This assignment must be completed in the first person point of view. Be sure to answer the questions in a transcript format. See instructions below. The company website you are creating the transcript for is www.northside.com.
CIO Interview
The goal of this project is for you to understand, explain, analyze, and critique the IS strategy at your organization. After interviewing your CIO (or the highest-ranking person in IT that you can schedule), you will also make recommendations for the future of IT at your company based on responses to interview questions.
It is important for you to schedule the interview as early in the semester as possible so that you are able to get on the CIO’s calendar. If you give them time, you may be surprised at the access that you are given to CIOs, even those in very large, multinational organizations.
In addition to the interview, you will need to read and integrate ideas from at least 2 scholarly resources and at least 1 practitioner (business) resource.
Topic
Interview with the CIO (or someone in a decision-making capacity in IT) at your organization
Role
You are the interviewer of the CIO (or someone in a decision-making capacity in IT) at your organization. It is important to schedule this interview as early in the semester as possible. Your objective is to understand more about the role of IS strategy in your organization.
Audience
Your boss and other non-IS business executives at your organization, who wish to understand IS strategy and how it relates to overall business strategy.
Situation
You have been asked to interview the CIO (or someone in a decision-making capacity in IT) at your organization to provide three deliverables: a report on the current state of IT within the organization, an evaluation of whether or not the organization is prepared for the future, and finally, an overview of the ethical decisions surrounding the use of all things technology (including data). The intended outcome is a well-rounded report of the robustness of the organization.
Deliverables
The CIO Interview Assignment is comprised of three separate deliverables, each submitted as separate assignments:
Assignment 5: CIO Interview Transcript
Assignment 6: CIO Ethical Decision Making
Assignment 7: CIO Technology Evaluation
Assignment 5: CIO Interview Transcript
Goal of CIO Interview Transcript
For Assignment 5, you produce an approximate transcript of the interview, including the questions you asked and the answers provided. The wording does not have to be exact but should represent the basic ideas and responses provided.
Sample Questions
Your questions may vary depending on the industry in which you operate (e.g., systems may be important in terms of regulation and compliance), the context of your organization (e.g., a recent merger or reorganization), the type of organization (e.g., private vs. public, profit vs. non-profit), etc. At a minimum, you should ask questions related to each of the following:
At least 2 questions and 2 answers that describe HOW TECHNOLOGY DECISIONS ARE MADE, such as:
Who decided on the brand of technology components that you use?
Was the decision based on performance, software, contracts, warranty, and/or service?
How much consideration is given to user requirements when making these decisions?
At least 1 question and 1 answer that describes HOW IT STRATEGY FITS WITH THE OVERALL BUSINESS STRATEGY such as:
How has technology strategy evolved over the years? Does the organization have a formalized IS strategy? How are business strategy and IS strategy aligned?
What are the top 3 IS/IT priorities for this year? How do these priorities align with corporate strategy? What should the top 3 priorities be for this year?
From an IT perspective, what does it take for the organization to be more competitive in today’s challenging global economy? How can IT support rapidly changing customer expectations?
Is the organization ready for future changes in technology?
At least 1 question and 1 answer that describes HOW MOBILE APPS AND SOCIAL NETWORKING ARE USED to meet current and future customer, supplier, and/or internal needs
Is there a need for some type of mobile app to help employees communicate and find information?
How has social networking changed the foundation of corporate computing? How has mobile computing changed the way employees interact with customers?
What additional changes are planned to better reach and respond to customers?
At least 1 question and 1 answer that examines HOW THE ORGANIZATION PROTECTS INFORMATION ASSETS, such as:
What security/virus software package do you use? Why? What made this product the best choice for your company? How did dependability and cost figure into the decision?
Who determines usage policy? For example, are any Internet sites restricted? Why?
Is there a VPN? What access does it provide? Who uses it? What is its purpose?
At least 2 questions and 2 answers that examine IS/IT BUDGET, including:
Is IS designated as a profit or cost center? Why?
Does IS receive sufficient budget allocations from the organization? If available, here you might include % breakdown by infrastructure, apps, maintenance, new capabilities, etc. Note that this information will not be shared outside of the classroom.
Are there strategies in place for sustainable cost reduction?
At least 1 question and 1 answer regarding ETHICAL CHALLENGES IN THE CONTEXT OF TECHNOLOGY, such as:
What are the most common ethical situations that arise surrounding the use of technology and/or data within our organization (or industry)?
Is there a technology usage policy? How is it enforced?
Is there an employee monitoring policy?
Are there any ethical concerns that have arisen from the recent pandemic and the shift in employment to so much remote work?
At least 1 question and 1 answer regarding FUTURE STATE OF IS/IT in the organization, such as:
Current trends in the industry
Planning and preparation in place for the future
Standards for Success
The reports should use the following guidelines:
Length: 2-4 single or double-spaced pages, using 10-12 point font and 1-1.25″ margins.
Format: .docx or .pdf
