IT Governance Case Study

7. IT GOVERNANCE FOR TRANSPARENCY

According to Schwartz (2007), communication managers need to put structures around how organisations align IT strategy with business strategy to demonstrate a strategic fit. This is about ensuring that companies stay on track to achieve their strategies and goals, and implementing good ways to measure IT function’s performance where a framework allows for all stakeholders’ interests to be taken into account and that processes to provide measurable results (Shuptar, 2012). According to Schwartz (2007), an IT governance framework should address key questions such as how the overall efficiency functioning of the IT department is doing, addressing key metrics of management that is needed and what the return of

This is a new mechanism that was not present in previous King Reports (Ferreira, 2007). The governance of IT may impact the organisation as it may require more resources, management and director time to address IT governance and the related procedures and practices (Schwartz, 2007). Thus, IT governance will impact the risk management, assurance and reporting frameworks. This is because the board may have to make decisions impacting on ensuring that IT has a correct agenda, the It function aligns it’s performance to achieve sustainability and implement a framework to It management and governance (Institute of directors, 2009). The King III report also states that the risk committee should address it risks accordingly where there are adequate disaster recovery arrangements in place to protect the organisation. However, it may be debated that not only IT function within the organisation should have governance, but there should also be governance on other functions of the organisation (Ferreira, 2007). Yet, when communication managers are presented with the King III report, there is an integrated approach taken with the governance of an organisation and reporting on that governance. Therefore, communications may use the King III report as a framework to apply principles and procedures that allow for the governance of IT. This governance may produce transparency for the

Thus, compliance is where organisations act responsibility. According to the King III report, mechanisms put in place to ensure the transparency of the organisation may lead to failure it there is no compliance towards those policies and procedures implemented. Thus, compliance towards the framework should form part of the risk management process to ensure sustainability for the organisation. This may impact on the good citizenship of the organisation if there is no compliance to laws, rules, codes and standards. The risk of non-compliance should be identified, assessed and responded to in the risk management process. For example, MJ Management Solutions is a human resources consulting firm that provides small businesses solutions that ensure legal compliance to writing customized employee handbooks to conducting sexual harassment training within the business (Jacoby, 2015). According to Overton de Klerk and Verwey (2013), Communication managers need to ensure that there is a positive public image as this enhances the reputation of the organisation. An example is given by Egurrolla (2015) when an organisation does not follow a certain degree of compliance to legal legislation, policies and regulations a negative pubic image may form which may result in the