Information systems management: role of planning, alignment and leadership

Undoubtedly technology has the potential to provide significant strategic and operational benefits to organisations in the electronic age. Unfortunately the reality is that many organisations are failing to reap the expected benefits from their investment in information systems. This, along with the ubiquitous presence of technology, incessant technological changes and the unrelenting advance of e-commerce, means information systems management (ISM) has become a matter of major concern to many organisations. Given the paramount importance of ISM to organisations, this article seeks to critically examine three of the most fundamental and perhaps elusive aspects of ISM in the context of a rapidly changing technological environment - planning, alignment and managerial responsibilities. Since ISM is a multifaceted concept, it would be futile to attempt a comprehensive analysis of the subject in a single article and hence the above focus on a small number of issues. More specifically, the organisational and managerial aspects of ISM would form the core of this article rather than the more technical issues (e.g. IT infrastructure development). It will also explore problem areas in the literature that represents gaps within both theory and in the prevalent methodologies employed to examine those theories.