Strategizing for Corporate Advantage

Prior to beginning work on this assignment read Chapter 2 from the text, the articles from Powell (1992), Powell & Dent-Micallef (1997), review the relevant information from this week’s lecture, and carefully review the attached ISM645 Acme Company Strategic Summary Plan. Review the instructions below and research at least five additional scholarly sources to support your statements. You may wish to review the recommended resources for this week for assistance with finding appropriate resources. 

Understanding IT planning for the business as a Competitive Advantage is not new. However, many CIOs fail to understand the strategic initiatives of their business in order to leverage IT Strategic Planning for a competitive advantage. The ability to determine the Corporate Strategy and identify business initiatives is essential for the IT Department in order to make it relevant and vital to the company. Understanding these initiatives and the ability to identify key business initiatives within a corporate strategy is basic to any IT Strategic Plan.

Note: As you begin to draft your paper be careful not to fall into the trap of coming up with specific solutions. Rather, think strategically in terms of directions and areas of technology and/or innovation.

Review the Acme Corporate Strategic Summary Plan and analyze the key business initiatives that support the Corporate Strategy. For each business initiative, explain why it is key to Acme’s corporate strategy. Discuss whether or not any of the authors in your readings support this type of initiative or are critical of it. For each identified initiative, explain the possible IT Strategic (planned) actions that might be relevant. In addition, assess why this could be a competitive advantage for the company.

Your Identifying Business Initiatives from the Corporate Strategy paper

• Must be five to seven double-spaced pages (1500-2100 words)