Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
The challenge for the CIO is to effectively convey the relevance of IT and then help
program managers make sound decisions regarding the agency's information resources. The
following quote provides insight into why it is important for the CIO to engage in such
educational processes:
It's hard to say no when the CEO and senior staff say, “Wouldn't you like to
do this?”
Saying “no” becomes easier when it is accompanied by a logical explanation that is
aligned with the agency's business strategy. Furthermore, business leaders will be more
receptive to hear the merits of the explanation when they are technologically sophisticated
enough to understand the alternatives and their implications. It then becomes incumbent
upon the CIO to proactively cultivate a technologically astute business community within
the agency, rather than leaving such education solely to chance encounters that will often
prove unproductive.
Many are Skeptical of the Value of IT
Proposed change is an educational process. The probability of success increases when
education takes place in both directions between program management and the CIO. On the
one hand, management and end users must articulate their needs and goals to the CIO in
comprehensive terms. On the other hand, the CIO must disseminate a vision of IT that
highlights the relevance of IT to the business of the agency. This point is made clear in the
following quote:
You need very knowledgeable business people who understand and who can
convey the needs, goals, and objectives of the business. In addition, you need
very good technology people who understand the technological choices.
Choices like, when to reach for a standard, when to deviate from the norm, how
to manage the technology, and which technology to engage in. You're going
to need some very skilled people to deal with that. They need not be your CIO,
but if the CIO is smart enough, he or she will have a group like that around.
CIOs that can facilitate information sharing across groups of this sort reveal their true
purpose and value, and gain the support of colleagues from both domains. It is in such an
environment that CIOs can maximize their worth by acting as a partner to those within program
areas, and an advocate of those within the IT unit.
Resource Issues, Controversies, and Problems
Agencies Continue to Manage the Bottom-Line to the Exclusion of the
Top-Line
Organizations in the private and public sectors have a tendency to focus on managing
the bottom-line (what can we afford to invest), rather than managing the top-line (what can
we ill-afford not to invest) with regard to IT (Keen, 1991):
Unfortunately, in the public sector, your budget is a one-year thing. Most
strategic changes take five to ten years, but you can't guarantee your budget.
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