 M5 Assignment 2 Submission

Assignment

Updated

Due August 22 at 11:59 PM

Assignment 2: Required Assignment 2—IT Strategic

Planning
Using a company of your choice, determine the strategic business
goals. Develop an IT strategy that aligns to the business goals. You can
use the balanced scorecard approach or you can develop your own
method for defining and aligning the IT strategy to the business
strategy. You will need to cite at least two credible sources that will
provide justification for your strategy or approach.

Finding a company: If you are employed, it is best for you to use your
current place of employment so you can practically apply the concepts
in this assignment. Alternatively, you can use a nonprofit organization
or any other organization you may have ties or access to.

Your IT strategy should include:

 Business Goals and Objectives

o List at least two or three specific business goals for the next
year or two with an explanation of the business’ rationale
for the goal.
o List an objective for each business goal to explain what the
company needs to do to achieve the goal.
 IT Strategies aligned with business goals and objectives
o List one or two IT strategies for each business goal
  These should be recommended strategies that would
enable the business goals and objectives to be
achieved.
 If your company already has IT strategies, you may
provide an analysis and justification or new
recommendation for each of the strategies
 Organizational Structure
o Describe the structure of the organization including:
 Organizational design
 Organizational culture
 Leadership factors (the types of leadership displayed
within the company)
 Business processes
 Physical layout (i.e., how many offices, virtual
offices, international locations)
 IT Infrastructure
o Describe the current IT infrastructure including:
 Hardware
 Software
 Network
 IT resources
o This should be a high-level overview
 IT Challenges
o Describe internal and external challenges IT faces in
meeting the business needs
o Include social and/or ethical considerations
 Risks
o Describe risks IT might face when implementing change
As you develop your strategy, you may want to consider the following:

 An effective IT strategy will enable the business operations,

helping business leaders achieve business goals more efficiently
and effectively.
 Focus on top priorities. Take the time to understand
organizational issues, how they are related, and how they affect
performance. Determine what will happen if nothing changes and
where IT can have the greatest, positive impact.
 Identify how IT supports business processes. The business is
relying on their capabilities to achieve the business goals. The IT
strategy should include a plan for supporting those business
capabilities, creating efficiencies, and competitive advantage for
the business.
 Define IT priorities and governance for IT. Without priorities and
a process for IT governance in place, progress will be slowed. An
agreed upon plan for governing IT will enable the decision
process.

Understand the challenges. Improving processes and increasing

efficiencies through IT implementation also requires behavioral and
sometimes organizational change. With these changes come inherent
challenges. Understanding and planning for those challenges will
increase the chance of success in meeting the business goals.

Write an 8–12-page paper in Word format. Apply APA standards to

citation of sources. Use the following file naming convention:
LastnameFirstInitial_M5_A2.doc.

By the due date assigned, deliver your assignment to the Submissions

Area.

Maximum
Assignment 2 Grading Criteria
Points
Listed specific business goals (minimum 2–3) for the next year or two. 36
For each goal:
 Explained the rationale of the goal.
  Provided one objective.

 Explained what the company needed to do to achieve that

goal.
Explained how the IT strategies will provide a competitive advantage for
36
the business.
Aligned the IT strategies with business goals and objectives and provided
36
a justification of how those strategies support business goals.
Described the structure of the organization including:

 Organizational design
 Organizational culture
36
 Leadership factors
 Business processes

 Physical layout
Described the current IT infrastructure. This should include hardware,
36
software, network, and IT resources.
Described internal and external challenges IT faces in meeting the
44
business needs.
Described risks IT might face when implementing change, including any
ethical and/or social issues brought about by the implementation of the 48
new system.
Ensured academic writing, such as grammar, spelling, and attribution of
28
sources, is appropriate.
Total: 300