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OSU BA 572 - BA 572 Weekly Readings and Discussion Questions

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BA 572 Syllabus – Attachment 1 5BA 572 Weekly Readings and Discussion Questions (for Weeks 2, 3 and 4)Week 2 (Jan 17th) – Extend IT infrastructure/architecture foundation to enterprise-wide services- Readings:Articles: Davenport, Thomas H. “Putting the Enterprise into the Enterprise System”, Harvard Business Review, July-August 1998 (from Making IT Matter OnPoint Collection)A unifying platform is essential to getting the most of your IT investment. Enterprise-widesystems (referred to as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems) are intended to provide a ubiquitous infrastructure that integrates all information flowing within the company – among the numerous disparate databases. But these complex and expensive systems may force adoption of processes and procedures that are inconsistent with currentbusiness and IT processes. The author suggests that companies should clarify their business and IT strategies before planning the enterprise system, and consider changing both organizational structure and IT infrastructure to address information flow issues before implementation.Cases: Nolan, Richard L., “Cisco Systems Architecture: ERP and Web-enabled IT”, Harvard Business School publication, 9-301-099 (July 17, 2001), Rev: October 15, 2001, pp 1 – 23. This case describes the seven-year process of Cisco building its strategic I-Net. First Ciscocompletely replaced its back-office legacy systems beginning in 1994. At that time, the company standardized on Internet protocols. In addition, the company shifted strategic focus from IT back-office applications to front-office applications. After ERP, the company spent the next two years electronically connecting with customers. “Tektronix, Inc.: Global ERP Implementation”, Harvard Business School publication, 9-699-043, February 2, 1999, pp 1 – 22. (Doctoral candidates George Westerman and Mark J. Cotteleer prepared this case under the supervision of Professors Robert D. Austinand Richard L. Nolan). This case reviews Tektronix's implementation of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution in all three of its global business divisions. There are actually three implementations, each with its own character and requirements. Tektronix managers needed to synchronize the requirements of each division, adhere to a common business model, and then standardize business practices across the enterprise. The case details the difficulty of major business change in a mature business and technical environment.- Discussion Questions. 1. In the Davenport article:a. What are the key strategic issues that a company should address before deciding to implement a vendor-based enterprise-wide system (such as SAP).BA 572 Syllabus – Attachment 1 2b. What impact can an enterprise-wide system have on the structure and culture of an organization?2. For the Cisco case:a. Describe the company, its products and services, and the industry.b. Provide an overview of the growth strategies for the company.c. What was the primary motivation for Cisco to move to a new enterprise-wise system?d. How did Cisco mitigate the risks associated with moving to a relatively new technology as the basis for the IT architecture?e. To what extent does information technology enable Cisco’s strategies?3. For the Tektronix case:a. Describe the company, its products and services, and the industry.b. Provide an overview of the growth strategies for the company.c. What was the primary motivation for Tektronix to move to a new enterprise-wise system?d. How did Tektronix mitigate the risks associated with moving to an enterprise-wide IT architecture?e. Discuss the pros and cons of customizing enterprise-wide applications to allow for different business processes within organizational units. When are different business processes justified?f. On page 3 of the Tektronix case, Allen recounts that there was no desire to perform anROI analysis to justify the decision to implement the enterprise-wide system. Again onpage 12, Allen is quoted as stating: “How much cost savings is directly related to the system? I don’t know, and we really don’t care.” What performance metrics were used by Tektronix to justify the cost of implementing the enterprise-wide system?4. Compare the implementation strategies between the two companies: Cisco and Tektronix. How did the implementation strategy of each company contribute to the overall success ofthe enterprise-wide project?BA 572 Syllabus – Attachment 1 3Alignment of Business and IT StrategyThe purpose of this section of the course is to develop an understanding of the interrelationships between business strategy and IT strategy. You should be able to: Understand how information technologies influence business models. Discuss how Internet technologies influence competitive strategies. Discuss how Internet technologies can extend traditional business models. Describe how value configuration models can be used to clarify the interactions between business and IT strategy. Discuss methods to align business and IT strategies.Week 3 (Jan 24) – Develop framework for analyzing alignment- ReadingsOptional: “Internet Business Models and Strategies”: Chapters 4, 5, 6, 7, 10Articles: Porter, Michael E., “Strategy and the Internet”, Harvard Business Review, Reprint R0103D, March 2001, pp 62 – 78.The Internet is based on generic, ubiquitous information technologies that tend to commoditize those IT applications that are the basis for competitive advantage. Porter argues that the Internet can support your strategic position if it is used to complement your traditional ways of competing and to integrate your virtual and physical activities. Henderson, J.C., and N. Venkatraman, “Strategic alignment: Leveraging information technology for transforming organizations”, IBM Systems Journal, Vol. 32, No 1, 1993, Pp 4 – 16. Henderson and Venkatraman present a Strategic Alignment Model to facilitate aligning business and IT strategies. The model presents a topology with two dimensions: organizational focus (external strategy vs. internal infrastructure) and functional area (business vs. IT). Alignment requires integration across the four domains of the model.Optional reference materials:  “Configuring Value for Competitive Advantage: On Chains, Shops and Networks”, Stabell& Fjeldstat, Strategic Management Journal, 19 (1998), 413-437.- Discussion Questions. 1. Is there a


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