Global IT Management

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Major Dimensions

Global IT
Management

Cultural, Political,
And Geoeconomic
Challenges

Business/IT Application Technology Data System

Strategies Portfolios Platforms Management Development

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Need Issues in Globalization- Political Challenges

• Regulations
– In many countries rules prohibit transfer of
data across their national boundaries
– Certain countries restrict import of hardware
& software
– In India there is a restriction on the
maximum bandwidth
– Licensing
– Taxation

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Need Issues in globalization- Geoeconomic Challenges

• Effects of geography on the economic

realities of international business activities.
• Distances- IT specialist might require more
time to reach a remote site if some technical
problem occurs.
• Time zones-affects the communications
severely
• Skilled labor, labor cost, and cost of living
etc. are some of the geoeconomic challenges
that a company faces when it goes global.

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Need Issues in globalization- Cultural Challenges

• Difference in languages, religions,

customs, cultural interests etc.
Some examples
• In Germany a vendor cannot accept
payment via credit card until two weeks
after the order has been sent
• Yon cannot display Swastika on computer
screen in Germany.
• Chinese are accustomed to pay cash in
advance for business services.

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 Global Company?
Business delivery
system highly
sensitive to local
customer needs
Serves local
customers with
Global Strategy excellence

All the activities are

treated in whole-
world system
Serves global
customers with
excellence
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IT Strategies for Global Business

Do we need to use
IT to support our
company’s
international
business
operations?

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Possible Approaches
• Multinational Strategies-foreign
subsidiaries operate autonomously
• International Strategies-foreign
subsidiaries are autonomous but are
dependent on headquarters for new
processes, products and ideas
• Global Strategies-where company’s world
wide operations are closely managed by
corporate headquarters
• Transnational Strategies-global business
activities are integrated with the help of IT.

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International Strategies

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 Global Strategies
Global Strategies
•Global sourcing
•Multiregional
•Horizontal integration
•Some transparency of
customers and production
•Some cross regionaltization.
JIM Dharmendra Arora
IT Characteristics
•Regional decentralization
•Interface dependent
•Some consolidation of
applications and use of common
systems
•Reduced duplication of
operations
•Some worldwide IT standards
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 International Strategies
Transnational Strategies
•Virtual operations via global
alliances
•World markets and mass
customization
•Global order fulfillment and
customer service
•Transparent manufacturing
•Global sourcing and logistics
•Dynamic resource management
JIM Dharmendra Arora
IT Characteristics
•Logically consolidated,
physically distributed, network
connected.
•Common global data resources
•Integrated systems
•Internet, intranet, extranet
applications
•Transnational IT policies and
standards
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IT Applications for Global Business

• Depends on
– Business & IT Strategies
– Expertise & experience in IT
– Global business drivers
• Customers—airlines
• Products—coke, pepsi
• Operations—BPO
• Resources—software development, garments
• Collaboration

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Global IT Platforms

• IT platforms means technology

infrastructure i.e h/w, s/w,
networks etc.
• Affected by technical complexity
(compatibility), political and
cultural influences.

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Global Data Issues & Global System Development

• Regulations related to
transborder data flows.
• Global data management and
standardization of data.
• Developing, implementing and
developing global systems

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System Development Strategies

• Transform an application used by

home office into a global
application.
• Multinational development team
• Parallel development
• Centers of excellence

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