Posted: April 24th, 2023

Final Exam essay

Future IS Executive
Future Role of the
Information Systems
Executive
By: John F. Rockart
Leslie Ball
Christine V. Bullen
Preface
In November 1981, the Society for Management Information Systems (SMIS) Executive Council voted to
begin a research project to define a model of the information systems executive of the 1980s. The purpose
of the modei would be to help Sf^lS take a proactive
role with respect to membership professional development, and provide conferences, speakers, articles and
future research consistent with the directions defined
by the model. Richard G. H. Harris, Vice President of
Information Systems at Colonial Gas & Energy and a
member of the Sft^lS Executive Councii, and Lesiie D.
Ball, Associate Professor of Information Systems at
Babson College agreed to lead the research effort. In
addition, John F. Rockart and Christine V. Bullen of the
MIT Sloan School Center for Information Systems
Research and Leo Pipino of Babson Coliege joined the
team. The work was begun with the Executive Council
approval in November 1981 and was compieted in
August 1982.
A preiiminary model coming out of an extensive
literature search and based on several years of earlier
research work done by the team members was
distributed for review to fourteen noted practitioners
and academics. Their valuable comments helped shape
the interim modei. On April 15, 1982, a day-long
discussion group was held in Chicago with the research
team and five respected practitioners. The interim
modei was reviewed, debated, and revised during this
lively and constructive session. The resulting version of
the modei was again distributed to the reviewers who
returned further comments.
The final version is presented here. While this document directly represents the ideas of nearly two dozen
SMIS members who participated in the project, readers
shouid recognize that it expresses the coiiected
thoughts of many other people as well.
It is written as a finai report in the form of a position
paper to eiiminate the iengthy academic background
and references normally associated with such papers.
A separate annotated bibliography was produced which
is a coiiection of the best articles found on the subject.
It will serve as a base and a model for further research.
It is hoped that the modei described in this paper wiii
serve both the SMiS Executive Councii and the information systems executive directiy as a set ofguideiines for
positioning themselves to meet the chalienges of the
information systems function in the coming years.
There is a significant amount of unoertainty, one
might even say “confusion,” about the roie of the
Chief Information Officer (CIO) in today’s
organizations. The information management function itself has expanded incredibly in the past two
decades and appears on the verge of even
greater development. From an earlier emphasis
on handling historical accounting data only, computer based systems today are Intimately involved
with almost all day-to-day operations of the
organization. In addition, they have a rapidly
growing role in the capturing, storing, processing,
and communication of all information of the
organization whether it be in numerical, graphical,
textual, or other form.
With this swift evolution and staggering growth of
the function in the last decade, it is clear that the
ClO’s role has changed and will change further.
Yet the relative newness of the function, and the
uncertainty, if not turmoil, surrounding the
development and implementation of computer
based technology in most firms over the past two
decades has left unclear the exact role of the
“chief information officer.” Even the title of
“CIO,” or any other combination of letters or
words, seems awkward. A clearer definition,
therefore, of the role and requisite personal and
managerial attributes of the person with corporate
responsbility for this function would appear
increasingly desirable.
It is for this reason that the Society for Management Information Systems commissioned this
position paper on the “future role of the information executive.” The purpose is to present a “concept” of this executive role which is believed to
be emerging in the early 1980s. It is hoped that
this particular role definition can serve as a base
for further discussion and clarification of the new.
MIS Quarterly/Special Issue 1982 1
Future IS Executive
evolving, and increasingly important role of the
“chief information officer.”
In the development of this paper, the researchers
have been influenced heavily by several authors
whose works appear in the attached bibliography.
An equal influence has been discussion and written input from several information executives and
others closely connected with the field. To all
these sources, we are grateful. *
The Information Executive
off the Mid 1980s
In the researchers’ view, the attributes that the
information executive will need five years hence
will be determined by the role that must be filled at
that time. The role, in turn, will be shaped by the
environment in which the CIO will exist, and that
environmental scenario will result from the relevant trends which will influence the state of the
business entity of the mid 1980s. As a result this
paper is structured from causal forces to the
necessary attributes of the evolving CIO role. In
graphic form, the logic is as follows:
Relevant
Trends
Managerial
Environment
Scenario
Necessary
Information
Executive
Attributes
Information
Executive
Role
Reievant Trends
Research in the field of forecasting suggests
strongly that the most accurate forecasts derive
from examining the probable directions of
currently evident trends. One might take a wild
leap into assuming a drastically different scenario
as espoused by some futurist, but the odds are
that one will be completely wrong. Moreover,
the researchers feel that there is a set of evident
trends today which appears to have a strong and
continuing thrust. The only thing which might
deter some of them would be a major depression
and, even though this is written in August of
1982, this does not appear likely. Briefly listed
below are some key trends which fall into the
three categories of business environment,
technology, and users.
Business environment
• Continuing inflation widening the gap
between people and hardware costs.
• Increasingly aggressive national and
international competition.
• Shortage of talented personnel as a
result of smaller graduating classes.
• Capital shortage.
• Higher than “normal” interest rates,
causing assets to remain expensive.
• Continued, sometimes extraordinary,
changes in industry structure and
methods of doing business as the
“second industrial revolution”
proceeds.
•With the exception of this one, we omit footnotes. In
retrospect, it is difficult to assign a particular idea or thought to
any single source. Some of the ideas and conclusions we
present have been voiced many times, either verbaily or in
print. Some represent an amaigam of thoughts. A few are ours
alone. Moreover, the prime purpose of this paper is to present
a useful conceptual role description, not a research treatise.
We, therefore, eschew footnotes but list our sources at the
end of this paper. We have also attempted to be terse, to
facilitate a quickly readable “statement of position,” rather
than to be fully explanatory in academic terms. Participants in
a “discussion session” on the CiO role and those who reviewed
an earlier draft of this paper are noted at the end. We drew
much from them.
2 MIS Quarterly/Special Issue 1982
Future IS Executive
Pervasive changes in the workforce
caused by the increasing impact of
technoiogy at factory, white collar, professional staff, and executive levels.
Increased managerial emphasis on
planning, particularly strategic planning
(to adapt to an increasingly volatile,
competitive environment) by medium
size and large organizations.
Emergence of the “remote worker” —
individuals working in facilities independent of “company facilities” — home,
temporary facilities, etc.
Rapidly changing technoiogy
• Ever more powerful and cost effective
hardware (of all types).
• An increasing number of telecommunication innovations with regard
to price, capability, and availability.
• More and vastly improved end user
tools.
• Improved application generators and
other programmer productivity tools.
• Rapidly expanding use of industrial
robots and process control equipment
capable of automatically generating
production data.
• Increased availability of purchasable
databases.
• Upsurge in the use of the computer as
a personal communication tool- (e.g.,
electronic mail, conferencing).
• Greatly increased use of “information
databases.”
• A vast, and growing, number of
vendors of hardware, software,
telecommunications, and other information oriented products and services.
increasingiy computer-knowiedgabie
and demanding users
• More college graduates and others
who believe the computer is a
necessary tool.
• Increased general understanding of
computer capabilities caused in large
part by home computers, increased
media attention, etc.
• “Demonstration effects” as conference
speakers increasingly illustrate the
“latest computer based approach.”
• Greater ability of users to buy their own
hardware and software as they
become more knowledgeable and
dropping system prices increasingly fall
within departmental capital spending
limits.
• Heightened awareness at all
managerial ranks as a result of
increased direct marketing to users by
computer vendors, timesharing
organizations, software vendors, etc.
• Ever better user education materials
and usage guides.
Management
Environment Scenario
The environment In which the information
executive of 1985 will exist will be uniquely
determined by the interaction of these trends.
With respect to the information function, all
organizations will be under pressure to:
• Automate as much as possible to
achieve critical productivity increases.
• Utilize the flood of improved, diverse,
and ever more capable hardware, software, and telecommunications
technologies to improve business performance as well as efficiency.
• Provide the newly sophisticated end
users with the automated tools which
they are ready for and willing to use.
MIS Quarterly/Special Issue 1982 3
Future IS Executive
• Revamp and improve many ancient
accounting and operational information
systems to take advantage of the new
technologies, to reduce ongoing
maintenance costs, and to ensure continued operation.
• Recognize that the “computer era” of
the 1970s has given way to the
“telecommunication network era” of
the 1980s and to facilitate the convergence of many diverse, formerly
unrelated functions (process monitoring, data processing, communications,
library, office systems, e(c.) into a
single “information function.”
• Carefully address the question of
restructuring both the processes and
the structure of the organization itself in
line with the opportunities presented
by a richer communications environment and the potential to make information more widely available to all
employees, customers, vendors, and
other interested parties.
With the advancing pace of automation, the rate
of increase in the use of computer based
technologies is going to grow. Over the next
several years the disparity in computer hardware
and telecommunication price declines will lead, in
an increasingly online world, to more widely
distributed processors, data storage, and
systems people. Computer usage will become
vastly more widespread throughout the corporation. The ultimate result will be that almost
everyone in the corporation will be a direct user of
technology. Ever-more-important telecommunication networks will provide vital links between
the individual user at a microprocessor-based
workstation and a growing number of libraries of
corporate data. The challenge of managing the
information function in this ever changing, ever
expanding, distributed processing, distributed
user, distributed support staff world will continue
to escalate in its complexity.
As computer based technology pervades the
business, line managers will be forced to become
much more knowledgeable concerning it. They
will increasingly be involved in decision making
with regard to computer use. They will have to do
this since both the percentage of their budget
allocated to computer based systems will
increase, and their opportunity to positively affect
operating results will become more highly dependent upon new computer and communication
technologies. They will no longer be able to “sit
on the sidelines and let the computer people do
it.” More effective information systems planning,
education, and communication processes will be
necessary to facilitate this involvement.
The Infformation
Executive Role
The information executive’s role will be shaped by
this increasingly technology dominated user/
management involved environment. Several
aspects of this role are increasingly significant.
These are the ClO’s:
• diminishing direct line responsibilities,
• increasing staff orientation, and
• corporate responsibility for information
resource policy and strategy.
Diminishing direct
line responsibilities
It will be impossible for the corporate information
executive to maintain direct line management
control over computer/based technology
throughout the company. Line management of
local hardware and much of the software development will be thrust into divisions and departments.
The role of the information executive will thus
become one of a corporate general manager with
increasing emphasis in the function on staff
oriented activities.
Increasing staff orientation
The need for the CIO to concentrate on staff
oriented activities will be dictated by the need in
all organizations to have a “focal point” for the
planning and facilitating of the organization’s
move into the “information era.” As a result, the
role of the CIO will be heavily oriented toward
ensuring the appropriate development of informa4 MIS Quarterly/Special Issue 1982
Future IS Executive
tion systems strategies and long range planning,
toward the facilitating and promoting of change
through expanded communication and education
processes, and toward the development of standards of all types, most particularly for data, for
communication, and for ensuring privacy and
security in a total-access world. The CIO will
serve as the corporate “gate-keeper” for new
technology and the Assessment of this technology.
To find time for these increasingly important functions, the CIO will need to be strongly proactive in
transferring accountability for line management of
hardware and, where applicable, software
development to divisions and departments.
Corporate responsibility
for information resource
policy and strategy
The CIO will have the responsibility of assuring
that new opportunities presented by the
technology are seized and that capital expenditures for information resources are ranked
according to business need. In order to do this,
the CIO must, in most organizations, be a member
of the top management team. The CIO will
become not simply the “custodian” of the data,
but more importantly, the corporate officer who
truly understands the interconnection between
the information flow and the business. Ultimately,
we believe, the CIO will fill a role similar to that of
the Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
Despite all of the above, the ClO’s role will not be
exclusively staff oriented. Although it will be a
decreasing part of the CIO portfolio, the CIO will
maintain direct “line” responsibility in a few areas.
These include the network, corporate data
management, and in most cases, the corporate
computing facility, common software development, and a changing array of new “start-up”
development projects.
Information
Executive Attributes
The above trends, resulting scenario, and role(s)
for the CIO, in turn determine the skills and
attributes an individual executive will need in
order to succeed in the mid 1980s. Many of
these attributes are not different from those
needed by the information executive of yesterday
and today. However, the scope of impact of the
information executive will be greater, the role
more broadly influential in the future, making the
mastery of several of these skills even more
critical for survival.
To manage successfully in the mid 1980s, the
CIO will have to be first and foremost a business
oriented general manager. However, the CIO will
also need considerable understanding of the
technology. This will be acquired either through a
span of years in the trenches of the information
systems function or in a thorough education program if the CIO “moves in” from another corporate function. The CIO will be viewed as the
technological guru in an era when technology is
imbedded in virtually all aspects of the business.
To carry out the joint general manager/technology
authority role, the CIO must have the following
attributes and skills:
• Most important, the CIO must possess
considerable political, organizational,
and communication skills. These are
the hallmark of top executives, and
without both these managerial skills
and the desire to exercise them, the
CIO will be ineffective.
• Since the CIO must be part of the top
management team to effectively
manage the information function, the
CIO must be involved in, understand,
and have had experience in the overall
management of the business. To
facilitate this, line management
experience in sales or production
aspects of the business will be
extremely useful and, increasingly, a
prerequisite for the job. In short, the
CIO will have acquired requisite general
management attributes through the
varied set of job experiences defined
for all potential members of the top
executive ranks. Just as the CFO and
the Vice President of R&D are candidates for the Presidency, so should
be the CIO.
• Since it will be beyond a single human’s
capacity to be expert in all the signifiMIS Quarteriy/Speciai Issue 1982 5
Future IS Executive
cant technologies, the CIO must
understand and be able to manage
technological experts.
• The CIO must be a manager of
managers, not of things, and have
developed the appropriate human
resource management skills.
• The CIO must be heavily concerned
with the medium term and the long run.
Key investments in hardware and software infrastructure today have several
year lead times before they can be put
in place and be matured to a useful
state. The CIO must, therefore, be a
planner and place particular emphasis
on strategic planning and the management of change.
• Finally, the CIO must be increasingly
sensitive to the human, organizational,
and social impacts of the new
technology. The pace of technological
change is very great today. Sensitivity
to the pace of assimilation of these
changes which is feasible in the
organization is necessary. So is sensitivity to, and proactive planning for,
appropriate methods of managing the
individual and organizational impacts of
the “second industrial revolution.”
Evolutionary Process
It is important to note that the researchers are
describing one point in an evolutionary process.
The role of the CIO is undoubtedly changing
faster than that of any other top functional
manager. Yet the pace of evolution differs
significantly from company to company, as well it
should, because of several factors which include:
• the economy,
• the industry(ies) the organization
serves,
• company size and organization
structure,
• organizational objectives.
• political forces within the organization,
• the organization’s stage of I/S growth,
and
• the personal and managerial attributes
and skills of the current incumbent of
the CIO position.
In short, the exact role of a particular CIO in a particular company at a particular point is contingent
upon the above and other factors. Each of these
differentiating factors could be discussed at
length. Each has a direct impact on the role of the
CIO. As one example, the current economy is
causing centralizing, cost cutting efforts in companies in a number of hard hit industries. This has
hampered innovation in these companies and
virtually eliminated investments affecting anything
more than this year’s financial results. In these
companies the “status quo” (whatever it may be)
for the I/S function and the CIO will tend to linger
on. In general, most role changes will be aimed at
facilitating greater cost control.
As a second example, the size of the company
clearly affects the amount of direct control an
information executive can exert over a particular
machine choice or application design decision
which needs to be made. And so on. There is
undoubtedly a very lengthy list of organization
specific “contingencies” which do, and will, affect
the exact shape of the ClO’s role in each
organization. Yet the researchers believe that a
progression toward the role noted above is
inevitable for most organizations.
Conclusion
The authors recognize that the above description
of the role of the information executive is
arguable. There are those who argue that the
information systems executive role will dissolve
into a relatively minor one of data administration
and guardian of data integrity. There are also
those who argue that the I/S function will “disappear,” being absorbed into each organizational
subunit. While the latter may occur in the 1990s,
the profusion of technology, the infant state of the
information discipline, the state of user
knowledge, and the need for planning and stan6 MIS Quarterly/Special Issue 1982
Future IS Executive
dards to facilitate effective implementation of the
new information capabilities, argues for a much
stronger, proactive role such as was described in
most companies in the mid and late 1980s.
The CIO role described above appears to be the
logical result of an ongoing set of technical,
organizational, and environmental trends. In fact,
the CIO role in a very few major companies has
most of the characteristics described above at
present. Many other ClO’s are quite far along in
the evolutionary process of converting their
previous roles to the one described.
The “future role” of the information executive
described above will not apply to all organizations
today. Yet, as a generality, the authors believe
evolutionary forces are driving this role in the
directions indicated. If this is so, the attributes
and skills of the CIO must evolve in conjunction
with the evolving role.
Reviewers
(In addition to Discussion Session Participants)
Richard Kennedy
Norton Company
Richard Mahin
Gould
John Parady
Weyerhaeuser
DuWayne Peterson
Security Pacific
Robert Rouse
Washington University
Edward Saran
Unigard
William Synnott
First National Bank of Boston
James Wetherbe
University of Minnesota
Carl Williams
Dole, Dane Birnbach
Discussion
Session Participants
Leslie Ball
Babson College
Paul Daverio
Owens-Corning Fiberglas
Richard Dooley
Richard Dooley Associates
Frederick Haines
Rainier National Bank
Richard Harris
Colonial Gas
Darwin John
Scott Paper
Leo Pipino
Babson College
John Rockart
M.I.T.
James Scott
Procter & Gamble
Bibliography
The annotated bibliography has been compiled by
the research participants in the SMIS funded project on the “Future Role of the Information
Systems Executive.” It is designed to be used by
researchers as a starting point in any similar
research projects and it is expected that it will be
updated periodically.
[1 ] Alloway, R. and Ouillard J.A. “Top Priorities
for the Information Systems Function,”
Center for Information Systems Research
Working Paper Series, CISR No. 79,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Cambridge, Massachusetts, September
1981.
Survey research of 1,058 user managers
and DP professionals at 19 companies;
evaluated by MIT researchers.
MIS Quarterly/Special issue 1982 7
Future IS Executive
Article lists findings of research, identifies
four priorities of action for successful DP
management;
1) shore up DP departments’ responsiveness to user needs,
2) develop more analysis systems,
develop communication with managerial
users, train users in general DP, get
user oriented systems analysts who
understand organization,
3) improve DP strategic planning and
allocation of resources to key business
areas, and
4) develop more inquiry systems, improve
user attitude toward DP, improve quality
of computer generated reports, improve
quality of DP analysts, improve availability and timeliness of computer
reports delivered to users, reduce hardware and systems downtime.
Article suggests that perhaps the best
course for an MIS manager is to play the
role of an internal information and systems
marketer to user departments.
[2] Arnst, C. “DP Managers Still in
Adolescence; Withington,” Computerworld, October 17, 1977, p. 10.
Arthur D. Little’s Withington assesses the
personal characteristics of DP managers
and how these traits interfere with career
development.
[3] August, R.J. “DP Needs Managers, Not
Technicians,” Infosystems, May 1976,
pp. 55-56.
Discusses the present state of the art for
DP managers, management fables and what
must be done to remedy faults in order to
progress up the management career path.
He suggests that for the most part, DP
managers are not managers but technicians
reporting to financial/accounting supervisors. The DP manager must recognize
that he is in competition with other
managers for a share of the firm’s
resources. As one moves up in career one
must give up some of the indepth
specialization in order to be a good
manager.
[4] Bacon, J. “Conflict Management in the
Systems Environment,” Journal of Systems
Management, February 1980, pp. 33-37.
Research article on conflict management
for MIS/DP managers.
Excellent critique of corporate power,
politics, and conflict situations MIS
managers are likely to confront in their
naturally “ambiguous and ubiquitous” function. Outlines a conflict management structure for the EDP manager referred to as
“Problem Solving; the Integrative Decision
Method” which seems very well suited for
aiding DP/MIS managers and VPs in identifying, containing, controlling, and resolving
horizontal interdepartmental conflict.
Suggested reading because of the
relevance to MIS management vis-a-vis
other line managers.
[5] Ball, L.D. “MIS Strategic Planning; You Can
Be the Captain of the Ship,” Infosystems,
May 1982, pp. 33-38.
The article describes the MIS strategic planning process found in many organizations.
Also discussed are several methods that
have been employed to complete the planning task.
[6] Beeler, J. “Sidestepping DP Sped His
Move to Executive Suite,” ComputerWorld,
April 21, 1980, pp. 43-46.
Profile of Charles C. Tucker who had limited
technical experience, but succeeded as VP
of planning and information services with
Twentieth Century Fox.
Tucker concentrated on being a generalist
with a specialization in DP, worked as
DP consultant to get the management
experience and recognition, and then
switched to an executive management position. He says one of Tucker’s strengths was
being a communicator translating
technology into business language.
8 MIS Quarteriy/Speciai Issue 1982
Future IS Executive
This is a general profile of Tucker, yet his
experience may be indicative of future DP
managers’ profiles; to be general managers
with speciality in DP, not a bits and bytes
expert.
[7] Beeler, J. ” ‘New Breed’ DPers Seen
Impacting Management,” ComputerWorld.
May 12, 1980, p. 15.
Describes the new type of young people
entering DP and how they should be
managed.
The new breed of young DPers entering the
workforce is better educated,
characteristically subordinate the
company’s interest to their own personal
welfare, question authority, and are quick to
change jobs if dissatisfied. DP managers
must change managing style to deal with
new breed who challenge autocratic
management styles of U.S. They want more
freedom and responsibility, they dislike
highly supervised work environments,
expect open lines of communication and
want to impact policy formulation.
[8] Beeler, J. “Systems Manager William
Sanders: Being in the Right Place,”
ComputerWorld, September 7, 1981,
pp. 22-23.
Profile of William Sanders who has a
technical background but also has
experience as a management consultant.
He advises DPers who wish to be VPs to
have a strong DP specialty but to concentrate on becoming a strong general
manager, a businessman, and not a technician. (They should get a good background
in finance and business to develop management perspective and be aware of profit
motive, identify profit center problems,
develop strategies and objectives, process
information).
Good profile of what and who VP of MIS/DP
should be.
[9j Beeler, J. “Managing Data Called Challenge
of Decade,” ComputerWorld, October 27,
1981, pp. 1-4.
Excerpts from speech by John Zachman,
Systems Planning Consultant with IBM’s
Western Region at an International Data
Corp. executive conference.
Zachman urges DP managers to learn to
manage data as a corporate resource, thus
redefining their fundamental corporate
roles. Roles should not be to manage
technology. He then goes on to describe
Nolan’s stage theory of DP evolution within
a company, and how this relates to the DP
manager’s changing role. Strategy and
policy development will become
increasingly important.
[10] Blumenthal, M. “Exec: DPers Destiny
Hinges on Top Brass,” ComputerWorld.
September 21, 1981, pp. 1, 10.
The article exhorts MIS managers to gain
credibility with the top corporate brass in
order for MIS managers to gain admittance
to ranks of the top management in an
organization. Top brass has trouble communicating with technical people. Develop
marketing skills to sell worth of DP function,
and compete for discretionary organizational resources like other line managers.
[11] Blumenthal, M. “Playing Ball With Users
Called Route to Survival,” ComputerWorld.
October 27, 1981, pp. 1-8.
Explains how users are becoming more
important to career success of the DP
manager because of technological
advances.
Exhorts DPers to come out of the woodwork and get into the corporate world of
problem solving. Help users because they
are by-passing you when dealing with vendors, yet at same time make users
budgetarily accountable for DP expenses.
Show to higher execs what DP benefits
really are, don’t be seen as an overhead
bureaucracy; adapt or lose control.
Excerpts from speech made by Richard
Dooley, VP of RHS Ass., at the American
Management Association’s conference for
MIS executives in New York.
MIS Quarterly/Special Issue 1982 9
Future IS Executive
[12] Bullen, C.V. and Rockart, J.F. “A Primer on
Critical Success Factors,” Center for Information Systems Research Working Paper
Series, CISR No. 69, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, Cambridge,
Massachusetts, June 1981.
[13] Bylinsky, G. “EDP Managers Put on
Business Suits,” Fortune, November 6,
1978, pp. 68 -t-.
[14] Campise, J.A. “Self-assessment: Filling
a Need,” Data Management,
November 1977, pp. 40-41.
[15] Canning, R.G. “Computer Support for
Managers,” EDP Analyzer, May 1979,
pp. 5-13.
This article identifies the characteristics of
the manager’s job and the key manager
roles and asks, “How might computers help
the manager make decisions?”
It explains the needs of line managers and
describes their use of information.
[16] Couger, J.D. and Zawacki, R.A. Motivating
and Managing Computer Personnel, WileyInterscience, New York, New York, 1980.
[17] Couger, J.D. and Zawacki, R.A. “What
Motivates MIS Managers,” Computerworld,
March 10, 1980, pp. 9-16.
[18] Couger, J.D. and Zawacki, R.A. “Training
and Education of Computer Professionals in
the USA,” Proceedings, Seminar on Computer Education in Singapore, Science
Council of Singapore, October 2-3, 1980,
pp. 1-118.
[19] Crane, J. “The Changing Role of the DP
Manager,” Datamation, January 1982,
pp. 97-108.
This is an article on past failures and emerging trends in MIS management. The view
points of many VPs of DP are included.
Old fashioned line managers who know the
whole business and can respond to corporate needs are being sought for MIS
management positions. By opening the
career path to DPers, corporations can cut
down on DP turnover.
This is a very good article on successful
MIS management on the higher executive
level.
[20] Frank, R.A. “James Martin Advises: Top
Brass’ Need Briefing on Technical
Change,” ComputerWorid, April 3, 1979,
pp. 13.
Exhortation to DPers to keep top management informed of technical changes,
develop five year plans, develop systems,
and use modeling techniques.
[21] Getz, C.W. “DP’s Role Is Changing,” Datamation, February 1978,
pp. 117 -I-.
[22] Gibson, C. and Schnidman, A. “Information
Technology and Organizational Change,”
Index Systems, Inc., September 1981,
pp. 1-29.
Research survey of eighteen cases of
major applications systems, determining the
factors contributing to success or failure of
the systems, measured in terms of
business results. Factors include:
1) the right kind of management
involvement,
2) managing change in the work behavior
of users,
3) supervisory behavior,
4) organizational structure considerations,
5) management recognition of change in
tasks and workflow,
6) changes in work measurement, policies
and procedures, and
7) work culture and psychological contract
issues.
The paper goes on to suggest a model for
the proper approach to systems adoption
which includes:
1) organizational impact study.
10 MiS Quarteriy/Special Issue 1982
Future IS Executive
2) strategy selection,
3) organizational implementation plan,
4) implementation, and
5) post audit action.
It also suggests four broad types of
strategies to implementation: traditional,
participative, authoritarian, and bail out.
[23] Gorry, G.A. and Scott Morton, M.S. “A
Framework for Management Information
Systems,” Sioan Management Review,
Fali 1971, pp. 55-70.
Seminal article on different MIS applications
depending on whether decision is structured or unstructured: Structured Decision
Systems (SDS) vs. Decision Support
Systems (DSS). Unstructured decisions are
of the “strategic levei,” non-repetitive,
usually lacking structure and requiring
definition and modeling, not technical data.
Descriptive modeling is a prerequisite for
the analysis of the value of information, and
it is the key to understanding which portions
of the decision process can be supported
by automation. “Totally-Integrated
Management-Information-Systems” are a
poor design concept. Important issues are
problem definition and problem structure,
and proper utilization of systems analysts.
The article applies the modeling concept
described in “Development of Managerial
Models” (G. Gorry) specifically to MIS
management decisions. Very relevant to
executive level MIS management.
[24] Halbrecht, H. “Interview with Robert G.
Stevens,” MiS Quarteriy, Volume 1,
Number 4, December 1977, pp. 5-10.
Stevens, a banker with much experience in
MIS, is asked what should MIS managers
do to advance their careers?
They should become vitally involved in
whatever industry the company is in, so
they wiil know what information is required
to manage and operate the business; what
are the issues; and what are the information
needs of company.
[25] Hammond, J.S. “The Role of the Manager
and Management Scientist in Successful
Implementation,” Sloan Management
Review, Winter 1974, pp. 1-23.
This article describes the interface between
managers and managerial scientists, the
potentials and obstacles. Defines what the
skills, needs, and orientation of a strategic
level decision maker are vs. the technical
management scientist. Describes the conceptual, psychological, and the goals of the
manager’s and managerial scientist’s
approaches to problem solving.
[26] Henderson, J. and West, J. “Planning for
MIS: A Decision-Oriented Approach,” MIS
Quarterly, Volume 3, Number 2,
June 1979, pp. 45-57.
Research case study of structured group
process using Nominal Group Techniques
in decision oriented approach, at one company. Can be a good method for generating
organizational information needs. Can be
useful in defining MIS needs across department functions in a company, but it is very
timeconsuming.
The method outlined in the article could be
used by a VP of DP to identify common
informational needs, and differences in
needs between departments.
[27] Henkel, T. “He’s a Businessman But He
Heads DP Operations of 18 Companies,”
ComputerWorid, December 17, 1979
pp. 1,7.
Profile about Joe Carr, VP of Information
and Logistics at American Can Corp.
Carr suggests that DPers be businessmen.
They should understand strategy of
business, have a technical background to
understand systems implication of the
strategic direction of a company, and be a
communicator of technical resources to
executive management.
[28] Horton, F.W., Jr. “Information
Management-Czardom or Stardom?,” Information and Records Management pp 14
50-53.
MIS Quarterly/Special Issue 1982 11
Future IS Executive
Written by an information consultant, this is
an exhortation for budgeting accountability
by users.
[29] Hoxie, G.H. and Shea, D.M. “Ten Hot Buttons Facing Management,” Infosystems,
September 1977, pp. 60 -I-.
[30] Istvan, E.J. “New Issues Confronting the
Information Systems Planner,”
Infosystems, June 1979, pp. 54-67.
This article deals with the truly global issues
of the future regarding EDP, such as
privacy, free-flow of data, governmental
national security problems, impact on
society and regulation.
[31] Loomis, D. “Nolan Sees Most DP
Managers Staying in DP,” Computerworid,
November 7, 1977, p. 9.
Interview with Richard Nolan of DP Management Co. Nolan addresses some of the
reasons DP managers are not advancing
into executive management positions.
Many DP managers don’t want to move out
and up, and many corporations lock DPers
into the technical category and do not provide DPers with a managerial career path.
It suggests more sympathetic collaboration
between DP managers and top management; DP manager must be conscious that
he is an agent of change, he should
therefore make sure his department’s
innovations are designed to mesh with the
company’s operations, and dampen down
any unavoidable disturbances. Get a good
understanding of the company, its capacity
for change, and its competitive environment.
[32] Mason, S. and Mason, I. “How to Move
from DP to VP,” Infosystems, March 1979,
pp. 66-68.
[33] Martin, G. “The 8 Creative Principles
of Management,” Datamation,
December 1979, pp. 22-25.
[34] Mintzberg, H. The Nature of Managerial
Work, Harper & Row, New York, New York,
1973.
Classic book on understanding management skills, attributes, and styles.
[35] Murray, T. “The New Top Managers,”
Dun’s Review, June 1979, pp. 92-94.
Profiles of successful high level VPs of MIS
and how they see their jobs.
They suggest that little technical skills are
required for top management role. Their
“new” roles require communication,
strategic planning, organizational structure
speciality, and coordination of informational
systems resources.
[36] Nemec, J. “Managers Balancing Act:
Organization, Motivation,” ComputerWorid,
June 8, 1981, pp. 43-46.
Article on how to be the successful
manager in the world of corporate
management.
Make contacts in the vertical social structure of the company, be seen by peers as
an equal; motivate your employees, give
feedback, and do not humiliate your personnel publicly.
[37] Nolan, R.L. “Business Needs a New Breed
of EDP Manager,” Harvard Business
Review, March-April 1976, pp. 123-133.
From survey results Nolan formulates
characteristic approaches of two distinct
types of EDP managerial styles, the
“architect” and the “insider.”
He then asks four corporate “experts” to
comment on and evaluate the perspectives
and approaches of these two styles of
manager.
[38] Nolan, R.L. and Wetherbe, J.C. “Toward a
Comprehensive Framework for MIS
Research,” MIS Quarterly, Volume 4,
Number 2, June 1980, pp. 1-13.
This is an article requesting the academic
community adopt a library “key word”
classification system for defining classification, scope, and purpose of MIS research.
Considered to be a classic for everyone
engaged in MIS research.
12 MIS Quarterly/Special Issue 1982
Future IS Executive
[39] Podolsky, J.L. “Back to Management
Basics — Once More With Feeling,” InfoSystems, September 1978, pp. 84 -(-.
An article for a DP manager stressing that
management technique, style, and systems
are still the DP manager’s real job, rather
than DP oriented technical development
methods so often employed by DP
managers.
Stresses continuing management, inspiration, resource assessment and use, time
concepts, expectation development objectives, and positive feedback.
[40] Rhodes, W. “Information Systems Management — A Hybrid Blossoms,” Infosystems,
January 1981, pp. 32-36.
This article contains some very generalized
research statistics concerning trends in DP
management, done by International Data
Corp.
Trend is toward DP managers to report
directly, as asset managers, to CEO rather
than to finance/accounting control. VP of
DP in the future will be a resource team
leader displaying technological skill and
executive management skill. The DP
manager should focus on informational
resource goals and coordination, learn
basics of your business.
[41] Rockart, J.F. and Treacy, M.E. “Executive
Information Support Systems,” Center for
information Systems Research Working
Paper Series, CISR NO. 65,
Massachusetts Institute for Technology,
Cambridge, Massachusetts, November
1980: Revised April, 1981, pp. 1-43.
[42] Rockart, J.F. “The Changing Role of the
Information Systems Executive: A Critical
Success Factors Perspective,” Center for
Information Systems Research Working
Paper Series, CISR No. 85, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, Cambridge,
Massachusetts, April 1982.
[43] Rosenberg, M. “Bank DPer, Businessman
First,” ComputerWorid, April 16, 1979,
pp. 1, 6.
Profile of DuWayne Peterson, a successful
executive MIS manager. For the MIS director the key to success is to be highly
integrated in the business planning
function.
[44] Rosenberg, M. “Started Early, Journey
Ends at $10 Million Responsibility,”
ComputerWorid, June 25, 1979, pp. 1-8.
Profile of Lloyd Brubaker, VP of MIS at Swift
Company. Brubaker urges DPers to be
more of a generalist, but technically
competent at DP. MIS managers should get
involved with the business decisions, and
speak English, not computer English. Suggests that an MBA is a good credential for
MIS managers.
[45] Rue, J. “Power, Politics, and DP,” Datamation, December 1976, pp. 51-52.
Personal insight article concerning power
plays and how they can impact the career
goals of the aspiring MIS/DP manager.
Excellent for the inexperienced executive
aspirant explaining how to perceive and
handle corporate politics. Not research,
however, but personal insight. Shallow but
insightful, gives rules of political life in a corporation and how they relate to the success
of VP/manager of MIS/DP; very practical.
Message: know the political structure
and horizons of your company and act
accordingly.
Suggested reading for anyone interested in
successful corporate life, though not
necessarily demonstrative of “good” MIS
management.
[46] Scannell, T. “MIS Careers Considered at
Crossroads,” ComputerWorid, October 27,
1981, pp. 1, 8.
Excerpts from speech of A. Jackson
Forster, director of corporate systems and
data processing for Ingersoll-Rand Co., at
American Management Associations conference for MIS executives in New York.
The MIS “technocrat” is passe. MIS
executives focus on business, determine
information resource goals, and coordinate
MIS Quarterly/Speciai Issue 1982 13
Future IS Executive
technology specialists and data resources
of corporation. Includes a 10-point plan to
success.
[47] Schauss, B. “The Management of Information Resources,” The Office,
January 1979, pp. 123-124.
Article stresses that MIS manager should
be technically competent, but develop a
broader knowledge of the overall corporate
structure, not just DP, and recognize
various information needs of the corporate
structure.
[48] Schultz, B. “Informal Survey Finds; Top
DPers Want More Support From Top
Brass,” ComputerWorld, August 31 , 1981,
pp. 5.
Fourteen DP executives interviewed by
Compi/ferivorfc/.
Consensus was that .top management
should pay more attention to DP. It should,
in many organizations, separate management of information from management of
systems. Systems planning is too important
to be left to programmers, systems
experts, and analysts. Top executives must
develop corporate objectives and translate them into systems development
specifications.
[49] Shoor, R. “Woman Manager Feels ‘Power’
Not a Dirty Word,” ComputerWorld,
February 2, 1981, pp. 1-6.
Profile of Linda Phillips, Director of MIS for
Admiral Division of Magic Chef, Inc., who
succeeded as a woman DP manager
because she focused on being a manager
of business resources with specialty in DP
systems. The article focuses on Ms.
Phillips’s career history rather than on her
characteristics which made her a success
in her field.
[50] Stein, L. “Hiring For MIS,” Management
Information Systems Week, December 2,
1981, pp. 28, 30.
[51] Taggart, W. and Silbey, V. “A ‘Balanced’
Orientation for the Information Systems
Manager,” MIS Quarterly, Volume 3,
Number 2, June 1979, pp. 21-33.
An analysis of the types of decisions the
manager of a university DP department
must make. Are they “system professional”
(technically oriented) decisions or “user
community” decisions? Data shows that
manager must make both types of decisions on any given day. A balanced
approach is the best. Each type of decision
should require one or the other perspective
and sometimes a combination of both.
[52] Towsen, J.F. “Many Managers Are
Failures,” Infosystems, September 1978,
pp. 74 -f-.
[53] Whitmarsh, J. “Managers Draw Fire For
Mismanaging Time,” ComputerWorld,
June 18, 1979, pp. 12, 14.
Discussion of the management of
managerial time, a costly resource. Are you
time/cost effective as a manager? Contains
a “How do you spend your time?” checklist.
“Getting requirements for DP project takes
least time {8% of the total time), but failure
to get those requirements right in the first
place extracts the greatest cost penalty;
enhancement accounts for 70% of project
time.
[54] Winkler, C. “A Manager Must Be Superman, Conferees Told,” ComputerWorld,
October 20, 1980, pp. 20.
[55] Withington, F.G. “Coping with Computer
Proliferation,” Harvard Business Review,
May-June 1980, pp. 151-164.
An article outlining “distributed responsibility” method for information systems
management. One framework for VP of
MIS/DP to view his or her role as a coordinator of corporate DP resources.
Advocates noncentralized access/use, but
centralized resource control and support.
14 MIS Quarteriy/Speciai Issue 1982

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