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Information technology is becoming a basic commodity in most of the business organizations due to constant changes in technology. This means that organizations only need to control costs of IT and at the same time mitigate the associated risks. IT is now being viewed as a competitive advantage tool used by various business organizations for economic growth as well as business support (Blouin & Neuhauser, 2008).
Project description
In a manufacturing business industry, there are several processes which are done manually. Some of these processes are time consuming and hinder attainment of target production scores. Therefore, the project aims at developing systems that will automate the whole manufacturing process and make it continuous in order to leverage production and improve the general performance of the organization (Blouin & Neuhauser, 2008). Development and implementation of information technology systems that enable automation of the existing processes and procedures in manufacturing industries will help to increase levels of productivity of the business and make the whole manufacturing process efficient and effective (reliable and less time consuming) (Raghupathi & Tan, 2002).
How the IT strategic decisions were made
The decisions concerning development and implementation of the above IT project were made based on the capabilities of the business organization as well as the perceived needs of the organization. “Since IT planning activities have to demonstrate the capability of functional support and cost effectiveness, the committee ensured that the strategic plans and enterprise solutions were consistent with the business goals” (Blouin & Neuhauser, 2008, p.2).
The strategic decisions for the project were also made through a consultative procedure that ensured involvement and participation of key stakeholders of the organization (Raghupathi & Tan, 2002). The whole process was based on mutual understanding and agreement. The integration of the strategic plans for the management of the project began with agreement and commitment to the following key requirements:
“The whole strategic planning for the project was centralized” (Gomolski, 2004, p.3). This was meant to avoid bias since each stakeholder had goals, proposals, priorities and resources intended for the common benefit of the organization. All strategic plans were made in a manner sensitive to every stakeholder as opposed to one stakeholder driving the whole process of strategic planning and decision making for the project. Each stakeholder was given an equal chance of representation in the strategic decision making for the project (Raghupathi & Tan, 2002). The strategic decisions for the project were also subjected to the quality assurance team. The team ensured that the strategic plans and decisions taken were concurrent with the goals of the organization (Blouin & Neuhauser, 2008). Organization, communication and consistency of the strategic decisions made were key factors in evaluation and approval of the project’s strategic decisions.
The strategic decisions for the project were then reviewed and prioritized. “Since the project’s costs were below the defined estimation, the local management was given the task to keep track of all the events as part of the operational support and routine maintenance” (Gomolski, 2004, p.12).
Lastly, there were plans for the implementation process which involved strict adherence to the set standards, procedures, policies, processes and other key requirements. “The entire organization participated in the planning and execution of the project’s strategic decisions” (Gomolski, 2004, p.13).
Implications
Involving every key stakeholder in the process of making strategic decisions for the project implies that there will be minimum complaints, resistance and opposition from the stakeholders at the time of implementation of the project. This is because every stakeholder will be having a sense of belonging to the organization and thus difficult to oppose strategic decisions made in their presence (Blouin & Neuhauser, 2008).
Ensuring completely level ground for contribution of ideas from the entire organization gives room for constructive and reasonable debate in order to come up with decisions that are truly representative and conclusive. This approach implies that the outcomes are likely to be of high quality and good value to the organization (Blouin & Neuhauser, 2008).
One negative implication of the decisions made for the project was that some of the members of the staff were going to lose their jobs. Automation of the manufacturing process means that more work will be done by machines as opposed to manual procedures thus fewer employees required (Gomolski, 2004).
Involving the quality assurance team to evaluate the project and adherence to the policies, rules, standards and procedures set implies that the whole project will face minimal risks and resistance from authorities and other bodies engaged in standardization and policy making (Gomolski, 2004).
Results/consequences
The strategic decisions made through a participatory procedure ensured timely implementation of the project. The IT project was timely implemented due to minimal resistance recorded from the key stakeholders (most of them were involved in the decision making process). Strategic plans made also ensured timely completion of the project (Blouin & Neuhauser, 2008). The project was completed on time due to strategic scheduling and organization of the events involved in the entire project. The project proved to be cost effective due to strategic allocation of funds and accurate estimations made by the committee. The project was generally considered successful and beneficial to the whole organization.
References
Blouin, D., & Neuhauser, C. (2008). Integration of Strategic Planning and Project Management. Web.
Gomolski, B. (2004). IT strategy: Going beyond the platitudes. Web.
Raghupathi, W., & Tan, J. (2002). Strategic IT applications in health care, Communications of the ACM. Journal of IT, 45(12), 56-61.
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