Week 4 - Strategic Alliance Model

Source / Reference:
1)  "Strategic Alignment: Leverage Information Technology for transforming organization" by J C Henderson and N Venkartraman 1993
2)   http://search.proquest.com/docview/26252741/134A6C8B53F19A4F606/1?accountid=16210
3)   http://www.palgrave-journals.com/jit/journal/v22/n4/full/2000109a.html


Subject:
In Lect 4 - Which alignment strategy in SAM model is the best? and why?


Response:

The Strategic Alignment Model (SAM model) provides four alignment strategies which are strategy execution, technology transformation, competitive potential and service level. In different type of strategy, they focus on different aspects.





Four alignment strategies

In order to select a best alignment strategy in SAM model, the first question needs to be asked must be what kind of business the company runs. Companies need to consider their business goals, objectives and their distinctive competitors, i.e. what kind of strategies is the best to be implemented. These questions will be asked before choosing any best strategy.

In the reality, there is no best alignment strategy. The most important thing is to be flexible in any situations or circumstances. For example, for a small retailing company, they emphasize more on the business strategy rather than the IT strategy. Since the business hierarchy of the company is simple and the span of control is narrow, senior management will take more attention on the business strategy rather than the IT in order to save cost. Therefore, it is better to use strategy execution or technology transformation for this kind of company.

On the other hand, nowadays, in a highly technological world, most of the customers require services or products to be speedy, efficient and convenience. To achieve these kinds of expectation, IT must be involved in the process. That means most of the companies need to consider IT strategy in order to survive. For example, in the recent years, e-banking becomes popular, it saves time for citizen to visit the shop directly and they can have transactions all the time when they are available. After the adoption of the e-banking, some of the banks were shut down as most of the customers choose to have service through internet so as to reduce operation cost within the bank. It is a good IT strategy which can eliminate cost and broaden customer base. It is consider as a service level strategy to be used in within the company.

To conclude, different strategies have their functions and they are useful in various company. There is no best strategy but the mangers need to be flexible in considering the strategy. Companies need to find the best strategy by itself by understanding their business objectives and their goals. Sticking on one strategy is useless since the world is changing, they need to accommodate the world in order to survive.