TAPMI

IT For Business and HRIS (HRS6600)

Session 1
Course Introduction
IT in Organizations

Selvaraj Vadivelu
Jul-Aug 2021
 Knowing each other (1/2)
Selvaraj Vadivelu
https://selvarajvadivelu.com/
Education
• Fellow in Information Systems, IIM Indore
• Workforce management decisions in IT services organizations: A hybrid model based approach
• M.Sc (Engg), IISc Bangalore
• BE (ECE), Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai Kamaraj University
Relevant Experience (20+ years in IT industry; 10 years in ISRO)
• Corporate: Business Excellence, Talent Development, Workforce Management;
• Developed, Managed & Used Information Systems to transform these functions – KM; Collaboration; Productivity;
Competency Repository & Assessment; Model based Workforce Management Decision Systems;

• Engineering Management: Project Management; Estimation; SDLC Methodologies

• Academic: Project Management Academy; Visiting Professor & Guiding Student Projects

“What we have learned is like a handful of earth;

What we have yet to learn is like the whole world” – Auvaiyar, 4th C poet, India

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 Knowing each other (2/2)
PGDM-HRM (20-22)

Education % Experience (Yrs) %

Engineering 58% 0-1 56%
Science 12% 1-2 19%
Commerce 9% 2-3 21%
BBA 7% 3-4 5%
Economics 5%
Others 5%
Social Sciences 2%
Literature 2%

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Course Introduction
 Course Overview
To familiarize students with the various IT based Information Systems that are used in
organizations across different functions and levels of decision making.
Objectives
(Why) To enable students to understand the way secure information systems are setup,
managed and used to achieve the strategic objectives of the organization and enhance
its business processes – with emphasis on the Human Resources area.

Introduction to IT & IS Area

Scope IS Applications transforming organizations
(What) Building, Managing and Using IS Applications
Current Trends in IT

Experiential Learning (Lecture with Discussions + Cases + Project)

Approach Resources: Textbook; Reference Books; Readings; Slides; Additional References
(How)
Expectation: Focus, Commitment and Action!
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 Course Scope (1/3)
IS / IT; Components; The way IS/IT transform business – Six objectives; Academic disciplines
involved; Roles in IS/IT

Porter’s models; IS as a business strategy; Challenges of strategic IS and solutions

Introduction
to IT & IS IT infrastructure: Components; Stages and Drivers of its evolution; Current trends in HW, SW and
Communication; Challenges in managing IT and solutions
- What, How,
Benefits, Ethical & Social Issues arising from IS; Challenges to Privacy, IP, Liability, System Quality and Quality
Challenges and of Life due to IS; Ethical analysis and guiding principles for ethical decisions;
Solutions
Information Security and Privacy challenges in HRIS, Components of InfoSec; Threats, Legal
requirements and best practices;

Vulnerability of IS assets; Organizational Framework, Tools and Technologies for InfoSec

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 Course Scope (2/3)
Organization as a matrix of Functions and Processes; IS Applications for organizational
(business processes) performance; Transaction Processing Systems (TPS); MIS; Business
Intelligence (BI); Decision Support Systems (DSS);
Enterprise Applications; Architecture; Enterprise systems, Supply Chain
Management(SCM), Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Intranets & Internet for flow of information within firms and with suppliers & customers;
IS Applications
Knowledge Management (KM), Collaboration;

E-Commerce: Buying and selling of goods and services over the internet – covering end to
end (Marketing to Payments)

HRIS Applications; Talent Management; Training & Development

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 Course Scope (3/3)
System Development Lifecycle, Methodologies, System Analysis and Design
Building and
Managing IS
Managing IS/IT projects, Risks, Best practices and Change management

Social, Mobility, Analytics & Cloud (SMAC)

Current Trends in
IT
Blockchain

Recap
Wrap-Up
How will this course help in my career?

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 Course Evaluation
Best 2 of 3 quizzes; (After Session 6, Session 15 and Session 23)

Quiz (15%) MCQ/Fill in values/True or False questions focused on key concepts

15 mins each; No negative marks

For a given business scenario the team will come up with a solution, submit the plan
(work to be done by the team and further extension proposed by the team), submit the
project outcomes and present all of these.
Project (25%)
Team size: 4 or 5 members; Intimation of details by July 11th

120 mins; Closed Book

End-Term
Exam (60%) Very short answer conceptual questions; For given business scenario(s) identify options,
evaluate and recommend. Detail out the implementation plan and complete some part
of the plan.

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IT in Organizations
 IT in Organizations – IT & IS
• IT: the hardware and software a business uses to achieve objectives
• IS: interrelated components that manage information to support decision
making and control; Help with analysis, visualization, and product creation
An information system is an Organizational and Management solution
using IT, to address a challenge/risk or opportunity (internal / external)
• Data → Information → Knowledge → Wisdom
• Data: streams of raw facts
• Information: data shaped into meaningful and useful form
• Knowledge: Discover patterns, rules and contexts where the knowledge works
• Wisdom: Collective and Individual knowledge along with when and where it can be
used

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 IT in Organizations – IT & IS
Business Information value chain view of IS
• Data transformed through stages that add value to that information
• Value of information system is the extent to which it leads to better
decisions, greater efficiency, and profitable growth

Business Processes
(SCM, CRM, Enterprise Mgmt, KM) Firm
Transformation
Data Profitability
into Business
Collection and Strategic
Information Management Actions Objectives
Plan, Coordinate, Control, Models & Decide

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 IT in Organizations – Business Perspectives of IS
• Key influence of IS on business: Every step is made more effective, efficient with digital footprint
• Three dimensions of IS
• Organization
• Hierarchy of authority, responsibility; Business functions & business processes
• Unique business culture & Organizational politics
• Management
• Commitment
• Make sense of the situation in the organization → Take Decisions → Work out and implement action plans
• Enable creation of new products and services & Occasionally re-creating the organization
• Technology
• Computer hardware and software (including networking)
• Data management technologies & techniques

ABC Ltd – an IT services company – would like to improve its margins through improvement in efficiency of
its software engineers. In this regards, it decides to introduce a system to measure the effort spent by them
for various tasks, analyze and identify improvement actions. Identify the three dimensions in this IS

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 IT in Organizations – Business Perspectives of IS
Strategic business objectives of IS
• Operational Excellence: Information systems and technologies help improve efficiency and
productivity leading to profits
• Improved Decision Making: Accurate information; Better decisions
• Customer and supplier intimacy: Higher revenue and better margins
• New Products, Services and Business Models
• Information systems and technologies enable firms to create new products, services, and business models
• Business model: how a company produces, delivers, and sells its products and services
• Competitive advantage
• Often results from achieving above business objectives
• Advantages over competitors; Charging less for superior products, better performance, and better response
to suppliers and customers
• Survival (Catchup vs Differentiate)
• Businesses may need to invest in information systems out of necessity; simply the cost of doing business
• Keeping up with competitors
How do you take Buy vs Build Decision for an IS?

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 IT in Organizations – Complementary Assets
All organizations do not get the same ROI in IS. Why?
• Complementary Assets are those that are required to derive value from a primary investment
• Complementary social, managerial and organizational assets are essential for ROI in IS
• Firms supporting technology investments with investment in complementary assets receive superior returns
• Examples of organizational assets
• Appropriate business model
• Efficient business processes/policies
• Examples of managerial assets
• Top management commitment
• Teamwork and collaborative work environments
• Examples of Social assets
• The Internet and telecommunications infrastructure
• Technology standards
In ABC Ltd (refer the scenario we discussed), which function should drive the efficiency enhancement
initiative?

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 IT in Organizations – Academic disciplines

• Technical (Management Science, Operations Research and

Computer Science)
• Behavioral (Psychology, Sociology and Economics)

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 IT in Organizations - Recap

• IT & IS
• What are they and what are the differences? Data Vs Information; Functions of an Information System;
Business value chain
• Business perspective of IS (Not just Tech)
• Key influence of IS on business: Every step is made effective, efficient with digital footprint
• Three dimensions of IS: Organizational, Management & Technology
• Strategic business objectives of IS
• Complementary Assets
• Complementary social, managerial and organizational assets required to optimize returns from IT investments
• Academic disciplines for IS
• Technical (Management Science, Operations Research and Computer Science)
• Behavioral (Psychology, Sociology and Economics)

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 IT in Organizations – Discussion

1. Information Systems are too important to be left to computer

specialists. Do you agree? Why or why not? What are the roles in the
area of IT/IS?
2. How can IS helps managers at various levels in an organization?
3. How can IS helps managers of various functions in an organization?

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Meet you in Session 2!