Week 1: Strategic
Goals of IT
MIS5801: Management of Information
Technology
Paul Weinberg
weinberg@temple.edu
Adapted from material by David Schuff and Paul Weinberg
MIS and Computer Science
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Computer science and
computer engineering is
product-driven
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Example: Development of
the iPod
MIS is solution-driven

Example: Hardee’s
analyzed customer data
and preferences to predict
demand for a higher calorie
hamburger
What technologies have to converge
to make mobile devices work?
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Online music/video distribution
Portable music/video
Wireless telephone
Computer operating system
Computer animation
Wireless computer networking
and Internet services
Power supply
Display
What skills did Jobs need on his
iPhone team?
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Technology
Financial
Marketing
Manufacturing
Design
 Human interaction
 System
Management
Technology Integration
Business Integration
Entrepreneurship
Others?
The Role of MIS
Accounting Finance
Sales
Human
Resources
MIS is the “glue” that ties
businesses together…
…and uses the technology that
makes business work.
Production
Changes That Have Altered the
Business Environment
Emergence of the global economy
 Transformation of industrial economies
 Transformation of the business enterprise

Emergence of the Global
Economy

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Management and control in a global
marketplace
Competition in world markets
Global work groups
Global delivery systems
Transformation of industrial
economies

Knowledge/information-based economies

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Time-based competition

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What’s the difference between a
“information-based” economy and a
“manufacturing-based” economy?
Shorter product life
Turbulent environment
What do all of
these things have
in common and
what does
technology have
to do with it?
Transformation of the Business
Enterprise
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“Flattening”
Decentralization
Flexibility
Location independence
Transaction and coordination
cost pressure
Collaborative work and
teamwork
What do all of
these things have
in common and
what does
technology have
to do with it?
How do you
recognize
technologyenabled business
opportunities?
Basic tools for assessing a
business
Five Forces Model
(The Environment)
The Value Chain
(Organization Structure)
Give a technology-oriented
example for each “force”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porter_5_forces_analysis
What can you learn from
understanding an organization’s
value chain?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_chain
Try it: How can
mobile technology
alter the competitive
landscape?
http://cdn3.pcadvisor.co.uk/cmsdata/reviews/3369816/
Samsung_Galaxy_S3IMG_0044.jpg
Going forward…
These are tools to
analyze the nature of
disruption.
• Threats
• Opportunities
Recognize where
fundamental industry
change can occur
Systems thinking and
enterprise architecture
provides guidance for
implementation
Current Issues
The spread of technology in organizations
 Downsizing and Outsourcing
 Career prospects and opportunities

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Need for people within organizations with
analyst skills that also have technology skills
16
1-16
Other Issues and Opportunities
Faced by the IS Function
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Greater Miniaturization, Speed, and Portability
 miniaturization
 integrated circuit
 Moore’s Law
 portability
Greater Connectivity and Continuing Convergence of Computing
and Communications connectivity
 interoperabiliity
 open systems
 convergence of computing and communications
Greater Use of Digitized Information and Multimedia
 digitization
 multimedia
Better Software Techniques and Interfaces with People
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Miniaturization
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Moore’s Law
Chip capacities (storage and processing)
have doubled every 18 months
 Why? Because they are getting smaller.
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But there are problems, for example…
“Chip gates” are becoming too small to block
electrons, which determine the 1s from the 0s
 How to get around laws of quantum
mechanics?
 Moore himself said we may hit the limit by
2017
18
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Moore’s Law Drives Microchip
Performance Up...
10,000,000,000
4G
1G
1,000,000,000
52%/year growth
256M
42%/year growth
100,000,000
64M
16M
P7
10,000,000
4M
P6
1M
Pentium
1,000,000
80486
256K
80286
16K
10,000
1,000
80386
64K
100,000
Transistors/Die
4K
1K
8086
8048
8085
8080
8008
4004
100
1970
19
1975
1980
1990
1985
Year
1995
2005
2000
Microprocessor
DRAM
Source: Brynjolfsson, E. and S. Yang “Information Technology and Productivity:
A Review of the Literature”, Advances in Computers, 1996.
And the cost of digital devices drops…
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Source:
ftp://download.intel.com/museum
/Moores_Law/Printed_Materials/
Moores_Law_2pg.pdf
Major Ideas
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Integration: There are no boundaries between
 Business process design and technology
design
 Major business functions
Location doesn’t matter
IT does matter
 IT is a major driver of business innovation
The use of technology by itself doesn’t
guarantee success
That Used to Be Us
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Thomas Friedman discusses his book “That Used to
Be Us”
Specifically . . . Issues faced by the United States
 Globalization
 Changes in Information Technology
 Deficits
 Energy Consumption
As you watch the video --- take notes for the following
discussion
That Used to Be Us
What does it mean for the world to be
“hyperconnected?”
 What is “skills bias polarization?”
 What are the three types of workers
and how are they affected by skills
bias polarization?
 What three things should people do to
be competitive in this changing global
environment?
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