8:30–9:00 Continental Breakfast

 

9:00–9:30 Welcome and Introductions — Prof. Peter Weill, CISR

 

9:30–11:00 Business Agility and the Operating Model  —Prof. Jeanne Ross, CISR
A firm’s operating model guides the development of IT and business process capabilities to ensure that IT supports management’s vision for business agility. An operating model is: the desired level of business process integration and business process standardization for delivering goods and services to customers. Firms can choose from among four operating models (diversification, unification, coordination, and replication) to guide choices for IT investment and business process design. In this session we define business agility and discuss how the characteristics of each model position a firm for business agility.

 

11:00–11:30 Break 

 

11:30–13:00 Maturing Your IT Governance —Prof. Peter Weill, CISR
While growing numbers of IT and non-IT executives recognize the importance of explicitly assigning IT decision rights and accountabilities, IT governance continues to be a “work in progress” for many companies. New MIT CISR case studies in the U.S., Europe, and Asia have identified how some companies (e.g., BT, Procter & Gamble, Campbell, Exxon Mobil, and PwC) have matured their governance mechanisms achieving great agility. Using these cases and data collected from 640 firms in 2006, Peter will lead a discussion on the IT governance maturity journey and business agility.

 

13:00–14:15 Lunch

 

14:15–15:30 Adoption of Information Technology by Spanish CIOs: 
Facts, Fallacies, and the Role of User Communitites — Prof. Josep Valor, IESE
In this talk we will show that due to the particularities and widespread use of new ICT, traditional ways of explaining IT adoption in companies—rational decision-making, technology diffusion models, and the psychology of the decision maker—are insufficient to explain some observed cases of ICT diffusion. Our research proves that there is a new role played by the user community in the technology adoption process, brought about by factors like the existence of a strong development community in the case of Open Source, or widespread access to Internet technology in some others.

 

15:30–16:00 Break

 

16:00–17:30 Strategic Management of IT Risk — Prof. George Westerman, CISR
Top performing companies manage IT risks as they manage financial risks—to achieve competitive benefits. In this session, George will share highlights from his new book (written with Richard Hunter), IT Risk: Turning Business Threats Into Competitive Advantage. Based on research at more than 150 companies, the book develops concepts like the “Four As” for discussing IT risks in business language and three core disciplines for managing IT risk. Discussion will focus on how effective IT risk management can change the nature of conversations between IT and business managers.

 

17:30–19:00 Networking Reception
Join us to network with other participatns and IESE MBA students. This is a terrific opportunity to find connections through informal conversations about areas of mutual interest.

8:30–9:00 Continental Breakfast

 

9:00–9:05 Introductions —Prof. Peter Weill, CISR

 

9:05–10:30 Architecting Agility —Prof. Jeanne Ross, CISR
IT supports business agility when a firm builds a reusable foundation for business execution, as defined by its enterprise architecture. Enterprise architecture is the organizing logic for business processes and IT infrastructure reflecting the integration and standardization requirements of the company’s operating model. Companies build out their architecture gradually as they mature their busi¬ness processes, IT capabilities, and management competencies. Companies that implement new IT capabilities too rapidly will have a delayed return on their IT investment. Companies that build capabilities too slowly will lack agility. In this session we will describe the four stages of archi¬tecture maturity and discuss how firms can achieve greater business agility through enterprise architecture.

 

10:30–11:00 Break

 

11:00–12:30 IT and Innovation —Prof. George Westerman, CISR
Although IT units house many intelligent and creative people, few CIOs (or their business counterparts) consider their IT units to be effective innovators. MIT CISR case studies have identified firms whose IT executives have overcome managerial and cultural constraints to improve the innovativeness of their IT units and enterprises. In this session, we will discuss a framework that describes how these firms build four types of innovation processes and manage the tensions between those processes. We will examine the implications of this framework for increasing IT innovation. 

 

12:30–13:45 Lunch

 

13:45–15:15 The Future of the CIO —Prof. Peter Weill, CISR
In a recent MIT CISR study on how CIOs allocate their time, we see interesting differences across firms, strategy, and IT organizational maturity. Peter will present findings from this study to support his argument that the role of the CIO is expanding in four different directions. We will then discuss: How do effective CIOs allocate their time? How do senior non-IT executives think CIOs should allocate their time? What are the implications for the IT organization of the mix of activities undertaken by the CIO?

 

15:15–15:45 Break

 

15:45–17.00 Panel Discussion: Globalization and Business Value from IT  Prof. Peter Weill, CISR & Chuck Gibson plus participants
What are the particular issues facing IT in organizations that are extending to or thriving in global operations and relationships? What additional demands are there on infrastructure, governance, organization, and human resources? Can globalization be an opportunity for building the IT support for agility and innovation rather than a barrier? In this closing panel of selected participants from the Forum we will hear and then question and discuss the issues and some paths to resolution.

If you want to make a hotel reservation, the group name at both of the hotels below is “MIT CISR”. Please note that all travel arrangements are the responsibility of the event participant.

 

Hotel AC Victoria Suites
Avgda. Pedralbes, 16
08034 Barcelona
Telephone: (+34) 932 069 900
Fax: (+34) 932 805 267
Email: acvictoriasuites@ac-hotels.com
Web: http://www.ac-hotels.com/home.cfm 
(go to “search hotel”/barcelona/AC Victoria Suites)
Price: 166.5€ +taxes
Cut-off Date: March 27, 2008

 

Hotel Sansi Pedralbes
Avgda. Pearson 1-3
08034 Barcelona
Telephone: (+34) 93 206 38 80
Fax: (+34) 93 206 38 81
Email: pedralbes@sansihotels.com
Web: http://www.sansihotels.com/hotels.php?id=1