Question

A vision is not the responsibility of the CIO...it is the responsibility of the CEO or the top management team...do you agree or disagree...why?

this question is from chapter 2. Discussion question #1 page 96 of the book Information Systems Management in Practice 8th edition Mcnurlin,Sprague JR,tung bui

Answer 1

CIO & CEO

Yes, vision is responsibility of the CEO. However, the job of the CIO is to remind the top management team (including the CEO) that IT has become mission-critical and need to be managed as a strategic asset. In the same way, CIO must educate top management that IT is indispensable for the business and requires complete alignment with business goals.

The IT Director (CIO) oversees the infrastructure of the information systems within the organization and is responsible for establishing the information standards to facilitate control of the management of all corporate resources.

The main responsibilities for the CIO are:

• Provide advice and work with members of the executive team to identify how information technology can help the company achieve its business and financial objectives. The CIO must create a strategic one that aligns with the CEO's vision.
• Ensure that information technology and network infrastructure are compatible with the company's computing, data processing and communication needs.
• Develop security policies that protect the infrastructure and company, customers and employees’ data.
• Manage a team of information technology specialists to manage the company's IT resources and support the different departments of the company.
• Satisfy the needs of information technology of the company within its budget limits.

On the contrary, the CEO’s job is to lead. Leadership means setting the agenda. In order to set the agenda is necessary to have well stablished vision and priorities. In this sense, the CIO’s job is to supply the CEO’s needs efficiently and allow the CEO’s vision to be realized.

In order to attain CEO’s needs efficiently, the CIO needs to understand completely the CEO’s vision. Is also the CIO’s responsibility to educate the top management team on the need for an enterprise vision and strategy. Both, CEO and CIO must share business’ technology vision. CIO must help CEO understand the business case for IT as a strategic investment.

It is important to recognize that IT acts as partner in the business since they can add value to the product. Being part of the success of the enterprise enables the IT team to make decision and put forward innovative suggestion that go beyond simply meting the technical requirements requested by the client. This value adding can be extremely beneficial for business.