Read the Hefty Hardware Case Study on pages 98-101 in the textbook. Answer the Discussion Questions at the end of the Case Study. Your responses must be complete, detailed and in APA format. See the sample assignment for expected format and length. The grading rubric is included
Delivering Business Value with IT at Hefty Hardware Case Study
Introduction
Information technology has become an integral part of any business, especially retail chains. Organizations always aim to improve the store or shopping experience of customers to enhance the visibility of attraction and return on investments. Nonetheless, IT strategy must be aligned with the business strategy, and it is the primary concern for the management. Mandatory IT initiatives are typical, as supply chain, logistics, and inventory functions have been improved. Promptly, there is a need to see a larger picture and establish a remarkable partnership between business and information technology to make the difference. This study revolves around Hefty hardware, which is looking to make savvy stores. Of course, the company aims to use data management to improve the customer’s shopping experience in stores. Yet, strategizing the whole process is essential, which can help to meet pertinent objectives or expectations (McKeen & Smith, 2014).
Effectiveness of Partnership between IT and the Business at Hefty Hardware
Unfortunately, the relationship between information technology and business at Hefty Hardware is not good or workable. Interestingly, research and development guys always look to develop or shape new IT initiatives to change things or business functions. However, they failed to turn things around. For Instance, it can be asserted that developing and executing new initiatives regarding information technology are evident. Nevertheless, these initiatives cannot contribute to the businesses. Business stakeholders, especially the IT team, fail to understand the business perspectives, and it causes a big clash. On the other hand, Glen always looks forward to enabling sustainable business growth by evolving with time. The business understands that IT is critical to future business success. But lack of integration in terms of strategy, implementation, and return on investment are one of the major concerns (McKeen & Smith, 2014., P. 99). One of the main reasons for this ineffective partnership is a shortcoming or both business and IT. Therefore, these shortcomings are to be illustrated to set ground regarding any possible solution.
Shortcomings of both IT and the Business
The information technology department is in the limelight at Hefty Hardware to develop new IT initiatives to improve the business process. Teams in the research and development process are working hard, and it seems a good sign. However, when it comes to savvy store programs, the role of information technology can be questioned. For Instance, the executive team thinks that IT guys streamline new technologies and trends and optimize ideas to develop applications. It is a fact that these IT people do not understand how business operations in the competitive landscape are conducted. Having an incredible IT solution to build a savvy store is only possible when the IT team can work with business executives and other stakeholders to enhance the understanding (Najib Razali, Abdul Rahman, Mohd Adnan, & Mohd. Yassin, 2014). IT professionals are focused on short term goals and return on investment. On the other hand, business executives are looking to carry long-term goals and return on investments. It is a shortcoming of information technology, and Jenny Henderson is quite aware of it.
Conversely, the business shortcoming is also in the limelight. Business executives, especially Jenny Henderson, aim to perceive these IT initiatives in the context of the big business picture. She wants all key stakeholders, including people from the Information Technology department, to have an extended visit. The purpose of this visit is to experience the store functioning, customer perception, and store management operations. Also, the objective is to derive some critical possibilities to improve the store experience for both store staff and customers. Despite this, IT and R&D teams are very busy in their work, and they don’t have time to participate in this visit. It is a shortcoming of the business because business management fails to engage the technical team. In other words, executives failed to communicate the vision of new IT infrastructure for savvy store programs. They did not value the visit, and of course, it is a big thing to worry about (Lumsden, Lumsden, & Wiethoff, 2009).
Thus, it can be said that business and IT lacked connectivity, and it was a big problem. Immediately, there was a need to shape a plan to do business, and IT work collaboratively. Both business and IT have to understand the needs and strategies, the new savvy store program. All possibilities must be utilized to get expected outcomes. Accordingly, a plan for how IT and the business can work collaboratively is to be elaborated.
Plan for how IT and the Business can Work Collaboratively
Every plan is based on the business problem or issue. One of the pre-eminent issues for Hefty Hardware is the communication gap between business executives or leadership and IT department. The most important thing is to reduce or eliminate this communication gap to set the ground or foundation to work collaboratively. It is the first step in the planning process, and it sets the grounds for further planning initiatives (McKeen & Smith, 2014).
Trust and interpersonal interactions are two critical elements, which can help to turn things around. It is possible through taking multiple initiatives. First, in both departments, there is a need to shape training programs or practices. In the training process, business and IT people will be working in different teams. They will learn how to streamline both business and technology concerns to come up with an elegant solution, which can be accepted in both the business and IT departments (Reformat, 2016).
The role of Jenny Henderson in this planning process is in the limelight. She can arrange meetings between IT professionals and business executives to find a possible integration between business and IT processes, particularly in stores. By arranging regular meetings, understanding or interactions can be increased, and people will be able to listen to each other effectively. As mentioned, the prominent issue is communication, and through this consideration, the results can be procured. It is a fact that the purpose of the new IT project is to enhance the merchandize distribution and customer gratification. In short, the in-store shopping experience should be improved by using multiple IT applications. Now, the best thing for the management is to arrange a regular visit to these stores to observe the current customer experiences and new needs to achieve goals. For Instance, businesspeople will highlight several customer problems in stores, especially when intending to find the product and get pertinent information. On the other hand, IT professionals will be able to tell the feasibility of the new IT applications. Both business and IT contexts are to be combined in stores, and it can set the foundation for collaborative work. Business and IT cannot be separated, as interpersonal interaction or collaboration must be strategized to make the difference (Manzoor, 2012).
The role of the chief information officer (CIO) Farzad Mohammad must be redefined, and it can be an integral part of the plan. Arranging multiple meetings with Farzad Mohammad is the right approach for jenny to create urgency in the internal business environment. IT is the best time for the chief information officer to identify the communication gap and the need for better collaboration between departments. People are busy working on the project, which is not defined yet, and it seems essential for Farzad to take crucial initiatives. Jenny and Farzad must have to understand that they have to do things differently now. Consequently, they can work together to identify current gaps in terms of communication, interaction priorities, and objectives. It is not essential to unfreeze the whole IT process. But the management must point out things in both IT and business departments, which can be redefined to enhance better collaboration. It is all about creating the bridge between IT and business, and ultimately, it can go in favor of the company (McKeen & Smith, 2014).
Delivering the Savvy Store Program Successfully
The best way to deliver the savvy store program successfully is the perfect execution of the plan. Even after executing the plan, both IT and business teams must sustain the store visits to evaluate the impact and performance. For a successful delivery, the management has to come up with some key measures to assess the effectiveness of IT initiatives such as self-check-out, digital advice, and self-support (Zoovu.com, 2017., Para. 18). Business and IT teams will be working together to identify flaws or loopholes. For Instance, when initiating or executing the project, the agile approach can be used to contain continuous improvement with the ttimends in the retail business are changing, and IT and business teams must stimulate their capacity or capability to make some fundamental shifts (Zoovu.com, 2017).
Conclusion
In the end, it is to conclude that Hefty Hardware has got the potential to implement savvy store programs. This particular retail strategy is possible or feasible due to better interaction or collaboration between business and IT professionals. In the contemporary era, the organization must set a prominent platform for both stakeholders to combine efforts and consolidates business outcomes in the end. COO, COO, and CIO are main business stakeholders, who can collaborate with IT and research and development teams to come up with expected outcomes. Instead of taking drastic steps, tiny steps are to be made to enable the successful delivery of a savvy store program.
References
Lumsden, G., Lumsden, D., & Wiethoff, C. (2009). Communicating in Groups and Teams: Sharing Leadership (1 ed.). Cengage Learning.
Manzoor, A. (2012). Information Technology in Business (1 ed.). Amir Manzoor.
McKeen, J. D., & Smith, H. A. (2014). IT Strategy: Issues and Practices (3 ed.). Pearson.
Najib Razali, M., Abdul Rahman, R., Mohd Adnan, Y., & Mohd. Yassin, A. (2014). The impact of information and communication technology on retail property in Malaysia. Property Management, 32 (3), 193-212.
Reformat, B. (2016). Information and communication technologies as a source of marketing innovations in retail – trends. Journal of Economics & Management, 23 (1), 45-53.
Zoovu.com. (2017, February 14). Customers Hate Waiting. 6 Ways How Businesses Offer Instant Gratification.
