IT Governance

IT governance is a subset of Corporate Governance that is basically focused on how systems of information technology perform. There is an increase in interest in IT governance due to compliance initiatives and the realization that IT projects can affect the performance of an organization profoundly if they get out of control. In the current IT world, the issues involving IT projects should not be entirely left to the board of directors and the IT professionals in an organization. For IT projects to be effective there is a need for all the stakeholders to be involved in decision making. The stakeholders include particular departments in an organization, internal customers and the board of directors. By involving all the stakeholders, the board of directors and or the IT professionals is exempted from blame if poor decisions are made. The integration of IT in an organization is aimed at achieving economic viability and thus there is need for proper IT governance in order to achieve business efficiency and effectiveness. This paper expounds on IT governance based on research evidence found in academic journals.

Annotated bibliography
Bernroider, E W 2008, IT governance for enterprise resource planning supported by the DeLone-McLean model of information systems success, Journal of  Information and Management, vol. 45 , no. 5, pp. 25-32.

In this article, Bernroider investigates the role that IT governance plays in Enterprise resource planning projects. The author uses data gained from a study on the use of DeLone and McLean model of information system success. The main focus of the study was to determine whether enterprise resource planning investments were more effective in those organizations with effective IT governance. The article was useful to me as Bernroider aimed at finding out whether organizations with effective IT governance performed better than those without. The main limitation of the study was that the author only considered the effect of proactive strategic guidance and the effect of having a participatory team building of IT governance on the effectiveness of an organization. The author concluded that large organizations needed additional performance drivers like commitment of top management in order to perform better as compared to small and medium scale organizations. Though this article will not form the basis of my research, it will be important as it touches on other factors that make IT governance effective.

Bowen, P L, Cheung, M.-Y D  Rohde, F H 2007, Enhancing IT governance practices A model and case study of an organizations efforts, International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, vol. 8, no. 3, pp.191-221.

In this article, Bowen et al reviews and explores the main factors that influence IT governance, IT structures, IT processes and IT outcome metrics. The authors have used data gained from one organization through an in-depth study. The data was obtained through open ended interview questions. This research was aimed at determining the factors responsible for effective IT governance. This article is useful to my research as the author has listed factors which are necessary for an organization to achieve effective IT governance. The main limitation of this paper is that the study was conducted in only one organization. The author recommends that further study similar to this to be carried out in various other organizations that are both medium scale and large scale. This article will form the basis of my research because the author talks about how to achieve effective IT governance and also about the role played by having effective IT governance.

Hamaker, S  Hutton, A 2003, Principles of Governance, Information Systems Control Journal, vol. 2, no.2, pp 1-4.

In this article, Hamaker et al reviews the general background on governance, describes what IT governance is, discusses the key IT governance processes and also discusses how IT governance has influenced the traditional IT management. The author uses data obtained from literature review to base his paper on. This article has focused on all principles and aspects of IT governance and is useful to my research in that the author has comprehensively illustrated IT governance using figures and tables. The main limitation of this paper is that it has wholly focused on review of literature and the author has not undertaken any study himself. The author has concluded by stating the need for organizations to view IT governance issues as part of an organizations overall governance. This article will be the basis of my research as I find it very comprehensive in tackling the issue of IT governance from the concerns to the stakes at hand.

Janseen, M  Joha, A 2007, Understanding IT governance for the operation of shared services in public service networks, International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organizations, vol. 4, no. 1, pp 20-34.

The author analyses two case studies from both a dynamic capability and a resource based point of view. The author has used research obtained from a research on IT governance in a service network that is involved in shared services in public service networks. The aim of this study was focused on understanding and developing a better understanding of IT governance especially in public service network. The limitation of this article is that its focus is generally on shared services in a service network. Thus the author indicates that there is need for more extensive research to be carried out so as to assist in understanding IT governance in all sectors both private and public. This article will only offer additional information on my research.

Law, C H, Chen, C C,  Wu, B P 2010, Managing the full ERP life-cycle Considerations of maintenance and support requirements and IT governance practice as integral elements of the formula for successful ERP adoption, Journal of Computers in Industry, vol. 61, no. 3, pp. 297-308.

Law et al have conducted a case study to explore the factors that are critical for the success of enterprise resource planning and they have identified IT governance as one of the critical success factors. The authors use data gained from a case study on enterprise resource planning (ERP) in various organizations. The focus of this study is based on using IT governance as a critical success factor in an organization. The article is useful in my research as it identifies with one of the most important roles of having effective IT governance in an organization. The main limitation of this article is that it has focused more on ERP than on IT governance. This article will not form the basis for my research but it will be important in providing supplementary information on IT governance.
Sharma, D, Stone, M, Ekinci, Y 2009, IT governance and project management A qualitative study, Journal of Database Marketing  Customer Strategy Management, vol.16, no. 1, pp. 2950.

The author analyses the results of a qualitative study that had been carried out on IT governance and project management. The author obtained data through interviewing of 10 managers from various organizations. The aim of this study was to strengthen the fact that effective IT governance coupled with proper project management is important for the success of an organization. The article is useful in my research as it reassures the fact that IT governance and project management goes hand in hand. Therefore, management affects IT governance. Though this paper focuses more on project management, I will use as one of the basis of my research.

Sohal, A M, Fitzpatrick, P 2001, IT governance and management in large Australian organizations, International Journal of Production Economics, vol. 75, no 1-2 , pp. 97-112.

In this article, the author reviews the issues of IT governance and IT management in large organizations in Australia. The author uses data obtained from a study that he had carried out in some of the largest organizations in Australia. The study carried out involved a questionnaire survey that was sent to senior IT officials in an organization. Based on the intensity that the given organization uses information, the respondents were categorized as either high tier, low tier or medium tier. The author has also compared the results of the study that he obtained with two other studies carried out just recently. The article is useful to my research as the author has conducted a comprehensive research on IT governance. The main limitation of this article is that it bases its finding on Australian organizations only. The author has stated some recommendations based on these results to organizations in all the three categories. Though this article will not form the basis of my research, it will be important as it has differentiated IT governance depending on the level of the organization i.e. low, medium or high tier organization.

Trites, G 2004, Director responsibility for IT governance, International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, vol. 5, no 2, pp. 89-99.

The author has explored the responsibilities both implicit and explicit of directors in their role of IT governance. The author has used data gained from review of literature on governance in general and IT governance in particular. The author has focused on the role of IT in controlling an organization especially in terms of assets control to avoid misuse, misappropriation and loss. The article is useful to my research in that the author has stressed on the roles of directors and how they may discharge these roles in IT governance. The main limitation of this article is that it has concentrated only on the roles of directors in IT governance. Whereas there are other stakeholders who play an important role in IT governance. The author has advocated for development of brochures to assist directors of organizations in discharging their duties. I will refer very little to this article in my research due to its limitation.

Verhoef, C 2007, Quantifying the effects of IT-governance rules, Science of Computer Programming Journal, vol. 67, no. 2-3, pp. 247-277.

The author quantatively analyzes IT portfolio databases to detect the existence of a pattern between the rules and styles of IT governance and the resulting effects. The author uses data from IT portfolio databases and with these, he grouped the patterns from the most important in 7 categories and these were separately highlighted. The author focused on finding out the pattern that exists between the 5 fundamental factors of IT governance. The factors that the author concentrated on were functionality, control, data time and cost. The article is useful in my research in that it focuses on some of the effects of IT governance rules. The main limitation of the article is that it only reviewed portfolio databases and did not undertake any concrete study. The author concludes that the IT governance rules affects productivity and is costly when the IT control is too lenient or too strict. This article will not form the basis of my research but the information that it contains will help me by providing supplementary information on IT governance.

Zimmermann, P.  Finger, M  Mueller, P 2008,Moving beyond the technological neutrality myth ICTs and power in public administration, International Journal of Electronic Governance, vol. 1, no.2, pp.215  230.

The authors start by addressing reasons why IT is introduced in any given organization and he goes on to state the main reasons as being to increase efficiency, quality, and transparency. The author has used a multi-level approach on governance to assess the impact that ICT has on power relationships in some selected public administration and the stakeholders involved. The focus of this study is to find out whether ICT plays any other role on the power relationship of an organization. The article is relevant to my research in that the author has thoroughly researched on the area of IT governance. The reasons why the author conducted this study is because he believes that there is not enough research that has been done on the area of IT governance. Even though I will use his work for supplementary information because there are other journals which have simplified IT governance compared to this.

Conclusion
The above journals have addressed the issue of IT governance in a deep and comprehensive manner. In general, IT governance is an important element for the success of any organization. This is because it affects the performance of business and if effective IT governance is well executed, it directly leads to an increase in productivity. If an organization has poor IT governance, the organization is bound to be faced with wastes, reduced morale, reduced financial incomes and reduced market based and customer satisfaction.

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