Month: November 2023
Case Studies. Google: The New Monopolist?
In 1998 the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a major antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft for abusing its monopoly power against Netscape in the browser wars. The protracted case ended with a partial government victory, though it scarcely…
Read More »Looking Forward
Why would Goldman and Luce now be competing to hire Barton based on hisyear’s experience as CIO and previous experience as a business manager?Which job offer should Barton accept?How important is CIO leadership to the viability and success…
Read More »Managing Risk
How should a company decide which IT risks are worth taking? How do youdecide how much to spend to mitigate the risks you’ve opted to take?Why should a CIO pursue senior management participation and oversight whenmanaging IT risk?Would…
Read More »Innovation
How much emphasis should the IVK IT group put on top-line benefits from ITsystems, as opposed to traditional cost savings benefits?What role should IT leaders such as the CIO play in discussions of the use of IT toenhance…
Read More »Standardization
Can the IT trend toward ever-more maintenance be stemmed?What should be the ideal ratio of maintenance to new applications?Is there a trade-off between standardization and flexibility? How are the tworelated in most companies?What should Barton do about Sales’…
Read More »Managing Talent
What should Barton and Gordon do about the Ivan Korsky problem?How might IT managers best measure and compare the output of diverseemployees? Do you think this measurement should impact the kind of “deal”(contract) that IVK makes with talented…
Read More »Vendor Partnering
Should acquisition of infrastructure replacement services be an arm’s-lengthtransaction or a close partnership transaction?Which vendor, contract structure, and service delivery model should IVKchoose?How important is “control” to a company like IVK when outsourcing IT? Howshould control be maintained?How…
Read More »Emerging Technology
Given near-universal web access, ubiquitious personal net-connected portabledevices, and the widespread use of social technologies, can companies still keeptheir information “secret”? As a manager, what should you assume peopleoutside the company know?How would you respond to Bernie Ruben’s…
Read More »Communication
Conventional wisdom suggests that it’s important to “manage your boss.” As aCIO, what is the best approach to managing your boss? How should Bartonhandle the bad “advice” coming from Williams?How should Barton communicate with people outside the IT…
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