Orzanizational Informatics

John Ottersbach

Info I-303 Organizational Informatics

June 17, 2009

Project # 4

This is the project report from evaluating the AgCredit mini-case (Textbook pages 131-134)

1. Synopsis

This case focuses on an agriculture credit and loan company whose core competency is based around its customer knowledge. The organization’s IT structure and function does not suit the business well. The current setup is not enterprise architecture and staff issues are rampant. There has been a lot of preparatory work done in analyzing the situation and a new team was formed to chart a course of action to transform IT. With much of the information gathering completed, the team now must convince the business leadership of the changes and be brought on board. Communicating the goals and future plans to involve the business will be vital for the company’s IT to become effective.

2. Key Issues

1. The company’s executives are very busy with day to day operations and new initiatives. IT competence has slipped over time and the structure was never aligned with organizational vision.

2. Although some backend tinkering has made company wide information accessible in some cases, the current systems are not compatible and interaction between them is poor.

3. IT does not have credibility within the lines of business. This is a know shortcoming and will be addressed in the reorganization of IT.

4. Business processes are not understood by IT staff and often the business itself lacks a thorough gasp on their processes. The interconnections of the processes are unclear to both sides of the organization also.

5. The divisions do not understand their role within the organization and they must figure out how they should support the enterprise. Aligning their individual goals with strategic drivers will need to be done. There are four business divisions within AgCredit.

6. The company’s strategic drivers are continuous growth, expanse of customer relationships,...