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Assignment 2: Required
Assignment 2—IT Strategic Planning

Using a company of your
choice, determine the strategic business goals. Develop an IT strategy that
aligns to the business goals. You can use the balanced scorecard approach or
you can develop your own method for defining and aligning the IT strategy to
the business strategy. You will need to cite at least two credible sources that
will provide justification for your strategy or approach.

Finding a company: If you are
employed, it is best for you to use your current place of employment so you can
practically apply the concepts in this assignment. Alternatively, you can use a
nonprofit organization or any other organization you may have ties or access
to.

Your IT strategy should
include:

·
Business Goals and Objectives

o
List at least two or three
specific business goals for the next year or two with an explanation of the
business’ rationale for the goal.

o
List an objective for each
business goal to explain what the company needs to do to achieve the
goal.

·
IT Strategies aligned with
business goals and objectives

o
List one or two IT strategies
for each business goal

§
These should be recommended
strategies that would enable the business goals and objectives to be achieved.

§
If your company already has IT
strategies, you may provide an analysis and justification or new recommendation
for each of the strategies

·
Organizational Structure

o
Describe the structure of the
organization including:

§
Organizational design

§
Organizational culture

§
Leadership factors (the types
of leadership displayed within the company)

§
Business processes

§
Physical layout (i.e., how
many offices, virtual offices, international locations)

·
IT Infrastructure

o
Describe the current IT
infrastructure including:

§
Hardware

§
Software

§
Network

§
IT resources

o
This should be a high-level
overview

·
IT Challenges

o
Describe internal and external
challenges IT faces in meeting the business needs

o
Include social and/or ethical
considerations

·
Risks

o
Describe risks IT might face
when implementing change

As you develop your strategy,
you may want to consider the following:

·
An effective IT strategy will
enable the business operations, helping business leaders achieve business goals
more efficiently and effectively.

·
Focus on top priorities. Take
the time to understand organizational issues, how they are related, and how
they affect performance. Determine what will happen if nothing changes and
where IT can have the greatest, positive impact.

·
Identify how IT supports
business processes. The business is relying on their capabilities to achieve
the business goals. The IT strategy should include a plan for supporting those
business capabilities, creating efficiencies, and competitive advantage for the
business.

·
Define IT priorities and
governance for IT. Without priorities and a process for IT governance in place,
progress will be slowed. An agreed upon plan for governing IT will enable the
decision process.

Understand the challenges.
Improving processes and increasing efficiencies through IT implementation also
requires behavioral and sometimes organizational change. With these changes
come inherent challenges. Understanding and planning for those challenges will
increase the chance of success in meeting the business goals.

Write an 8–12-page paper in
Word format. Apply APA standards to citation of sources. Use the following file
naming convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M5_A2.doc.

ByWednesday, February 15, 2017, deliver your assignment to theM5: Assignment 2 Dropbox.

Assignment 2 Grading Criteria	Maximum Points
Listed specific business goals (minimum 2–3) for the next year or two. For each goal: · Explained the rationale of the goal. · Provided one objective. · Explained what the company needed to do to achieve that goal.	36
Explained how the IT strategies will provide a competitive advantage for the business.	36
Aligned the IT strategies with business goals and objectives and provided a justification of how those strategies support business goals.	36
Described the structure of the organization including: · Organizational design · Organizational culture · Leadership factors · Business processes · Physical layout	36
Described the current IT infrastructure. This should include hardware, software, network, and IT resources.	36
Described internal and external challenges IT faces in meeting the business needs.	44
Described risks IT might face when implementing change, including any ethical and/or social issues brought about by the implementation of the new system.	48
Ensured academic writing, such as grammar, spelling, and attribution of sources, is appropriate.	28
Total:	300