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Alignment between business and IT strategies : a case study at a transport organisation
Author(s)
Constance, Leroy David William
Date Issued
2011
Type
Thesis
Publisher
Cape Peninsula University of Technology
Abstract
For almost three decades practitioners, academics, consultants, and research organisations
have identified 'attaining alignment between IT and business' (Luttman & Kempaiah, 2007),
as a pervasive problem. Despite the wide acceptance of the term "strategic alignment", there
was no consensus on how to achieve alignment. The research philosophy was of an
interpretive study and an inductive research approach was used. The research strategy was
by means of a case study, namely PRASA Western Cape, a business unit of Passenger Rail
Agency of South Africa (PRASA). The time horizon for this research was cross sectional. For
the data collection a semi-structured interview, supported by secondary data from the
business plan and annual report, was used. The research problem was "PRASA has
dysfunctional and fragmented institutional arrangements, resulting in misalignment between
business and IT". The primary research question to address this problem was "How can
PRASA manage strategic alignment between business and IT?" The aim of this research was to understand why the misalignment between business and IT
strategies exists at PRASA. A further aim was to propose a guideline to manage alignment
between business and IT strategies with the intention of overcoming the fragmented and
dysfunctional institutional arrangements. To address resolving the research problem three
theoretical models were used. The strategic alignment model was used to ascertain the
strategic perspective of PRASA as well as to identify the external strategic fit and internal
functional integration of an organisation. The second model used was the strategic alignment
maturity model. This model was used to identify the alignment maturity of the business/IT
strategies. The final model used was the balanced scorecard. Alignment is one of the best
practices recommended by the balanced scorecard, and it recommends aligning all to the
strategy of the company. The reason for using the balanced scorecard was that the company
currently uses this tool to manage performance. The research finding concluded that PRASA had the strategic execution alignment
perspective - business strategy dictates the IT strategy. The overall strategic alignment
maturity of the organisation was found to be in initial process. The balanced scorecard
methodology was known by all, yet few knew what the performance measures for the
organisation was for the year. The triangulated conclusion was that strategic alignment
between business and IT was a problem at PRASA. The recommendation was that the
organisation conducts three surveys firstly to identify its strategic choice, secondly to identify
the strategic alignment maturity and lastly to do a balanced scorecard best practice survey.
have identified 'attaining alignment between IT and business' (Luttman & Kempaiah, 2007),
as a pervasive problem. Despite the wide acceptance of the term "strategic alignment", there
was no consensus on how to achieve alignment. The research philosophy was of an
interpretive study and an inductive research approach was used. The research strategy was
by means of a case study, namely PRASA Western Cape, a business unit of Passenger Rail
Agency of South Africa (PRASA). The time horizon for this research was cross sectional. For
the data collection a semi-structured interview, supported by secondary data from the
business plan and annual report, was used. The research problem was "PRASA has
dysfunctional and fragmented institutional arrangements, resulting in misalignment between
business and IT". The primary research question to address this problem was "How can
PRASA manage strategic alignment between business and IT?" The aim of this research was to understand why the misalignment between business and IT
strategies exists at PRASA. A further aim was to propose a guideline to manage alignment
between business and IT strategies with the intention of overcoming the fragmented and
dysfunctional institutional arrangements. To address resolving the research problem three
theoretical models were used. The strategic alignment model was used to ascertain the
strategic perspective of PRASA as well as to identify the external strategic fit and internal
functional integration of an organisation. The second model used was the strategic alignment
maturity model. This model was used to identify the alignment maturity of the business/IT
strategies. The final model used was the balanced scorecard. Alignment is one of the best
practices recommended by the balanced scorecard, and it recommends aligning all to the
strategy of the company. The reason for using the balanced scorecard was that the company
currently uses this tool to manage performance. The research finding concluded that PRASA had the strategic execution alignment
perspective - business strategy dictates the IT strategy. The overall strategic alignment
maturity of the organisation was found to be in initial process. The balanced scorecard
methodology was known by all, yet few knew what the performance measures for the
organisation was for the year. The triangulated conclusion was that strategic alignment
between business and IT was a problem at PRASA. The recommendation was that the
organisation conducts three surveys firstly to identify its strategic choice, secondly to identify
the strategic alignment maturity and lastly to do a balanced scorecard best practice survey.
Additional information
Thesis (MTech (Information Technology))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2011.
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