MDCM, Inc. (B): Strategic IT Portfolio Management

2017 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Mark Jeffery ◽  
Joseph F. Norton ◽  
Derek Yung
Keyword(s):  
Portfolio Management ◽  
Resource Constraints ◽  
The United States ◽  
Growth Strategy ◽  
It Strategy ◽  
Contract Manufacturing ◽  
Strategic Objectives ◽  
Execution Strategy ◽  
It Portfolio Management ◽  
Outsourcing Decision

“MDCM, Inc. (B): Strategic IT Portfolio Management” examines the steps involved in developing a portfolio of IT projects aligned with a company's strategic objectives. Specifically, the case describes a situation where a firm has launched a transformation strategy but has yet to develop a complementary IT strategy. Students must select the optimal portfolio of projects aligned with the strategic objectives and define the global project execution strategy. The projects have both risks and dependencies. U.S.-based MDCM, Inc. specializes in medical device contract manufacturing and assembly. For the past five years, MDCM had grown by making more than twenty acquisitions of companies based outside the United States. This growth strategy enabled MDCM to better match its services to its customers, who had become larger and more global. In MDCM (A), the CIO of MDCM needed to determine the company's IT strategy and objectives. In doing so, he needed to ensure that they were properly aligned with the company's overall strategy and the new organization developed under an initiative called Horizon 2000. In a lecture prior to the cases, students should be introduced to the framework of IT portfolio management and how it can help focus IT efforts. In MDCM (B), the CIO has performed an audit of MDCM's IT and found twelve projects that are potential investment candidates for the next three years. The challenge for the IT Portfolio Management team is to identify the priority and appropriate sequence of investments to be made. The case assumes that students have knowledge of corporate IT. More specifically, the case is targeted for those who are or plan to become executives who would manage IT strategy and IT investment decisions either directly or in an oversight role. This case is the second in a series; the first is the case “MDCM, Inc. (A): IT Strategy Synchronization.”For this case, students create a portfolio management process and apply it to the IT project portfolio of a global manufacturing company. Students will learn how to balance risk and return of projects and short-term vs. long-term wins. They also create an activity network diagram, stressing the importance of understanding global resource constraints and execution timing. Students also learn the nuances of portfolio selection, e.g., outsourcing decision making and build vs. buy for a global firm.

MDCM, Inc. (A): IT Strategy Synchronization

2017 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Mark Jeffery ◽  
Joseph F. Norton ◽  
Derek Yung
Keyword(s):  
Portfolio Management ◽  
Business Strategy ◽  
Corporate Strategy ◽  
Competitive Environment ◽  
It Strategy ◽  
Business Objectives ◽  
Business Objective ◽  
It Portfolio Management ◽  
Executive Level ◽  
Transformation Strategy

“MDCM, Inc. (A): IT Strategy Synchronization” examines the issues of formulating an IT strategy and a set of IT objectives aligned with corporate strategy. Specifically, the case describes a firm that has grown rapidly through global acquisitions. As a result of these acquisitions, the new conglomerate is not responsive to the competitive environment. The firm has therefore launched a new transformation strategy called Horizon 2000, but it has yet to develop a corresponding IT strategy. Students solve Case A by applying the management by business objective framework and develop an executive-level IT strategy for the firm. This case is the first in a series; the second is the case “MDCM, Inc. (B): Strategic IT Portfolio Management.”The objective of the case is to have students analyze a firm's strategy and define the IT objectives for the firm. A key takeaway is that IT objectives should be systematically linked to corporate strategy. Students learn a framework and process for aligning IT objectives with business strategy. The framework consists of mapping corporate strategy to business objectives, to overall IT strategy, and finally mapping to specific IT objectives.

An Overview of Salt I

1973 ◽  
Vol 67 (5) ◽  
pp. 28-35
Author(s):  
John B. Rhinelander
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Ballistic Missile ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
Strategic Objectives ◽  
Weapons Systems

Salt deals with strategic objectives and doctrine, weapons systems, evolving technology, and is discussed in esoteric terminology. Decisions, however, are made by political leaders in the United States and the USSR in political contexts. Of the four agreements concluded at SALT I, the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty is clearly the most important. Odier agreements are the Interim Agreement on Limitation of Strategic Offensive Systems; the Accident Measures Agreement; and the revised Hot Line Agreement.

scholarly journals Picking Up Where the TMDL Leaves Off: Using the Partnership Wild and Scenic River Framework for Collaborative River Restoration

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1878
Author(s):  
Alan R. Hunt ◽  
Meiyin Wu ◽  
Tsung-Ta David Hsu ◽  
Nancy Roberts-Lawler ◽  
Jessica Miller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Bacterial Contamination ◽  
Resource Constraints ◽  
Clean Water Act ◽  
The United States ◽  
Clean Water ◽  
Private Land ◽  
The Public ◽  
Wild And Scenic Rivers

The National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act protects less than ¼ of a percent of the United States’ river miles, focusing on free-flowing rivers of good water quality with outstandingly remarkable values for recreation, scenery, and other unique river attributes. It predates the enactment of the Clean Water Act, yet includes a clear anti-degradation principle, that pollution should be reduced and eliminated on designated rivers, in cooperation with the federal Environmental Protection Agency and state pollution control agencies. However, the federal Clean Water Act lacks a clear management framework for implementing restoration activities to reduce non-point source pollution, of which bacterial contamination impacts nearly 40% of the Wild and Scenic Rivers. A case study of the Musconetcong River, in rural mountainous New Jersey, indicates that the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act can be utilized to mobilize and align non-governmental, governmental, philanthropic, and private land-owner resources for restoring river water quality. For example, coordinated restoration efforts on one tributary reduced bacterial contamination by 95%, surpassing the TMDL goal of a 93% reduction. Stakeholder interviews and focus groups indicated widespread knowledge and motivation to improve water quality, but resource constraints limited the scale and scope of restoration efforts. The authors postulate that the Partnership framework, enabled in the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, facilitated neo-endogenous rural development through improving water quality for recreational usage, whereby bottom-up restoration activities were catalyzed via federal designation and resource provision. However, further efforts to address water quality via voluntary participatory frameworks were ultimately limited by the public sector’s inadequate funding and inaction with regard to water and wildlife resources in the public trust.

An Examination of Audit Quality Surrounding Within-Firm Engagement Office Changes

2021 ◽  
pp. 0148558X2110596
Author(s):  
Adam J. Greiner ◽  
Julia L. Higgs ◽  
Thomas J. Smith
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Knowledge Transfer ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Resource Constraints ◽  
Discretionary Accruals ◽  
The United States ◽  
Primary Analysis ◽  
Quality Deterioration ◽  
Main Association

We examine the relation between within-firm office changes and audit quality in the United States. Our primary analysis documents a reduction in audit quality, measured using abnormal discretionary accruals and restatements, when the client is transferred to a smaller within-firm office (downsize effect). We are unable to find evidence that clients experience significant improvement in audit quality among transfers to a larger within-firm office (upsize effect). We then condition our sample on the change in the number of public clients of the receiving office to better understand the source of the underlying association. We find that our downsize effect is driven by offices experiencing a decrease in the number of public clients, suggesting that our main association is not entirely the result of resource constraints for the receiving office. We posit that this finding is consistent with audit quality deterioration among within-firm office changes to smaller offices driven, in part, by the receiving office’s inability to adequately overcome the knowledge transfer frictions that accompany a move to a new office. Our findings offer empirical evidence on consequences of within-firm office changes and are particularly relevant to regulators and preparers.

Adaptive Portfolio Management

2017 ◽  
pp. 153-177
Author(s):  
Luca Romano
Keyword(s):  
Portfolio Management ◽  
Strategic Objectives ◽  
Flexible Model

Portfolio management methodology is usually linked with the concept of “portfolio cycle” (often 1 year of activities). This means that organizations experience, once a year, a time in which ongoing activities are analyzed and their status reported; new initiatives are collected, assessed, prioritized and selected in competition with ongoing components. Being the aim of portfolio management to select the best set of components supporting the organization in achieving the strategic objectives, strategy should drive the preparation of the “next portfolio cycle”. It may be the case that the strategy is not clear, not ready to be used, not stable. Adaptive Portfolio Management requires to move away from the collect-assess-prioritize-select-implement-control-review approach (all these actions are performed during each and every “portfolio cycle”) towards a more flexible model where organizations manage these important activities “continuously”.

scholarly journals Tracheostomy During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Comparison of International Perioperative Care Protocols and Practices in 26 Countries

2020 ◽  
pp. 019459982096198
Author(s):  
Carol Bier-Laning ◽  
John D. Cramer ◽  
Soham Roy ◽  
Patrick A. Palmieri ◽  
Ayman Amin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Resource Constraints ◽  
Invasive Mechanical Ventilation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Postoperative Management ◽  
Reference Points ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Evidence Based Care

Objective The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to a global surge in critically ill patients requiring invasive mechanical ventilation, some of whom may benefit from tracheostomy. Decisions on if, when, and how to perform tracheostomy in patients with COVID-19 have major implications for patients, clinicians, and hospitals. We investigated the tracheostomy protocols and practices that institutions around the world have put into place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Data Sources Protocols for tracheostomy in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection from individual institutions (n = 59) were obtained from the United States and 25 other countries, including data from several low- and middle-income countries, 23 published or society-endorsed protocols, and 36 institutional protocols. Review Methods The comparative document analysis involved cross-sectional review of institutional protocols and practices. Data sources were analyzed for timing of tracheostomy, contraindications, preoperative testing, personal protective equipment (PPE), surgical technique, and postoperative management. Conclusions Timing of tracheostomy varied from 3 to >21 days, with over 90% of protocols recommending 14 days of intubation prior to tracheostomy. Most protocols advocate delaying tracheostomy until COVID-19 testing was negative. All protocols involved use of N95 or higher PPE. Both open and percutaneous techniques were reported. Timing of tracheostomy changes ranged from 5 to >30 days postoperatively, sometimes contingent on negative COVID-19 test results. Implications for Practice Wide variation exists in tracheostomy protocols, reflecting geographical variation, different resource constraints, and limited data to drive evidence-based care standards. Findings presented herein may provide reference points and a framework for evolving care standards.

Project Portfolio Management

2020 ◽  
pp. 547-563
Author(s):  
Beata Jałocha ◽  
Ewa Bogacz-Wojtanowska
Keyword(s):  
Portfolio Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Third Sector ◽  
Corporate Management ◽  
Project Portfolio ◽  
Project Portfolio Management ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Strategic Objectives ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations

Project Portfolio Management is a relatively new practice for the majority of non-government organisations. Project portfolio management is important in the areas of management and education of third sector practitioners. However, project portfolio management, corporate management tools are usually used in the business sector with very little research undertaken in the non-government sectors. This chapter fills that research gap by identifying and analysis of project portfolio management practices in non-governmental organizations. Findings suggest that non-government organisations manage multiple projects simultaneously but that project portfolio management could support them to build their portfolio in accordance with a strategic plan that can fulfil their strategic objectives efficiently and effectively.

scholarly journals Disaster Planning for Homeless Populations: Analysis and Recommendations for Communities

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 322-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen C. Morris
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Resource Constraints ◽  
Homeless People ◽  
Disaster Planning ◽  
The United States ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Homeless Population ◽  
Special Populations ◽  
Population Classification ◽  
Mental And Physical Health

AbstractHomelessness is a growing problem, with perhaps greater than a 150 million homeless people globally. The global community has prioritized the problem, as eradicating homelessness is one of the United Nation’s sustainability goals of 2030. Homelessness is a variable entity with individual, population, cultural, and regional characteristics complicating emergency preparedness. Overall, there are many factors that make homeless individuals and populations more vulnerable to disasters. These include, but are not limited to: shelter concerns, transportation, acute and chronic financial and material resource constraints, mental and physical health concerns, violence, and substance abuse. As such, homeless population classification as a special or vulnerable population with regard to disaster planning is well-accepted. Much work has been done regarding best practices of accounting for and accommodating special populations in all aspects of disaster management. Utilizing what is understood of homeless populations and emergency management for special populations, a review of disaster planning with recommendations for communities was conducted. Much of the literature on this subject generates from urban homeless in the United States, but it is assumed that some lessons learned and guidance will be translatable to other communities and settings.

scholarly journals China’s “Belt and Road” Economic Diplomacy in the Persian Gulf: Strategic Hedging amidst Saudi–Iranian Regional Rivalry

2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Garlick ◽  
Radka Havlová
Keyword(s):  
National Security ◽  
Persian Gulf ◽  
The United States ◽  
Belt And Road Initiative ◽  
Strategic Objectives ◽  
Economic Diplomacy ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
The Persian Gulf ◽  
The Belt And Road ◽  
Strategic Hedging

Drawing on the literature on strategic hedging and adapting it to China’s use of economic diplomacy in the service of comprehensive national security goals within the regionalised foreign policy approach of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), we examine China’s approach to securing and expanding its interests in the Persian Gulf. To implement the trade and infrastructure connectivity goals of the BRI and to secure the continued flow of diversified energy supplies, China needs to boost relations with both regional powerhouses, Iran and Saudi Arabia, without alienating either of them or the regional hegemon, the United States. The resulting strategy of strategic hedging is based in the Chinese approach to economic diplomacy, which utilises Chinese commercial actors in the service of national strategic objectives. Relations require careful and ongoing management if China is to achieve outcomes which benefit all sides while avoiding becoming entangled in the region’s intractable geopolitical problems.

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