case study memo paper

KALCH Distribution Company (KDC) CIO Organizational Structure Memo Paper

Before you begin this assignment, be sure you have read the “KALCH Distribution Company Case Study,” as well as all materials in the course to date. You will also need to review any feedback you received on your IT Strategic Plan assignments.

Purpose of this Assignment

This assignment gives you the opportunity to apply the course concepts to address the organizational changes needed to evolve the information technology (IT) department into a true CIO organization to support the KALCH Distribution Company (KDC). This assignment specifically addresses the following course outcome to enable you to:

 explain the roles and responsibilities of an information technology department to support an organization’s IT strategy

CIO Organizational Structure Memo

For this assignment, you will assume the role of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) at KDC (i.e., you are Leona). Since you are KDC’s first CIO, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) has asked you for a plan for the organizational changes you need to make. One of the first things you realize is that the organization that exists is just an ‘IT Department’ and you know that what KDC needs, and has hired you to do, is to create an organization that fulfills the broad responsibilities of a Chief Information Officer. You know that your proposal needs to be convincing to the CFO in order for you to get the resources you need.

Assignment

You will develop a memorandum addressed to the CFO that explains how you want to change your IT Department into a CIO organization and why. Your memo will address each of the topics listed below, and should be written so that it flows well from one section to the next. In addition to the course materials, at least one external resource (resource other than those provided in the class) must be used. Two or more cited references will earn top credit. Use a separate References page to list just the references you have cited. Remember to use the APA formatting rules and correctly cite and reference your sources with APA format. Use the Grading Rubric to be sure you have covered everything. Submit your memo in a Microsoft Word memo format, or a document that can be read using Word that uses a memorandum format, with your last name included in the filename.

Please include the following in your memorandum, ensuring that each section flows well to the next, and that the overall memo creates a compelling justification for your new organizational structure.

•  Introduction and Purpose – Open your memo with a brief (2 or 3 sentences) explanation of why you are writing it.
•  Leadership Philosophy – Since you are the CIO and a member of the senior leadership team of KDC, it is important for the other members of the team to understand your leadership philosophy and the management style you will use to meet the company’s needs. This should be a short paragraph that ties to the priorities and/or issues outlined in the Case Study, and lays the foundation for the organizational structure you will propose below. Refer to course readings and presentations on leadership. This is also a good area in which to do some external research.
•  Internal IT Strategies – To show how your IT organization will support KDC, you will present and explain five internal IT strategies. For Part 2 of your IT Strategic Plan, you provided at least one

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example of an internal IT strategy. Identify your internal IT strategy from the ITSP #2 assignment, then add four more internal IT strategies, so that you have a total of five. The strategies you develop must address: people, process and technology – at least one strategy for each. Describe each of the five strategies, identify if they address people, process or technology and explain how they will help improve the organization’s effectiveness. Refer to the “Creating a Future Vision for the Chief Information Officer” from Week 2 for an explanation of internal and external (business-enabling) IT strategies.

•  Current IT Department Structure – Use the information provided in the Case Study to draw an organization chart depicting the current roles and responsibilities. You may take some liberties in how you align the staff that is described in the Case Study, but all IT staff positions or groups must be included in the structure. Be sure to introduce or explain your org chart in the memo. Refer to course materials for an example of an IT organization chart. You may use the Shapes tool or the SmartArt tool to develop your organizational hierarchy chart, or you may paste in your chart from another drawing tool.
•  New CIO Organization – Explain in a paragraph or two how a CIO organization is different from an IT Department. Be sure to create a transition from the previous section. This may be an area for you to do some external research.
•  Key Services – List and explain at least five key services (more than five will earn top credit) that need to be included in your new CIO organizational structure. You may eliminate functions or positions from your current organizational structure if you believe it will improve your effectiveness and/or efficiency; these should be explained. You should also add (and explain) any functions that you will need in your new organization. Be sure these services are appropriate to your IT strategies and note how each relates in your discussion.
•  New CIO Organization Structure – Briefly explain what changes you will make and why. Draw an organization chart depicting your new CIO organizational structure. Be sure that the key services you listed are covered by the new organizational structure. (Follow the guidelines for drawing the organization chart given above for the current organization.)
•  Key Milestones – Your memo should include at least five key milestones (tasks or events) (more than five will earn top credit) associated with accomplishing the changes that you see are needed to change the IT Department into a CIO organization. Each milestone should be briefly described (in a sentence or two) and a target completion date should be shown. In addition, for each milestone you should identify at least one issue or concern you have with accomplishing it. An example using a milestone not related to the organization might be: The milestone is to consolidate all servers into a new data center by Oct 2017. Some issues might be: (1) a secure data center must be located, (2) it will require significant downtime for the corporate servers, and (3) the initial cost will be high.
•  Conclusion – Provide an appropriate closing to your memo. The "right" and "wrong" answers have to do with whether or not you correctly incorporated the course concepts and vocabulary from the course materials and addressed all parts of the assignment. The organizational structure you propose is not as important as that it makes sense in light of the course content and the Case Study. Use the Rubric below to be sure you have covered all aspects of the assignment.