The Relationship Between It Management And It Governance

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Bede Mphande

Drexel University

Abstract

Information Technology (IT) departments need to have a structure that is effective for day-to-day operations of an enterprise including being line with the overall strategic vision. However, IT departments must be sized in accordance with enterprise. Within the IT department issues such as IT management and IT governance need to be addressed. Equally, the role of the Chief Information Officer must be clearly outlined as to what the responsibilities entail. Of critical importance is the information asset within enterprises and its management. Planning, leading, coordinating, controlling and organizing in the context of information management must be clearly elaborated through an established governance framework..

The focus of this paper is on IT departments, IT management, IT governance and information management covering each of the areas above. I provide a brief definition of each area and discuss the main points.

Key words: department, governance, management, planning, strategic

IT Departments, IT Management, IT Governance and Information Management

Compare and contrast the management organization of an IT department in a large organization

and a smaller organization.

IT departments are created for the overall responsibility of managing every aspect of the IT function with an enterprise. In some instances, the terms Information Systems (IT) department and IT department are used interchangeably. However, the purpose of information systems is the furtherance of an enterprise’s competitive strategy and so it falls into the overall IT strategy (Pearlson & Saunders, 2013). IT department’s key roles cover information systems and information technology infrastructure planning, development and adoption (Kroenke, 2010). Other roles involve the maintenance of information systems, management and operation of infrastructure as well as the protection of both infrastructure and data (Kroenke, 2010).

As the senior most technical member of executive management, the chief information officer (CIO) has the overall responsibility of managing the IT department (McNurlin, Sprague & Bui, 2009). However, in some enterprises CIOs have a vast array of responsibilities that includes spearheading innovation, being responsible for business process management and improvement, operations, procurement, business services and logistics and supply chain (Preston, 2012).

IT departments vary in size, structure and responsibility. An IT department may be structured as a corporate service, internal bureau, or business venture with further structures that are either decentralized or federal in setup ("STRATEGIC PLANNING", n.d.). Large IT departments will have a well-established management structure with various types of specialist skills, however, these structures may have geographically scattered units resulting in complex links between IT systems and business units making the management of such departments rather complex (Huber, 2005). Such complexity may require that the CIO and business unit responsibilities be redefined to improve efficiency (Huber, 2005). Small IT departments will typically range from 50 to 75 personnel with emphasis on production control functions and service center structured at the enterprise level, while critical technical services are under the IT organization. These are fairly easy to manage due to lack of complexity in structure (Kern, 2001).

What is the relationship between IT management and IT governance?

Information technology encompasses the technology, which includes methods, standards and tools, applied to the processing, storage and transmission of electronic information (Lucas, 2006). IT management, on the other hand, is the effective application of IT for strategic and operational purposes to maximize corporate productivity, profitability and competitiveness (Catalin & Alina, 2009).

IT governance concerns the administration, monitoring and management of an enterprise’s IT assets (Turban & Volonino, 2011). When considering IT governance, several issues need to be analyzed in order to have an effective framework. These are control requirements, technical matters and business risks whose correct and complete alignment enables managers provide a cohesive framework ("COBIT 4.1", 2013).

Part of the control requirements for IT governance requires deciding the issue of the distribution of decision making responsibilities, which also entails clearly defined roles that various organizational members and committees have for IT (Wager, Lee & Glaser, 2009). Critical issues for IT governance is the formulation of decision making processes that involve IT strategy development, IT initiative prioritization and budgeting, IT project management and IT architecture and infrastructure management, including central policies and procedures that govern organizational use of IT (Wager et al, 2009). IT governance framework according to Wager et al (2009) consists of principles, architecture, infrastructure strategies, business applications, investment and prioritization. The framework outlines IT utilization high-level statements, collection of technical guidance criteria, identified technical infrastructure for reliable, secure and efficient provision of IT services, application selection process and mechanism for budget and project approval (Wager et al, 2009).

IT management entails day-to-day coordinated operations efforts associated with planning, organizing, controlling, and directing use of enterprise IT resources (Karimi, Somers & Gupta, 2001). While IT governance provides the framework on how enterprise IT resources will be used and therefore assigns decision rights, IT management concerns making decision in light of the assigned rights (McNurlin et al, 2009).

What does a Chief Information Officer do?

In the corporate management structure, the chief information officer, otherwise known as the CIO, is the highest managerial executive in charge of information technology who reports to the chief executive officer (CEO) or in some cases, a CEO’s immediate subordinate (Gottschalk, 2007). The CIO position entails the responsibility of strategic IS/IT planning, management of corporate information resources, participation in corporate strategy formulation and effective communication with top management at the managerial level (Gottschalk, 2007). On the operational front, the CIO has a varied responsibility that includes information systems, computer operations, telecommunications and networks, office automation, end-user computing, help desks, computer softer and applications.

As technological systems and information infrastructure have grown, both in complexity and size, over the years, the role of CIO has in some corporate setups being designed as a team effort as opposed to an individual position. In such case, CIO team is comprised the CIO as the head executive, the chief technology office (CTO) whose responsibility covers IT planning, the chief operations officer (COO) responsible to the daily information systems operations and the chief project officer (CPO) responsible for overseeing projects (McNurlin et al, 2009). In some instances, the CIO team has been extended to include such positions as chief knowledge officer (CKO), chief telecommunications officer (CTO), chief network officer (CNO), chief information security officer (CISO), chief privacy officer (CPO), chief resource officer (CRO), chief mobility officer (CMO) and chief social business officer (CSBO) (Pearlson & Saunders, 2013). This reveals the extent of responsibilities that are bestowed on the CIO.

Since IT strategy must fit into overall corporate strategy, CIOs require a strong understanding of both business and technology as the primary role will be that of ensuring that IT operates as a strategic tool for growth and innovation within the enterprise (Pearlson & Saunders, 2013). The CIO is seen as business strategist, integrator, relationship architect, utility provider, information steward, and educator (Smaltz, Sambamurthy, & Agarwal (as cited in Harris, 2011)). CIOs are responsible for policy, strategic planning, performance, process improvement, capital planning & investment, leadership management, technology, security, architecture and acquisition ("CIO Responsibilities", 2013).

Five aspects of management can be considers as planning, leading, coordinating, controlling and organizing. Discuss these in the context of information management.

Information Management covers processes and systems that create, acquire, organize, store, distribute, and use of information with the objective of ensuring access, process and use of information efficiently and effectively within the enterprise structure (Detlor, 2010). Information management is concerned with the day-to-day collection, storage and use of information from various sources and is operational in nature (McNurlin et al, 2009, p. 260).

Information is a vital resource in any organization. It is essential for day-to-day operations, medium and long-term corporate strategic planning. However, information that any organization collects, stores and uses must be based on objectives that are derived from an organization’s mission and operational plans (McNurlin et al, 2009). The information management plan, which must be periodically reviewed and updated, must outline the goals, actions, priorities, resources, policies, standards, and procedures that are required to achieve objectives (). The information management plan must be devised in the context of the information security and assurance framework (Boyce & Jennings, 2001).

The control and cordination of information management requires a governance plan. A framework under the IT governance principle covers the elements of information management as this is a cross-organizational issue that focuses on decision rights and accountability ("IT Governance", n.d.). One IT-related decision area of IT governance is that of enterprise architecture. Enterprise architecture entails transformation of business vision and strategy into effective enterprise change through the creation, communication and improvement of strategic requirements, principles and models (Lapkin et al, 2008). It covers people, processes, information and technology of the enterprise, including both internal and external relationships to one another and to the external (Lapkin et al, 2008). Information management falls under IT governance, therefore, control, coordination, and leading falls under the CIO, who is responsible for management of corporate information resources (Gottschalk, 2007).