The alignment between business and IT strategies in the education in Saudi Arabia

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Background of the study

In the South western part of Asia the kingdom of Saudi Arabia is located and it mainly constitutes around more than three fourth of the Arabian Peninsula. In the year 1932, this nation was developed after which it was under the name of Saudi Arabia Kingdom. The major cities of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia include Jeddah, Dammam and Riyadh along with the two holy cities of Islam including Medina and Mecca (Al-sallom, 1995, n.d.).

Altogether there are four governmental agencies which are involved in the implementation, administration and planning of the overall educational policy. However, in 1953, the Ministry of Education was recognized by which the Directorate of Education, was replaced, executing under the Ministry of the Interior. Presently, the Education Ministry is thought to be a largest centralized agency of education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Their responsibility usually ranges from budgetary staffing, planning, and policy-making, to offer supplies and teaching materials to all the secondary, intermediate, and elementary schools. It is also responsible for the teacher training programs, special education, and adult education. The development and research is undertaken by the ministry which relates to the development of the teaching methods and curriculum (Al-Salloum, 1995).

Though, the Saudi Arabia education is segregated into five levels including higher education (4 years), secondary education (three years), intermediate education (three years), elementary education (6 years), and kindergarten (2 years) (Al-Sonbol et al 1998). Over the last two decades, discussions and researches has focused on individual paths concerning IT value and strategy alignment between IT and business units in education. Nowadays the IT management, educational and business institution are strongly aligned. However, there is a need of developing information systems strategy that guides business decisions, management, and its successful implementation in education. It seems reasonable to conclude that investigating the consequences of organizational strategy and aligning information systems strategy requires considering the effects of aligning mutually.

Purpose of the study

This dissertation will investigate the connection between business unit and IT value alignment in the education of Saudi Arabia. The purpose of this study will be to find the effectiveness, alignment, and the impact of business and IT strategies in the education in Saudi Arabia. It will help to investigate the importance of IT values in the business and educational institution in Saudi Arabia. There has been extensive literature and research already present on the general explanation regarding IT and education but a gap exists in correlating each other. This will help to develop a practical solution to be implemented in the educational and IT industry.

Aims and objectives

To explore alignment between business and IT strategies in the education in Saudi Arabia

To investigate the role of IT and business in the educational institutions of Saudi Arabia

To measure the impact of alignment and develop an alignment strategy based on the factors explored from the study.

Research question

What is the connection between IT value and ...