Swinburne University INF30018: Information System Manager Report

This report delves into the multifaceted roles and responsibilities of Information System (IS) Managers within an organizational context. It begins by defining the IS Manager's role in implementing and overseeing information technology, including planning, installation, maintenance, and security. The report highlights the importance of IS managers in coordinating IT-related activities, aligning technological implementations with organizational goals, and overseeing technical aspects. It further details the additional duties of IS managers, such as evaluating new technologies and developing technical standards. The report then discusses the working environment of IS managers, emphasizing the need for long hours and adaptability, alongside the required education, training, and essential skills. The report also outlines the different levels of IS managers, including Level I, II, and III, each with distinct knowledge and skill requirements. The report concludes with a mind map summarizing the key aspects discussed. The report is based on the INF30018 assignment brief from Swinburne University of Technology.

Running head: INFORMATION SYSTEM MANAGEMENT
Information System Management
[Name of the Student]
[Name of the University]
[Author note]

1INFORMATION SYSTEM MANAGEMENT
Introduction:
IS manager or; the Information System Managers are those individuals who are
associated with the implementation of the information technology in a particular
organization. Besides this they are also associated with overseeing the entire team consisting
of the IT professionals. Their major role mainly comprises of various things (Laudon and
Laudon 2016). These roles mainly include the planning of the information system,
installation of the information system, maintenance of the information system which includes
the hardware as well as the software upgrades and many more. Besides this the Information
System managers might also be responsible for looking into certain issues like the security of
the network or the security of the internet services or might be associated with coordinating
the various technological operations as well.
IS managers are more associated with started their careers after having a BS in the
computer management and management information system (Arvidsson, Holmström and
Lyytinen 2014). Some additional business expertise along with a powerful advancement
credential is provided to the professional is the manager has attained a MBA degree, this
report is mainly going to discuss about the various roles and responsibilities of the IS
managers so as to understand the basic things that are needed in order to become a successful
project manager. Further I have provided with the detailed information about the IS managers
are responsible in an organization and how these can get effected.
Discussion:
Information technology plays a very vital role in almost each organization of today’s
world. In the recent times, I have seen that in the past few years there have been a number of
chnges in the filed of the computer scince and technology. The information system managers

2INFORMATION SYSTEM MANAGEMENT
in managing the information technology being used in an organization (Pearlson, Saunders
and Galletta 2016) play a major role. They are associated with coordinating, planning and
directing the researches related to the computer related activities in an organization. Besides
this they are also associated with discussing or consulting with the other managers of the
organization in order to determine the goals that an organization would be having. Followed
by this they are associated with the implementation of this technologies so as to meet the
goals. They are also associated with overseeing the various technical aspects that an
organization is having.
Role played by IS Managers:
The major responsibility of the IS manager is to direct the works of the IT team.
Beside this, it have been observed that they are responsible for making plans related to the
information technology along with making plans about how the professionals associated with
information technology of an organization would work. Various IT related activities are also
coordinated by the IS managers and this includes the activities like installation of the
hardware and software along with upgrading those, designing and programing of the system,
computer network implementation and many more (Stair and Reynolds 2017). The IS
managers are increasingly making themselves involved in activities like up keeping,
maintenance, and security of the networks. In addition to this the IS managers are also
associated with analysis of the computer as well as the information needs of an organization
from the operational perspective as well as from the strategic perspective. This is mainly
done so as to determine the various immediate and the long-range personnel requirements
along with the equipment requirements. the work done by various sub-ordinates are also
reviewed along with assigning of the work so as to stay a step ahead with the usage of the
latest technology and in order to make sure that the organization is remaining competitive.

3INFORMATION SYSTEM MANAGEMENT
Additional duties of IS manager:
The additional duties that the IS managers are having is generally dependent upon
several factors like the roles that they are having inside a particular organization. One such
example is the work done by the Chief Technology Officer or the CTO, which involves the
evaluation of the latest as well as the innovative technologies so as to determine the ways by
which these technologies can help the organization (Varadharajan et al. 2015). They are also
responsible for the development of various technical standards along with the deployment of
technologies and supervising the works of the individuals who are associated with dealing
with the various issues related to the Information technology faced by the organization. After
identification of a new tool which is very useful the CTO is associated with determining the
one or more than one possible ways of implementing the strategies. This also includes the
other factors like the cost-benefits return on investments analysis and many more. Followed
by this is the presentation of all these strategies to the top management so as to get it
approved and implemented.
Basically it is seen that the MIS or the Management Information System directors or
the IT directors are associated with eth management of the computing resources that a
particular organization is having. The IS managers are often working under the chief
information officer so as to plan and direct the work of the other sub-ordinates present in the
information technology department (Laudon and Laudon 2015). Besides this they are also
responsible for making sure that there exists the availability, continuity, and security of the
data as well as the various services related to information technology present in an
organization. So it can be stated that the IS managers are responsible for looking into the
various technical departments of an organization along with the development and monitoring

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of the various performance standards which would be followed by eth implementation of the
new projects.
The output along with the project reports, system documentation, service requests and
any other type of information are reviewed in order to evaluate the performance of the
system, the operations of the system. This is also done so as to review the requirements of the
new applications and the other requirements as well so as to work with the other staffs as well
in order to design and develop the systems that are required (Isberg et al. 2015). Reviewing
and evaluation of the technical literature is also done along with the other information which
are concerned with the changes taking place in the technology is also done.
Working environment of the IS managers:
Generally, it is a clean and conformable office where the IS managers work. Besides
this working for long hours is also common for the IS managers. It is even observed that they
are working in the late evenings as well as in weekends so as to meet the deadlines or for the
purpose of solving any kind of uncertain problems. In addition to the various kind of the
problems the IS managers also might face considerable amount of pressure in meeting the
technical goals where the deadline assigned is short and this kind thing happens in case of
tight budgets as well. With the continuation of network expansion, the work done remotely is
also increasing along with the usage of the computer (Giuli et al. 2016). For this reason, the
IS manager needs to communicate with one another as well as with other sub-ordinates
situated at other geographical locations by making use of different technical equipment’s
which includes the laptops, e-mails, and many more. In this type of occupation, the
occurrences of injuries are very rare. However, the considerable amount of time spent in front
of the computers makes the Information System Managers susceptible to eyestrain, back
discomfort problems in hand or wrists and many more.

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Education and training required for becoming an IS manager:
Becoming an IS manager needs a bachelor’s degree in the computer related fields.
This is generally needed in order to manage the positions. However, the employers are
associated with preferring a graduation degree specially a MBA degree which would be
having the technology as the core component (Ko and Kirsch 2017). Some of the most
common undergraduate degree that are needed for the purpose of becoming an IS manager
includes computer science, information science or the management information system.
Usually it takes 4 years to complete a bachelor’s degree in a computer related filed
and this mainly includes the courses in the computer science, computer engineering,
computer programming along with mathematics and statistics as well (Gallagher and
Sixsmith 2014). MIS or the Management Information System programs are a part of any kind
of business school or college which consists of courses like the finance, marketing,
management and accounting. Besides this there also exists system design which includes the
networking, management of database and security of the system.
Possibilities of attaining a position of IS manager also exists however, this is possible
only if they are having sufficient amount of experience. Besides this the individual must be
acquiring some additional skills as well in this type of job.
Other skills required to become IS manager:
Becoming an IS manager requires a lot of skills. Employers are generally associated
with looking for the individuals who are having the capability of understanding the software
or the technology that is needed in order to get their work done. Basically knowledge can be
gained after years of experience while working with particular technology. there also exists
another way by which this trait can be demonstrated and this is to be done by usage of

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professional certification (Kavanagh and Johnson 2017). However, this is generally not
needed for all the IS manager positions, certification is just a way by which the area of
expertise of a particular individual can be demonstrated and can help the individual in
increasing the chances of employment of that particular individual. This type of certificates
which are provided are generally product specific which are administered by the software or
the hardware companies and not by the independent organizations.
A thorough understanding of the business processes is needed and because of the
reason that the It acts as the central component of most of the organizations, the IS managers
often need to take decisions which are very important. Besides this skill in business
management, consulting and sales are also some of the other important skills that an IS
manager should have. Good leadership and good communication skills is also another
important characteristic that a IS manager should have (Wäller et al. 2015). The major reason
lying behind this need is for the purpose of assigning the works or for monitoring the
performance of the employees.
Different levels of IS manager:
This is the particular job family which consists of three levels and this levels are
generally dependent upon different factors like the complexity, the assigned responsibility
which also includes the supervising and providing directions to the other staffs and many
more. In order to become a successful IS manager there is a need of understanding the
knowledge, skills and abilities that different level IS managers should have. The levels
basically include Level I managers, Level II managers and Level III managers (Ismail and
King 2014). The Level I managers needs to have knowledge of the various computer
operations along with knowledge about telecommunication network. Besides some other
knowledge that the level I, II and III IS managers should have includes the knowledge about

7INFORMATION SYSTEM MANAGEMENT
processing the data to the hardware and software, knowledge about the security and control
methods, knowledge related to the supervisory principles and the practices. Additional ability
of directing the work done by others is also needed so as to coordinate the various activities
as well as the resources present within or between the units (Cassidy 2016). This is done so as
to assess or to evaluate the operating system performance along with communicating
effectively so as to establish or for the purpose of maintaining the professional working
relationship with others.
Mind Map:
Fig 1: Mind Map
Source: Created by Author
Conclusion:
The report above is associated with depicting the various aspects that are required in
order to become a successful IS manager. So for becoming a successful IS manager it is
essential that the IS manager is associated with planning, directing and managing the various

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activities of the IT staffs. This staffs are generally responsible for the development,
designing, maintenance and operating the various computer OS along with the data
processing functions. Besides this the IS managers are also responsible for coordinating the
processing’s of the data along with the various computer related services with the other
sections or the divisions as required. Besides this they are also responsible for consulting with
the others users as well for the purpose of identifying the requirements related to data
processing besides providing directions to the staffs associated with the development new
applicants, database or the operations of the system. Along with providing directions
recommendations is also provided related to the purchasing of the new equipment’s or the
software.

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References:
Arvidsson, V., Holmström, J. and Lyytinen, K., 2014. Information systems use as strategy
practice: A multi-dimensional view of strategic information system implementation and
use. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 23(1), pp.45-61.
Cassidy, A., 2016. A practical guide to information systems strategic planning. Auerbach
Publications.
Gallagher, S. and Sixsmith, A., 2014. Engaging IT undergraduates in non-IT content:
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Giuli, T.J., Tonshal, B., Gusikhin, O.Y., MacNeille, P.R., Chen, Y. and Filev, D.P., Ford
Global Technologies LLC, 2016. Task manager and method for managing tasks of an
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applications, and future directions. Sage Publications.

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