Organizational Politics

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the article, "The CIO Who Admitted Too Much", by Evan Shuman, in which he addresses the issue of Overstock.com's CIO, Shawn Shwegman. It analyzes the fact that Shwegman wrote a letter admitting his own failure as CIO in creating effective databases to handle all of the company's administrative demands. The paper discusses his admission and the wisdom of his honesty.

From the Paper:

"Once again however, the issue focuses on projected as opposed to actual problems. Shuman's article asserts that there have been no problems to date with the update of the Oracle system. While Shwegman did focus on his own accountability for existing problems, he does the same for projected problems. I do not believe that this was necessary, even if the letter was unintentionally leaked. In taking responsibility for projected future problems, Shwegman made matters appear worse than they actually were. I therefore believe that Shwegman was unwise in two respects. Firstly, he focused only on the negative effects of his company's current system rather than also focusing on success. Secondly, he projected problems rather than solutions, in this way unnecessarily causing concern among stakeholders and partners. While accountability is important, it is also important to handle this with responsibility and consideration."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Goldsmith, Neal M. (1995, Feb). The Politics of Information Management. Business Technology, Volume 2. http://www.Strassmannn.com/pubs/goldsmith.html)
• Shuman, Evan (2005). The CIO Who Admitted Too Much. Ziff Davis Internet. http://www.cioinsight.com/article2/0,1540,1852559,00.asp
• Strassmannn, Paul A. (2005, July 8). Check: How to Verify if You are Important. Ziff Davis Internet. http://www.cioinsight.com/article2/0,1540,1849919,00.asp

More papers on Organizational Politics:

• Term Paper # 149618 : "Organizational Politics and IT Decision-Making"
• Essay # 38820 : "Organizational Politics"
• Argumentative Essay # 75652 : "Organizational Politics and Power"
• Analytical Essay # 6529 : "Influence, Power and Politics in Business Organizations"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: