Information Systems play a vital and dominating role in business today by enabling as well as
supporting business objectives and goals. As a result, the alignment of Information Systems
strategy and business strategy has become a core concept in many organisations. The
question that naturally arises is whether this is also true for Higher Education institutions in
developing countries. This study examined the alignment of institutional and Information
Systems strategy and its impact on Academic Computing divisions within Higher Education.
It set out to determine if there was a link between the vision and mission of Information
Systems and institutional vision and mission. This was achieved by critically evaluating
current Information Systems strategy in relation to the institutional strategy and by
determining the effectiveness of the current Information Systems strategy in the area of
Academic Computing. In order to fulfil the objectives of the study, questionnaires were sent
to a population of 22 Information and Communication Technology directors/managers at 22
universities in South Africa. In-depth interviews were conducted with senior Information and
Communication Technology directors from two universities that reflected strong alignment
between Information Systems Strategy and institutional strategy. Both universities also
possessed strong and effective Information Systems strategy in the Academic Computing
component. It was evident that alignment was the key to their effective Information Systems
strategy. The overall findings of the study show that there is a strong link between the vision
and mission of the Information Systems and institutional mission and vision. The Information
Systems strategy in place was effective for the various institutions; however, it was not
effective in the area of Academic Computing in most institutions. The need for a more
enhanced Information Systems strategy in Academic Computing was acknowledged.
Institutions should emulate leading universities in South Africa and first-world countries in
respect of continuously adjusting and evaluating alignment between Information Systems and
institutional strategy. An enhanced Information Systems strategy in Academic Computing is
also required. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2011.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ukzn/oai:http://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za:10413/7326 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Suknunan, Sachin. |
| Contributors | Maharaj, Manoj S. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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