Research
Strategic Management Theories
The goal of this literature review is to compare and contrast contemporary strategic management theories. Additionally, the secondary goal is to evaluate the implications for strategic information technology management. Management of people is the direct control of human motivation and behavior. Human motivation, like behavior is complex, and a science unto itself. Human motivation theory seeks to understand human motivations, and therefore understand human behavior to a level such that predictions can be made. The study of human motivation has a background or base in physiological, behavioral, cognitive, and social sciences. However, those existing disciplines are not sufficient alone or combine to study this complex topic. The behaviors linked to human motivation are linked to very evolutionarily basic aspects of our biology, despite the advanced cognitive abilities of man. The ability to predict human motivation and behavior is very important to companies and organizations as they are always seeking new strategies to motivate and respond to the needs of their employees.
Leadership of Global Information Technology Projects
The goal of this literature review is to evaluate the cultural variables critical to successful leadership of a global information technology project. Also to analyze the fundamental challenges to today's IT projects. To properly evaluate variables critical to successful leadership, a thorough investigation must be made of the leader, which in most cases will be the CIO or IT Manager. Technology acceptance is the concept of how end users accept and therefore use technology and is a key cultural variable critical to success. The concept of technology acceptance is very important and applies to a wide scope of users including both personal and business end users, IT employees and managers, and business executives. Jiun-Sheng and Hsing-Chi (2011) write, "Consumers' adoption of new information technology has been a central concern to many researchers and practitioners owing to its importance in technology diffusion." (p. 424).
Motivation and IT project success
The goal of this literature review is to Compare and contrast the types of quantitative research approaches used to conduct studies on the relationship between motivation and IT project success. Additionally, the secondary goal is to Examine and discuss the issues of sampling, validity, reliability, and bias within these contexts. Wester, Borders, Boul, and Horton (2013) define research as, "An activity conducted to increase knowledge by systematically collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data to answer carefully formulated questions about publicly observable phenomena." (p. 280). Research is a critical part of the scientific method that allows our society and species to understand the world around us. Research can be divided into multiple categories. The two predominant research categories are qualitative and quantitative. Simply making the choice between quantitative and qualitative research is a challenge that deadlocks many research projects. Students struggle with this very dilemma, often changing the direction of their research multiple times before settling on a solid direction.
Infrastructure Requirements and Outsourcing
Out-of-band Management, or Lights-out Management, is an important tool to manage devices like servers, core routers, and switches. This is facilitated by a secondary card in the device that has an IP address assigned to it and it typically accessible over the network via a web browser even if the device it powered down, assuming of course that the power plug is connected to an electrified outlet. This functionality is very important for a WAN environment. Without this ability to control these devices remotely, the company would either have to employ a resource in the local offices or spend a large amount of time and money on technician travel. This is therefore a cost saving measure as well as a management tool and strategy. In initially pitching and gaining approval for projects, cost savings is often the larger selling point for management. In addition to and as an add-on to the Lights Out management, I also like monitoring the systems though SNMP, using a tool like What's Up. The Lights Out system is very valuable, but you also need a system that informs you when systems go down, and when they are responding to ping again after a restart. Network performance is very much related to network monitoring, however, monitoring is a task that we perform in service to performance, among other things.
SDLC and Development Methodologies
The overall purpose of any design review is to make sure that the stakeholders understand the design, and that they can confirm that the project team understands their needs and that the project is on the right track. In specific terms that are relevant to SDLC, since SDLC, or Systems Development Life Cycle, is a cyclical methodology, phases repeat, so changes can be made to the design in the next cycle. This makes the process a little less rigid compared to the design process in a linear methodology like waterfall. That is one reason why it is important to know the methodology upfront, because the approach for each phase changes based on the methodology. The design phase is very important in any project and regardless of the methodology, so a lot of time should be dedicated to the design phase.
Transforming IT Management
Weill and Ross (2008) describe IT governance as a messy process, "IT governance can be messy, but good governance arrangements enable individuals representing an enterprises conflicting goals to reconcile their views to the enterprise's benefit." (p. 1). This is a process that must involve the CIO or highest ranking IT manager. This is one area where the role of the CIO has changed over time, to share a role in governance with others in upper management. On the issue of true IT governance and best practices, the CIO plays the principle role. The CIO must understand the expectations of the management team and also know the limitations of the IT resources and how best to meet the management teams needs within existing or available limitations or capabilities. I see IT governance as a function of structure or procedure that is related to organizational structure. Following a set of best practices would help Alcon. (Dube, Bernier, & Roy, 2009) Best practices is a term that has a wide availability of interpretations. Best practices are usually a set of configuration guidelines from a manufacturer or high level users group. It is also common to find different sets of best practices from different sources. IT governance is a critical factor in establishing the right IT-business alignment and for meeting the needs of high level stakeholders. This has an effect on the performance of an organization and is critical to that organization meeting its mission or goals.
Virtualization Technology Literature Review
Trends in virtualization are always changing. As the technology matures and advances are made, there are more options open to administrators and more cost saving virtualization projects that can be implemented. The websites and articles listed in the reference section, give you some idea of the capability using the VMWare product, which is simply one of several virtualization options. Any company currently using physical servers can benefit from the cost savings and management simplification of a virtualized server environment. Virtualization allows for the maximizing of hardware through the sharing of resources. A virtualized environment is also easier to backup and restore for disaster recovery purposes. ESXi is a free product, and virtualization can often be achieved on existing hardware. The purpose of this review is to look at virtualization from the perspective of scholarly writers, but also understand how to implement a virtual environment that addresses the high cost of physical servers and rack space and can be implemented with very few tem members. This also addresses the ability of virtual environments to minimize downtime and simplify management. As for the need, all companies have a need to reduce costs and increase efficiency, and this type of project has a high ROI in both areas. This project will include research into the latest trends in virtualization. This has a direct application to business, strategic planning, and IT in general since this technology is rapidly permeating through the environments of IT departments and businesses around the world. Much scholarly work has also been done into the concept of virtualization, the impact on business in terms of ROI, disaster recovery, and reduced administration as well as the future of the technology in general.
