1. Although the organizational and technology environments within any company must interrelate, they are distinctly different. The organizational environment tends to be more traditional and to follow neatly compartmentalized organization structures and activities, whereas the technology environment is characterized by more of a ômaverickö identity. It is typical for the technology department in many companies to have a different dress code and other unique guidelines that do not apply to the rest of the company.
One reason for the difference between the two is that the organizational environment can fit within rigidly specified parameters, whereas the technology environment must be more flexible and creative in order to solve the continual stream of new and different problems that arise. Furthermore, where organizational departments are more often 9-to-5Æers, the technology department is usually on call for emergencies 24/7. Organizational departments can fit personnel into job descriptions more neatly than the technology department can, for the simple reason that in technology there is more collaboration and overlap.
Recent trends in both the organizational and technology departments reflect an increase in globalization. In the organizational environment, this means more remote communication and a need to standardize corporate departments across global boundaries. For the technology, department it has meant increased use of Internet, wireless/mobile devices, and software that facilitates collaborative problem-solving.
2. ôIT governance is the term used to describe how those persons entrusted with governance of an entity will consider IT in their supervision, monitoring, control and direction of the entity. How IT is applied within the entity will have an immense impact on whether the entity will attain its vision, mission or strategic goalsö (Board Briefing on IT Governance 2003). IT governance is what ensure...