IMS5043

Information technology management

Offered subject to approval

A Rouse

6 points -3 hours per week - First semester - Caulfield - Prerequisites: IMS9001 or equivalent, IMS9003 or equivalent, and IMS9049 or equivalent - Prohibitions: SYS4360, SYS5250

Objectives At the completion of this course students should understand enduring and emerging demands placed on the IT functions in organisations, and the key concerns of IT managers. They should also understand changing expectations for the role of the IT unit within organisations, and the complexities, trade-offs and conflicts these sometimes involve. Students should recognise the limitations of IT management solutions offered through the trade press and consulting industry. They should able to apply current IT management theory to typical IT management problems, and will also be expected to apply models of negotiation, political analysis, and change management to such problems.
Synopsis This subject is designed to provide students with an understanding of IT management concepts, the role of the IT management function within organisations, and those issues which pose the most complex problems for IT managers. It will examine current academic and practitioner thought on how IT resources should be managed within organisations, and how the IT function should be organised. It will also examine trends in IT management practice. The emphasis is on management practices that impact the productivity and effectiveness of the IT management function, and that deliver to the client systems which are if high quality, and strategically aligned with the organisation's goals and priorities. Because of the rapid changes occurring in IT management theory and practice, it is intended that the syllabus will vary from time to time, to reflect these changes, and to ensure that contemporary developments and research are addressed. The main themes in 1999 will IT failure; IT risk; IT economics and the problem of establishing the value of IT; IT insourcing and outsourcing; service-level agreements, IT chargeback systems; management of Business Process Redesign programs; political aspects of IT management; challenges associated with information systems quality.

Assessment Test: 30% - Assignments practical work: 70%

Recommended texts

Willcocks L, Feeny D and Islei G Managing IT as a strategic resource McGraw Hill, 1997

Back to the 1999 Information Technology Handbooks