Systemic is Governance: An Introduction

Abstract

Governance processes are a legal necessity; but beyond that, they're fundamental to the success of every organization. When governance processes are well designed, they coordinate every aspect of an organization: its people, equipment, and money work in concert toward the strategic objectives of the firm. However, when poorly designed, governance processes can be counterproductive. This article presents a fresh perspective on IS governance as five interdependent organizational systems. the objective is to help leaders understand the scope of the IS governance challenge, and to provide an introduction to design processes that coordinate and control the IS organization while enhancing, not stifling, everyone's performance.