Leadership and Processes: A Review of Strategic Initiatives in the Use of Information Technology

A senior management committee sets the direction for the organization by establishing strategic initiatives. A common theme across all strategic initiatives is the requirement to make management decisions and thus the pre-requisite of possessing the necessary data and information. This manuscript discusses two strategic initiatives relating to the recognition of data and information as a valuable resource. One initiative relates to structure and the establishment of a leadership role, in the form of a Chief Information Officer (CIO) position, to facilitate the exploitation of information technology. Another initiative involves the radical improvement of business processes through the implementation of a cross-functional integrated information system, in the form of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. Both of these initiatives of leadership and processes, championed by all the members of the senior management committee, are necessary for the future operation of the business and to contribute to establishing and maintaining competitive advantage.