Information Technology Governance of Richter - Essay Example

Richter’s IT Governance Overview The use of information technology in homes and businesses is a necessity today and its contribution to human existence and activities can never be overruled (Ayittey, 2009). In most circles of business, trade and commerce, the popularity of information technology is closely related to globalization. This is because there is no denying the fact that globalization is the most authoritative agent for bridging the gap that otherwise existed between countries and hindered the flow of trade and business from one place to the other. According to the Levin Institute (2009), globalization as “a process of interaction and integration among the people, companies, and governments of different nations, a process driven by international trade and investment and aided by information technology.” This means that companies and institutions cannot benefit from global trade and for that matter globalization in the absence of technology and technology tools. To this effect, any company that wishes to benefit from the new trend of globalization must make technology a central part of its operations. With well harnessed information technology system, investors and entrepreneurs will not have to travel from one place to the other in person before they can reach the outside market. The information technology department of Richter therefore has a lot of role to play when it comes to the information technology system of the company. In the words of Salaam (2011), “information technology is the use of computers and networks to store, process, and receive data.” Richter can however put itself in the challenge to move the benefits of information technology beyond the storage and retrieval of data into an era when the entire development and expansion of the company shall be dependent on information technology. In this essay therefore, the measures that need to be put in place to make Richter appreciate information technology as a whole management procedure shall be discussed. Definition of Richter’s IT Information technology system at Richter can be described in two major ways. These are As-was and As-Is. These two terms refer to the company’s previous information technology system and its present information technology system. Indeed, in the years before 1992, the as-was system of information technology existed. In this timeframe, there was a disorganized information technology system. This disorganization can be attributed to a number of factors. First, there was no stipulated department that catered for information technology in the company. Indeed, this can also be attributed to the fact that the company gave less attention, importance and recognition to information technology. This argument is made against the backdrop that the company had departments such as accounts and human resource. If the company gave prelude to the information technology, it surely would have allocated a department to it. Te second reason for the disorganization was because the absence of a department caused the absence of personnel. Unlike today, there was no professional, who was specifically tasked to handle information technology in the company. For this reason, harnessing the affairs of the company’s information technology system was simply going to be difficult. The as-is system is better as compared to the as-was though there can be a better to-be. Today, there is organization and centralization. This is because the company now has an information technology department with accompanying personnel to man the department. Through the effort of the personnel at the information technology department, there is now a strategic plan that controls all the affairs of the company’s information technology system. Value of IT to Richter Without missing words, Richter gives premium and value to information technology. This is seen in a number of innovations and initiatives put forward by the information technology experts at the company. First of such moves is the presence of a strategic plan that clearly defines the role of information technology in the company. With a strategic plan that defines the role of information technology, the running and use of information technology in the company is not haphazard and accidental. Things happen as and when the company needs it. Again, the strategic plan makes it possible for the company to monitor and measure its level of progress with its value for information technology. The second evidence of value for information technology is seen through investment in the information technology. A clear example of investment in information technology is seen in the purchase and installation of software used for business process modeling. Some of these business process modeling software are document management system and the SAP business information warehouse as a financial reporting system. Finally, the company shows great commitment and value for information by the virtue of the fact that it has put in place a system that checks and assesses its information technology usage; including how much the company gets in return from information technology. IT Governance Style at Richter There are several governance styles to an organization or company. Most of these governance styles used by the lrger company influences the type of governance used by various departments of the organization. It is not surprising therefore to say that the information technology governance at Richter is a democratic one. The United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Lister (2011) notes that “The culture of a democratic governance moves beyond the mere procedures of democracy and the establishment of democratic institutions.” It is therefore not surprising that democracy has been adopted and is being used at the information technology department at Richter. Basically, democracy concerns the governance style where all stakeholders in a particular department or organization are brought on board during any major decision taking session. It also refers to a system whereby all people in a particular organization have the opportunity to know what is being done by leadership and why leadership is doing what they are doing. Democratic governance therefore refers to all-inclusive governance. A clear evidence of the practice of democracy is the fact that international staff are included in decision as and when their inputs are deemed necessary. IT for the Coming Year For the coming year, Richter needs two major changes for its information technology system. The first change is the change for expansion whereby the department and system needs to expand its human resource base to include more hands to support and learn from Szucs. This will ensure that if the unexpected happens and Szucs leaves the company, there will still be people to man the affairs of the company. Another form of expansion is needed with regards to technical sources. The company needs more sophisticated equipment that will meet the demands of globalization and global expansion projects. These technical resources will lift the company’s information technology system from developed to advance. Finally, there needs to be the integration of activities of all subsidiaries and affiliates across the globe. This will make business transaction among customers and stakeholders more expanded and easy to under take. REFERENCE LIST Ayittey, G. E., Information Technology of Businesses. 2009. Tokyo: Alpha and Omega Press Levin Institute. What Is Globalization? Globalization 101. 2009. Web. October 13, 2011 Salaam L. What is Information Technology? 2011. Web. October 13, 2011 United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Lister. Democratic Governance. 2011. Web. October 12, 2011 Read More