Exam 9: IT in 2010

IT can be used to destroy another company's competitive advantage.

The year 2000 marked the zenith of the dot.com "hype-cycle."

A key problem with AgCredit's approach to IT was:

What were the first few actions taken by Paul Manely after the CEO of AgCredit placed him in charge of IT?

The biggest problem with AgCredit's IT function was there was no IT governance and architecture, and each business unit owned and governed its own IT projects.

Vince Patton, CIO at RR Communications stressed that IT decisions were first and foremost ________ decisions.

IT standard interoperability is driving down the cost of IT and facilitating the development of new business models.

List and describe (3) traditional IT operational responsibilities.

How was the IT organization structured at RR Communications? How did the structure of the IT organization contribute to customer dissatisfaction and regulatory problems?

Even though IT is recognized as essential to the business's survival, many IT managers still face some credibility problems around the strategic use of IT.

The IT function has always been valued by the business for its unique perspective on both the corporation and technology and its ability to use this perspective to facilitate strategy development.

The move to virtual work is being driven by:

All of the business executives at AgCredit understood how their individual business strategy would fit with each other's business strategy to deliver enterprise value.

The value of any technology is indivisible from the data it stores, calculates, and transports.

Prior to 2000, many organizations had developed a significant amount of internal and external connectivity but were not completely aware of the potential of the Web for transforming business.

The interoperability provided by the Web has been a huge force driving the development of open standards.

IT managers know that throwing enough technology and financial resources at a business problem is likely to deliver business results.

The biggest problem at RR Communications was inflexible systems and an unresponsive IT organization.

To help AgCredit integrate different technologies and platforms without completely replacing them, the IT group suggested adopting ________ technology.

Many IT managers believe that the IT function will continue to change, gradually morphing into an enterprise wide entity responsible for ensuring the organization's investments in technology and processes.