Organizational strategy may be considered as the coordinated set of actions that leverages the use of organizational design, management control systems and organizational culture to make the organization effective by achieving the organization’s objectives. The organizational strategy works best when it meshes well with the IS strategy. Optimized organizational design and management control systems support optimal business processes which reflect the firm’s values and culture.

Organization structure is the way of designing an organization so that decision rights are correctly allocated. The structure of reporting relationships typically reflects the flow of communication and decision making throughout the organization.

Take American Express, who is currently trying to set up a governance structure for its analytics to succeed and serve their organization’s goal of a more effectively targeted marketing. They are trying to gain customer insights through customer profiling aimed at better loyalty and retention.

Assume you are an outside consulting firm and review the HBR reading “Why IT Fumbles Analytics” 

1. 1. Why a big data and analytics project cannot be treated like a conventional large IT project? 
2. 2. How can the organization strategy and structure be optimized to support the IS strategy for successful analytics?
3. 3. What specific guidance can be provided to your example company in the light of “Why IT Fumbles Analytics” discussion?