Operational effectiveness of the information technology function in business process change: A case study in a financial services firm

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dc.contributor.advisorShaw, Corrinneen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorBall, Richarden_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2017-01-17T12:20:34Z
dc.date.available2017-01-17T12:20:34Z
dc.date.issued2016en_ZA
dc.description.abstractIn order to address the need to remain flexible in dynamic business environments, organisations must focus on the effectiveness of their core operational processes. The importance of operational effectiveness has been claimed to have a direct influence on business performance. In order to improve their effectiveness, many organisations invest in information technology (IT) systems, even though the extent to which these technological initiatives influence operational effectiveness is considered to be largely misunderstood by the organisations who employ them. In this dissertation, the relationship between the Operations and IT departments of a financial services firm is investigated. This study pays particular attention to the factors that have the potential to influence the ability of the organisation to align its strategies. This enquiry takes the form of two distinct research questions: 1) What factors in the organisation have an impact on the success of business process change proposals? 2) How is the role of IT perceived in the preparation of business process change initiatives? The study involved conducting semi-structured interviews with members of both departments. A qualitative inductive approach was used to analyse the data collected from these interviews in order to identify themes. The emergent phenomena were then considered in conjunction with the literature on organisational effectiveness and strategic alignment, in order to develop a theory that answers the research questions. The findings of the theory that developed resulted in four main relationships. They were: how understanding business processes contributes to improved service delivery; how important communication is in contributing to organisational performance; how effective planning has an impact on product complexity; and the impact that effective organisational planning has on the relationship between IT and operations. The results of this study showed that although there was intention to improve alignment between business and IT strategies, with some noteworthy initiatives emerging, there have been a number of factors inhibiting successful alignment. Some of these factors include: a lack of trust in IT solution delivery, IT remaining ignorant to the impact of process changes, the inability to effectively allocate the business analysis function to the correct change proposals, and the silos of process knowledge that exist within operations. The recommendations of this study include: improvements to the visibility of business processes; methods to improve knowledge sharing; and strengthening the focus of the business analysis function.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationBall, R. (2016). <i>Operational effectiveness of the information technology function in business process change: A case study in a financial services firm</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment ,Department of Mechanical Engineering. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22757en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationBall, Richard. <i>"Operational effectiveness of the information technology function in business process change: A case study in a financial services firm."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment ,Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22757en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationBall, R. 2016. Operational effectiveness of the information technology function in business process change: A case study in a financial services firm. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Ball, Richard AB - In order to address the need to remain flexible in dynamic business environments, organisations must focus on the effectiveness of their core operational processes. The importance of operational effectiveness has been claimed to have a direct influence on business performance. In order to improve their effectiveness, many organisations invest in information technology (IT) systems, even though the extent to which these technological initiatives influence operational effectiveness is considered to be largely misunderstood by the organisations who employ them. In this dissertation, the relationship between the Operations and IT departments of a financial services firm is investigated. This study pays particular attention to the factors that have the potential to influence the ability of the organisation to align its strategies. This enquiry takes the form of two distinct research questions: 1) What factors in the organisation have an impact on the success of business process change proposals? 2) How is the role of IT perceived in the preparation of business process change initiatives? The study involved conducting semi-structured interviews with members of both departments. A qualitative inductive approach was used to analyse the data collected from these interviews in order to identify themes. The emergent phenomena were then considered in conjunction with the literature on organisational effectiveness and strategic alignment, in order to develop a theory that answers the research questions. The findings of the theory that developed resulted in four main relationships. They were: how understanding business processes contributes to improved service delivery; how important communication is in contributing to organisational performance; how effective planning has an impact on product complexity; and the impact that effective organisational planning has on the relationship between IT and operations. The results of this study showed that although there was intention to improve alignment between business and IT strategies, with some noteworthy initiatives emerging, there have been a number of factors inhibiting successful alignment. Some of these factors include: a lack of trust in IT solution delivery, IT remaining ignorant to the impact of process changes, the inability to effectively allocate the business analysis function to the correct change proposals, and the silos of process knowledge that exist within operations. The recommendations of this study include: improvements to the visibility of business processes; methods to improve knowledge sharing; and strengthening the focus of the business analysis function. DA - 2016 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2016 T1 - Operational effectiveness of the information technology function in business process change: A case study in a financial services firm TI - Operational effectiveness of the information technology function in business process change: A case study in a financial services firm UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22757 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/22757
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationBall R. Operational effectiveness of the information technology function in business process change: A case study in a financial services firm. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment ,Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2016 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22757en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Mechanical Engineeringen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Engineering and the Built Environment
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherMechanical Engineeringen_ZA
dc.subject.otherEngineering Managementen_ZA
dc.titleOperational effectiveness of the information technology function in business process change: A case study in a financial services firmen_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMPhilen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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