Assignment 7 - ECOM

· Mod 7: For Your Success

In this module you will focus primarily on the graphic novel The Adventures of an IT Leader. You are strongly encouraged to initiate and participate in discussions with your classmates. Peer interaction is strongly encouraged.

Learning Outcomes

1. Identify principles to guide decision-making processes related to technology standardization.

· Mod 7: Readings to Required

· Chapter 16 in Adventures of an IT Leader

· Melville, N., & Ramirez, R. (2008).Information technology innovation diffusion: An information requirements paradigm. Information Systems Journal, 18(3), 247-273.

I. Innovation

Diffusion is the process behind how an innovation is communicated through different modes of communication over time in a given scenario. According to Rogers (1995), diffusion is a certain kind of communication that revolves around the perception that the message sent is a new idea. An innovation is an idea that is perceived as new.

The key components of the diffusion of new ideas model presented by Rogers (1995) include: the innovation itself; the channels of communication; the time; and the context. Different organizations will adopt innovation faster than others. It really depends on certain characteristics. These characteristics include the relative advantage, compatibility with the organization, the complexity, the usability, and how the innovation is perceived in the organization.

The channels of communication are how information is created and shared. An example of a communication channel might be a piece of paper tacked to a bulletin board, or an email announcement. Often times, individuals do not qualify the innovation on the basis of scientific research of experts, but more subjective opinion based on what they hear from peers or through advertising media. Time, in this circumstance, is three-dimensional in nature. The first is the amount of time that passes between the introduction of the innovative idea to the individual making the decision to adopt or reject the idea. The second dimension is in innovativeness of a person or organization. The five categories of adoption are: innovators; early adopters; early majority; late majority and laggards (Rogers, 1995). The final time dimension is the rate of adoption. This dimension is typically measured as the number of individuals who adopt an innovation over a given amount of time.

The last component of the diffusion model is that of context. Context is really about the social system; the people that may be part of an organization, or group.

The study “Information technology innovation diffusion: an information requirements paradigm” explores organizational and technical factors that shape IT adoption and diffusion. The framework described in the paper incorporates three sources of information requirements: process complexity, clock speed and supply chain complexity. The study presented provides a fresh perspective as to why some industries are more likely to adopt Internet-based innovations sooner than others. The study presumes you have some background knowledge in innovation and diffusion theory.

After reading through the study and reading Chapter 16 in The Adventures of an IT Leader you will gain a perspective of the challenges Jim Barton faces with the problem of proliferating IT technologies. Barton listens to the technical staff propose how to curtail the increasing complexity of the IT environment. Complexity increases cost and demand for IT support. Standardization, on the other hand, helps reverse increased spending on infrastructure. As you read through the chapter, you were guided through the decision making process related to technology standardization.

Over time, people inside and outside the IT group have different perceptions of what technologies the company should opt for, causing quite a bit of tension. Some of these technologies might not be appropriate or work well together in the long run. There are three standardization proposals in play at IVK:

1. “voluntary compliance” – i.e., business units decide when to depart from standards
2. “strict enforcement” – the IT department gets to decide
3. “gradual migration” – technology platforms are classified and managed by emerging/declining standards.

The question to ponder here is: who gets to decide?

You are encouraged to engage in a discussion with your classmates in the discussion area. We encourage you to engage in a discussion with your classmates about

WHO gets to decide which standardization proposal IVK should go with?

Assignment 7 :

Reviewing The Adventures of an IT Leader

For this assignment, complete a 3 to 5 page summary based on your readings in The Adventures of an IT Leader.

As you read the chapters think about pertinent issues and the relationship of these factors to situation outcomes. As you prepare your paper, respond to the following questions:

· How much time and effort should an IT department devote to scanning for and analyzing emerging technologies?

· What are your responses to Bernie Ruben’s three questions in taking action on the blog issue at IVK:

·

o What if anything should we do about this blog entry?

o What should be our general policy about blogging based on inside information from within the company?

o What should be our process for spotting emerging technologies and analyzing them to see how they might e relevant to use for better or worse?

· Which of the three proposed processes should IVK sue for enforcing infrastructure technology standards? Recommend and justify.

· Are IT standardization and innovation (or flexibility) in conflict in an organization like IVK?

· What do you think of the kid’s toolkit approach to management?

Use Saudi Electronic University academic writing standards and APA style guidelines, citing references as appropriate.

I request the expert DERRICK