MANAGER OR TECHNICIAN? THE NATURE OF THE INFORMATION SYSTEMS MANAGER'S JOB

The role of the information systems manager has evolved in twenty years from that of a technician managing a relatively unimportant service function into that of a vice presidential-level, general manager who department can substantially impact the entire organization. In this paper we trace, by example, the historical evolution of the job and, through an observational study of six information systems managers, examine the position today. The analysis includes the daily activities of the managers, the nature of the oral contacts that constitute 76% of their day, and other points of particular interest. The information systems managerâs role is depicted as one of coordinator, motivator, and planner, with a cadre of experts, both internal and external, to provide technical information.Information Systems Working Papers Serie

COMMUNICATION OF MIS RESEARCH: AN ANALYSIS OF JOURNAL STRATIFICATION

The stratification among journals constituting the formal communication system for MIS research is described and analyzed on the basis of MIS experts\u27 opinions, published MIS articles, and citation frequency. Implications of the research results are discussed for authors seeking suitable publication outlets, for academic administrators making promotion decisions, for editors wishing to establish coverage policy, and for librarians making journal acquisition decisions

Information Systems at Northrop Grumman Ship Systems Sector: The Hurricane Katrina Recovery

On August 29th, 2005, Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast causing massive damage throughout Louisiana and Mississippi. Northrop Grumman\u27s Ship Systems sector\u27s facilities in New Orleans, Louisiana and Pascagoula, and Gulfport, Mississippi as well as most of the firms 20,000 employees located in the Gulf were directly impacted by the storm. One data center was destroyed and a second put out of commission for several days. Employees\u27 homes were destroyed and those surviving the storm and their families scattered to safe harbors in neighboring states. Some would never return. Communication to and within the impacted areas was severely disrupted, and the near complete failure of other elements of public infrastructure further delayed the recovery and increased the chaos and suffering. This case looks at Katrina as a very real example of a business continuity disruption that far exceeded the assumptions built into the business continuity plan. It illustrates the essential role that public communication infrastructure plays in disasters such as these, and the risks associated with assuming that communication systems and other public infrastructure will be available in times of cataclysmic failure. The case also demonstrates the unique nature of leadership in a crisis, the problems of pulling together and providing resources to a work force necessary to respond to a crisis, and the unique problems of reassembling, almost from scratch, the necessary information technology infrastructure

Anything You Search Can Be Used Against You in a Court Of Law: Data Mining in Search Archives

AOL\u27s recent public release of user search information resulted in a heated privacy debate. This case study is a detailed account of this incident. The case is designed as an in-class teaching aid covering managerial, legal, and ethical issues related to privacy. It consists of four sections (A, B, C, and D). Each section is fairly short and is designed to be read in class, separated by discussion of the previous section. Alternatively, the first section might be distributed in advance; though this runs the risk of students identifying the case and jumping ahead in the discussion (AOL\u27s identity is concealed from students until the end of section B). A set of potential discussion questions for each section appears in the appendix. While there are too many questions to be covered in a single class, instructors can choose questions based on their particular teaching objective. A teaching note is also available from the authors

AFTER THE SALE: LEVERAGING MAINTENANCE WITH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGYl

Post-sale maintenance is already an important part of the competitive strategy of some firms, and will become increasingly important to many others in the future. The maintenance problem can be converted into an opportunity for additional revenue, for the sale of add-on products and services and for improved customer relationships. Information technology (IT) can play a significant role in leveraging a firm\u27s investments in maintenance, and indeed in directing its overall approach to the maintenance issue. This paper first presents a conceptual framework for understanding the maintenance process. There are three generic approaches: design, risk reduction, and service support. Examples from a variety of industries are used to illustrate each approach and to indicate the role that IT can play in its successful implementation. Next the paper turns to the question of searching for potential applications. The traditional inputprocess- output analysis framework, enhanced through the addition of the trigger\u27 concept, is suggested as a method of finding competitively important applications of IT to the maintenance process. Here the inputs include a broken product, spare parts, and tools, while the outputs include the repaired product, removed parts, used/returned tools, and such by products as sales leads, product history, and learning for the maintenance staff. Among the triggers are a broken product, inspections, indicators, and simply elapsed time. Numerous examples suggest ways in which IT can be used to augment the triggers, inputs, and outputs of the maintenance process. Finally, the paper notes that the search method used is a specific case of the application of the triggerinput- process-output framework to a single stage of Ives and Learmonth \u27customer resource life cycle.- This model suggests looking at a product from the customer\u27s perspective, focusing on ways that IT might be used to assist the customer in specifying, acquiring, owning, or disposing of the product or of other resources used in conjunction with the product. This search process will be most fruitful in an information- intensive environment and requires for its success the active involvement of functional and general managers. We believe that a thoughtful selection of examples, combined with consideration of the firm\u27s competitive strategy and distinctive competencies. will produce both potential applications of IT and the starting point for discussions concerning the overall role of IT in a firm

DxR Case Study

FROM THE PREFACE TO THE CASE STUDY: In July 1998, Hurley Myers, President of DxR Development Group, stared at the gray plastoid brain lying on the desk before him. A prop for the medical multimedia software his firm developed, it also was a suitable metaphor for the many critical decisions that he faced. Complicating these decisions was his uncertainty regarding the intentions of his partner and biggest customer, a large pharmaceutical company. For the next six months, the customer had the option either to buy DxR out or to release it from its contractual obligations. If it chose the former, it might do so just to obtain the intellectual property rights controlled by DxR. This option might permit DxR to start up again in the medical education marketplace, but without its biggest customer and much of its intellectual property. With either the restart or release option, DxR would need to adapt to the major change in orientation. The change would encourage DxR to identify new customers and new product opportunities and create new strategic alliances. If any of these options resulted in further growth, Myers knew that some of his management team felt more rigorous procedures were necessary for software development and human resource management. Myers also felt that DxR\u27s pharmaceutical partner needed to be making greater use of the Internet for marketing, and perhaps distributing, DxR\u27s products

Rice Epicurian Shopping: Decadence or Destiny

This case study describes the experience of a family relying on an online grocery shopping service offered by an eight-store grocery chain in Houston, Texas. The grocer, Rice Epicurean, is able to field a sophisticated web shopping experience inexpensively and quickly by relying on an Application Service Provider, MyWebGrocer, for the underlying information technology. Using a business familiar to almost all students, the case provides an opportunity to explore application service provision, customer relationship management, evolving online business models in the grocery industry, and the emerging trend towards bricks and clicks internet business models