STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR INFORMATION SYSTEMS

A strategic management plan is a tool used by organizations to provide a direction and framework to support their business objectives. A successful plan generally contains four components, namely: (1) an analysis of the current situation facing the organization, its positioning in the industry and the factors in its internal and external environment, (2) a concise statement of the organization's mission and objectives, (3) competitive strategies to be undertaken and resources necessary to accomplish goals, and (4) an effective system to measure performance and success (Kotler, Bowen & Makens 2008). Similarly, Buhalis (2003) suggests that an effective strategic management plan for information systems responds to the questions: (1) “Where are we now?” (2)”Where do we want to go?”, (3) “How do we get there?” and (4) ”How do we know we got there?”. In all of these areas, ICT plays a critical role in providing the information & communication channels through the right mix of hardware, software, netware and humanware to create a competitive advantage for the company (Buhalis 2003).


References:

Buhalis, D 2003, E-Tourism: Information Technology for Strategic Tourism Management, Pearson Education Limited, Essex.

Kotler, P, Bowen, J & Makens, J 2006, Marketing for Hospitality and Tourism, 4th Edition, Pearson Education International, New Jersey.