Papers by stephen mclaughlin
Design/methodology/approach: The research will follow a critical research approach, with the init... more Design/methodology/approach: The research will follow a critical research approach, with the initial theory concerning the breakdown of the criteria for innovative capability being developed from a case study on how the migration to a service-orientated environment is creating new challenges for the stimulation of the organizations innovative capability. The emergent framework will then be tested, and refined through a series of practical assessments within other organizations.
Electronic Medical Record (EMR) adoption can be challenging for many hospitals. To address this c... more Electronic Medical Record (EMR) adoption can be challenging for many hospitals. To address this challenge -Intel Corporation, HIMSS Analytics USA/Europe and Innovation Value Institute have researched a management approach called Healthcare IT Maturity Model (HIT-MM). This approach better equips a hospital to strategize, implement and run electronic medical record (EMR) and general IT services. It involves the joint tracking of EMR adoption levels and maturity of IT capabilities. This allows a hospital to identify the next step in EMR adoption, together with the necessary IT capabilities to plan, implement and run those EMR services. Results highlight specific IT capabilities are of paramount importance for hospitals to achieve and effectively run higher levels of EMR adoption.
I would also like to thank my fellow Executive PhD research students, without whose assistance, i... more I would also like to thank my fellow Executive PhD research students, without whose assistance, in gaining access to their organizations, the data gathering phase of the research would have taken a lot longer. Special thanks also to Eddie Hosey and Dr Susan Wheatley for pouring over my draft thesis. Their attention to detail was much appreciated. No acknowledgement would be complete without recognising the immense effort of self-control exhibited by my two young sons, Ewan and Finn. The number of times they had the opportunity to turn off the computer, whilst I was working on my research, but didn't... words cannot express my continued gratitude, and amazement. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the support and encouragement provided by my wife, Mia. Mia has been a constant source of strength throughout the research process, and I could not imagine completing the PhD without her support. List of Contents.
There is a vast array of IT performance-improving frameworks on the market. So why choose the ITC... more There is a vast array of IT performance-improving frameworks on the market. So why choose the ITCMF? Well, the first thing to realise is that the IT-CMF is not a replacement for existing frameworks. All good practitioners will tell you, it’s about selecting the right framework for the job. In order to understand the IT-CMF's position in the framework landscape, and its real value to the CIO, we must first explore the different roles capability-centric and process-centric frameworks have in terms of supporting organizational performance.
In relation to product-driven research and development, the subject of innovation within service ... more In relation to product-driven research and development, the subject of innovation within service sector industries appears to have been somewhat neglected [1]. To date, the emerging economies have tended to build their economic success upon their ability to manufacture product and secure commodities at a greatly reduced cost. As these economies develop, they too are investing in the service sector. As we speak, both India and China are producing graduates, technological infrastructures, and service capability: these large developing economies will not stand still and allow the developed economies to monopolise the high-value-add end of the service exchange – the knowledge creation and transfer process [2][3]. Service innovation, through the application of service science, offers service providers and manufacturers a means of securing knowledge leadership.
Organizations that innovate will continue to achieve success and innovation around products and s... more Organizations that innovate will continue to achieve success and innovation around products and services is certainly of value, but high-order innovation can provide more substantial, economic long-term benefits – especially if it is shared across a sector, or a group of collaborators. This leads to the next question – how ready are Irish organizations to engage in open innovative practices? One thing is for certain; Ireland is starting out from a very strong base position. The question is can we stop viewing other organizations as competitors, and more as collaborators? This is the challenge facing Irish industry.
A significant aspect of any organization’s IT operation is the delivery of its portfolio of servi... more A significant aspect of any organization’s IT operation is the delivery of its portfolio of services. There are very effective frameworks, such as ITIL, to help organizations understand what service management processes need to be put in place. However, having service management processes in place is not necessarily the same as having a Service Management Capability (SMC). As organizations are impacted more and more by the increasingly dynamic nature of the marketplace, it is becoming imperative that they better understand how their infrastructure and resources are aligned to operate in a dynamic, changing environment. The ISO/IEC 20000 standard helps organizations assess whether they have the correct processes embedded. By linking the ISO/IEC 20000 standard to IT-CMF, organizations can now – via IVI’s Service Management Capability Assessment – assess their maturity against each of the key processes across the ISO/IEC 20000 standard. If the organization feels it needs to improve its...
Irrespective of their size or sector, most small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), thanks to t... more Irrespective of their size or sector, most small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), thanks to technological innovation, affordability, and accessibility, find themselves competing in a competitive global environment. However, unlike many of the established multinational organizations also operating in the same sectors, SMEs are acutel y impacted by a scarcity of resources, be they finance, sk ills, equipment, etc. What becomes a key factor not only fo r survival but also success is how organizations effectively id entify the necessary resources, and then put them to work in building a successful, responsive, and comp etitive business.
Change is the order of the day. Organizations, as they focus on survival, realize that the abilit... more Change is the order of the day. Organizations, as they focus on survival, realize that the ability to sense and respond to changes in the competitive marketplace is a strategic imperative. The nature and scope of these changes can be difficult to predict, but one thing is assured; to successfully respond to competitive forces organizations continually have to challenge and modify their existing practices, processes, and cultural norms. This white paper examines how managing the impact and disruptive nature of transformational change should be considered across the entire organization, and how engaging with the IT-CMF can help bring an objective view and clarity to defining what needs to be done. Whilst the IT-CMF does not replace the need for an organization-wide understanding of the nature of change, the framework will complement the implementation of change by providing a clear and objective view of what needs to be achieved, and how to achieve it, thereby enabling successful impl...
Developing a competitive advantage, for any organization, is a key business imperative. Without s... more Developing a competitive advantage, for any organization, is a key business imperative. Without some form of competitive advantage it is very difficult to compete within today's highly dynamic market place. In order to develop competitive advantages organizations must focus on identifying and building their core capabilities. As technology's influence is now pervasive throughout every aspect of organizational life organizations must consider the role their IT based capabilities play in shaping their competitive capabilities as a whole. This briefing will look at the importance of identifying and managing IT capabilities, and how the IT-CMF can help achieve this.
No one would argue that change is becoming a necessary part of organizational life. A successful ... more No one would argue that change is becoming a necessary part of organizational life. A successful business model now requires better matching between the capabilities of the organization and the competitive environment. This brings many challenges for organizations, both large and small, but in the case of SMEs the ability to sense and respond to changes and opportunities within the market will be acutely impacted by a continuous struggle to acquire the right resources. For many SMEs technology can be a game-changer in terms of developing a sense and respond capability. Through better resource management, SMEs can develop the necessary capabilities to help drive their business models in becoming successfully competitive.
The 21st century service organisation requires a new kind of professional engineer The transition... more The 21st century service organisation requires a new kind of professional engineer The transition from traditional manufacturing, technology, or product-focused industries to customer-focused service industries has not been, nor is, easy, and a key factor in its successful achievement is a new kind of professional engineer, writes Dr Stephen McLaughlin, FIET The reasons for this are many, and in certain cases sector specific. However, two major reasons are the way we view service-led customer engagements, and the way we develop the mechanisms to get our offerings to the customer.
This research project was launched by the European Commission Directorate General for Enterprise ... more This research project was launched by the European Commission Directorate General for Enterprise and Industry as part of the European Commission’s on-going e-skills agenda. The specific objective of WP5 is to develop proposals for a pan-European institutional and governance framework for the ICT profession, and as such it is also part of an on-going initiative to mature ICT Professionalism in Europe. This work builds on earlier work undertaken in the 2012 IVI/CEPIS study on a European ICT Professionalism Framework (Mclaughlin et al., 2012) and will be followed by a research project which aims to identify a sustainable operating model for the promotion of ICT professionalism in Europe (European Commission, 2013). The current project aims to support the development of a European institutional and governance framework for ICT professionalism, with the goal of enhancing professionalism and mobility across Europe. The proposed framework has been developed iteratively in conjunction with ...
The Small and Medium sized Enterprise (SME) sector is acknowledged as a fundamental component in ... more The Small and Medium sized Enterprise (SME) sector is acknowledged as a fundamental component in the success and growth of any economy. Given the very difficult global economic conditions we are faced with, it is essential that this sector is supported and continues to thrive. In tandem with these difficult economic conditions, monumental technological advances are happening almost on a daily basis. These advances impact and change how businesses need to operate and SMEs must keep abreast of these advances and better understand how to remain competitive in such a difficult and fast moving environment. Given the resource constraints such as time and access to finance that are inherent in the smaller firm, maintaining this competitive edge proves increasingly difficult. This paper seeks to examine the key IT business challenges facing SMEs in this current climate and the respective IT capabilities that firms are most interested in seeing improvements in. This is done through employing...
The criticality of SMEs to the recovery and stability of world economies is paramount. Yet, growi... more The criticality of SMEs to the recovery and stability of world economies is paramount. Yet, growing and sustaining competitiveness in a business landscape characterised by dynamic market forces is undoubtedly challenging. Nonetheless, the increasing pervasiveness of globalization and ICT diffusion and innovation over the past decade, and the resulting changes in how companies now need to operate, have paved the way for smaller, more agile enterprises to compete with well established organizations. A more level playing field has emerged, with some individuals arguing that SMEs are now better positioned to gain maximum benefit from recent technological advances due to their greater agility comparative to that of larger organizations. However, technology in itself is not sufficient to acquire a competitive edge in today’s dynamic markets. Hence, how can SMEs turn the potential benefits of recent technological advances into a sustainable competitive advantage? Or, to put it another way,...
European Management Journal, 2008
The past decade has seen, in response to the growth in service industries, increasing interest in... more The past decade has seen, in response to the growth in service industries, increasing interest in what has been termed services science and innovation. This embryonic research field has been promoted by far sighted enterprises, government agencies and academics, the basic premise being that for far too long we have concentrated on the study and practice of physical and aesthetic innovation: designed to add value through maintaining end product leadership. Services science embodies and marshals a multidisciplinary approach: science, engineering and management; in an effort to address and build upon complex service related opportunities. A subset , or possibly the driving force, of services science, is services innovation: dealing not so much with the end product but rather with the support, development and delivery of services: that are now the lifeblood of our developed economies. This paper provides a brief overview of services science and innovation, articulating a case for ensuring that we do not, in our pursuit of sustained competitive advantage and short-term economic growth, adopt a too narrowly defined and puritanical view of innovation and ignore the importance of the service exchange. Sustainable growth, we argue, is based upon identifying, supporting and nurturing meaningful service exchanges that exploit, develop and embody value added knowledge transfer within and across industry. It is time to broaden the services innovation debate in an effort to reach the many practitioners, academics and policy makers not as yet engaged with this exciting now field.
F.4.15 CEN Standardisation on Foundational ICT Body of Knowledge metamodel (CEN) F.4.16 Research ... more F.4.15 CEN Standardisation on Foundational ICT Body of Knowledge metamodel (CEN) F.4.16 Research on meta-framework for Specialist BoKs (European Commission) F.4.17 Research into meta-model for ethics (European Commission) F.4.18 National Alignment to Ethics Meta-model (Multi-stakeholder) F.4.19 Ethics-Promotion / Adoption (Multi-stakeholder) F.4.20 Ongoing Industry Engagement
and (re)distribution of labour, different skill sets are required in different regions of the wor... more and (re)distribution of labour, different skill sets are required in different regions of the world. New technologies are demanding changes in the type of skills required. Global sourcing has led to some ICT work being offshored to countries outside of Europe with cost reduction as a key driver. Now the type and scope of work that is offshored is more complex, and increasingly involves higher level skills as organisations use offshoring to gain access to specific capabilities that may be in short supply locally or onshorebut with cost savings still expected. There are different types of skills with different levels of complexity offshored, with a correspondingly high level of variety in the skill sets offshored. In most cases the skills which are offshored are those relating to activities that can be delivered remotely and where face-to-face interaction with the end customer is less important. In this respect, IDC forecasts on offshore spending suggest that application-related activities will continue to dominate in terms of the use of offshore facilities in the near future. As offshore service delivery matures, there is increasing emphasis on delivering more advanced services and higher productivity by standardising processes and increasing automation where possible. 'Process factories' for example break down the components of processes so they can be redistributed logically and physically to gain economies of scale and geographic reach, reuse of assets for multiple clients or functions, and the use of non-human assets (software, process models, etc.) to automate processes as much as possible. Cloud technology, together with standardisation and automation, is playing an important role in global sourcing delivery, helping organisations transform to a new model for consuming ICT and business process tasks and services. This multi-faceted approach to sourcing is important, as it underlines an important shift in the strategies of many offshore providers. For example, while US and European ICT services companies have expended in India and other Asian countries for a long time, the largest Indian offshore providers have established more recently near-shore centres in Eastern and Western Europe, hiring local staff in order to support local customers and thereby reflecting the importance of "being close to the customer" for some key skills. Clearly, this also has important repercussions for the types of skills that are likely to be in demand in Europe to support the local customer base. Reflecting the radical changes in ICT technologies, growth is witnessed in skill sets such as cloud computing, social computing, mobile computing, and Big Data. Table , derived from a survey of senior ICT executives, shows how demand for certain skill sets is likely to grow, and which skills are most and least likely to be offshored.
Information Systems Management, 2014
ABSTRACT This exploratory paper tests the applicability of existing cloud computing adoption mode... more ABSTRACT This exploratory paper tests the applicability of existing cloud computing adoption models, targeted primarily towards larger organizations, in supporting Irish Small-and-Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in transitioning to the cloud computing environment. Further, the paper examines benefits realized from cloud adoption. Based on a quantitative research approach, the study’s findings indicate that existing cloud adoption frameworks are not suitable ‘as is’ for the SME market. This provides strong justification for developing SME-specific frameworks for managing cloud migration.
Journal of Knowledge Management, 2008
PurposeThe purpose of this research is to examine the manner in which employees access, create an... more PurposeThe purpose of this research is to examine the manner in which employees access, create and share information and knowledge within a complex supply chain with a view to better understanding how to identify and manage barriers which may inhibit such exchanges.Design/methodology/approachAn extensive literature review combined with an in‐depth case study analysis identified a range of potential transfer barriers. These in turn were examined in terms of their consistency of impact by an end‐to‐end process survey conducted within an IBM facility.FindingsBarrier impact cannot be assumed to be uniform across the core processes of the organization. Process performance will be impacted upon in different ways and subject to varying degrees of influence by the transfer barriers. Barrier identification and management must take place at a process rather than at the organizational level.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings are based, in the main, on an extensive single company stu...
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Papers by stephen mclaughlin