Assignment 1(MIS2)

Think about yourself worthy to be called as IT professional, how you see yourself 10 years from now, what are your strategies to get there? At least 3000 words.

Its is very important to set our goals in order to achieve what we want in the future. We can't deny the fact that each of us can encounter trials but it is part of our life to face this kind of a thing. Ten years from now for my own view as a student of Bachelor of Science in Information Technology my future job of course is related of this course either i will be a successful one or not, the position i want is Being an IT consultant. It is not easy to work as a career person but i know if a person has a determination to his/her work he/she can manage it and become a sucessful one. Why 10 years from now i want to be IT consultant? It is because an IT consultant works in partnership with clients, advising them how to use information technology in order to meet their business objectives or overcome problems. Consultants work to improve the structure and efficiency and of an organization's IT systems.

IT consultants may be involved in a variety of activities, including marketing, project management, client relationship management and systems development.

They may also be responsible for user training and feedback. In many companies, these tasks will be carried out by an IT project team. IT consultants are increasingly involved in sales and business development, as well as technical duties.
Typical work activities

Task typically involve:

* meeting with clients to determine requirements;
* working with clients to define the scope of a project;
* planning timescales and the resources needed;
* clarifying a client's system specifications, understanding their work practices and the nature of their business;
* travelling to customer sites;
* liaising with staff at all levels of a client organisation;
* defining software, hardware and network requirements;
* analysing IT requirements within companies and giving independent and objective advice on the use of IT;
* developing agreed solutions and implementing new systems;
* presenting solutions in written or oral reports;
* helping clients with change-management activities;
* project managing the design and implementation of preferred solutions;
* purchasing systems where appropriate;
* designing, testing, installing and monitoring new systems;
* preparing documentation and presenting progress reports to customers;
* organising training for users and other consultants;
* being involved in sales and support and, where appropriate, maintaining contact with client organisations;
* identifying potential clients and building and maintaining contacts.

What is An IT profession?
it is refer to a disciplined group of individuals who adhere to high ethical standards and are accepted by the public as possessing special knowledge and skills in a widely recognised, organized body of learning derived from specialized education and training. Inherent in this definition is the idea that the responsibility for the welfare, health and safety of the community takes precedence over personal considerations.

There are strategic planning that can give us an idea to have a good output.It is an organization's process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy, including its capital and people. Various business analysis techniques can be used in strategic planning, including SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats ), PEST analysis (Political, Economic, Social, and Technological), STEER analysis (Socio-cultural, Technological, Economic, Ecological, and Regulatory factors).

In today's highly competitive business environment, budget-oriented planning or forecast-based planning methods are insufficient for a large corporation to survive and prosper. The firm must engage in strategic planning that clearly defines objectives and assesses both the internal and external situation to formulate strategy, implement the strategy, evaluate the progress, and make adjustments as necessary to stay on track.

Strategic planning is the PROCESS by which the GUIDING MEMBERS of an organization ENVISION its future and develop the necessary PROCEDURES AND OPERATIONS to achieve that future.
The planning process can be viewed as a somewhat circular flow of topics and action steps, where the results from one step initiate study and action in the next step. However, the process does not necessarily always flow in one direction. Issues that arise in a particular step may cause the planning team to go back to an earlier step to do additional work. If desired, the order of the steps can even be altered to suit the particular needs of the planning team. The implementation step also does not end the planning process. Analysis of results could easily result in additional analysis or a change in strategic direction. Also, it is recommended that the plan be reviewed on an annual basis to verify that all the base assumptions are still valid and that the implementation plan is progressing according to expectations.
Steps of the Strategic Planning Process:
 Role of the Planning Consultant
- Initiating a strategic planning process can be very scary with many new activities that can trigger internal cultural and political hot spots. It is for this reason that many companies hire a planning consultant to lead the organization through the process, not only the first time, but in succeeding annual reviews. The role the consultant plays can range from being an outside expert on planning to being actively involved with the planning results. The critical point is that the role be clearly defined up-front so as not to cause any organizational confusion during the planning period. If necessary, the role can shift as different needs arise during the planning process. Ideally, the outside consultant can team with someone inside the organization to guide the planning team through the process together. The possible roles of the Planning Consultant are:
1. Trainer - Explain the process.
2. Facilitator - Provide assistance in moving through difficult phases.
3. Coach - Provide active direction throughout the process.
4. Strategist - Actively help set strategy.
5. Advocate - Actively pursue certain ideas.
6. Stakeholder - vested interest in results.
 Planning to Plan
- emember that the process of development is much important than the final product, which is just a plan on paper.
Planning to plan includes the work that must be accomplished before the formal start of the strategic planning process.
Determine whether the organisation is ready for strategic planning. Key people in the organisation should be aware that:
• Planning needs expenditure and resources;
• Strategic planning is planning for change.
Typical questions to ask before starting a strategic plan include:
• How much commitment is there to a planning process?
• Who should be involved?
• How can we involve stakeholders who are not participating now?
• How does the planning process fit into the financial year and other organisational planning?
• How long will planning take?
• What information do we need to plan successfully?
• Who will collect and develop the data?
In assessing wether an organisation or team is ready to start the process of strategic planning we should be aware of:
• The organisation's (or team’s) fiscal viability;
• The vitality of product and services;
• The organisational culture;
• How resources are spread now;
• The commitment of the CEO;
• The risk that commitment will change.
Commitment, especially from the organisation's CEO (or the person with executive responsibility over the project), is needed for successful planning.
• The CEO can simply abort the planning process.
• A CEO may see danger in a planning process that is not under his/her direct control.
• A CEO may verbally commit to planning, but not follow through, or be too busy to get involved.
Reluctant to support may due to a CEO:
• Seeing planning as imposing a discipline on themselves which are not comfortable with;
• Being reluctant to share power and information;
• Having a different vision to that guiding planning;
• Lack of faith in the planning process or planning team;
• Prior involvement for an unfortunate planning experience.
Form a Planning Team
The size of the team will depend on many factors. Effective team for large projects have no fewer than 5 and no more than 12 members. Experience shows planning teams of 7 to 9 often work best. Teams of more than 12 have a tendency to break down into sub-groups, which can then generate conflict.
Pay attention to group process and group dynamics in forming the team. How will the members work together? Are there members who will facilitate group processes? Aim for a mixture of people with skills in the strategic planning, and people without previous experience.
Educate the entire organisation, especially the planning team, about the process of strategic planning,
• Find ways to involve the team members in the planning process
• Tasks should be given as an 'opportunity' not as obligation
• Be explicit about how the team members are selected and what is expected of them.
 Values Scan
- Evaluation of Business Culture is Critical
• Personal values of the Planning team
- not to change, but to understand each other
• Values of Organization as a whole
- profit vs. growth
- to what extent is this to be a value added organization
- importance of being a good "corporate citizen"
- importance of being a "good" place to work
• Company's operating philosophy
- How work is done
- How conflict is managed
- Accounting procedures
• Impact of and on other stakeholders

simplified view of the strategic planning process is shown by the following diagram:


The Strategic Planning Process


1.Mission &
Objectives

2.Environmental
Scanning

3.Strategy
Formulation

4.Strategy
Implementation

5.Evaluation
& Control


Mission and Objectives

The mission statement describes the company's business vision, including the unchanging values and purpose of the firm and forward-looking visionary goals that guide the pursuit of future opportunities.

Guided by the business vision, the firm's leaders can define measurable financial and strategic objectives. Financial objectives involve measures such as sales targets and earnings growth. Strategic objectives are related to the firm's business position, and may include measures such as market share and reputation.

Environmental Scan

The environmental scan includes the following components:

* Internal analysis of the firm
* Analysis of the firm's industry (task environment)
* External macroenvironment (PEST analysis)

The internal analysis can identify the firm's strengths and weaknesses and the external analysis reveals opportunities and threats. A profile of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats is generated by means of a SWOT analysis

An industry analysis can be performed using a framework developed by Michael Porter known as Porter's five forces. This framework evaluates entry barriers, suppliers, customers, substitute products, and industry rivalry.

Strategy Formulation

Given the information from the environmental scan, the firm should match its strengths to the opportunities that it has identified, while addressing its weaknesses and external threats.

To attain superior profitability, the firm seeks to develop a competitive advantage over its rivals. A competitive advantage can be based on cost or differentiation. Michael Porter identified three industry-independent generic strategies from which the firm can choose.

Strategy Implementation

The selected strategy is implemented by means of programs, budgets, and procedures. Implementation involves organization of the firm's resources and motivation of the staff to achieve objectives.

The way in which the strategy is implemented can have a significant impact on whether it will be successful. In a large company, those who implement the strategy likely will be different people from those who formulated it. For this reason, care must be taken to communicate the strategy and the reasoning behind it. Otherwise, the implementation might not succeed if the strategy is misunderstood or if lower-level managers resist its implementation because they do not understand why the particular strategy was selected.

Evaluation & Control

The implementation of the strategy must be monitored and adjustments made as needed.

Evaluation and control consists of the following steps:

1. Define parameters to be measured
2. Define target values for those parameters
3. Perform measurements
4. Compare measured results to the pre-defined standard
5. Make necessary changes

In order for me to reach what i want 10 years from now i will strive hard and study hard so that i will be able to help my family and besides i can pursue my desire to have this job.

Reference:
http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/strategic-planning/
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/p/types_of_job/it_consultant_job_description.jsp