STARS Air Ambulance Challenge

STARS Air Ambulance Challenge Case Study: STARS Air Ambulance Challenge Importance of information systems to STARS The STARS organization functions as an intricate web based on the coordination between the helicopter crew and the dispatch team. The importance of this coordination is that it forms the basis for STARS business of, “finding patients, taking care of them and transporting the patients” for emergency medical services. Therefore, the correct functioning of the Information Systems (IS) can spell the difference between rapid and effective emergency response and a disaster. STARS, like any organization, requires a coordinated and well functioning IS that effectively integrates its various departments. For the case of STARS, coordination between various departments seems to be seriously lacking mainly due to the use of various IS platforms.

Consequently, a lack of uniformity between the kinds of platforms that an organization uses can have a negative impact on the performance of the organization. This negative impact comes from a lack of integration of information commands, which in most cases results in a break in flow of information.

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Challenges facing the new CIO STARS new CIO, Sharaz Khan, soon after accepting the job, found his expectations of his workplace fall short significantly. Among the three most critical challenges that Khan faces are: A nonperforming IS department, a lack of understanding of the critical nature and importance that IT plays in the organization, and how to convince other managers on matters of IT. For a nonperforming IS department, Mr. Khan needs to reign in on the employees under him (Levine, 2005). The employees have little if any work at all to do, with permanent employees lacking well defined job mandates. Each employee in a well functioning organization ought to have a clear definition of their duties and expected performance standards (Kreitner, 2009). A failure to perform or achieve standards should be heavily reprimanded. The employees must be ready to perform their duties actively and in a non-reactionary manner, in order to achieve performance above expectations (Kreitner, 2009). The main problem with the IS staff was that the IS group seldom initiated any meaningful response; instead, they were comfortable reacting to situations.

STARS as an organization in its entirety also seemed not to realize the importance that the IS group brought to the organization (Boone & Kurtz, 2009). Sure, the entire set up of the organization’s emergency response required the use of fundamental communication tools for their operations such as the Emergency Link Centre (ELC) and GPS aides. However, it is the sparring use of IS staff within the organizations offices that shows either a lack of comprehension of their roles or lack of genuine interest to engage the IS group in daily matters (Levine, 2005). The organization seldom used their expertise, despite the IS department having qualified personnel; instead, it used them for running petty errands and outsourcing to external consultants. In order to change the minds of the managers regarding the IS department, Khan has to show them that they need the IS in order to enhance the performance of their departments. He also has to prove that his staffs are up to the task. It will be foolhardy for Khan to rely on the managers to abandon the use of consultants and use the IS staff without any prove of competence on the side of the staff (Kreitner, 2009).

Objectives for the meeting with the CEO When going to a meeting with a senior, it is imperative that the presenter be keen to factor in the basic requirements of the senior when producing a list of suggestions (Levine, 2005). For Khan, he has to illustrate the possible financial benefits of an improved IS department in order to gain the interest, and eventually the support of Dr. Powell. Management is always keen to get the best value for money before agreeing to a change in operations. Therefore, in trying to convince Dr. Powell that STARS needs an integrated IS system, Khan has to convince the CEO that his new strategy will result in improved efficiency at significantly lower costs (Levine, 2005). Khan can do this by showing that, at the moment, his department has the manpower and the technical knowhow to accomplish the tasks that the organization was outsourcing. However, in order to achieve such benefits, Khan has to be convincing enough to ensure that the CEO signs off from new projects that have significant costs. Therefore, it is imperative that Khan sells to the CEO the need to overhaul the entire network and install a new project management office complete with new staff.

How to gain the support of other managers The best way to gain the support of fellow colleagues is by demonstrating that the other departments stand to benefit considerably by choosing to implement new suggestions (Kreitner, 2009). For Khan, he has to underline to the other managers that a vibrant IS group will have trickle down benefits that will have a positive impact on performance and efficiency of other

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departments. He can achieve this by demonstrating to his fellow managers that if they trust his department with their projects, he will ultimately bear personal responsibility for the projects.

This aspect is especially valuable for building confidence and offering a personal guarantee for success (Kreitner, 2009). If Khan can successfully gain the support of his colleagues in his new proposals, it will be easier to gain the trust of the CEO due to the other managers showing faith in him. The importance of such support is not only evident in gaining full backing, but it can also be crucial in gaining further assistance down the road during the implementation phase (Levine, 2005).

The need for the CIO to control his department In order to stop departments from freely raiding his department for any employee that they desire for their errands, Khan has to put in place strict rules. Khan should have a central desk in which departments log in their complaints, and he, as the officer in charge, should dispatch the employee that he deems fit for the job (Boone & Kurtz, 2009). In order for this to succeed, Khan would ideally have to spell out a clear definition of duties to his juniors (Levine, 2005). Every employee will, as a result, know what is expected of them, and that Khan is the one responsible for assigning tasks and not other departments. The CIO also has to put in place a clear modus operandi in which junior staff members are first sent out to deal with the arising issues, and senior staffs are only dispatched as a last option (Levine, 2005). The advantage of such a set up is that the more qualified individuals can be left doing more pressing issuing rather than pursuing petty errands.

Steps to strengthen the performance of the IS group In order to strengthen the ability of his IS department, the new CIO has to first and foremost underpin the importance of IS to STARS. The CIO can only be in a strategic position to negotiate other significant changes after the whole organization has recognized the valuable input of the IS department (Boone & Kurtz, 2009). After getting the organization to acknowledge the importance of IS, the next step would be to secure the support of other managers and the CEO for ease in performing future activities. In-house changes within the IS staff will be imperative in order to ensure that every worker performs their duties as expected (Kreitner, 2009). However, in order to have the IS staff performing additional tasks, the CIO has to convince the organization against heavily outsourcing to consultants. In order to stop such outflows of cash, the CIO has to convince the organization to have a central project management office running the entire organization under a unique platform. After having a singular system entirely under the IS, then the CIO can look at other ways of improving the overall performance of information systems within STARS (Levine, 2005).

STARS AIR AMBULANCE CHALLENGE References Boone, L. E. & Kurtz, D. L. (2009) Contemporary business: Moving forward faster, 12th Ed. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.

Kreitner, R. (2009) Management, 11th Ed. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Levine, H. A. (2005) Project portfolio management: A practical guide to selecting projects, managing portfolios, and maximizing benefits. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. / Joseey-Bass.

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