北大MBA原文案例库

1、介绍国际大银行在决定对信息技术投资时的考虑要点和他们具体的实HowFinancialFirmsDecideonTechnology施过程。HowFinancialFirmsDecideonTechnology(Abstract)Thefinancialservicesindustryisthemajorinvestorininformationtechnology(IT)intheU.S.economy;thetypicalbankspendsasmuchas15%ofnon-interesteexpensesonIT.Apersistentfindingofresearchintothepe

2、rformanceoffinancialinstitutionsisthatperformanceandefficiencyvarywidelyacrossinstitutions.NowhereisthisvariabilitymorevisiblethanintheoutcomesoftheITinvestmentdecisionsintheseinstitutions.ThispaperpresentstheresultsofanempiricalinvestigationofITinvestmentdecisionprocessesinthebankingindustry.Thepur

3、poseofthisinvestigationistouncoverwhat,ifanything,canbelearnedfromtheITinvestmentpracticesofbanksthatwouldhelpinunderstandingthecauseofthisvariabilityinperformancealongwithpointingtowardmanagementpracticesthatleadtobetterinvestmentdecisions.UsingPCbankingandthedevelopmentofcorporateInternetsitesasth

4、ecasestudiesforthisinvestigation,thepaperreportsondetailedfield-basedsurveysofinvestmentpracticesinseveralleadinginstitutionsHowFinancialFirmsDecideonTechnology(PartOne)信息技术对金融服务业的影响正在增加，不仅仅表现在银行的15%无息开支上，而且对金融服务业的运做和战略也有很强的影响。一个对金融机构的长期研究表明，不同的机构的效率和表现也不同。其决定的因素有以下一些其中的一个因素就是对投资的决定和管理。SBS是一个失败的例子，但

5、是成功的公司也不少。本文注重解答以下的问题：1 .银行对IT投资的评估和管理过程？2 .在对IT的管理过程中，理论和实际操作的结合如何？3.IT投资的管理和银行性能的关系如何？1.0IntroductionInformationtechnology(IT)isincreasinglycriticaltotheoperationsoffinancialservicesfirms.Todaybanksspendasmuchas15%ofnon-interestexpenseoninformationtechnology.Itisestimatedthattheindustrywillspendat

6、least$21.1billiononITin1998,andfinancialinstitutionscollectivelyaccountforthemajorityofITinvestmentintheU.S.economy.Inadditontobeingalargecomponentofthecoststructure,informationtechnologyhasastronginfluenceonfinancialfirmsoperatonsandstrategy.Fewfinancialproductsandservicesexistthatdonotutilizecompu

7、tersatsomepointinthedeliveryprocess,andafirms'informationsystemsplacestrongconstraintsonthetypeofproductsoffered,thedegreeofcustomizationpossibleandthespeedatwhichfirmscanrespondtocompetitiveopportunitiesorthreats.Apersistentfindingofresearchintotheperformanceoffinancialinstitutionsisthatperform

8、anceandefficiencyvarieswidelyacrossinstitutions,evenaftercontrollingforfactorssuchassize(scale),productbreadth(scope),branchingbehaviorandorganizationalform(e.g.stockversusmutualforinsurers;banksversussaving&loans).Giventhecentralrolethattechnologyplaysintheseinstitutions,atleastsomeofthisvariat

9、ionislikelytobeduetovariationsintheuseandeffectivenessofITinvestments.WhilesomeauthorshavearguedthatthevalueofITinvestmenthasbeeninsignificant,particularlyinservices,recentempiricalworkhassuggestedthatITinvestment,onaverage,isaproductiveinvestment.Perhapsmoreimportantly,thereappearstobesubstantialva

10、riationacrossfirms;somefirmshaveveryhighinvestmentsbutarepoorperformers,whileotheresinvestlessbutappeartobemuchmoresuccessful.BrynjolfssonandHittfoundthatasmuchashalfthereturnstoITinvestmentareduetofirmspecificfactors.OnepotentiallyimportantdriverofdifferencesinITvalue,andoffirmperformancemorebroadl

11、y,islikelytobethedecisionandmanagementpeocessedforITinvestments.HorrorstoriesofbadITinvestmentdecisionsabound.Considertheexampleofthenewstrategicbankingsystem(SBS)atBancOne(AmericanBanker1997).BancOneCorp.andElectronicDataSystemsCorp.agreedlastyeartoendtheirjointdevelopmentofthisretailbankingsystema

12、fterspendinganestimated$175milliononit.AsstatedintheAmericanBankerarticle,SBS"wasjustsooverwhelmingandsocompletethatbythetimetheyweregettingtomarket,itwasgoingtotaketoolongtoinstallthewholething,"saidAlanRiegler,principalinErnst&Young'sfinancialservicesmanagementconsultingdivision.

13、However,notallthestoriesarenegative.NewITsystemsareplayingavitalroleinreshapingthedeliveryoffinancialservices.Forexample,newcomputer-telephonyintegration(CTI)technologiesaretransformingcallcenteroperationsinfinancialinstitutions.Byinvestingintechnology,moreandmoreinstitutionsaremovingoperationsfromh

14、igh-costbranchoperationstothetelephonechannel,wherethecostpertransactionisone-tenththecostofatellerinteraction.ThisITinvestmentnotonlyreducesthecostofservingexistingcustomers,butalsoextendsthereachoftheinstitutionbeyonditstraditionalgeographicboundaries.Inthispaper,weutilizedetailedcasestudiesofsixr

15、etailbankstoinvestigateseveralinterrelatedquestions:1 .WhatprocessesdobanksutilizetoevaluateandmanageITinvestments?2 .HowwelldoactualpracticesalignwiththeoreticalargumentsabouthowITinvestmentsshouldbemanaged?3 .WhatimpactdoesthatmanagementofITinvestmentshaveonperformance?HowFinancialFirmsDecideonTec

16、hnology(PartTwo)Forthefirstquestion,wedevelopastructuredframeworkforcatalogingITinvestmentpracticesandthenpopulatethisframeworkusingacombinationofsurveysandsemi-structuredinterviews.WethencomparetheresultsofthisexercisewithasynthesisoftheliteratureonITdecisionmakingtounderstandinghowpracticesvaryacr

17、ossfirmsandtheextenttowhichthisisconsistentwith"bestpractices"asdescribedinpreviousliterature.Finally,wewillcomparetheseprocessestointernalandexternalperformancemetricstobetterunderstandwhichsetsofpracticesappeartobemosteffective.Tomakethesecomparisonsconcrete,weexamineboththegeneraldecisi

18、onprocessaswellasthespecificprocessesusedfortworecentITinvestmentdecisions:theadoptionofcomputer-basedhomebanking(PCbanking),andthedevelopmentofthecorporatewebsite.Thesedecisionswerechosenbecausetheywererecentandarerelatedbutprovidesomecontrast;inparticular,PCbankingisafairlywelldefinedproductinnova

19、tion,whilethecorporatewebpresenceismoreofaninfrastructureinvestmentwhichislesswell-definedintermsofobjectivesandbusinessownership.Overall,wefindthatwhilesomeaspectsofthedecisionprocessarefairlysimilaracrossinstitutionsandoftenconformto"bestpractice"asdefinedbypreviousliterature,therearesev

20、eralareaswherethereislargevariationinpracticeamongthebanksandbetweenactualandtheoreticalbestpractice.Mostbankshaveastrongandstandardizedprojectmanagementforongoingsystemsprojects,andformalstructuresforinsuringthatline-managersandsystemspeopleareincontactattheinitiationoftechnologyprojects.Atthesamet

21、ime,manybankshaverelativelyweakprocesses(bothformalandinformal)foridentifyingnewITinvestmentopportunities,allocatingresourcesacrossorganizationallines,andfundingexploratoryorinfrastructureprojectswithlongtermoruncertainpayoffs.Thereminderofthispaperisorganizedasfollows.Section2describesthepreviousli

22、teratureonperformanceoffinancialinstitutionsandtheeffectsofITonperformance.Section3describesthemethodsanddata.Section4describesthecurrentacademicthinkingonvariouscomponentsofthedecisionprocessandcomparesthattoactualpracticesatthebankswevisited.Section5describestheresultsofourin-depthstudyofPCbanking

23、projectsandthesummary,Section6containsasimilaranalysisfortheCorporateWebSiteanddiscussionandconclusionappearinSection7.HowFinancialFirmsDecideonTechnology(PartThree)2.0PreviousLiterature2.1PerformanceofFinancialInstitutionsTherehavebeenanumberofstudiesthathaveexaminedtheefficiencyofthebankingindustr

24、yandtheroleofvariousfactorssuchascorporatecontrolstructure(typeofboard,directors,insiderstockholdings,etc.),economiesofscale(size),economiesofscope(productbreadth),andbranchingstrategy;seeBerger,KashyupandScalise(1995)andHarkerandZenios(forthcoming)forareviewofthebankingefficiencyliterature.Whilethe

25、reissubstantialdebateastotheroleofthesevariousfactors,thereisoneunambiguousresult:thatmostofthe(in)efficiencyofbanksisnotexplainedbythefactorsthathavebeenconsideredinpriorwork.Forexample,BergerandMester(1997)estimatethatasmuchas65-90%ofthex-inefficiencyremainsunexplainedaftercontrollingforknowndrive

26、rsofperformance.Asimilarstoryalsoappearsininsurancewhere"x-efficiency"variessubstantiallyacrossfirmswhensize,scope,productmix,distributionstrategyandotherstrategicvariablesareconsidered.Ithasbeenarguedthatonemustget"insidetheblackbox"ofthebankotconsidertheroleoforganizational,str

27、ategicandtechnologicalfactorsthatmaybemissedinstudiesthatrelyheavilyonpublicfinancialdata.2.2InformationTechnologyandBusinessValueEarlystudiesoftherelationshipbetweenITandproductivityorothermeasuresofperformanceweregenerallyunabletodeterminethevalueofITconclusively.Loveman(1994)andStrassmann(1990),u

28、singdifferentdataandanalyticalmethodsbothfoundthattheperformanceeffectsofcomputerswerenotstatisticallysignificant.Barus,KriebelandMukadopadhyay(1995),usingthesamedataasLoveman,foundevidencethatITimprovedsomeinternalperformancemetricssuchasinventorytrunover,butcouldnottiethesebenefitstoimprovementsin

29、bottomlineproductivity.Althoughthesestudieshadanumberofdisadvantages(smallsamples,noisydata)whichyieldedimprecisemeasuresofITeffects,thislackofevidencecombinedwithequallyequivocalmacroeconomicananlysesbyStevenRoach(1987)implicitlyformedthebasisforthe"productivityparadox".AsRobertSolow(1987

30、)onceremarked,"youcanseetehcomputerageeverywhereexceptintheproductivitystatistics."MorerecentworkhasfoundthatITinvestmentisasubstantialcontributortofirmproductivity,productivitygrowthandstockmarketvaluationinasamplethatcontainsawiderangeofindustries.BrynjolfssonandHitt(1994,1996)andLichten

31、berg(1995)foundthatITinvestmenthadapositiveandstatisticallysignificantcontributiontofirmoutput.BrynjolfssonandYang(1997)foundthatthemarketvaluationofITcapitalwasseveraltimesthatofordinarycapital.BrynjolfssonandHittalsofoundastrongrelationshipbetweenITandproductivitygrowthandtahtthisrelationshipgrows

32、strongeraslongertimeperiodsareconsidered.Collectively,thesestudiessuggestthatthereisnoproductivityparadox,atleastwhentheanalysisisperformedacrossindustriesusingfirm-leveldata.Thedifferencesbetweentheseresultsandearlierstudiesisprobablyduetotheuseofdatatahtwasrecent,morecomprehensice,andmoredisaggreg

33、ated(firmlevelratherthanindustryoreconomylevel).Mostprevioussutdieshaveconsideredtheeffectsoftechnologyacrossfirmsinmultipleindustries,althoughafewstudieshaveconsideredtheroleoftechnologyinspecificallyinthebankingindustry.SteinerandTeixierasurveyedthebankingindustryandarguedthatwhilelargeinvestments

34、intechnologyclearlyhadvalue,littleofthisvaluewasbeingcapturedbythebanksthemselves;mostofthebenefitswerebeingpassedontocustomersasaresultofintensecompetition.AlparandKimexaminedthecostefficiencyofbanksoverallandfoundthatITinvestmentwasassociatiedwithgreatercostefficiencyalthoughtheeffectswerelessevid

35、entwhenfinancialratioswereusedastheoutcomemeasure.PrasadandHarkereexaminedtherelationshipbetweentechnologyinvestmentandperformancefor47retailbanksandfoundpositivebenefitsofinvestmentsinITstaff.WhilethesestudiesshowastrongpositivecontributionofITinvestmentonaverage,theydonotconsiderhowthiscontributio

36、n(orlevelofinvestment)variesacrossfirms.BrynjolfssonandHittfoundthat"firmeffects"canaccountforasmuchashalfthecontributionofITfoundintheseearlierstudies.Recentresultssuggestthatatleastpartofthesedifferencescanbeexplainedbydifferencesinorganizationalandstrategicfactors.BrynjolfssonandHittfou

37、ndthatfirmsthatusegreateroverallITbenefits.Bresnehan,BrynjolfssonandHittfoundasimilarresultforfirmsthathavegreaterlevelsofskillsandthosethatmakegreaterinvestmentsintrainingandpre-employmentscreeningforhumancapital.Inaddition,strategicfactorsalsoappeartoaffectthevalueofIT.FirmsthatinvestinITtocreatec

38、ustomervalue(e.g.improveservice,timeliness,convenience,variety)havegreaterperformancethanfirmsthatinvestinITtoreducecosts.WhilethesestudiesarebeginingtoexplorehowtheperformanceofITinvestmentvariesacrossfirm,particularlyduetoorganizationalandstrategicfactors,littleattentionhasbeenpaidtothetechnologyd

39、ecisionmakingprocess.HowFinancialFirmsDecideonTechnology(PartFour)2.3IT Investment DecisionsWhilethereisnoconcisedefinitionof"bestpractice"inITinvestmentdecisions,thereareanumberofconsistentargumentsadvancedintheITmanagementliteraturethatcanbesynthesizedintoanunderstandingoftheconventional

40、wisdom.ForthepruposesofdiscussionitisusefultosubdividetheprocessofITmanagementintosevendiscrete,butinterrelatedprocesses.Thefirstsixprocessesareorientedaroundtheproposal,developmentandmanagementofITprojects,whilethelastprocessisaboutmaintainingthecapabilitiesoftheITfunctionanditsinterrelationshipswi

41、ththerestofthebusiness:1.1 dentificationofITopportunities2 .Evaluatingopportunities3 .ApprovingITprojects4 .Themake-buydecision5 .ManagingITprojects6 .EvaluatingITprojects7 .ManageandDeveloptheITFunctionThissubdivisionlooselycorrespondstomanyofthemajorissuesinITmanagementsuchasoutsourcing,linemanage

42、ment-ITalignment,softwareprojectmanagement,andevaluatingITinvestments.Inaddition,thislistlooselycorrespondstoframeworksforthemanagementofIT.TheprimarydifferenceisthatthislistviewstheITmanagementprocessasmanagingastreamofprojectsratherthanfocusingonthefunctionoftheITdepartmentoverallortheroleoftheCIO

43、,thetypicalperspectiveinthepreviousliterature.Forexample,acommonframeworkusedtoalignITtobusinessstarategy,thecriticalsuccessfactors(CSF)method,includethreeworkshops:thefirsttoidentifyandfocusobjectives,thesecondtodecideandprioritizeonsystemsinvestment,andthethirdtodevelop,deployandreevaluateprototyp

44、esystems.Boynton,JacobsandZmud(1992)identifyfivecriticalITmanagementprocesses:settingstrategicdirection,establishinginfrastructuresystems,scanningtechnology,transferringtechnologyanddevelopingsystems.Rockart,EarlandRoss(1996)proposeeightimperativesfortheITorganizationwhichcanbegroupedintomanagingthe

45、IT-businessrelationship,buildingandmanagingsystemsandinfrastructure,managingvendors,andcreatingahighperformanceITorganization.Thus,whilepreviousworkhassubdividedtheprocessindifferentways,collectivelythestudiescoverallthesevenprocessesweexamine.Wewilldiscusseachoftheindividualpointsindetailbelow.2.3.

46、1 IdentificantofOpportunitiesHistorically,theITfunctionwasprimarilyreactive,respondingtorequestsbybusinessunits.Abusinessunit.Abusinessunitmanagerwouldidentifyaneedforanewsystemorarepair/enhancementtoanexistingsystemandcommunicatethisneedtotheITfunction.TheITpersonnelwouldthenevaluatetheideafortechn

47、icalfeasibilityanddevelopaprojectproposalincludeaninitialdeterminationofresourceneeds,cost,anddeliverytime.WhilethismakeseffectiveuseofITpersonnelinevaluatingparticularideas,itprovidesonlyalimitedroleforITpersonneltoaidintheidentificationoftechnology-basedbusinessopportunities.Forthatreason,someauth

48、orshavesuggestedthattheITfunctionshouldplayalargerroleintheidentificationoftechnologicalopportunities.Forexample,DavenportandShort(1990)emphasizethatITcapabilitiesshouldinformbusinessneedsaswellasthebusinessunitsplacingdemandsontheITfunction.Fockart,EarlandRossandBoynton,JacobsandZmudidentifytherole

49、of"technologyscanning"and"technologyeducation"asanimportantcomponentofacentralizedITdepartment;theyarguethatinformationsystemsspecialistsshouldbereponsibleforevalustingnewtechnologiesforbusinessapplicabilitysincebusinessunitswillgenerallylacktheresourcesorthetechnologicalcapabili

50、tytoperformtheseevaluationsthemselves.Moreover,centralITisbestpositionedtoeducatetheendusestomakethemgood"custmers"ofthecentralITgroup.Inthebankingindustry,ITmaybeabletoplayanadditionalroleincoordinatingtechnology.Becausebanksandotherfinancialfirmsareoftenmanagedwithlargelyautonomousbusine

51、ssunits(forexample,banksareoftendividedintoproductlines-cashmanagement,investment-oralongcustomersegments-wholesale,commercial,retail)onlythecentralITfunctionwillhaveaperspectiveovertheporfolioofsystemsprojectsandcapabilities.OnecriticalroleinthisrespectistheprovisionanddevelopmentofthesharedITinfra

52、structure(e.g.centralprocessors,networks,softwarestandards,etc.).OftentheseprojectsnaturallyspanbusinessunitssuchthattheonlyralowneristheITfunction;alsotheygenerallytendtobehighlytechnicalandthusthenaturalresponsibilitywouldalsofallontheITdepartment.HowFinancialFirmsDecideonTechnology(PartFive)2.3.2

53、 EvaluatingOppoutunitiesOnceaprojectisatleastinitiallydefined,thereisaprocessbywhichtheinitialideaisconvertedintoaproposalthatcanbeevaluatedbymanagementforapprovalorrejectionoffunding.Inthelasttenyears,ithasbecomemoreorlessstandardpracticestodevelopabusinesscaseorbusinessplanforanysubstantialITinves

54、tment(somesmallmaintenanceprojectsaresimplydoneonrequest),althoughthecontent,sophisticationandformalityofthisprocessvariedsubstantially.Themosttypicaloftheseprojectproposals(assumingamid-sizetolargeproject)taketheformofabusinessplanwhichincludesaqualitiativedescriptionoftheobjectives,competitiveenvi

55、ronment,adescriptionoftheopportunityand,insomecases,animplementationplan.Whiletheformoftheseplansvarieswidely,therearesomegeneralpointsofcomparison.Forthequalitativeportion,themajorissueiswhethertheplanexplicitlyaddresseschangesinthebusinessenvironment,orisprimarilyinwardfocused.Forminorsystemsenhan

56、cementprojectswithnostrategicobjective(orevenmajorinvestmentsthatarenotstrategicsuchasyear2000repairs),itmakessensefortheplantofocusentirelyoninternalissues.However,totheextentthattheinvestmentismadeforcompetitivereasonsorislikelytospurareactionfromcompetitors,itisimportanttoqualitativelyevaluatewhe

57、therthebusinessenvironmentwillremainstaticand,ifnot,examinepossiblescenariosthatarelikelytooccur.TheassumptionofastaticbusinessenvironmentisacommondecisionbiasthatcanparticularlyplaguestrategicITinvestments;Clemens(1991)termsthisthe"trapofthevanishingstatusquo".Forthequantativefinancialeva

58、luation,mostITevaluationmethodshavetheirrootsintraditionalcapitalbudgetingproceduressuchasdiscountedcashflowanalysis(DCF).However,whilethesetechniquescanworkwellforprojectswherecostsandbenefitsarwelldefined(e.g.purchasingoff-the-shelfsoftwareinpursuitofoperationalcostsavings),itisincreasinglyrecogni

59、zedthatsimpleapplicationofDCFapproachesisnotsufficientforITinvestments.ThisisbecausemuchofthevalueofmodernITinvestmentsislikelytobedifficulttoquantify-suchasrevenueenhancementsorcostsavingsthroughimprovedcustomerservice,productvariety,ortimeliness.Onecommonlyusedstategyistovaluenon-quantifiablebenefitsatzero,althoughthisstrategywillsystematicallybiasprojectevaluationstounnecessarilyrejectprojects.RecognizingthelimitationoftheDCFapproach,severalalternativeapproacheshavebeenproposed.Onemethodistobasetghecaseentirelyonqualitativeanalysis;unfortunately,thisapproachof