Strategic Alignment ITIL Perspective

The literature suggests that organizations cannot be competitive if their business and information technology strategies are not aligned. Yet achieving strategic alignment continues to be a major concern for business executives. A number of alignment models have been offered in the literature, primary among them the Strategic Alignment model (SAM) and IT Governance (via ITIL). As there is no published research that attempts to present how effective ITIL V3 is to align business and IT in strategic level, this paper reports on determining aligning roles of ITIL by applying it to the SAM framework. In this regard, the ITIL Strategic Alignment model is proposed to describe ITIL V3 approach of strategic aligning business and IT. The primary aims of this paper are to demonstrate that ITIL has conceptual and practical competencies to strategic alignment of business and IT. It is described that ITIL uses IT as a mean to meet business strategies and goals, support business maturity and recognize new initiatives for the business

Aligning a Service Provisioning Model of a Service-Oriented System with the ITIL v.3 Life Cycle

Bringing together the ICT and the business layer of a service-oriented system (SoS) remains a great challenge. Few papers tackle the management of SoS from the business and organizational point of view. One solution is to use the well-known ITIL v.3 framework. The latter enables to transform the organization into a service-oriented organizational which focuses on the value provided to the service customers. In this paper, we align the steps of the service provisioning model with the ITIL v.3 processes. The alignment proposed should help organizations and IT teams to integrate their ICT layer, represented by the SoS, and their business layer, represented by ITIL v.3. One main advantage of this combined use of ITIL and a SoS is the full service orientation of the company.Comment: This document is the technical work of a conference paper submitted to the International Conference on Exploring Service Science 1.5 (IESS 2015

Employee Attributions of the Why of HR Practices: Their Effects on Employee Attitudes and Behaviors, and Customer Satisfaction

The construct of Human Resource (HR) Attributions is introduced. We argue that the attributions that employees make about the reasons why management adopts the HR practices that it does have consequences for their attitudes and behaviors, and ultimately, unit performance. Drawing on the strategic HR literature, we propose a typology of five HR-Attribution dimensions. Utilizing data collected from a service firm, we show that employees make varying attributions for the same HR practices, and that these attributions are differentially associated with commitment and satisfaction. In turn, we show that these attitudes become shared within units and that they are related to unit-level organizational citizenship behaviors and customer satisfaction. Findings and implications are discussed

Strategiatavoitteiden ja prosessimittareiden ja välisen yhdenmukaisuuden arviointi palveluliiketoiminnassa.

The measurement of the service processes has been facilitated by the development of the information technology. Through new systems and applications, it is possible to obtain accurate information on the activities of the service process. Process measures provide information to develop and improve the underlying service process. The service industry has commonly used similar measuring methods as the manufacturing industry. However, the manufacturing processes differs from the service processes due to variation, value creation, and automation level. Hence, the same manufacturing measurement methods cannot be applied directly to the service processes. Measuring is vital for companies to develop and update processes to compete in a highly competitive service sector. Generally, measurement starts from defining the strategy targets, after which the strategic objectives are translated and aligned through the organization levels down to the customer interface. There is a consensus in the literature that the strategy must define the process measurements. Several different measurement systems (Balanced Scorecard, Performance Matrix) are designed to support the strategy implementation. Translating strategy metrics into the execution level is, however, a demanding and tedious process involving many challenges. As a result, companies do not often follow this process. Although the literature is unanimous about its importance and usefulness. The aim of this thesis is to evaluate the relationship between strategic objectives and process metrics. To study this topic, 9 interviews were conducted and part of the interviews were organized using participant observation method. The interview structure was formed using the Congruence model and the results were analyzed through the Strategic Alignment model. The research revealed that the strategy process and the organizational structure can strongly influence how well the strategy measurement and implementation succeed. When the strategy measures play a key part in the strategy process, their value driver maps are better known and the impacts are better monitored. To achieve the strategy targets, the strategy must have an impact on the daily life (rewards, objectives, and metrics) of the employees. Through daily routine changes, the strategy goals can be implemented into the practice.Palveluprosessien mittaaminen on helpottunut teknologia kehittymisen myötä. Uusien järjestelmien ja sovellusten kautta on mahdollista saada tarkkaa tietoa palveluprosessin toiminnasta. Prosessimittaamisen avulla on mahdollista parantaa prosesseja ja tehdä niistä tehokkaampia. Palveluprosessimittaamisessa on yleisesti käytetty vastaavia menetelmiä kuin valmistusteollisuudessa. Valmistavan teollisuuden prosessit eroavat kuitenkin palveluprosesseista variaation, arvon luonnin ja automaatioasteen seurauksena. Näin ollen suoraan samoja mittaamismenetelmiä ei voida soveltaa. Mittaaminen on ylipäätään tärkeää, jotta yritys voi kehittää ja päivittää prosesseja pärjätäkseen erittäin kilpailulla palvelualalla. Yleisesti mittaaminen lähtee strategiatavoitteen määrittämisestä, jonka jälkeen strategiatavoitteet jalkautetaan läpiorganisaatiotasojen aina asiakasrajapintaan asti. Kirjallisuudessa vallitsee konsensus, että strategian kautta tulee määritellä prosessimittaaminen. Useita erilaisia mittaamisjärjestelmiä, (Balanced Scorecard, Performance Matrix) on suunniteltu strategiamittareiden jalkauttamisen tueksi. Strategiamittareiden jalkauttaminen on kuitenkin vaativa ja työläsprosessi sisältäen monia haasteita, jonka seurauksena yritykset eivät usein tätä prosessia noudata. Vaikkakin kirjallisuus on yksimielinen sen tärkeydestä ja hyödyllisyydestä. Tässä diplomityössä tutkitaan, miten strategiamittareiden määrittäminen ja jalkautus todella onnistuu organisaatiossa. Tutkimuksessa suoritettiin yhteensä 9 haastattelua kahdessa kohdeyrityksessä ja osassa haastatteluja sovellettiin ’participant observation’ -metodia. Haastattelurakenne muodostettiin ’Congruence’ -mallin avulla ja tulokset analysointiin mukautetun ’Strategic Alignment’ -malia hyväksikäyttäen. Tutkimuksessa kävi ilmi, että strategiaprosessi ja organisaatiorakenne vaikuttavat vahvasti siihen kuinka hyvin mittaaminen ja jalkauttaminen onnistuu. Strategiamittareiden ollessa keskeisessä osassa strategiaprosessia niiden arvoketju tunnetaan paremmin ja niiden vaikutusta seurataan. Strategiatavoitteisen aikaan saamiseksi, strategialla täytyy olla vaikutuksia henkilöstön arkeen: palkitsemiseen, tavoitteisiin ja mittareihin. Arjen muutosten kautta strategiatavoitteet saadaan käytäntöön

The Unseen Face of E-Business Project Development

The purpose of this paper is intent on identify and analyze the unseen factors of successful or failure of e-business project development. The IT managers must take into account both all costs involved in e-business development and all phases (analysis, design, testing, implementation, maintenance and operation) according to principle of project management for software/systems life cycle development. There are many solutions to exceed these factors of failure among could be counted outsourcing, a good project management, involvement of senior management, a real cost estimation etc.Zadanie pt. „Digitalizacja i udostępnienie w Cyfrowym Repozytorium Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego kolekcji czasopism naukowych wydawanych przez Uniwersytet Łódzki” nr 885/P-DUN/2014 zostało dofinansowane ze środków MNiSW w ramach działalności upowszechniającej nauk

Process-based Organization Design Model: Theoretical Review and Model Conceptualization

The complexity of today's business world is translated into complexity of the company's organization design (Galbraith, 2002). Organizations are forced to quickly adapt to emerging complexity if they want to survive. The change is addressing all areas of business, especially questioning organizational effectiveness and trying to find optimal solutions for doing business. In accordance with requirements, competitive trends are pushing executives to rethink traditional design configurations. Factors such as increased competition in cost, quality and service, and technical change have forced companies not only to seek out new ways of doing old tasks, but also new ways of organizing either old or new tasks (Cross, 1990). Such focus on the flow of work within organizations, but as well as between them, is emphasizing process orientation as a new management paradigm. Inefficiencies of the two most commonly present structures – functional and divisional, in addition to emerging business trends, place the emphasis on a process-based organization as one of the possible solutions. The process-based organization is lead by the process paradigm, which is focused on the horizontal view of business activities and alignment of organizational systems towards business processes. Regardless of a large interest on business processes, existing organization design theory offers only general guidelines for process-based organizations or more precisely, a process-based organization design model. Consequently, the purpose of the paper is to demystify process-based organization design model. By clearly distinguishing between different levels of process orientation, and by addressing characteristics of the chosen model the paper will lead to better understanding of this way of organizing. Eventually, an operationalized model of process-based organization is developed. Furthermore, the paper elaborates on differences between process-based and other organizational structures and philosophies (e.g. functional, product, matrix, project, team-based). Besides structural elements, which will be in the primary focus, the paper will discuss the alignment of all other important organization design elements for process environment (e.g., management style, reward systems, performance metrics, people practices, organizational culture, etc.). There would be proposed necessary adjustments of organizational elements which should be aligned with the process-based structural solution. In such way, some of the blind spots of process-based organization design model would be revealed, providing practical implications for its implementation and ultimately, offering solution for rising business complexity.organization design, process-based organization, process-based organization design model, business processes

Some empirical evidence on business-IT alignment processes in the public sector: A case study report

An empirical study that explores business-IT alignment processes in a networked organization among the province Overijssel, the municipalities Zwolle and Enschede, the water board district Regge & Dinkel and Royal Grolsch N.V. in The Netherlands, is summarized in this report. The aim of the study was to identify processes that contribute to improve such alignment. This study represents a continuation of previous validation efforts that help us to confirm the business-IT alignment process areas that should ultimately be included in the ICoNOs MM. Evidence was sought for the alignment of business and IT through the use of information systems to support the requirements of the organization in a specific project. The results of this study in the public sector also are relevant to the private sector where (i) business-IT alignment plays an increasingly valuable role, and (ii) the characteristics of collaborative networked organizations are present

A Nonprofit Organization’s Strategies to Align Its Systems Services with the Needs of Families

In the nonprofit sector, leaders are swiftly recognizing the necessity of aligning community food systems with the dynamic needs of families. This alignment is not only crucial for addressing immediate nutritional needs but also plays a pivotal role in bolstering long-term community resilience and well-being. Grounded in the balanced scorecard and Baldridge Excellence frameworks, the purpose of this qualitative single-case study was to explore strategies some leaders in nonprofit organizations deploy to align community food systems with the food service needs of families. The participants were three leaders with over five years of experience at a nonprofit organization in the southern United States. Data were gathered through interviews and a review of organizational documents. Through thematic analysis, five themes were identified: leadership, governance, strategic planning, customer engagement, and societal responsibility. A key recommendation is for nonprofit leaders to evaluate and adapt services to meet changing family needs routinely. The implications for positive social change include the potential to reinforce community values and enhance citizen safety through personalized services and increased confidence in community support systems

The Human Capital Dimensions of Sustainable Investment: What Investment Analysts Need to Know

This paper identifies a number of questions that need to be answered if the growing interest in building investment portfolios of firms that follow socially and environmentally sustainable practices is to be successful in transforming the financial institutions and analysts from a liability to an asset in expanding the number of sustainable firms in the economy. Evidence from three decades of research on "high performance workplace practices" is reviewed that identifies what is required for firms to align human capital and financial strategies. A longer term research and education agenda is presented for answering the remaining open questions