Tenets of Information Systems as Applicable to Higher Education

Philip (2007) provides eight tenets for successful IS planning. Which tenets, if any, do you believe are lacking in most HE institutions? Why?

I think the first tenet, "Developing Business and IS Strategy Concurrently" is many times lacking in HE institutions. So many times you have IS departments devising and defining how they want their new technology to work and be implemented within the HE setting and the business managers have no clue or are able to contribute only minimal input at best (which either is or is not well received). This can lead to ineffective IS implementation and low work morale as the employees try to adjust to a new system or feature that greatly affects their work, yet they receive little or no training because the business managers were not kept abreast of the changes or permitted to give pertinent input for a smooth and effective change. I do see this changing bit by bit, for the better, however, but I also see that it requires a business manager who is rightfully forceful in becoming and remaining a part of all IS strategies that affect his or her area for it to happen, and congruently, an IS team that is willing to let the business manager be readily involved.

In the second tenet, "Top-Down and Bottom-Up Listening and Communication" is also lacking in many HE institutions., or at least partially. I think the Top-Down situation is relevant in most institutions, but I do no think the latter part is true in most situations. Yes, there is a small degree of bottom up listening and communication, but there are also other factors to consider, such as can the stakeholders know what they really need or can they just state what they want, and how relevant is that going to be to the overall mission and organizational structure of the college? You can't give the consumer (relatively speaking) everything they want, you can only do your best to ensure they receive the very best of what they need. And while I do think bottom-up communication is important, I do not think it should be the end all of decision making, in so far as IS planning issues are concerned, and in most HE institutions, I rightfully think they are not.

I am at a draw for the fourth tenet, "Top Management Support is Essential." As I noted in my comments regarding the first tenet, I do not think management is always involved in IS decisions, or at least not nearly as much as they could or should be in most HE institutions. There are exceptions to the rule, but when I think back to the HE situation I was a part of, there were only a couple of people in management positions who took the initiative to be integrated in IS planning processes. The other people in top positions were content to let the few who wanted to be involved and learn from them instead of investing their own time and efforts into the process. I do not think this is uncommon.

Tenet #7 (Build in a Frequent Review Process and Contingency Planning), again, I think goes along with tenet #4 in that only a select few of business managers choose to be a part of the IS planning process, so of course only they are the only ones who are going to be a part of the review process and contingency planning; and then, only if they diligently seek out the opportunities to be so. While I think it is rare for a top manager to pursue IS planning in HE, I think it is even rarer for IS to pursue management involvement.

I hope I do not sound too negative, because I do appreciate the IS department in HE and think they are essential to the overall progress and sustainability of the institution in the competitive HE marketplace. I just think communication and involvement between IS and other people who are key to the overall success of the HE institution can be sparse and underutilized at best when it comes to operational efficiency.

As a note of interest, in perusing upper education sites to see if any obvious collaborations were present (and I admit, I did not expect to find even one) I did come across Bridgewater College in Massachusetts. They have a page dedicated to their pursuit of integrating IS planning with their business side of the institution, and from the looks of it, they seem to have a well-thought out and highly interactive plan in place that melds the two. I'll post the link in case anyone would like to take a look.

Bridgewater College http://it.bridgew.edu/CIS/

Philip, G. (2007). IS strategic planning for operatinal efficiency. Information Systems Management, 24(3), 247-264