Essay: Critical Analysis of IT and Business Strategy Alignment

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of the critical alignment between Information Technology (IT) and business strategy within organizations. It begins by highlighting the increasing importance of organizational strategy in a competitive market, emphasizing the role of IT in driving growth and transformation. The essay explores the fundamental concepts of organizational strategy, including business, transformational, and operational strategies, with a primary focus on business strategy in relation to IT. It discusses the benefits of IT and business strategy alignment, such as improved competition, efficiency, customer satisfaction, and risk management. Furthermore, the essay delves into the concept of information systems, examining both their positive and negative impacts on strategic management. The analysis also touches on the importance of E-Business transformation and the need for a coordinated approach to achieve organizational goals. The essay concludes by acknowledging the potential negative aspects, such as lack of awareness and unorganized approaches, while emphasizing the importance of awareness and a positive approach to managing IT and business strategy effectively. The content is sourced from various articles and journals to provide a comprehensive understanding of the topic.

Introduction: The market of competition and strategic aspects are improving with a rapid rate.
In this scenario, the requirement of organizational strategy matters a lot. The organizational
strategy will be helpful in opening a path for the growth and improvement in the right direction.
Apart from this, the criterion for the transformation is also required in an appropriate way. For
pursuing transformation, it is essential to follow the strategic information system in a suitable
mode. There are various aspects identified for the organization strategy and to pursue these
aspects, suitable coordination is essential between the IT and the business strategy.
The alignment of the business and IT is identified as the most appropriate combination, when
managed in the right direction. In general words, it is an advanced concept of the business
processing in which the information technology is capable to achieve advanced objectives related
to the business. Apart from this, the combination should also be capable in generating suitable
output as per the requirement and need of the specific business.
The essay shown below mainly relates to the critical analysis of an alignment of information
system and organizational strategy, different aspects related to the organizational strategy and the
fundamental concepts of information system in the organization.
A basic approach towards IT and Business Strategy alignment: The organizational strategy
is identified as the method in which different type of functions and processes are identified for
managing the suitable aspects related to the business. To understand the basic approach towards
IT and business strategy alignment, it is essential that the different types of organizational
strategy need to be analyzed. This will help in making research process easy and suitable. The
organizational strategy is mainly categorized into three major forms which are named as the
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business strategy, transformational strategy and operational strategy. All these three strategies
will be helpful in providing suitable assistance to the business opportunities. In this essay, the
main focus is mainly switched towards the business strategy in contrast to the IT.
The wide range of ideas and information are generated for the IT and business strategy
alignment. According to the research of articles and journals, the alignment of IT with business
strategy is successful in providing suitable assistance to the competitive as well as strategic
advantages. During an alignment, the IT is successful in providing assistance to improve
competition, efficiency, operations, fixed asset management and other aspects too.
The second basic idea related to the IT and business strategy is that the approach assists in
fulfilling the demands of the customers in a proper way if they are aligned in a proper way. The
plotting of the customers’ demands and needs can be managed with the help of IT. It will also be
helpful in providing suitable assistance in a definite direction. The environmental opportunities
and the unwanted risks related to the business can also be identified at an initial level, so that it
can be removed as per the suitable directions.
The development of business is identified as the important output that is generated by the
alignment of IT and business strategy. It is successful in generating appropriate business output
and also provides support in carrying the business in a positive track. The business decisions can
get taken and accomplished with the help of information technology. These decisions are
strategy, architecture, priority and management. There are various suitable processes by which
the process of alignment can be defined in a suitable way.
Another basic evidence and idea about the IT and business strategy alignment is that it may help
in providing suitable changes of transformation in the form of E- Business. The level of
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executing the business is actually improving. The criteria for performing apposite trading are
changing with a rapid speed and appropriate assistance related to the business performance is
defined at a primary level. The profit generation is getting higher and the financial aspects are
also getting strengthened in a simultaneous manner.
But with these positive aspects, the negative aspects are also defined for the basic ideas and
approaches. For the suitable execution, the basic ideas need coordinated and simultaneous
approach to reach the target specified by an organization. There are various examples of different
organizations defined that are not benefited by the IT and strategic analysis. This is due to an
unorganized approach adopted by the organization. Another negative aspect relates to the
management aspects which are related the IT and business strategy. For managing the business
in a correct direction, there is a requirement of professional and qualified team which can be
managed by defining the definite standards.
The negative aspects for the business are also that there is a lack of awareness and assumptions
among the organization and its employees in context to the IT processing. The awareness is
identified as the major tool which can help in framing proper criteria for the execution. So, it is
essential to create awareness on the basic ideas & approaches and also needs to manage the
specific policies for generating the awareness. By the help of this, the negative perspectives can
be changed into the positive ones.
It is essential to put forward the positive approach in a suitable direction to manage IT and
business strategy in the appropriate mode, to achieve the specific goals and objectives.
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/jit.2010.28
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http://www.academia.edu/9891483/
A_Summary_of_Approaches_Issues_and_Constraints_in_Information_Technology_IT_Alignme
nt_over_the_Evolution_of_IT_Management
http://www.accelare.com/blog/2013/08/19/three-types-of-strategy
http://www.raumer.com/articles%20and%20presentations/AligningIT.pdf
Concepts of Information system: The fundamental concepts of the information system portray
both in negative and positive forms. It is essential to provide a critical discussion properly,
because the information system can be executed both in the positive and negative way to execute
the processing in a suitable flow.
The concept of an information system in contrast to the strategic management is wide and more
expressive. It helps in providing suitable guidance for the completing of the task. The
information system is helpful in providing the most appropriate aspects to manage the
organization and the basic tasks related to it. But, to understand the concept of an information
system on an international level, the global system is essential to be identified.
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