CIO/CTO Job Roles: An Emerging Organizational Model

Authors

Robert C. Beatty, Northern Illinois University
Kirk P. Arnett, Mississippi State University
Chang Liu, Northern Illinois University

Abstract

The position of Chief Information Systems Officer (CIO) has become a daunting job due to the myriad of business and technical responsibilities assigned to the organization's top information systems (IS) executive. CIOs are being asked to successfully ensure the firm's IS investments are continually aligned with its strategic business objectives, while also planning and maintaining an IT infrastructure that will meet the firm's current and future information processing needs. Many CIOs are finding it extremely difficult to balance the two key roles of technician and businessperson successfully. Many business experts that have analyzed this problem have concluded that the tasks and responsibilities assigned to a typical CIO may be too overwhelming for a single person. This paper advances a formal organizational structure in which the typical responsibilities of the CIO position are "re-allocated" to two IS executives - the CIO and the Chief Technology Officer (CTO). This paper also describes which responsibilities should be retained by the CIO and which responsibilities should be delegated to the CTO. Finally, a discussion of the challenges and benefits associated with the implementation of CIO/CTO organizational leadership structure is presented.

Recommended Citation

Beatty, Robert C.; Arnett, Kirk P.; and Liu, Chang (2005) "CIO/CTO Job Roles: An Emerging Organizational Model," Communications of the IIMA: Vol. 5: Iss. 2, Article 1.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.58729/1941-6687.1258
Available at: https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/ciima/vol5/iss2/1