Farrell, 2011).

Case study demonstrate that despite concerns regarding difficulty and time to implement, an IT organization should first determine if a new design innovation will more efficiently solve a capacity problem than simply adding more resources. Virtualizing the environment can be a better alternative than adding resources which can lead to substantial Green IT return on investment (ROI).

In order to overcome the challenges IT organizations have been partnering with consulting organization to acquire better knowledge. IT organization are also utilizing financial accountants that will help them understand the legislative proposals that would establish a price on emitting greenhouse gases.

What is the CIO's concern with "going green"? Do the benefits outweigh the costs at some point? If you are interested, you can introduce other "green" technologies to the discussion. Nanotechnologies are very prevalent in these conversations.

After reading the Big Idea Saving the planet the Malthusianism is in favor of stop burning through existing natural capitol stocks and creating negative externalities such as pollution, CO2, and waste. There should be limitations to growth in order to conserve the planet. Entities that take advantage of new technology can be more productive by enhancing their possibilities of acquiring more resources. Malthusians seeks commintment from both individuals and corporations to reduce, reuse and recycle. Government regulations with economic incentives can be a starting point for organizations to explore effective energy consumption measures. (Martin and Kemper, 2012).

Martin, R. and Kemper, A. (April 2012). The Big Idea Saving the Planet: A Tale of Two Strategies. Harvard Business Review, 48-56.

Going Green

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Created by Jason Davenport on Jul 3, 2015 10:47 PM

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Once the CIO community is able to overcome the initial challenge of being comfortable with green IT products, their overall performance and reliability, and having more consistency among evolving green standards and policies, the benefits can be more vivid. CIO’s should also be concerned with the overall impact that going green can have on an organization and globally. One CIO cannot change the world alone, but CIO’s as a profession can help change the way IT products are being manufactured by changing the way that they purchase IT products. Eco-efficiency should be part of the framework criteria for all new IT purchases, projects, and future efforts. On a global level, the CIO should be concerned with helping to reduce the Information technologies overall carbon footprint. On a local level, the CIO should take a conscious approach to supporting the big picture at the lowest level, but ensure that efficiency is maintained.

Information technology hardware, software, equipment and related devises are being designed to operate with better energy efficiency, better temperature ratings, and other technological improvements which will trickle down through the organization in the form various savings within the organizations. “According to IBM's Vice President of Energy and Environment Jim Lechner, for every dollar saved in IT energy reduction efforts, there can be five to eight dollars saved in additional benefits.” (Betancourt, 2011, Pg. 16) Technology has allowed systems to do the same level of work while using less energy with more efficiency all resulting in a reduction in operating cost. Unfortunately, the more efficient these systems perform and the more reliable they become, it is possible that the efforts can dent the carbon foot print, but the alarming impact may be the reduction in the number of human beings required to operate, support, and maintain them. (job loss)

REFERENCES:

Martin, R. & Kemper, A. (April 2012). The Big Idea Saving the Planet: A Tale of Two Strategies. Harvard Business Review, 48-56.

Going Green - K. Segreto

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Katherine Segreto posted Jul 1, 2015 10:04 PM

It seems that the major point of a CIO pushing for green initiatives is to achieve what we've discussed several times this semester: align the IT function with the rest of the business. Early on in the chapter, Betancourt and Farrell (2011) note, "Best practice CIOs have established a solid reputation for shifting IT from a cost center to a revenue center, and what better opportunity that Green IT initiatives for driving transformative enterprise processes" (p. 2). Green initiatives give the CIO the opportunity to capitalize on a growing range of measures which can reduce costs while providing efficient and effective information systems. Because green measure integrate "planning, purchasing, implementation, usage, maintenance, and disposal" they set the organization up for long-term benefits which are helpful to alignment (Betancourt & Farrell, 2011, p. 5).

Whether or not benefits outweigh costs can still be hard to determine as green initiatives become more robust and new regulations are introduced. Betancourt and Farrell (2011) found that, in order to give a company the best chance of realizing the benefits of going green, a CIO needed to understand the organization's current energy use, determine an acceptable return on green investment, assume that results promised by vendors will not be as good, and create cost and benefit models for a number of years into the future (p. 16-17). Another reason why cost-benefit analysis is still difficult, particularly in this country, is because of the difficulty in finding a balance between Solovian innovation and Malthusian restraint (Martin & Kemper, 2012, p. 54). The latter theory dictates that individual consumers and businesses alike commit to preserving our limited resources. "That commitment is generated essentially in three ways: regulation, economic incentives, and social or moral pressure" (Martin & Kemper, 2012, p.54). The Solovian theory typically banks on the government or a large corporation creating an innovative new concept (Martin & Kemper, 2012, p.54). If we wait for one theory to prevail, benefits may never outweigh costs because the green solutions may not be thoroughly thought out. By establishing conservation measures while waiting for the next big breakthrough in green technology, we increase the odds of finding long-term benefits and cost savings because "[g]overnments can regulate according to the desired outcome. Citizens can commit to a behavioral change or adopt a new technology. Business can do what it does best - innovate and create" (Martin & Kemper, 2012, p. 56).

References

Martin, R. and Kemper, A. (April 2012). The Big Idea Saving the Planet: A Tale of Two Strategies. Harvard Business Review, 48-56

Conference 6 Question

Jonathan Hujsak’s chapter on “sustainability’ really tails Hugos closely as it does the previous chapter on green. Many of the arguments in both previous chapters are reincarnate in this chapter. I do not see much value in re-discussing electricity and the carbon footprint. I was struck by several aspects of this chapter. The author writes (187): “Information technology holds the promise of revolutionary improvements in global enterprise sustainability that will dramatically enhance enterprise agility, increase operational efficiency, and even turn cost centers into profit centers.” Several innovations in data management are reshaping the IT landscape. These are discussed in the chapter: server virtualization, storage virtualization, desktop virtualization, and the near future network virtualization. As an executive, the question raised by the chapter regarding virtualization as a sustainability strategy is less than a yes/no, but a when/how. We will ask ourselves, and discuss, the extent to which the virtualization of processing portends the removal of a dedicated IT staff. We will discuss the extent to which the CIO is no longer the manager of a dedicated expert staff, but fully engaged in vendor management and service oversight. Finally we should ask ourselves the extent to which bricks and mortar will even define the corporation as an entity. The corporation, or at least its administrative wing, is more of an abstract. Does it matter if the processing engine of your corporate data is in Bangladesh or Nairobi? Does it matter what flag the vendor’s employees salute or what god they worship? Once we have achieved global network infrastructure stability and redundancy, we may find ourselves seriously questioning our understanding of “corporation” or even employment.

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Discussion 6

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Jon Smith posted Jul 9, 2015 11:29 PM

Last edited: Saturday, July 11, 2015 7:32 AM EDT

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Briefing of Readings and Policy Question response is included below.

Briefing

Chapter 5: Sustainability, Technology, and Economic Pragmatism – A View into the Future

Hujsak (2011) suggests that the current information technology (IT) operating model is not sustainable, because of the rapid increase in demand of global technology and the high cost and energy requirements for supplying the technology (e.g., data centers). This leads to a new IT operating model that incorporates the use of virtualization and cloud computing; resulting in data center consolidation, higher asset utilization, and lower energy consumption (Hujsak, 2011). Hujsak (2011) cites other technologies that will transform the IT operating model like mobile communications, robotics, and radio frequency identification (RFID). Though, this brief focuses on virtualization and cloud computing, and the new sustainability strategic planning framework.

The impact of four types of virtualization - server virtualization, storage virtualization, desktop virtualization, and network virtualization – and cloud computing to IT is discussed. Server virtualization is accomplished by running several virtual machines on a single hardware platform (Hujsak, 2011). It can dramatically increase asset utilization from as low as 6% to as high as 80% while decreasing the hardware footprint, energy consumption and costs (Hujsak, 2011). Storage virtualization is the pooling of distributed, heterogeneous storage resources to appear as one logical unit (Hujsak, 2011). Impact can be a 50% reduction or more of storage management costs. Desktop virtualization occurs when the desktop software is accessed from a network workstation like with enterprise cloud applications (Hujsak, 2011). Key benefit is workforce mobility and global enterprise agility (Hujsak, 2011). Network virtualization occurs when separate virtual networks are created on a single, physical IP backbone (Hujsak, 2011). Like with server and storage virtualization, network virtualization increases utilization, reduces energy consumption and lowers costs (Hujsak, 2011). Cloud computing leverages virtualization and service-oriented architecture (SOA) to offer IT resources as a service - Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - on a pay-as-you-go basis (Hujsak, 2011). Cloud computing enables rapid provisioning of resources, practically unlimited scalability, agility, and optimization of costs (Hujsak, 2011). Traditional brick and mortar data centers can be significantly reduced through the use of virtualization and cloud computing (Hujsak, 2011).

Hujsak (2011) recommends the use of a new sustainability planning framework, the Comprehensive Framework for Resilient Sustainability (CFRS), for enterprise strategic planning and governance. The framework incorporates the use of the balanced scorecard and strategy map methodologies (Hujsak, 2011). Balanced scorecards weigh multiple factors to determine the strategic performance of the enterprise relative to the goals such as increasing shareholder value, over both short-term and long-term dimensions (Hujsak, 2011). Strategy maps, brief graphical summaries of strategic objectives, are used to clarify and communicate strategy to the stakeholders in the enterprise (Hujsak, 2011). Risk management is also a key feature of CFRS. Given its broad application for business, industry and government entities, CFRS has five stakeholder levels – L1: Global, L2: Regional/National, L3: Organizational, L4: Cities and Communities, and L5: Individuals and Communities (Hujsak, 2011). Perhaps another unique aspect of CFRS is the use of enablers and drivers for three layers of outcomes for setting the strategic objectives, resulting in five strategic perspectives – resilience outcomes, organizational outcomes, stakeholder outcomes, sustainability drivers, and learning and growth enablers (Hujsak, 2011). The definition and applicability of each of the five strategic perspectives is provided in the reading. Overall, CFRS promises a path for the development, execution and governing of strategic objectives to achieve a resilient and sustainable organization (Hujsak, 2011).

Agency Theory: An Assessment and Review

For the CIO and other levels of management, the main contribution of the article is the explanation of the conflict of interests in the principal-agent relationship and the identification of strategies to align the interests. The author outlines two aspects of the agency problem: the moral hazard, when the agent does not put forth the agreed-upon effort, and adverse selection, when there is misrepresentation of ability by the agent (Eisenhardt, 1989). To address these problems for unobservable behavior, the principal can invest in information systems (e.g., board of directors, budgeting and reporting systems) to reduce information asymmetry or arrange an outcome-based contract (Eisenhardt, 1989). The principal needs to weigh the trade-offs between the cost of measuring behavior and the cost of measuring outcomes and transferring risk to the agent (Eisenhardt, 1989). Outcome-based contracts are attractive when uncertainty of the outcome is low, as the costs of shifting risk to the agent are low (Eisenhardt, 1989). Outcome-based contracts are less attractive when uncertainty of the outcome is high, thus making it more expensive to shift risk to the agent (Eisenhardt, 1989). Another consideration is if the tasks are programmable (i.e., the ability to define the behavior in advance), which makes it easier for the principal to observe and evaluate the work (Eisenhardt, 1989). When contemplating outcome-based projects, it is necessary to determine if the outcomes can be measured in a practical time frame (Eisenhardt, 1989). The author also offers the thought that information asymmetry and risk may decrease in long-term relationships because the principal will learn about the agent and be in a better position to evaluate the agent’s performance (Eisenhardt, 1989). Understanding the conflicts of interest in the principal-agent relationship and the available strategies, can help the CIO and other management attain higher performance from service providers, consultants, contractors and others that fit into the agent category (Eisenhardt, 1989).

Policy Question Response

This week’s discussion asks us to consider the potential impact of virtualization to the IT organization. Eisenhardt (1989) provides multiple examples of how virtualization has dramatically reduced the number of data centers for a number of organizations (e.g., HP, Emerson Power). Eisenhardt (1989) also describes the use of cloud computing to access CRM, ERP, BI, HR, EPM, and CIM applications from virtually anywhere in the world without the need for a physical brick-and-mortar presence. Add to this the advances in sensor technology for early communication of equipment issues, and the significant growth in information technology offshoring (ITO) to service providers, and it is easy to see that there is a decreasing need for local IT support staff (Eisenhardt, 1989).

With the decrease of the infrastructure footprint from virtualization and a shift of work to cloud providers and service providers, the CIO’s role changes to incorporate a vendor management function.

Mobility and telecommuting infrastructure capabilities are also enabling employees and contractors to be productive outside of the office at home, in coffee shops or other locations, which is decreasing the need for office space (Eisenhardt, 1989).

Eisenhardt, K. 1989. Agency Theory: An Assessment and Review. Academy of Management Review. 14(1), 57-74.

Hujsak, J. (2011.) Sustainability, Technology, and Economic Pragmatism: A View into the Future. In Stenzel, J. (Ed.) CIO Best Practices: Enabling Strategic Value with Information Technology (pp. 177-236).Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Conference 6

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Omar Walker posted Jul 10, 2015 7:36 PM

This article describes the rapid growth of globalization. The global business process offshoring market currently is worth $30 billion. It includes industries such as finance, accounting, customer interaction and support, credit card processing and billing. The rapid shifting into global opportunities will require unique agility from future global IT organizations.

In order to understand the deep impact that information technology will have in the future as well as its leadership role, the CIO must understand the sustainability principles, framework and strategic planning (Hujsak, 2011).

The information technology in the foreseeable future will bring extraordinary changes that will enhance enterprise agility, operational efficiency and turn datacenters into profit centers. Along with data center consolidation is virtualization which significantly contributes to enterprise sustainability by increasing asset utilization and reducing energy consumption and ecological footprint. Cloud computing also provides information technology organizations agility which enables quick response to dynamic market conditions, shifting sources of supply and demand and new global opportunities with little or no change to physical, ecological, or Carbon Footprints (Hujsak, 2011).

New developments in the global enterprise includes virtual presence. Fully automated robotic systems are becoming commonplace in many areas of manufacturing and material handling. These developments are having impacts such as increased efficiency, better utilization of human and machine capital, lower Ecological and Carbon Footprints (Hujsak, 2011).

Telepresence extend its benefits by virtualize technical expertise eliminating the need for redundant staffing at different global sites, and maximizing their utilization throughout the organization.

Computer Integrated Manufacturing operations integrate robotics into completely automated productions tying together design, planning, purchasing, inventory, inventory control and manufacturing. Cells can be easily reconfigured and adapted to different tasks. Benefits include increase in assets manufacturing and agility to quickly respond to market changes.

Autonomous and teleoperated robotics will impact the future of enterprise. Business units will operate with small human presence. These robotic system will impact most industries and will take on mundane and dangerous task allowing enterprises to function with enhanced safety and low overhead (Hujsak, 2011).

Agency Theory

Agency theory brings back the importance of incentives and self interest in organizational thinking. Its contributions include to organizational thinking includes the treatment of information and how it is managed. Another contribution of agency theory is risk implications. Organizations are assume to have uncertain futures. Outcomes can be affected by government regulations, competitors and technical innovations. The non-acceptance of risk can be influential when drafting between principal and agent.

Agency theory is concerned with resolving agency relationships such as conflicting desires between agency and principal and their inability to govern and share risk. They are two concepts defined under agency theory positivist agency theory and principal agency theory. Positivist stream describes the governance mechanism that solve the agency problem. It seeks aligned contracts preferences among both parties. Principal-agent research seeks the optimal contract behavior versus outcome between both parties (Eisenhardt, 1989).

Eisenhardt, K. 1989. Agency Theory: An Assessment and Review. Academy of Management Review. 14(1), 57-74.

Citation (Hujsak, 2011)

Sustainability Strategies - K. Segreto

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Katherine Segreto posted Jul 9, 2015 10:11 PM

Because virtualization and other sustainability strategies seem like an inevitability, the role of the CIO will need to change accordingly. Cloud computing and various forms of virtualization mean that "entrepreneurs in developing countries can tap into global SaaS providers with no more than a smartphone, gaining instant, on-demand, pay-as-you-go access to powerful financial and information resources" (Hujsak, 2011). This means that a company will be able to employ people from any corner of the globe. A future CIO may have little in-person contact with his team and will need to learn how to manage employees who are more like vendors or agents. Agency theory analyzes how "one party (the principal) delegates work to another (the agent), who performs that work" (Eisenhardt, 1989). The CIO will take on the role of the principal and have to assess the best way in which to derive the most benefit from this almost contractual relationship with employees potentially scattered across the world.

With potentially fewer employees in the same physical locale, the CIO of the future will be able and required to focus more on strategic planning and alignment of all the various sustainability initiatives undertaken by the firm. Hujsak (2011) noted, "The key to achieving sustainability in the global enterprise is tight integration with mainstream enterprise strategic planning. If sustainability is relegated to out-of-band processes and isolated staffs, the many tangible...and intangible benefits simply won't be realized." It will take more than basic strategic planning or score carding to properly align these new initiatives. Thankfully, a method known as Comprehensive Framework for Resilient Sustainability exists to "enable the description, measurement, management, and adjustment of strategy execution for resilient sustainability" (Hujsak, 2011). The CIO plays has a very specific job in the SFRS model, which is to "raise the IT organization's level of support to that of enabling the formulation and execution of RS strategy" (Hujsak, 2011).

In order to raise the level of support, the CIO will need to ensure that each employee understands the role he plays in helping the organization meet goals. One of the main focuses of agency theory is the potential for problems stemming from the misalignment of goals of the principal with those of the agent (Eisenhardt, 1989). Because, as previously mentioned, alignment and integration are so important for sustainability success, it is important for the CIO to minimize these goal mismatches with his employees. Researchers find that principals can incentivize agents to work toward organizational goals via reward-laden contracts (Eisenhardt, 1989).

Sustainability strategies such as virtualization, data center consolidation, cloud computing, and various forms of telecommuting are happening and will continue to happen. They will reshape organizations both literally and figuratively. "As information technology rapidly morphs, the human dimension must also be addressed to ensure organizational change, maintain enterprise alignment, reinforce relevant incentives, and enhance shareholder value...The only remaining ingredient necessary for this dramatic transformation is visionary CIO leadership" (Hujsak, 2011).

References

Eisenhardt, K. 1989. Agency Theory: An Assessment and Review. Academy of Management Review. 14(1), 57-74.

Sustainability

Actions for Sustainability

Jason Davenport posted Jul 10, 2015 10:37 PM

Last edited: Saturday, July 11, 2015 9:40 AM EDT

Finally we should ask ourselves the extent to which bricks and mortar will even define the corporation as an entity. The corporation, or at least its administrative wing, is more of an abstract.

Today’s innovations have reshaped the landscape so much that it is virtual reality to manage IT operations anywhere in the world. Brick and mortar only enter the conversation in very unique situations where in house information management technology is a mandatory requirement to secure a specific data type. Information technology sustainment in modern times have been slowly outsourced and the CIOs job is becoming more and more removed from direct supervision and is becoming an overseer of contracted/outsourced IT operations.

Data Centers are the new solutions to modern day information management. They make it very easy to sustain virtually any IT architecture from remote locations around the world. Data centers offers the benefit of data storage and network vitalizations that help to reduce cost and redundancy for hardware and software asset requirements. Although, data centers do not present a significant impact to the carbon foot print, it does present a valuable solution to corporations. As far as the carbon footprint, its present, and just being centralized. (Reality!)….. How can information technology reduce the carbon footprint if the demand for data management continues to grow?

Does it matter if the processing engine of your corporate data is in Bangladesh or Nairobi?

Yes! How important is the data? And what is the purpose for outsourcing? Many companies chose to outsource for many reasons. Some even choose to outsource to other countries for financial reasons, or asset reduction, or simply to pass on the responsibility to a third party organization to allow them to focus on core responsibilities.

Does it matter what flag the vendor’s employee’s salute or what god they worship?

Yes, depending on if the flag is representing the business or the country. Some say that doing business around the globe is as good as doing business in the US. But, in fact, with today’s international conflicts, businesses should be wary of who they chose to outsource too. It is very possible for hot nations to be bias to their nation’s flag or be coerced to support some other unintended or exploitation cause. With that being said, terms like information assurance and information integrity comes into play when we are dealing with other countries. But, viewing this from a CIO mindset, there are many country’s with proven resumes that are fully capable of providing data center outsourcing solutions without culture biases; they just want to deliver good business. This will have to be viewed on a case by case basis.

References:

Eisenhardt, K., (1989), Agency Theory: An Assessment and Review. Academy of Management Review, Vol 14, No 1, Pg. 57-74

Hujsak, J., (2011), Chapter 5: Sustainability, Technology, and Economic Pragmatism—A View into the Future. In Stenzel, J. (Ed.) CIO Best Practices: Enabling Strategic Value with Information Technology (pp. 177-236).Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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Justin Sudano posted Jul 7, 2015 10:10 PM

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Discuss the extent to which the virtualization of processing portends the removal of a dedicated IT staff. We will discuss the extent to which the CIO is no longer the manager of a dedicated expert staff, but fully engaged in vendor management and service oversight. Finally we should ask ourselves the extent to which bricks and mortar will even define the corporation as an entity.

Before discussing the policy offered, I believe first sustainability should be quantified a little more than what was initially offered in the two points suggested by (Hujsak, 2011).

1. "The ability to sustain something", with the inherent assumption that if you sustain something you are therefore at the very least preserving that something. Example: If your business model relies on metallurgical materials [iron, steel, copper, etc] for electronic hardware, then in order to meet a sustainable sourcing of those materials they must be acquired or derived from vendors which meet a level of recycling or synthetic formulation which eliminates your organizations footprint during acquisition. Your goal here, as the CIO, is not to eliminate the footprint of the entire sector/industry but to mitigate your individual organization's impact to such an extent that your business model and process effectively do not draw down the resources and materials utilized to operate your business. Your end result is a business model, should the organization remain in the black [positive operating cash flow], that is inherently regenerating due to its business culture and adoption of sustainable sourcing.

1. "Ecology", the absolute state of which is ultimately unachievable. Ecology, per (Hujask, 2011) is " a means of configuring communities, systems, and human activity so that cultures, their members, and their economies are able to meet their needs and reach their greatest potential in the present, while preserving resources, biodiversity and natural ecosystems, planning and acting for the ability to maintain these ideals for future generations". While this can be put into practice, practice in that it will never be fully realized but strive to perfect, "absolute" ecology can never be reached because this idea implies a Utopia. Utopia is only theoretically achievable and is imaginary and limitless.

Summarizing the expansion to (Hujsak, 2011) two points, the CIO of an organization who wishes to embrace and foster sustainability is now in a position to not just be the most senior IT individual in the business but function in the most broad spectrum manner. This spectrum is not so specialized that it can define the absolute and definite IT asset that would improve the business but it is diverse enough to include that X widget [operational item] will impact my organization through Y effect but I must take into account Z sourcing of that X widget and whether the Y effect fosters sustainability of operational materials. The CIO is now essentially a causality "thinker" and must research and propose projects/acquisitions that are good for the business but enhance the business through its sustainable practice(s).

My [CIO] business will last forever, assuming all other businesses operate in the same sustainable manner, because for every one sustainable sourced widget [operational item] utilized the business will produce the materials necessary that made that widget. Establishing and creating a cycle of renewal.

Now personal philosophy and idealism aside, (Hujask, 2011) claims that unless the world [every man, woman, and child] practices sustainability, the forces of globalization [mass resource exploitation] we will inherently exhaust and consume all “known” resources and industrialized society as we know it with its globally distributed supply chains will grind to a halt. While I completely agree that without mitigation let alone sustainability the world, as we know it, will not exist – Hujask makes an obvious but unclear point about “known” resources. Resources are natural until they become “man-made” also referred to as synthetics. These synthetics, often not only replace the prior natural item but function more efficiently (in that it takes less effort to produce the prior known derivative). Long story short, the pencil became the pen, the pen became the typewriter, the typewriter became the computer, the computer became a network, the network became the internet, and the internet well became the internet 2.0. That internet 2.0 is where virtualization lies and where our discussion now focuses.

As we discussed in the prior conferences, in regards to cloud computing, “green” sourcing, and reduction of carbon footprints – our next goal is to take those data centers and consolidate them and make them “virtual”. Virtualization removes the need for dedicated IT staff simply because of the inherent nature of virtualization itself. Example: if three data centers operate three separate and independent servers to function and operate three different needs than you have effectively multiplied your risk [hardware/software failure] and exponentially expanded your operating costs [dedicated IT staff, utilities, etc]. However, virtualization based upon SAN or cloud based computing can offer the same prior resource in one location with the same potential. If those prior three data centers each had 1 terabyte drives to operate the OS and storage equaling 3TB total were consolidated into one data center and partitioned [virtually separated] to emulate the function of those data centers you can lower your operational costs but have the resulting effect of less needed dedicated IT staff. (Eisenhardt, 1989) would suggest that there is an agency conflict here because the organization [principal] wishes to consolidate and streamline while the dedicated IT staff [agents] simply want to keep their jobs and push for maintaining whatever keeps them employed. Utilizing (Eisenhardt, 1989) conclusion that a hybrid of agency theory is most effective which would cause the aforementioned equilibrium goal to consolidate to the extent that the dedicated IT staff could maintain the new formed system physically and virtually and the reminder that would have been non-retained to be encouraged to specialize further and enhance the virtualization vision the organization has put into operation.

Concluding with whether “brick and mortar” will even define the corporation as an entity is dependent upon its context. Assuming that we are implying the CIO and their role in the business through operating a consolidated and virtualized system(s), being confined to brick and mortar is no longer necessary to be seen as an entity. The brick and mortar [tangible] benefits can no longer be solely considered and must include the intangible benefits as well fostering enterprise sustainability. Relying on a singular tangible, brick and mortar, location will be the “Achilles heel” of the organization the intangible [virtualized] benefits will allow the organization to expand. Example: Google is not seen as an organization located in one geographic area, Google is everywhere. Google, with its varying products and services, can be accessed from anywhere with an internet or data connection and as such should and is viewed as an ever present asset to its clients. When I think Google I don’t automatically think California, I think that it is one-click away [email].

Reference:

Eisenhardt, K. 1989. Agency Theory: An Assessment and Review. Academy of Management Review. 14(1), 57-74.

Conference 7 Question

In the first edition Cokins also provided a discussion of what I called "the customer question". Customer centricity certainly stands paramount among the corporate planners and executives. For the CIO you have to work hard to glean from this chapter the role of the CIO. The case made here by Cokins, although it is not his argument at all, is for the corporate statistician and data analyst. How does the CIO come prepared to decide which analytical tools are appropriate for addressing the CLV problem? As you read this chapter, read it through the eyes of a CIO, and seek relevance.

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Jon Smith posted Jul 17, 2015 1:12 PM

Last edited: Saturday, July 18, 2015 7:41 AM EDT

How does the CIO come prepared to decide which analytical tools are appropriate for addressing the CLV problem?

Background

According to Cokins (2011), companies need to have a long-term customer-centric business strategy that concentrates on maximizing the economic value of their customers (e.g., short-term and long-term profitability, ROI). In fact, many organizations are measuring customer lifetime value (CLV), which is the net present value of the future cash flows expected from the customer (Cokins, 2011). This is a significant shift away from the traditional marketing and sales approach of simply increasing sales (Cokins, 2011). There are five forces driving this change: 1) customer retention (i.e., it is cheaper to keep an existing customer than to get a new one), 2) shift in competitive advantage away from only product differentiation to services differentiation, 3) one-to-one marketing (i.e., identification of customer segments and tailored marketing to individual customers or segments), 4) expanded product diversity, variation and customization, and 5) power shift to customers; that is, customers have numerous supplier options and more information available to them on the internet (Cokins, 2011). These forces are causing companies to focus more on the future profit potential of customers, rather than on high level product and services profitability (Cokins, 2011).

Companies adopting a customer portfolio management approach to their business strategy generally focus on these objectives: identifying and attending to the best and worst customers, cross-selling to existing customers, targeting potential customer prospects that resemble the most valuable existing customers, developing new products, services, pricing schemes and marketing programs that will be attractive for the customer portfolio, and retaining and growing the existing customer base, especially the high potential customers (Cokins, 2011).

Cokins (2011) identifies five core capabilities necessary to achieve the objectives: 1) single view of the customer, 2) understanding customer value and profitability drivers, 3) meaningful customer segmentation schemes, 4) targeted and appropriate cross-selling, up-selling, and retention programs, and 5) effective marketing systems. A single view can be a single database of customers that enables the business to see all aspects of a customer profile, in order to provide a better view of the current and potential value (Cokins, 2011). Analytic software and processes, along with the useful customer data can help the company understand customer economic value (Cokins, 2011). Customer segmentation schemes need to be more expansive to include current and future needs of customers (Cokins, 2011). Analytic software enables the organization to forecast the behaviors of customers, and then employ the appropriate selling or retention program (Cokins, 2011). Lastly, there is commercial software that the company can use to effectively market to customers (Cokins, 2011).

CIO and Analytic Tools

The CIO can decide which analytical tools are appropriate for addressing the CLV problem by understanding the uses of the analytical tools and working with the organization’s IT customers to evaluate the solutions available from commercial software providers (Cokins, 2011). The CIO must also work with the CFO to provide systems that help the company know its costs and sources of profit (Cokins, 2011). It is also important for the CIO to ensure technology provides real time data for the CMO and CFO to use in their analytics (Cokins, 2011). The CIO needs to make sure the executive team is looking at customer lifetime value (Cokins, 2011).

Cokins, G. (2011). How to Measure and Manage Customer Value and Customer Profitability. In Stenzel, J. (Ed.) CIO Best Practices: Enabling Strategic Value with Information Technology (pp. 237-279).Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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Justin Sudano posted Jul 17, 2015 10:14 PM

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How does the CIO come prepared to decide which analytical tools are appropriate for addressing the CLV problem?

The article by (How do you work, 2012), discussed methods and processes utilized to identify metrics which CEO/CMO find most valuable. Tool based metrics were identified to be least effective compared to that of outcome oriented metrics. Essentially, the preferred outcome is more effectively realized when the analysis and projections are in line with that of the business - representing a risk mitigated approach as the outcome parallels with the business vision. Social media is discussed as a method to providing key performance indicators through "shares", "likes", and "followers", but without effective tracking leading to the desired outcome - social media statistics would be deemed meaningless. I believe the article identified these statistics as meaningless because without a method to track those statistics which lead to a desirable outcome, then its ability to be reproduced or amended would not be available.

In modern business strategy, one cannot simply discuss statistics without a presented method to utilize them, you cannot simply point out faults and inhibitors without also presenting a way to mitigate or transform them into enablers. The business provides the desired outcome, its up to those who provide the analysis and projections to produce results that align with those desired outcome(s). In this regard the customer lifetime value (CLV) in regards to social media would depend upon the expected outcome of targeted groups. An example of this would be targeting "Apple fans" through social media campaigns with offer advertisements of either primary Apple retailers or third-party retailers propping up Apple accessories, this could be through contests, discounts, or group buy in to meet a minimum purchase (Groupon-like promotion).

Cokins, G. (2011), presents performance measuring indicators which are valued and equated in order to produce outcomes which track and provide expected levels of profitability from XYZ customer(s). Cokins (2011), identifies the following areas for particular presentation and focus, which I found to correlate with that of a CIO:

1. The rising need to focus on customers

0. This could allow a metric for the CIO to take advantage of which would be developing products and services which target either a specific customer grouping or as broad spectrum as possible (avoiding stovepipe). Targeting specific customers and developing products and services which focus on these customers; i.e. environmentally-friendly, value oriented, luxury oriented, etc… which can be identified through purchasing metrics. Targeting a broad spectrum customer could be developing products and processes which are considered everyday (house hold staples) but focus upon the customer by removing ingredients or additives which are no longer favored by society evaluated through social media or public surveys/feedback; i.e. artificial food coloring, gluten, etc…

1. The perfect storm is creating turbulence for marketing management

1. Customer retention – CIO’s should develop projects and IS which make customer retention easier, such as contact schedules, varying anniversary dates of particular events/purchases, and periodic quality control and assurance surveys.

1. Focusing, but not obsessing on the customer

2. The CIO is identified by Cokins, G. (2011), to be critical as data is recognized to be viewed in multiple and unrelated databases. The CIO could identify databases which are horizontal when a vertical base database would be more valuable – customer focused databases benefit from vertical databases as the customer data will not need to be repeated or gathered in multiple systems.

1. Understanding customer value and profitability drivers

3. The CIO can verify or disprove metrics which distinguish which customer(s) are of the most beneficial to the the organization and how to enable positive retention.

1. Effective marketing delivery systems

4. CIO’s utilize commercial software to provide marketing automation, interaction management, and marketing optimization. The apparent overall goal of the aforementioned software is to provide marketing software which automates tasks, alerts, and deadlines to streamline customer engagements; interaction management which governs customer interactions; and marketing optimization which avoids ineffective methods and promotes effective ones – such as avoiding cold calling in favor of social media exposure.

1. All customers are not created equal

5. Cokins, G. (2011), identifies that the CIO and IT must provide systems which promote core business products and accessories while at the same time providing automated services which do not incur costs to the business but maintain the customer.

5. An example would be an online brokerage account, if I was a customer who wanted to be as self-directed as possible but needed the brokerage to trade/purchase assets I would want the lowest cost method which allows me to buy those securities and this would be afforded by the business providing automated services which would not pull from financial advisors/staff which can be used to provide fee-based information to those customers preferring and willing to pay for it.

1. Should we pursue the most profitable or the most valuable customers

6. The CIO is to provide analytical tools and metrics which allow the business to differentiate between customers who are short-term profitable or long-term valued. The customer whom is long-term “may” be more profitable in this perspective versus short-term profit generated by a customer. A key metric in stock/fund evaluation is the turnover ratio, the stock/fund favors long-term customers so long as the firm provides what the customer expects or is willing to risk to remain long.

1. Measuring customer lifetime value

7. The CIO’s goal is to provide the business team the systems and processes which offer as many metrics and tracking capabilities which give way to the longest term customer the firm can expect.

1. Customer lifetime value: Viewing the customers as an investment

8. The customer is to be viewed as an investment, while maximizing shareholder value would be seen as the business method to proving that customers are seen as an investment – the CIO would provide the metrics and indicators that are utilized in order to maximize that value. i.e. data translation and manipulation which provides earnings per share (EPS), price to earnings (P/E), and but not limited to price to earnings growth rate (PEG ratio).

Cokins, G. (2011), found that CLV was a combination of “customer profitability, future potential, and attrition probabilities”, these metrics tell the firm how profitable the customer is expected to be over short versus long term and the impact of the natural rate of gain/loss to the tracking indicator. Cokins, G. (2011), provides specific methods of implementation: customer segmentation upon value and behavior, marketing campaign effectiveness, customer loyalty and strategies to maximize customer value and shareholder wealth.

Reference:

How do you work with the CEO or CMO to identify which metrics matter most? (February 2012). Retrieved from prweekus.com

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Jason Davenport posted Jul 17, 2015 9:13 PM

Last edited: Sunday, July 19, 2015 10:39 PM EDT

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I can’t say that I have a complete grasps of this week’s discussion topic but I will try to spin my analysis of the material to answer the question in my own words. There seems to be a culture shift in today’s economy that is consumer driven for the most part; but it starts with the economy. When the economy is good people spend money a little more freely. When the economy is not so good, consumers still spend money but with more scrutiny. With that being said, the industry’s culture shift has forced companies to pay more attention to attracting those scrutinized dollars. A lot of research is geared towards understanding customers shopping habits, patterns, changes, shifts, needs, and wants. I understand this approach to be the bottom up approach in the business to understanding the consumer. Although companies deliver the products that organizations can’t live without; there are many companies that produce similar products that puts the decision of which product to buy back in the consumer’s hand. Brand loyalty is changing; and the customer centric approach is helping businesses look towards different levels of profitability and understanding the customer.

The entire industry is shifting executive think tanks to dig below the surface of customer data and understand the behaviors and generate data to apply values to customers to help make decisions and develop strategic ways to generate shareholders wealth. How can the CIO be used to help generate shareholder wealth or create a steady stream of revenue. Through information technology, gathered data, and in the form of attractive software options. A few year back, I worked for a CIO that told the IT staff that they needed to create sexy systems and applicants that were eye catching, user friendly, and attracted customers and get them to using the products and services; talking about them and selling them through the word of mouth and giving their product approval. It was true then as well as now. Consumer are comfortable with products that other consumers are comfortable with, hence consumer ratings. If I go into someone’s living room and the picture on the 60 inch HD Samsung catches my eye, I may think about upgrading my TV. I’m going online to research websites (best buy, Walmart, Target, and etcs) to see who’s offering the best and/or comparable product, offering the most product information, highest, rating, price, and best user interface and I’m probably going to buy from that site. I first used amazon through word of mouth; someone told me to check it out and now I’m hooked. Its easy to use, efficient, and customer friendly. The CIO’s job is to interface the customer with the business, by creating and attracting them through “sexy” Information technology solutions. This all ties back to business and information technology alignment; the CEO, CFO, CIO, and the CMO must all work together to create, market, and sell the business to the customer through IT. The CIO must lead the charge as the innovative leader, but also be humble to the business talents approach to identifying the customer value and contributing efforts to attracting and maintaining a valuable customer base.

Cokins, G. (2007). How to measure and manage customer value and customer profitability. CIO Best Practices Enabling Strategic Values with Information Technology. Stenzel et al. (Eds) Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

How do you work with the CEO or CMO to identify which metrics matter most? (February 2012).

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Omar Walker posted Jul 17, 2015 11:24 PM

The managing of customer profitability has taken significant importance among organizations. The CIO can be critical to the information that’s being captured to retain and gain customers. The author provides examples regarding Best Buy’s strategy which focuses on certain type of customers from which higher profitable margin can be attain. Best Buy not only concentrates on sales from products and standard-service lines but they are analytical of their cost to serve demanding customers. Best Buy in depth cost analysis will help determine the reason behind profitability shortfalls (Cokins, 2011).

The consumer is to be considered the most valuable asset and in order to maintain strategic relationships, customers should be managed. Companies tend to focus on the product rather than customer value. Customers seem overwhelmed with competitors marketing strategies that organizations would rather push for better products. Marketing related expenses can be challenging. Department managers should be using modern analytical techniques, fact-based logic, and financial data to prepare projection. Intelligent usage of marketing funds can retain or attract new customers. Organizations need meaningful, consistent and reliable marketing performance metrics (Cokins, 2011).

Customer analysis systems help organizations become clever in regards to retaining customers. The focus is customer portfolio management which seeks innovative methods to obtain growth. CIO becomes critical when organizations are searching for these new opportunities. Information is stored in databases which can be retrieved and serve as a marketing tool. Some examples of information that can be obtained from database include the consolidation of customer information, understanding customer value and profitability by identifying activity based costing methods.

After a company understands its customer activities, the next step is to apply effective marketing mechanisms to selective customers with well priced quality product. Some examples include:

1. Marketing automation software which helps with integrating databases and having a single reference source when obtaining information.

1. Interaction management software assist marketers with making decisions when customer behavior has changed.

1. Marketing optimization software helps companies model and assess the cost/benefit tradeoffs of increasingly sophisticated and frequent customer communications

Customer value insight drives success. In order to obtain competitive edge, the CIO should use the information captured in its organization database to create meaningful reports that will help the CMO. Retrieving information in regards to customer value, needs and cost will help with allocating marketing and sales resources. In order to be highly competitive, the CIO must provide system to facilitate the understanding of source profit and cost structure.

While a collaborate effort between the CIO, CFO and CMO can be critical to the retention and acquisition of new customers, the use of key performance indicators will measure and quantify ROI. Key metrics can be critical when organizations are trying to determine their successes in regards to their competitors, marketing activities and aligning strategic goals. Prior to pursuing specific markets, executive should come to a consensus in regards to business strategies, consumers purchasing patterns and the influence of information technology (How do you work, 2012).

How do you work with the CEO or CMO to identify which metrics matter most? (February 2012). Retrieved from prweekus.com.

Customer Value - K. Segreto

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Katherine Segreto posted Jul 15, 2015 8:51 PM

Cokins (2011) states in the opening paragraph, "The CIO can be a bridge between enterprise finance, marketing, and sales functions." If we strive for alignment between business functions and IT systems, the CIO needs to not only understand the goals of each individual department, but also how they are inter-connected. More specifically, he needs to understand “the points at which various metrics intersect, as well as understanding how consumers behave at these intersections” (How do you work, 2012). This knowledge gives the all the executives the ability to work toward determining customer lifetime value, or CLV. “To maximize shareholder wealth, the company must dig much deeper than predicting income statements and balance sheets…They must look at CLV and return-on-customer concepts…[I]t is essential to have the analytical tools, such as for customer segmentation, loyalty analysis, forecasting, and ABC for calculating customer value, reducing internal debates, and making tradeoff decisions” (Cokins, 2011). The CIO can provide not only the software necessary for complex analytical calculations, but also integrate and align systems that synthesize the data necessary for the analytics. “Organizational realignment around customer value cannot happen without technology…technology’s role is to integrate data, processes, and people to gain a single view of customers…CIOs must be moving their IT infrastructures so their applications and analytics can access data this way” (Cokins, 2011).

CIOs can also be on the forefront of customer-facing information technology. Marketing via the Internet and social media has become the norm and can help an organization find a vast array of metrics and demographic information (How do you work, 2012). The best CIOs and IT teams will be able to help marketers create useful, attractive campaigns that can target the types of customers organizations want to retain. “[C]onsumers want technology to connect every aspect of their busy lives…[T]his demand influences how and when consumers make purchase decisions. It also provides guidance that helps us shape and measure our advertising, PR, and social media campaigns” (How do you work, 2012). After launching these campaigns, the CIO can help marketers and financial personnel drill into data to extract the information that will create CLV metrics to increase shareholder wealth.

References

How do you work with the CEO or CMO to identify which metrics matter most? (February 2012). Retrieved from prweekus.com .

Conference 8 Question

This chapter is quite a different read from the balance of the book. I think it is a pleasant way to end this 2nd edition. Shubert tackles a discussion I know I have had my my colleagues many times, namely, the value of social networking at work. Shubert writes (288): "It is the delivery of technology and capability to business and society that lies at the heart of the dilemma for CIOs and CTOs today; Businesses want and need access to networks (electronic communities) to reach... their current and potential customers. Businesses are concerned that access to these same networks by their employees could pose a security or competitive risk... ." The ability to spill one's guts then used to be isolated to the bar; now you can do so at every opportunity. It is true that some employees are addicted to staying in touch, and Facebook is the rage. I would hazard the guess that these same slackers are IM'ing their friends or on the phone yacking it up with momma. I don't think Facebook or for that matter Smart phones have made people more secure in their social networks. There is simply a pathology that manifests itself when the conditions are ripe. Excuse me. I see some practical marketing uses for product simulation, touring the plant, getting to know folks; Second Life has shown itself to be useful in a variety of settings, even organizational development where you want everyone to get together anonymously. But the part of the chapter that intrigues me the most is the discussion on democratization and socialization of information. Has the boundary between expert and amateur blurred? My answer to this would be yes, if all the experts agree but the amateurs do not. For many of the problems facing the corporation, crowdsourcing probably works as well as formal expertise. Given sufficient monkeys, sufficient time, Shakespeare. Any of you who have had to endure the vendor pitch knows that truth is relative to the need for profit. So we come to the a practical discussion of the role of the CIO in moderating access to social media, framing what stands as truth in the information world of the corporation, and the extent to which the explosion of personal authority on the Internet has diminished our ability to sort out truth from hyperbole.

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Omar Walker posted Jul 24, 2015 7:34 PM

The use of commercial off-the shelf technology has brought significant advantages in cost, manufacture and service of the evolution of information technology. Trends have become steady in regards to network evolution due to a combination of focused research, development, strategy partnerships, and investments by the commercial technology industries. Users have enormously benefited from performance, ongoing services and technical support (Nesbit, 2011).

Some concerns by CIOs and CTOs in regards to social media access include:

1. Lost productivity from time spent on social networking sites

1. Ensuring privacy and avoiding misuse of personal information made available through social networking sites.

Other disadvantages include the risks and challenges of breaches of security and the divulging of confidential information outside the organization (Farley, 2011). Loss of productivity has also increased among executives and employees when attending meeting. Executives allocate 70 to 90 percent of their time in meetings and recognize that not much has been accomplished (Nelson, 2011).

The use of social networking and business is a work in process. The technology and its commercial uses are evolving. Conclusions have not been definitive in regards to ROI when utilizing social networking from an internal or external standpoint (Nesbit, 2011). They are foreseeable benefits from social media in the work place such as:

Increasing the engagement of staff

Enhancing the effectiveness of communication

Enhancing the timeliness of communication

Increasing the number of people involved in information communication

Enhancing employee retention

Companies should encourage employees use of social media since employees have already been using these media tools without any guidance (Bednar, 2011b).

With the evolution of information technologies and its fast growing pace, forces CIOs and CTOs to remain current and pressured to control, managed and allow network and network applications access. Risk seems to be a major factor that leads organization to be controlling or completely eliminate social network. Enterprise executives who agree with the usefulness of social media should integrate and create policies, practices, guidelines and education around personal access to and use of social networking Web sites and applications.

Many enterprises already have guidelines for internal and external email and written communications. Those guidelines should be directly applied to social networking web site and application access and use.

Social media is a tool that allows employees to get their work done. It promotes better communication and quicker collaboration. It also demonstrates employers trust in their employer’s work ethic in regards to social media abuse and productivity (Bednar, 2011b).

Bednar, J. (2011a). Status Update In the Realm of Social Media, Workers Have More Rights Than Employers Might Think.www.BusinessWest.com: pp. 23-28.

Bednar, J. (2011b). Tool or Trouble? Social Media Poses Opportunities and Traps for Employers. www.BusinessWest.com , 33-36.

Farley, A. (October 2011). Building a Social Media Policy. ABA Bank Marketing, 18-22.

Nesbit, T (2011). Social Media: In the Work Place and Patterns of Usage. The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, 5 (9), 61-80.

Nelson, J.2011. Distracted. Canadian Business, 84(14), 28.

Schubert, K. (2011.) Evolution of Networks into Networking. In Stenzel, J. (Ed.) CIO Best Practices: Enabling Strategic Value with Information Technology (pp. 285-325).Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Social Media - K. Segreto

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Katherine Segreto posted Jul 23, 2015 4:09 PM

It is nearly impossible to avoid social media in this day and age. It is becoming increasingly difficult to stay away from it while at work. Companies, some more so than others, are struggling to determine just how much online presence their employees can have while on the clock. Unsurprisingly, Schubert (2011) noted that two of the most pressing concerns for CIOs with regard to employee utilization of social media in the workplace are decreased productivity and leaks of proprietary information. An additional concern for CIOs is the amount of people on the Internet that pretend to be experts on a subject or simply just post untrue information. These are not trivial concerns, but a forward-thinking company can not only minimize their risk but even strengthen their brand with smart online presence.

For most organizations, the way to battle the pitfalls of social media is not to try and eliminate it from the workplace. “To ignore the use of social media that is already going on in the organization has the potential to ignore a benefit that exists so that no leverage can be gained from it” (Nesbit, 2011). Social media represents a major way in which people stay connected. To embrace its use by employees could lead to happier employees, better insight into customer needs, and more thorough feedback about the company. Nesbit (2011) highlighted takeaways from a survey conducted by Keisler about workplace social media use that included utilizing those capabilities of social media that employees like most, embracing social media as part of a good communications mix, and being prepared to make mistakes and learn from them. Additionally, “according to a University of Melbourne study, employees who engage in ‘workplace Internet leisure browsing’…while at work are 9% more productive than those who don’t. The reasons touch on the benefits of a satisfied and de-stressed workforce” (Bednar, 2011b). Watching a five minute cat video or scrolling down a news feed may be just enough to allow employees to relax and then refocus on tasks for completion. Certainly, being temporarily distracted by things that are pleasing is better than the inevitable distractions that come in the form of meetings or interruptions by coworkers, which account for over half a billion dollars in losses (Nelson, 2011).

Does this mean that companies should leave employees unchecked, free to surf the web all day? Certainly not. It simply means that they need to have realistic expectations about goals that need to be met and how individuals can best meet them. Once those goals are defined and employee work styles considered, companies can create policies for social media use during work time and also social media use on behalf of the corporation.

When crafting a social media use policy, Farley (2011) advocates for offering training to employees so that they have a better understanding of appropriate use and potential consequences for misuse. Employees need to have a clear understanding of when, what, and how they are permitted to utilize social media. This, hopefully, will lead them to using social media safely and in a way that reflects the positively on the company, rather than trying to find loopholes in unnecessarily stringent policy. Additionally, training needs to address items “such as prohibiting the misuse of the company’s logo, trademark, photographs, and other proprietary information” (Bednar, 2011a). As with all sets of corporate rules, social media policies need to be reviewed and updated regularly to insure that they capture the current online trends (Farley, 2011).

Some companies, however, will continue to make tight corporate regulations in an effort to keep employees from using social media. There are caveats for these organizations. Bednar (2011a) cited “attorney Amy Royal, of Royal LLP in Northampton, who said companies need to be proactive in updating their policies regarding this new online environment – and educate themselves on what, exactly they’re allowed to regulate.” A company could find itself in hot water for attempting to monitor and reprimand employees’ online speech. The National Labor Relations Board has found that many things said online are constitute free speech, even if they are critical of an employer (Bednar, 2011a). Also, while companies can try and prohibit employees from using corporate-owned machines to access social media, it’s all for naught if the employee has a smart phone with him at all times (Bednar, 2011b).

References

Bednar, J. (2011a). Status Update In the Realm of Social Media, Workers Have More Rights Than Employers Might Think. www.BusinessWest.com: pp. 23-28.

Bednar, J. (2011b). Tool or Trouble? Social Media Poses Opportunities and Traps for Employers. www.BusinessWest.com , 33-36.

Farley, A. (October 2011). Building a Social Media Policy. ABA Bank Marketing, 18-22.

Nesbit, T (2011). Social Media: In the Work Place and Patterns of Usage. The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, 5 (9), 61-80.

Nelson, J.2011. Distracted. Canadian Business, 84(14), 28.

Week 10

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Jason Davenport posted Jul 25, 2015 6:38 PM

Last edited: Saturday, July 25, 2015 6:41 PM EDT

Social media is a very interesting use of technology. Although I believe that it can be over used at times especially in malicious ways, there are many good uses of social media. On one hand, an organization can use the media to get information out to the public about products and services, the other hand they open themselves up to public opinion and potential negative comments, or malicious respondants.

No one have a full proof win-win plan for using this technology. The truth of the matter is that social media is a gamble for many companies. Social Medial in the work place has gotten out of control. Even in my organization, people are distracted by social media trends and postings versus focusing on doing their job. Who’s to blame? Who should police who? CIO? Supervisors? CEOs? CMOs? But, if the work is getting done, should it matter if the employee get distracted by social media? Or, should the supervisor reevaluate the work load, if there is time at work to allow for this type of distraction.

Distractions in the work place have gotten to be a serious problem. According to Nelson (2011), “Even our interruptions have interruptions, as office workers play with their iPhones and BlackBerrys during the very meetings that distract them from their actual work” (Nelson 2011). Work place interruptions are costing organization’s billions of dollars. “Our lives now interrupt work, and work distracts us from our lives”.(Nelson 2011) Part of the problem is poor management of the workplace. Management should implement and enforce policies that can resolve these type of interruptions. This is where the CIO can step in as the technology leader and advise that these technology devices be cited as interruptions, recording devices, devices cameras, noise distractions, production hindrances and etc., which can help remove them from these areas to eliminate some of the distractions. Also, other items like cell phones, private social media, and idle disruptive chatter should be limited to breaks, lunches and other off duty times.

Should employees be allowed to speak negatively about my organization online…..I say yes, and the companies should have the right to fire them. I understand that employee’s get frustrated with the workplace environment and have the right to have their grievances heard, but there are processes that should allow complaints to be filed and submitted through the chain. At every opportunity, employees should support the brand. If they do not support the brand then they are not assets. The organization reserve the right to ensure that their brand is protect especially internally, there are enough external challenges that an organization must entertain like public scrutiny of products and services. Malicious actions should not be condoned by employees. Today, with all the coverage of social media mistakes, I think only a very smart person with a malicious plan or vengeful mission or an idiot would make a mistake to negatively vent about their organization, supervisor, management, products and services on social media.

If social media should aloud in the work place for work or play, it is very important for an organization to implement a policies/comtract describing how social medial should be used in the work place. Although it is not the CIO’s sole responsibility to ink such policies, as the technology leader it is important for him to ensure the policy support the integrity of the organization as far as risk, security, and information assurance and management. It will be very important to develop training to ensure that users know the rules of engagement, restrictions, and who is authorized to use it. The policy should be functional, logical, and protect the interest of employee and the organization. According to Farley (2011), the following items are important to taking a proactive versus a reactive approach to writing an internal social media policy.

1. Purpose

1. Management details

1. Employee responsibilities

1. Proprietary and Confidential Information

1. Employee Disclaimer

1. Privacy Expectations

1. Violation Consequences

1. Respect

1. Date/Employee Signatures

1. Addendums

By using this basic template or something similar, these items should help to ensure that the employer put the expectations and the right information out to the employees and ensure that they have a clear understanding of the rules of engagement and their responsibility and accountability.

As far as social media being a tool or trouble, it should be a tool, but it can be misuse by employees to cause some organizations trouble. If employees put themselves in a position to challenge their employment, I do not agree that they should be protected. Speaking negatively about an organization because you have a bad day is just plain stupid. Think before you act. Why should I want to continue to employ someone that trashes my company? Employees have full control of their actions and behaviors at all time. I wouldn’t walk into my boss’s office and disrespect him, nor should I do it online unless I am prepared to deal with the consequence. There are a lot of laws out there that protect ignorance, but not enough to promote common sense. I do believe that accidents to happen, and there may be times where management can abuse their position. Employee’s rights should be protected and an investigation should be conducted to determine the correct response or the employee should get a lawyer.

References:

NESBIT, T., (2011) Social Media: In the Work Place and Pattern Of Usage, The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, Pg. 61 – 80,

BEDNAR, J., (2011) Tool or Trouble. The Modern Office., Pg. 33 – 36, www.Businessweek.com

BEDNAR, J., (2011) Status Update. The Modern Office., Pg. 23 – 28, www.Businessweek.com

FARLEY, A., (2011) Building a Social Media Policy, ABA Bank Marketing. Pg. 18-22

NELSON, J. (2011). Distracted. Canadian Business, 84(14), 28.

Sudano - Conference 8

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Justin Sudano posted Jul 25, 2015 12:27 AM

So we come to the a practical discussion of the role of the CIO in moderating access to social media, framing what stands as truth in the information world of the corporation, and the extent to which the explosion of personal authority on the Internet has diminished our ability to sort out truth from hyperbole.

In the article, Social Media Distractions by Nelson (2011), the overall theme was that interruptions and distractions run rampant in the modern business environment. Whether the distraction comes in the form of social media browsing during business hours or interruptions in the form of meetings and exceedingly open workplace environments, the summary of the article essentially led to the realization that business do not perform efficiently and actually have an unrealized annual loss of nearly $650 billion industry wide. Nelson (2011), found that even our interruptions have interruptions – the interruptive meeting is being interrupted by employee digital usage (phones, tablets, etc). This compounded interruptions hurt productivity through too many internalities (managers asking too many questions or too many meetings) and externalities (social media, blogs, etc). From a CIO perspective, I find that the open concept and lowered cubicle wall perspective to the workplace environment would be dependent upon the industry and business sector the organization was involved in. If the company is an insurance firm than video conferencing would be the preferred metric as HQ and regional offices are often in different places than the local branches. If the company is all in one location, than the need for meetings should be Just in Time (JIT) to fulfill the needs and justify the requirements of the meeting – having a standard set meeting once a week or once a month does not guarantee the information presented is warranted.

In the article, Building a Social Media Policy by Farley (2011), discusses social media policy within organizations by employees and how to mitigate the inherent risks that accompany the use of social media. The big take away here it that businesses will have to acknowledge that the use of social media, in addition to general non-work related browsing, will occur. Knowing the aforementioned will occur, the organization must design a policy regulation which dictates whether and or when such usage is acceptable. I assume the standard policy letter would include limiting the time to a lunch hour regardless of being on the company’s network or not. From a CIO perspective, a social media policy letter is fairly standard. In my experience working for Apple and the DoD, social media had differences of opinions upon policy and advocacy. Apple encouraged social media usage during the lunch hour, however restricted its usage while on network during new/refresh product release days in order to maintain confidentiality. The Department of Defense (DoD) does not advocate nor encourage usage of non-military or non-government networks during lunch hour. Public Affairs, a part of the DoD, is the only agency which may actively use social media as it is their specific job and duty to regulate the release of information about the agency.

In the article, Status Update in the Realm of Social Media by Bednar (2011a), the author discusses employee rights as it pertains to their freedom of speech as well as their capacity for employment covered under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The article shows a trend of businesses letting an employee go for speaking in poor taste about their employer on social media and the business reaction leads to eligible lawsuits. The article concludes with the findings that employees currently have more shielding to these actions versus the amount of ammo the employer has legal rights towards. The article does specify however, that the employee must limit its dirty laundry to contextual applications which speak to the workplace conditions/environment and anything more aggressive and punitive protects the business. As the CIO, social media is common place and not everyone is happy with their employment environment but the company has the right to protect itself from verbal slander and misappropriated ideas from disgruntled candidates or employees.

In the article, Tool or Trouble by Bednar (2011b), the author produced evidence which counters the article by Nelson (2011) claim upon the subject of workplace social media allowance. Shedding light upon a study by Socialcast which surveyed 1400 chief information officers (CIO’s) found that of the 10% whom allow unlimited social media networking during work hours were overall 9% more effective than those 19% whom allow it for business purposes and those 54% who ban social media all together. As a CIO, I could see the argument from both fronts. However, what does not lie are statistics and if the study found those who were allowed a more “relaxed” approach to internet freedom and leisure during working hours were overall more effective than the firm should embrace these findings and commit to a “freedom with fences” approach to designing a social media policy.

In the article, Social Media: In the Work Place and Patterns of Usage by Nesbit (2011), the author offers research and methodology to identify specific groups of varying groups dependent upon their gender, age, and background. The perceived risks and benefits of social media in the workplace were utilized in order to determine the benefits and/or detriments of social media and its varied forms within the workplace.

From a CIO perspective, Schubert (2011) offered a detailed account of the technical advances from the early 1900’s to 2000s. Areas of focus were upon: computational and data networks, data storage advances (physically and mechanically), business networking through social media, and new reality adaption. Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin were demonstrated as the most prevalent and highest user base supporting social media initiatives.

Reference:

Bednar, J. (2011a). Status Update In the Realm of Social Media, Workers Have More Rights Than Employers Might Think. www.BusinessWest.com: pp. 23-28.

Bednar, J. (2011b). Tool or Trouble? Social Media Poses Opportunities and Traps for Employers. www.BusinessWest.com, 33-36.

Farley, A. (October 2011). Building a Social Media Policy. ABA Bank Marketing, 18-22.

Nesbit, T (2011). Social Media: In the Work Place and Patterns of Usage. The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, 5 (9), 61-80.

Nelson, J. (2011). Distracted. Canadian Business, 84(14), 28.

Discussion 8: Social Media

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Jon Smith posted Jul 23, 2015 11:12 PM

Last edited: Friday, July 24, 2015 9:02 AM EDT

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Discussion 8: Role of CIO in Moderating Access to Social Media and Framing What Stands as Truth in the Information

The CIO and the executive team have important roles in understanding the benefits and risks of social media - social software that connects people spontaneously and interactively - and deciding how to utilize it appropriately without jeopardizing the reputation and assets of the organization (Schubert, 2011).

Benefits/Risks

The key benefit of social media for the organization is that it is a highly popular and interactive channel for reaching current and potential customers (Schubert, 2011). There are a high number of users on the social media sites and it is growing. For example, Facebook has over 300 million users, Twitter has over 75 million users and LinkedIn has over 60 million users (Schubert, 2011). There is a whole generation that assumes a 24/7 always on/always available connected lifestyle (Schubert, 2011). Users enjoy a sense of community and get their professional and personal news from social media (Schubert, 2011). Even CIOs and the IT department can benefit by receiving information that is tailored to their professional needs (Schubert, 2011). Employees are also looking for more interactive and user-friendly tools that allows for a simpler and more collaborative communication between employees (Nesbit, 2011).

While companies seek to take advantage of what social media can offer, they must also recognize and manage the risks of social media. The most common CIO concerns are lost employee productivity, divulgence of intellectual property or confidential information to the outside world and misuse of private and personal information through social media sites (Schubert, 2011). Then, there is the question of the accuracy of the information on the social media sites.

Democratization and Socialization

Social media presents another potential problem; that is, the damage that incorrect information can pose to the reputation of a professional or business. Social media sites like Wikipedia, where users write and edit information without the validation and control from a recognized and credible expert, run the risk of publishing information that is wrong. There is also the issue of getting your information from the crowds on social media sites. Just because the group generally agrees on a point, does not mean the point is correct. This is particularly relevant for a group of amateurs. Ideally, Schubert (2011) says you need a “wise crowd” made up of individuals independent of each other with different backgrounds and opinions. The risk of incorrect information poses a challenge for the CIO.

Role of CIO and Executive Team

The CIO is responsible for providing the social media capability for the organization but is not responsible for making the decision on whether to use it (Schubert, 2011). A sound business case with the requisite management approvals and a thorough understanding of and plan for managing the risks, must be in place before making the decision to adopt social media in the workplace (Schubert, 2011). The CMO will exploit social media for marketing purposes, but it is the responsibility of the executive team to determine whether the social media capability should be available to the organization (Schubert, 2011). The CIO must also care about the quality and correctness of information online, and therefore, put the right controls in place to manage the information (Schubert, 2011).

Policies and Guidelines

Companies need to establish and communicate policies and guidelines for employee use of social media, rather than blocking these sites (Bednar, 2011b). Blocking does not work because employees can simply go to these sites on their mobile devices (Bednar, 2011b). Hence, blocking the sites on the corporate network does not fully mitigate the risks of security, privacy and intellectual property loss (Schubert, 2011). The policy and guidelines will shift the responsibility to the employee and allow the employer to hold the employee accountable for breaking the rules (Schubert, 2011). It is important for the company to hire a good lawyer that understands the laws to help them craft the policies and guidelines for social media in order to protect the company’s interests (Bednar, 2011a). It is also useful for the company to follow these ten guidelines when drafting the social media policy: 1) outline the purpose of the policy and why it is being implemented, 2) identify who is authorized to create social media for the company, 3) clearly outline the employee’s responsibilities and accountabilities, 4) communicate the need to recognize the proper sources of proprietary information and to avoid posting confidential information, 5) use employee disclaimers, 6) set privacy expectations, 7) make clear the consequences for violating the policy, 8) be respectful, 9) update the policy regularly, and 10) include addendums with additional relevant information (Farley, 2011).

References:

Bednar, J. (2011a). Status Update In the Realm of Social Media, Workers Have More Rights Than Employers Might Think. www.BusinessWest.com: pp. 23-28.

Bednar, J. (2011b). Tool or Trouble? Social Media Poses Opportunities and Traps for Employers. www.BusinessWest.com , 33-36.

Farley, A. (October 2011). Building a Social Media Policy. ABA Bank Marketing, 18-22.

Nesbit, T (2011). Social Media: In the Work Place and Patterns of Usage. The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, 5 (9), 61-80.

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