Information Technology Management for Armstrong World Industries
Introduction
Armstrong World Industries will be the organization used for this Information Technology (IT) management case study. It is a well known and reputable global leader in the designing and manufacturing of floors and ceilings established in the 1860’s based out of Lancaster, PA. The company’s combined net sales from long-lasting operations total approximately $2.7 billion dollars operating in thirty-two (32) plants in eight (8) countries with a roughly about 8,500 employees worldwide.
Armstrong World Industries markets the most extensive portfolio of floor products available commercially and residentially to include laminate, linoleum, hardwood, tile, vinyl sheet, bio-based tile and ceramic. Their company currently focuses on 90% commercial segment and 10% residential. In addition to flooring the company is also one of the pinnacle providers of cabinetry in the United States generating $3.4 billion dollars in revenue in the year 2006. Armstrong World Industries has maintained a substantial net worth with increases and decreases by small augmentation allowing the company to remain in a steady pace of continued existence [2].Armstrong World Industries primary competitors are Deswell Industries, Core Molding Technologies, and Tupperware Corporations. The competition has affected the development rate and existing revenues of the company to include productivity effectiveness. Due to the changing market and competition Armstrong World Industries has focused on the application and practices of Information Technology (IT) to take on their rivals by taking competitive advantages using their in-house and external resources [3].
Business System Plan
The Information Technology (IT) management plan will be a valuable tool for Armstrong World Industries because it provides the company with useful and effective information that is essential in the allotment of IT resource and funds on their investments. An IT plan will allow the business to understand the current positioning of their IT situation that will help them understand their future short and long term goals so that they can use the proper strategy in supporting their mission and their primary objective.
Paul Stresemann mentions in his model of information management that the key to management effectiveness is productivity. His starting point in the progress of some challenging measures of the information within an organization is that: "without productivity objectives a business does not have direction; without productivity measurements it does not have control." His argument is that for an organization to accomplish information superiority the company must have a complete understanding of their assets, the value of the companies’ information, how the information is being put into practice and the reasonable cost of its information technology [3]
Governance
Armstrong World Industries corporate governance is to embrace the values embodies in the company’s operating principles, for example, respect for people, diversity, integrity, customer service and shareholder focus, therefore, taking corporate governance far-reaching. The issues of IT management within Armstrong World Industries are that the configuration is frail meaning that there is no distinct process for enterprise information technology. …
