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Running head: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGIC PLAN

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGIC PLAN

2

Information Technology Strategic Plan

(Target, Australia)

Executive summary

In this report, the initial planning for Information Technology Strategic Plan of the company named Target is been demonstrated. Their objectives and values towards comprehensive IT strategic planning is further evaluated here. Several factors such as CSF or Critical Success Factors (CSF), KPI or Key Performance Indicator, Return on Investment or ROI and budgets are analyzed here for the case of Target. Apart from that, the entire security and various ethical challenges around IT infrastructure of the organization is also investigated in this study.

Table of Contents
Introduction: 3
Organizational values of Target: 3
Objectives of Target: 4
Demonstrating the comprehensive IT strategic plan for Target: 5
Discussion on various factors: 5
Budget: 5
Return on Investment (ROI): 7
Critical Success Factors (CSF): 8
Key Performance Indicator (KPI): 9
Security Issues: 10
Ethical issues: 11
Conclusion: 11
References: 12

Introduction:
The IT strategy plan indicates to the guiding document for any IT business. This has been defining the entre goals, strategies supporting goals and tactics required for executing the strategies. All the sectors of the plan of IT strategy emphasizes on a single strategy describing particular activities required for implementing the strategy. This can be regarded as project plan of high-level to understand the strategies. The Target is one of the biggest department store chain from Australia. They operate at 284 stores across the nation. The division of Target delivers the employment for more than 13,000 team members around the country and product sourcing in Asia. In the following study, the initial planning for Information Technology Strategic Plan of Target is provided. Further, the organization’s objectives and values towards comprehensive IT strategic plan. Here, different factors like CSF or Critical Success Factors (CSF), Return on Investment or ROI, KPI or Key Performance Indicator and budgets are considered here. Besides, the overall security and different ethical challenges around IT infrastructure of Target is considered here.

Organizational values of Target:
They have been using the product organizational structure. In this framework, their business is been organized in various distinct divisions. All of them has been emphasizing on various services or products and has been seen to be functioning in the form of distinct unit under the business. Within the product-based structure or the divisional structure, Target has been thus assigning their staffs to divisions that are self-contained. This is as per the specific services or products that are produced. This includes the geographical area served by them and customers with whom they deal. It has several layers for the employees and managers and every division or layer possess its individual marketing team, individual sales team and many more. There are specific key functions like human resources or finances are delivered centrally (Cotton and Dark 2017). Thus it can be said that Target’s organizational values has been helpful for the business in focusing on particular segments of markets. Thus they are able to meet the needs of customers in effective manner. In this way expertise or knowledge is extended under specialized divisions and the market changes could be responded more quickly and flexibly. Thus they have been encouraging positive completion between all types of departments. Further, they are able to measure and coordinate the performance of all its Target divisions directly (Seyal 2019). However, they have been facing difficulties in terms of potential and scaling. There have issues in duplicating the resources and functions like various sales team for every division and dispersing technical expertise around smaller units. Further, they have nurturing negative competitions from various divisions. Besides, they have been over-emphasizing the divisional instead of organisational aims. Further, they have losing their central control on every distinct division (Midkiff and Hall 2019).

Objectives of Target:
Firstly, the economies in bulk purchases can be considered. They have been purchasing in huge quantity enjoying economies in trade discounts, transportation cost and price. Secondly, Target have been providing varieties of their products within a roof. This has been catering to overall necessities of customers at a single place. They have never required to move from a place to other to make those purchases. Then, there is convince of choices. Here, customers are able to select good related to their individual choices and various tastes coming from huge varieties of goods that are of various brands and qualities. Next, there is economy of the advertising (Lei 2016). Here, huge scale campaigns of are seen to be undertaken from the end of Target assuring the savings in cost of advertisements. During the same time advertisements of a single department can serve to be the advertisement o various other departments of Target. Further, they have been providing various kinds of services to their customers. It’s some of the vital services are been seen to be free from home delivery, accepting orders over phones, after the sales services, and different facilities such as telegraph services, post, banks, facilities of telephone, restaurants, recreational facilities and rest rooms. Next, they have been employing different specialists (Vidal 2017). Again, Target is been organized as a joint stock company with great finances. Having help of huge funds, they are able to afford for employing specialists to purchase, sell and involve the advertising. Having help of the experts, Target has been able to gain their efficient within their functions. Lastly, there is the costs of lesser selling. The selling per unit for Target has been low on account of huge amount of sales.

Demonstrating the comprehensive IT strategic plan for Target:

Discussion on various factors:

Budget:
Target can derive numerous benefits from their budgeting plan. This formalizes coordination of different activities happening between various departments aligning tasks to the bigger scenario the plan of Target strategy. Thus they are able to deliver assignment of responsibilities of decision making and has been developing the responsibility of the management. Having strong planning in proper place, Target’s every decision has been working for the similar aim. Apart from that, their budget has been developing the evaluation of their performances. Thus they have been providing common base for their discussion regarding how effectively managers has been meeting goals and delivering points of talking that is concerning why real outcomes are viewed from main budget. This has been encouraging every sectors for the business for becoming more effective rolling up to higher efficiencies throughout the company. Creation of effective budget is a daunting task for Target (Hendry and Simamora 2017). This is more than just cracking some numerical values and then throwing that to the team. Taking part in the process of budgeting is vital for communication process of employee managements. This give rise to group acceptance of budgeted aims. They are seen as reasonable and fair by staffs whose performances could be measured against the goals. Process of generating budgets having the team is the scope to hear the idea and opinions of the teams and share vision of Target with them. They must be involved and their buy-ins are to be retrieved. This could be leading higher level of success. Apart from that, technology is important as managing and creating budgets. Having the presence of the current day instant communication and cloud computing, this is simple to manage and develop the budget of the company (Sakul-Ung and Chutimaskul 2017). Having systems enabling usage of dimensions and various containers for separating and distinguishing data permits the development of budget through department, employee or Target division. As it is established, every costs could be related automatically with proper area providing access to the actual data of real-time. Fast analysis can permit more efficient usage of budgets. Besides, the problems could be determined at the initial stage permitting fast resolution (Muhammad and Yafooz 2018). There are many methods of more efficient budgets to be generated. Firstly, they can determine the decision makers of business and then include them to the process of budget creation. Then, they must utilize the technologies for consolidating and coordinating efforts of budgeting with team. Further, Target might generate the budget that could reflect their strategic plan for them. Further, they must be engaged to team for comparing and reviewing budget to reality for highlighting weakness and strengths. Besides, they must be determine problems fast and develop plan to retrieve immediate resolutions (Alamri et al. 2016). Lastly, while moving through process of budget, Target must keep in mind that for them budget is effective tool. This tool can translate the strategies and goals of the Target to dollars. This is the plan and as well-developed can deliver various scopes for working nearer with team for keeping the business on track.

Return on Investment (ROI):
There are some basic phases related to prolonged strategic planning process. At first the present state is to be defined. Target can beginning the process with the strong understanding of the baseline and current state. Here, one can force team in assessing what has been working and what has not been. This phase should be used thoroughly in quantifying the preset health of Target regard ventral operating sectors like systems, data financial operations, consumer or end use and customer systems. For this, they must generate an intended future state. Through following in depth dive to understand the present state, teams should be defining where they needs to lead the business in moving further. Generating further state issues, teams can define the core initiatives, timing, goals, objectives for the 3 to 5 year of timeline. The phase is the scope of defining where Target needs to be and what they require in doing to be getting there. Here, the aim of getting success here includes the application of abilities of assessment framework for defining expertise and skills that they require to gain identified long-term objectives (Victor 2018). Again, they should be using the treatment of gap in moving from present to further state. At this point, Target can know where they intend their business to be and the time in which they can get there. This is important to look at technologies, processes or people are required for gaining further states. The phase is able to define the action plans carefully for guiding those processes. Here, the roadmap is to move forward successfully that can entail the metrics that are quantifiable, charters of disciplined initiative and timeline for multilayer implementation. Then there is the execution of the plan by Target. Before rushing ahead for them, it is vital to assure that every external and internal stakeholders get aligned to and know the strategic planning.
Moreover, one can assure that to enable the abilities are there in supporting the successful deployments. Again, it can help to assure that the new plan needs capabilities and supports for succeeding (Wanaswa, Awino and Ogutu 2017). Next, the investment comprises of standard resources, money, people and time. As far as the time is concerned, Target’s efficient prolonged strategic could never be just one every year event. Again, the management teams are been committed to operate having the strong roadmap that is strategic with investing time within disciplined process across the year for updating the prolonged strategic planning. Further, the people can find the effective strategic plan process balancing integration, accountability and ownership. Few or just one staff member can own coordination of the entire process. Nonetheless, the leaders are accountable individually and various departments and sub-teams are integrated effectively under strategic planning process in long-term. Then, the money must be considered by Target. Here, the internal team should never have every skills or the capacity for establishing and managing with excellent process of strategy development (son 2016). Here, the internal team might never have manage and establish of excellent strategy for process development. The businesses that are strategically oriented might never comprise in that area, they engage and invest external expertise as required.

Critical Success Factors (CSF):
Firstly, the business of Target and the external scenario is to be visualized. It could be done as 5 main sources of CSFs are been assessed. The knowledge of competition and strategies is main factor of the process. Various sources to assess external environment involves the information on suppliers and buyers, trade associations, new articles and assessment of financial overviews and analyzing of reports. As the subsequent manner, developing of the critical success factors could be measured with various observable differences. This has been never the ultimate necessity that they could be measured in quantitative manner. The writing of CSFs as per the observable terms are never enough. Any effective CSF could begin the action verb can demonstrate what is vital in few words that they could. Instances of the action verbs involve the determining, analyzing, monitoring and inspecting. Instances of CSF can begin with action verb for monitoring the supply and demand along with future trends. Those CSFs could be presented in the form of activity (Rezaei et al., 2016). Again, the CSF could be presented in the form of requirement. Here, for example as the sales target of any product is achieved, more assessment can lead towards strong requirements to develop the other product. As the subsequent, Target must find out the path towards measuring whether the SCF or Critical Success Factors are gained. As CSF is been fulfilled, there are scope that the common strategy is successful. Further, Target must consider the suitable precaution for assuring that they projects are measured carefully. For example the common strategy has been doubling the size of their company. Any linked CSF must be on the development at the resent customer base. As CSF is unable to perform well, their strategic aim could be under threat. They must regularly monitor and follow every CSF. Here, the frequency lies on the strategies. The CSF must be linked to revenue or budget could be kept track for every quarter. As the CSF is linked to hiring and recruiting of new personnel, the controlling two times in one year is important (Hernández, Pérez and Silva 2019).

Key Performance Indicator (KPI):
For this, at first Target must consider the CLV or Customer Lifetime Value. The cost minimizing is never just the best method of optimizing their acquisition of customers. Here, the CLV is helpful to look at the value of business to be getting from the relationship of long-term. The performance indicator can narrow down the channels helpful to gain best customers for their best prices. Further, there is CAC or Customer Acquisition Cost. They must divide their overall cost of acquisition by number of customers in timeline that are examined. It is one of the vital metrics under the e-commerce metrics since that is helpful for evaluating the cost efficiency of marketing campaigns. Next, they must consider the customer satisfaction and the retention. This is simple on the surface. The customers must be made happy and they must move to be the customers. There is the argument, that this is more for the value of shareholders than that is for the customers. Here, one can utilize the numerous performance indicators for measuring the CSR. This includes the scores of customer satisfaction and number of customers who are seen to be repeating the purchase (Keller, Daronco and Cortimiglia 2017). Further, there is the NPS or Net Promoter Score. Searching the NPS is best method for indicating the company growth in long-terms. For determining the score of NPS, they must be sending out the quarterly surveys for the customers for seeing how likely that can be recommended to the business to anyone whom they have been knowing. Here, they should be establishing baseline for the initial survey and putting measures helping the people who grow in quarter to quarter (Clarkson 2019). Lastly, the number of customers is to be considered. Same as the profit, the performance indicator is simply straight forward in nature. Through determining amount of customers one have lost or gained, one can again know whether or not they can meet the needs of customers.

Security Issues:
Firstly, there is the problem with remote working. This is a brilliant benefit for mobile systems and workspaces that are cloud-based. This permits the staffs in working with flexible manner from outside Target’s office and leave the business to stay open for the breaches of security. Secondly, there is the improper IT Disposal. Utilizing insecure IT asset disposal process can leave the data of business store to be highly vulnerable. This is because the physical hardware is never tracked accurately and the customers are never sufficiently sanitized. Further, there is the outdated infrastructure. Here, the older and previous operating systems like Windows XP is never advanced sufficiently for protecting devices and data that they store from ever-evolving and modern cyber threats. This includes the updating of the device of the team to the people with latest systems and abilities needed for protecting against the breaches sufficiently to be the primary method of the clients and Target’s business (Cassidy 2016). Further, there is lack of training. Here, the data threats at Target can happen accidentally because the staff member can act with lack of information and training instead of acting is malicious manner. Lastly, there is the malware like ransomware that take over the system. This cab permit the hackers for accessing, erasing and manipulating or selling the data. For avoiding any type of falling to victim towards malware, a backup must be created in hard drive for keeping information protected distinctly from devices. Here, they should be applying the updates in software in regular basis and make use of the antivirus software. Besides, the must remain suspicious of different mails including aps, unsecured websites and links.

Ethical issues:
This includes the proper marketing techniques of and telling the truth of service and products, informing partners, employees and customers of the mission goals and statements of Target. Besides, there should not be any negligence to inform the shareholders of the managerial ethics and situation of the company. Further, there is the insider trading and then hiding the data about investments, acquisitions and mergers. Further, Target should be eradicating unsecured working situations, avoid the technologies and processes jeopardizing safety of public and employees. They must also generate the product safe for customers and waste product usage and any sort of recycling (Galli 2020).

Conclusion:
The aforementioned collaborative approaches must permit Target to seek the best routes and then fasten the users in finding the routes that are less congested. Here, the technology involved can add the value to products. This have been distinct from utilizing IT strategic planning for making the production line to be more effective, service customers better and pay the employees, make calculations and collect data for making decision and running business. This can generate the value to Target’s end customers. His denotes the closet and correct path and upgrade the real time data by changing the path as per quick instruction from Targets higher authority. Hence, it can be said that it is needed to work in technology for IT strategic planning to be at the core of the business and help to conquer and create new markets.

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