Managerial and Technical IT Capabilities and Process Agility (Essay Sample)

IT Leadership
Name
Course
IT Leadership
Link between Managerial and Technical IT Capabilities and Process Agility
The concept of globalization has led to the development of highly competitive business environments and many companies have been compelled to enhance their IT capabilities and process agility. It is apparent that the attainment of these qualities in a firm relies on some factors and the managerial factor is one of the important elements in the equation. The internal environment of a business entity is influenced by the quality of the management function and its efficiency in responding to the external factors. With the application of IT, the human assets in an organization should be tuned properly toward assuming an active role in embracing change. The agility of various business processes in an organization is a function of the commitment of the human assets in all departments, including the IT function. However, it is apparent that the technical IT team in an organization is always deployed to help the human assets cope with changing managerial requirements. This means that the link between managerial and technical IT capabilities and process agility lies in the associated human assets and the technology that the business entity has. It is the obligation of the management function to decide the type of technical IT to apply in the production process; thus, the capabilities of the organization are dictated by the same. The agility of processes is a function of the level of IT applied in the production process and the ability of the human assets to manipulate the technology to harness competitive advantages (Chen et al., 2014). The internal processes of a business influence process agility; thus, a company looking to achieve high levels of process agility has to possess the quality of reacting fast to external pressures. Technical IT is a resource, whose value in an organization depends on the management strategy.
Important Qualities an IT Leader should Possess
A good IT leader should possess a visionary quality. The modern business environment is quite dynamic, and it requires companies to develop quicker responses to adapt to the changes. This means that companies with efficient IT leaders are better placed on the competitive bar because they respond quickly to external and internal changes that require the IT function to make changes in their processes. Essentially, a visionary IT leader is instrumental in the development of problem solving strategies that help an organization to dodge external pressures before they manifest. On the same note, a visionary IT leader can forecast the business pressures expected in the future and he or she can easily develop a strategy to help his or her company sail through without any issues affecting the application of IT resources. Just like other leaders in an organization, a good IT leader should have the ability to delegate tasks effectively. This is a function of understanding the competencies of the employees in the IT department. It is apparent that the performance level of different employees in an organization and their commitment level of problem solving is never the same; thus, a good leader in the IT department has to be acquainted with information regarding the same. This should help him or her to determine the most reliable members of the team, who can handle various important tasks. The ability to delegate is also determined by the communication skills possessed by the leader (Prive, 2012). It is vital for the leader to provide sufficient information about the tasks being delegated and the expected outputs. Commitment is also an important quality that a good IT leader should possess. The tasks handled by the IT department are always associated with many hours of trying to fix problems and it is only through commitment that a leader can effectively drive his team to look for solutions relentlessly. With the ever-changing nature of IT in the modern world, it is also through commitment that a leader can lead his or her company effectively into making the most feasible investments in IT. Creating a training and development program for leaders in IT would entail highlighting their immediate weaknesses and facilitating learning opportunities to cover the same.
Importance of the IT Leadership Role
The IT leadership role has become important to organizations because technology has emerged as the imperative resource in determining the competitive power of companies. In essence, IT is a resource used to increase the production level of business processes; thus, its leadership is an indispensable element of many companies. It is apparent that companies that have embraced the application of technology in their business processes have managed to enhance the quality of their products. Therefore, IT leadership is important to organizations because it determines the results of the interplay between the human assets and other production inputs. For instance, companies that have invested in the modern technology have more effective production processes. In a period when technology is the core facilitator of adapting to external and internal business pressures, companies have been forced to ensure they invest in efficient IT leaders. One of the classic tradeoffs for IT leaders is between service and efficiency. This tradeoff is influenced by customer variables and the leaders in the IT function have to look into identifying the most feasible approach toward accommodating the variables. For instance, in the service business, the IT leader may choose to create value for the business by increasing the quality of services at the expense of efficiency enhancement in production (Frei, 2006). Similarly, a leader may be compelled to enhance the efficiency of the production process to facilitate the provision of cheaper products without focusing on the quality of the services. A good leader should possess the skill to determine the most viable strategy to meet the objectives of the organization. IT staff should assume a leadership character in their tasks because problem solving in IT entails innovation, and the articulation of different ideas. By assuming a leadership character, the staff members of the IT department enhance the ability of the company to respond to external and internal business pressures effectively.
Leveraging IT
Leveraging IT can help a business entity to create a competitive advantage against its rivals. This can be actualized by building a vast IT infrastructure base for the company and ensuring that the employees of the organization are acquainted with adequate skills in using the technology. The human assets of the organization should be trained effectively in proactive and reactive responses to changing needs of the customers to leverage IT effectively as a resource for competitive advantage. Reactive IT processes entail responding to problems associated with value creation for services. It also involves the creation of the ability of the employees to change their approaches to business processes based on the changes associated with growth in customer demands (Xantrion, 2015)...