Exec Ed Program For IT And Business Managers On Marrying Strategies For Success

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA (June 5, 2008) – Penn State Executive Programs is offering a weeklong executive education program this month to explore how to better align IT strategies and infrastructures with business functions and needs to produce better business results.

"The Enterprise Technology Strategist: Aligning IT & Business Strategies" will be held June 23 to 27 at Penn State's University Park campus. Top faculty from Penn State's Smeal College of Business and College of Information Sciences and Technology along with technology experts from Gartner will provide best-practice tools and implementation processes for achieving immediate results.

The course provides a unique platform for individuals from business and IT functions to come together in a collaborative process. The results-oriented program is specifically designed to help participants—on both the IT and business side— make informed decisions about where to invest resources, where to realign organizational goals and processes, and what policies and procedures will support core missions or business functions.

"Aligning IT and corporate strategies is crucial for organizations to reap the high-potential value of IT and gain a competitive advantage," said Smeal Dean James B. Thomas, professor of information sciences and management and a faculty leader for the program. "Fitting technology, structures, processes, and skills to match strategic alignment isn’t just crucial to exploit their full potential but may be necessary for survival."

Other faculty presenters include Albert A. Vicere, executive education professor of strategic leadership at Smeal, and Joseph L. Cavinato, professor of supply chain management at Thunderbird. Scott Bittler, research vice president in Gartner's Business of IT Research Division, and Bruce Robinson, research vice president in Gartner's Enterprise Planning and Architecture Strategies Group, are also among the program's faculty.

The program delves into all aspects of IT and organizational alignment—from strategy and infrastructure issues to those surrounding external alliances and partnerships.  Other topics include: 

• Processes for the management and governance of IT in relation to business strategy
• Constructing an adaptive architecture
• Aligning IT strategy and infrastructure
• Defining and designing competitive organizational strategies and architectures
• Understanding the role of enterprise program management
• Exploring technological and business changes that are transforming inter-business relationships

Complete details and registration information is available on the Web site for "The Enterprise Technology Strategist: Aligning IT & Business Strategies."

About Penn State Executive Programs
Penn State Executive Programs, the executive education division of Penn State's Smeal College of Business, has been serving the development needs of the world's business leaders since 1954, providing both open-enrollment and custom programs. Nearly 36,000 executives from 43 different nations have participated in programs on topics ranging from strategic leadership to supply chain management.

Penn State Executive Programs was recently ranked as the No. 1 provider in the world of customized executive education programs by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the research arm of The Economist magazine publisher. The EIU also awarded Penn State Executive Programs its Award of Excellence for open-enrollment programs, making Smeal the only U.S. provider to be rated excellent in both categories.

More on all the offerings of Penn State Executive Programs can be found on its Web site.