Investigating the factors affecting information systems evaluation within sustainable environments

Copyright @ 2013 EMCIS.Currently, organizations and stakeholders are more concerned with environmental issues, thus the role of information systems (IS) and information technologies (IT) within organizations towards ecological being sustainability has changed. Environmental or Green initiatives is realized as having credibly to assist in shifting to a sustainable society. Furthermore, the elements within IS/IT evaluation including costs, benefits and risks within organizations associated with IS evaluation and sustainability are taken into account in terms of the challenges concerning green practices (Green IS/IT) leading the organizations to attempt to diminish the impact of their IS/IT operations towards the environments socially and ethically, which indirectly assist them in achieving competitive advantages competitors through adopting and implementing environmental sustainability practices. In addition, government sectors are taking a step closer in order to create awareness and incorporate green into all components of the business functions. Practitioners and scholars are motivating to use the existing frameworks and models to evaluate IS/IT initiatives with sustainability taken into perspectives. Consequently, the purpose of this paper is to critically review the normative literature associated with IS evaluation within sustainable environments and to develop a conceptual framework or model for IS evaluation within sustainable organizations that measures the impact of environmental sustainability factors and highlight a number of research gaps that need to be addressed in future research

Analysing B2B electronic procurement benefits – Information systems perspective

This paper presents electronic procurement benefits identified in four case companies. The benefits achieved in the case companies were classified according to taxonomies from the Information Systems discipline. Existing taxonomies were combined into a new taxonomy which allows evaluation of the complex e-procurement impact. Traditional financial-based methods failed to capture the nature of e-procurement benefits. In the new taxonomy, eprocurement benefits are classified using scorecard dimensions (strategic, tactical and operational), which allows the identification of areas of e-procurement impact, in addition the benefits characteristic is captured (tangible, intangible, financial and non-financial)

Project benefit management: a conceptual framework of target benefit formulation

Successful realization of project benefits is strongly associated with organizational performance. Formulating project target benefits is regarded as the first and critical step in the benefit management process. In this study, we drew upon relevant theories and conducted in-depth interviews with senior managers in Australia to develop a conceptual framework of project target benefit formulation and corresponding propositions. Our findings highlight the important role of project target benefits in funding decision-making and suggest seven criteria for their appraisal (strategic fit, target value, measurability, realism, target date, accountability and comprehensiveness) and four constructs which improve the formulated target benefits (a formal benefit formulation process, senior executive leadership, senior executive supports, and public service motivation). These findings extend the current literature on project benefit management by providing a holistic view on how project target benefits should be formulated and appraised

Towards a framework for a continuous it investment valuation

The goal of this article is to contribute to the decision of how to analyse and evaluate the economic impact when deploying large IT solutions. For that purpose, we present a framework, which can be applied by carrying out the following steps: At first, important preconditions and assumptions concerning the IT solution have to be collected. Then, key factors, derived from the results of the previous step, can be identified. Finally, these factors have to be evaluated and, if possible, quantified and measured. Consequently, these steps have to be embedded in the development process of the IT solution. We describe a procedure model, based on the stages plan, do, check, act, which can be used to carry out a structured analysis taking into account the whole life cycle of the deployed IT solution, including an ex-post analysis. As foundation of the framework, we provide a classification of key factors of IT benefits and risks based on literature and case study review

Assessment of Small and Medium Enterprises Alignment of Investment Decisions to overall Business Strategy in Mombasa County, Kenya.

The background problem is that the precise handlings of a firm’s resources are critical for the firm’s endurance. Companies usually have official procedures for calculations of their profitability of investment projects. On one hand is the corporate strategy which directs the company’s activities, determines how company resources should be used. The corporate strategy and the financial calculations should work together to ensure the best and most efficient allocation of the resources of the company. Regrettably, it does not happen like this all the time or most of the time. Therefore, the purpose of this study is the analysis of SME’s, alignment of investment decisions to overall business strategy to enhance performance. The objectives of the research are to determine the extent of SME’s alignment of investment decision to overall business strategy to enhance performance. Therefore, it will be established the nature of SME’s investment decisions practices. In addition, there will be the establishment of the business strategy adopted by different SME’s. What is more, the establishment of the challenges faced by the SME’s in the alignment of their investment decisions to overall business strategy. And in addition to come up with recommendations on how SME’s can address the challenges faced when aligning investment decisions to overall business strategy. The study will thus focus on divisionalized companies, where it is to be expected that investments and strategy are not planned by the same people but by employees in different departments. The literature reviews on alignment of investment decision and strategy which has been drawn from different authors. It will contain two parts: the theoretical review and the empirical review. Significant issues related to the research topic and finally the research gap filled by the research embarked on. The methods that will be embarked on are Phenomenological research, the goal being to qualitatively describe a lived experience of the phenomenon; it will draw attention to the research design; in order to avoid bias and human error a mix of naturalistic observation and interview as well as surveys will be made use of in the research design. Data will thus be collected quantitatively and qualitatively, and the targeted populations are that of entrepreneurs with more than one investment in Majengo and central business district. The raw data once collected will be analyzed and represented by using tables and graphs and the data analysis tools that will be used are ANOVA, SPSS, t-test and frequency to eliminate human error and come up with usable data for the research.  Keywords: Small and Medium Enterprises, Investment Decisions, Business Strategy.

Measuring the Immeasurable? the Intangible Benefits of Digital Information

The benefits of digital information are mostly viewed as intangible, meaning that they can be hard to measure. This lack of measurements makes the benefits difficult to compare and communicate, creating problems for e.g. decision-making and the strategic development of specific digital information. Therefore, I conducted a literature review to find out how the combination of intangible benefits and measurements are dealt with in the information systems field. I found that we measure the intangible benefits of information systems or information technology. Here, the measurement method is divided into input, rule, and output. The input consists of predetermined individual benefits, areas of predetermined benefits, or interpreted benefits from respondents. The rule follows an accepted theory or contextual adjusted rules, and the output (benefit) can be seen as either financial or non-financial. The avenue for further research focuses on the digital information as the primary resource, not information systems or information technology

Dampak Penerapan Prioritas Investasi Bidang Teknologi Informasi Menggunakan Quality Function Deployment (Qfd) Terhadap Tingkat Keselarasan Antara Strategi Bisnis Dan Strategi Ti

Dalam lingkungan kompetisi, penentuan prioritas investasi teknologi informasi (TI) harus selaras dan mendukung strategi bisnis sehingga nilai bisnis dapat dimaksimalkan dan ancaman kompetisi dapat diminimalkan. Di samping itu, investasi TI yang dilakukan harus memiliki efisiensi yang tinggi untuk mendukung bisnis saat ini dan harus memiliki fleksibilitas yang baik untuk mengakomodasi kebutuhan bisnis mendatang. Penelitian ini akan mengukur tingkat keselarasan antara strategi bisnis dan strategi TI dengan membandingkan sebelum dan sesudah penerapan prioritas investasi bidang teknologi informasi menggunakan Quality Funtion Deployment (QFD) di Politeknik Caltex Riau dengan model yang diajukan oleh Nugroho (2010). Penilaian tingkat keselarasan menggunakan Strategic Alignment Maturity Model (SAMM) yang diajukan oleh Luftman dan Kempaiah (2007). Hasil yang didapatkan pada penerapan model prioritas investasi bidang TI menggunakan QFD dapat meningkatkan keselarasan strategis antara strategi bisnis dan strategi TI. Menurut kriteria penilaian SAMM saat penerapan pada objek studi kasus, model ini dapat meningkatkan keselarasan strategis dari level 2 (committed) ke level 4 (improved) serta mampu memperbaiki hubungan dan mekanisme kerja antara domain manajemen dan domain TI dengan adanya kesamaan level persepsi

Information Technology Project Prioritization

This thesis provides a contemporary review of several topics related to information technology project prioritization, which will help managers create their own custom methodology. Traditional prioritization tools such as weighted average scoring models are used for simultaneous comparison of a number of proposed projects on multiple dimensions, to facilitate alignment with organization goals. These methods are used for the analysis of information related to the weight preferences over criteria used. If used correctly with this procedure, it is possible to bring forward an authentic figure of merit, which is used as the projects strategic potential. This allows the projects to be ranked and the highest-ranking projects to be considered for selection. Visual tools can then be used for selection of optimum project portfolio. The literature dedicates less time on tools beyond the selection of projects. This study aims to bridge this gap by proposing a final phase of project prioritization as Project Portfolio Management