(3 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)
Loading ...Samina Rizwan is the Managing Director of Oracle Pakistan and has this to say about the changing role of the CIO. Samina was also on the cover of the February 2009 issue of CEO Pakistan and you can read that interview here. It must be highlighted that Oracle is one of the few multinationals who have an established presence here in Pakistan – not just a liaison office. In this commentary, Samina talks about the changing role of the CIO and also highlights the impact CIOs have been able to bring in some organizations in Pakistan.
It’s no secret that much of the IT world is also a “man’s world”… here’s a woman we applaud!
What did you think of the interview? Share your feedback and comments with us?
Email
Twitter
Facebook
Youtube
LinkedIn
WebStudio RSS Feed
@Anjum: the kind of hype and lobbying that can be done through the net is astounding, just to start things off blogging and social networking sites are a key tool used by many of the gurus today (on official and unofficial levels) same goes for those funny forwards you recieve about products, while some are true others are there to subliminally cajole the consumer towards a particular mindset you want him to be at, they understand that PR and lobbying isn’t about what shows up in the press or who you give a free lunch, rather its something that has to be done on all levels, and no this is just a theory outta a book, look at the example of “Mission Rescue Pakistan” The event was mostly marketed through facebook through a team of individuals who were motivated about the cause and they brought in their friends and they got in their own friends `n so on (think about the concept of 6 degrees of separation). The CIO’s role is more diverse then of the other functional heads imho, cuz they have to think from the mindsets of each functional head to assist them.(following samina’s concept)
Then again,maybe i’m explaining this the wrong way, look at the reply by Latif, can you give me a better PR “gimmick” then claiming more transparency and accountability then your competitors and actually having a means to prove it?
@Latif: Practically speaking, “Cooking the books” like you called it is a horrid idea to begin with. Why else do you think we as a nation are a Failed brand? Forget everything, we’re rated as one of the most corrupt nations in the world, repeatedly, what effects do you think this has on these very companies when they try to go global or compete with those brands?
Problem with the perspective you mention is a “tunnel vision” that has been there in the mindsets of many people, more-so in these parts of the world. There are very few truly immortal corporations here and sadly fewer are local, it is this limited perspective that drives em to short term gains.
When you ask what can a CIO do about it? well i’ll be honest with you here, the problem you state isn’t something for the CIO to be solved, it is for EVERYONE of us to look down our shirts and ensure we don’t associate with such people, regardless of the reason, not for religious or social causes but selfish ones. Cuz every $1 that someone steals outta the pot is one less USD that COULD have gone into my pocket through legit means, and until 3 years ago there were about 500 trillion USD in black money, OMG OMG OMG i would’ve been rich. You would be too
So yea, practically speaking, maybe you want the CIO to step up and make the CEO understand the long term benefits of going straight, maybe they can get the finance peoples heads outta the books to understand the long term monetary rewards of not taking something outta the bucket but rather yelling and screaming that they are the odd ones out who didn’t, (cheaper marketing? lesser budgets for the dept they hate?) maybe the CIO should explain to the HR dept the meaning and benefits of OCB and how easy it is to get that when the employees know the bosses aren’t hypocrites for telling the employees not to rob the company blind, (heck, Iranian president, seen his house pictures? they seem to be all over the net if you haven’t) or maybe they should explain to marketing the case of the Saturn car, where the organization was made around the brand values, rather then the other way around.
Everything in a business has a domino effect, from that employee you harassed (Clinton), to the subordinate you fired (Sharif brothers, you’ll see
) including the penny you stole (the entire US economy).
Ofcourse you could just prove me entirely wrong by simply stating that the president of our country is a thief, but then again that’d be cheating
how does the ma’am see functions like public affairs and lobbying being handled or assisted by CIOs?
thanx.
I am so happy to see that women hold such senior positions in Pakistan. I actually did read up a bit of the interview and I think we’re certainly on the right trakc if there are leaders like these.
My question however, is this: how come we have never used these so-called ambassadors to our advantage? Why are we so stuck on comparign our growth and trends to India when our dynamics are so different? They are 5 times our size, hence will be 5 times louder than us. Some of the Projects that Ms.Rizwan has identified are impressive (though I find it interesting that Faysal Bank, a client of Oracle would be featured in CIO coinciding with Ms. Rizwan’s presence on the cover of CEO! Great timing!) But at least the projects are receiving recognition that they deserve, which is great. As a business, I would be very interested in finding out more about AKU and the other dpeloyments that are ongoing. I think, like Indus Hospital, which was coincidentially also an Oracle success story, there are a lot of other healthcare feel-good stories that the world needs to hear.
Why the hell aren’t other people highlighting these successes?! Compared to our population of 170mn people, we’ve got a minute population of professionals. If they are producing work that is being talked about here alone, then the ratio and perspective far exceeds anything India or any other country in the region has done!
Great narrative, Samina! I’m wondering, however, since the CIO is such a new designation, has it really had a chance to evolve over time?
You have been selling Oracle or your previous company services to local clients for more than a decade I suppose. Has the selling become any easier? More difficult now that Glocalization makes it easier for international players and vendors to service local companies? Your comments or thoughts?
It is interesting that you point out the names of companies you do. In trying times that the entire world is going through, how do you think the CIO can help to save companies? I’m not sure if Pakistan is that “badly hit” by recession as are other parts of the world, yet the business situation here is really abysmal.
Finally and you may not wish to comment on this but it would be interesting to get a perspective – many companies often keep two books – one for accounting purposes and another for reporting purposes. Technology and solutions are supposed to bring optimization and efficiency and transparency. Cooking the books, which is common practice in many companies, does pose a threat to automation.
I don’t think a CIO can counter THAT process.