Air Canada’s IT Strategies
Use Karimi-Alaghehband and Rivard’s 2014 case study about Air Canada, and Luftman and Kempaiah’s 2007 article, “An Update on Business-IT Alignment: ‘A Line’ Has Been Drawn.” The other readings for the unit will also be useful as you evaluate Air Canada’s strategies. Respond to the following questions:
The outsourcing approach and the IT department structure at Air Canada changed often between 1994 and 2011, when Air Canada signed its first contract with IBM and when the case study was written, respectively. What changes occurred and why do you think they occurred?
Managing the information resource of a firm focused both on “engaging with customers” and competing “more effectively on multiple levels against the low-pricing structures offered by low-cost carriers” entailed many challenges, which Air Canada’s CIO and her team had been addressing in multiple ways. How was Air Canada addressing these challenges in 2011?
Based on Luftman and Kempaiah’s five-level maturity model, at which level of alignment is Air Canada’s IT and business alignment? What challenges did Air Canada face in reaching this stage? What are the challenges now?
