Clients Last Name Goes Here 1 Social Welfare Organization Industry Executive Summary The study addresses alignment

of the IT function and business function at a social welfare sector organization. The study focuses on present and future challenges that are posed by such alignment as well as addresses potential solutions for these challenges and problems. The organization under analysis is the Salvation Army a multinational charity and fundraising organization that is built on Christian values. The organization provides a variety of social services such as provision of support to the homeless, support for addiction rehabilitation; it also operates thrift stores and collects donor support for disaster relief missions and counseling. The process of aligning IT and business function in the organization becomes more complex due to organizations global presence. The organization faces the following challenges that stem from aligning its IT and business objectives: compliance with auditing and accounting standards in different countries, logistic problems, property management, accounting and financial reporting for different users and stakeholders, human resource management and remote work, projectspecific challenges (such as disaster relief or charity collection), user support, payroll and HRM, on-demand information access, traffic compression and bandwidth usage optimization. The study identifies information security awareness and management as one of the most important challenges confronting the organization in the future. The study proposes a framework for implementing an information security awareness program across the organization as well as proposes an information security management program that should be implemented by all divisions of the organization.

Clients Last Name Goes Here 2 Introduction Effective implementation and utilization of information and communication technology (ICT) in social welfare sector comprised of organizations occupied with provision of community-based charity-oriented welfare-founded services is of particular importance in increasing overall sectors efficiency. One of the reasons for this is the fact that ICT can provide great assistance in enhancing communication opportunities and unification of available resources through employment of online services as well as through optimizing hardware and software solutions. ICT in this sector exercises enormous impact on multiple aspects of organizational functionality such as financing, fundraising, campaigning, internal communications, data integrity, and information security. Due to the fact that welfare organizations in particular charity and fundraising organizations pursue objectives that are different from those pursued by businesses in the commercial for-profit sector it is of specific importance that this largely nonprofit sector transforms itself towards embracing a new standard of operational business efficiency through optimization of the usage of ICT. This optimization may also have different goals and constraints for different types of organizations. While smaller local organizations should strive for simple improvement of technology skills and knowledge enhancement, larger multinational organizations should take into account their size and scope of their operations to employ ICT for gaining competitive advantage. Strategic usage of ICT can be beneficial for achievement of this goal since it can provide assistance in improving financial and administrative activities of multinational welfare organizations as well as improve their communications and collaboration with other organizations and groups. Moreover, ICT can be beneficial in improving communication between organizations members and recipients of its services. Since the primary purpose of operations pursued by welfare sector is creation of social and economic benefits for

Clients Last Name Goes Here 3 individual and community-based recipients, active utilization of ICT can assist greatly in achieving this goal. The purpose of this report is to analyze ICT usage and employment in social welfare industry. In particular, this report is focused on integration of IT and business function in Salvation Army a multinational charity organization that operates in 119 countries. First of all, the paper provides an overview of the organization and the scope of its operations as well as outlines milestones in its development. Secondly, the paper analyzes IT function of the organization and its connection with the organizations overall business function. Third, the report outlines current and future challenges that are posed by the alignment of IT and business function of the Salvation Army. Fourth, the report incorporates data available from scholarly studies concerning potential frameworks and solutions that are implemented by the social welfare sector organizations to overcome these challenges. Through extensive research analysis, the report offers potential solutions and recommendations pertaining to the organizations current multinational position and the variability of its operations. Salvation Army as a global social welfare organization The Salvation Army is a Christian movement that was founded in 1865 by William Booth in London. It is an integral part of the Christian Church, and has a quasi-military command structure. The theology of the Salvation Army is primarily Protestant. The official mission of the movement is into the world of the hurting, broken, lonely, dispossessed and lost, reaching them in love by all means. The main objectives of the organization are to serve the advancement of Christian religion through providing education, poverty relief, and grant the society with other charities. As at January 1, 2011, the organization serves in 124 countries. It also provides services in 175 languages. Geographically, the organization is divided into territories that are

Clients Last Name Goes Here 4 sub-divided into divisions. Each territory has its own headquarters. Currently the organization has 15,765 corps, 17,070 officers, 109.518 employees and 1,132,823 employees. The organization runs 2,570 active community development programs. It operates 422 homeless hostels (with a capacity of 24,464), 173 homes for the elderly (with a capacity of 10,969), 66 refuges (capacity of 1,965) and 244 childrens homes (with a capacity of 9,966). The organization also operates elderly care homes, mother and baby homes, community day care centers, and addiction rehabilitation centers. The organization is among the largest global providers of social aid. The organization helps millions of people. The organization works in disaster relief centers and refugee camps (for example, camps for displaced people in Africa). While it is not the largest non-governmental provider of social services, it still is valuable in providing services to those in need. In the United States, the Salvation Army is the second largest charity organization collecting donations from private donors, government bodies and organizations. The primary services provided by the Salvation Army include the following: 1) The organization has multiple brass bands that are operated at the international level; 2) Works as a non-governmental disaster relief agency to assist on natural and man-made disasters; 3) Operates a network of thrift stores (revenues are used to operate addiction rehabilitation centers); 4) The organization has a missing person service to help people restore contacts with family members that have long been lost; 5) The organization also has youth groups (Sunday schools).

Clients Last Name Goes Here 5 Salvation Army IT function analysis One of the primary challenges faced by the Salvation Army is maintaining data integrity. While there are multiple solutions offered to companies operating in other sectors such as finance or investment banking that are aimed at resolving this problem, the Salvation Army as a multinational charity organization is faced with information security problems that are enhanced by its belonging to the third sector and the necessity to conduct operations in different countries. This section of the paper presents an overview and analysis of several problemspecific solutions that are employed by the Salvation Armys local divisions in different countries of the world with a specific emphasis on core business problems that the IT function has to resolve. The organization has international headquarters in South London and its IT department is responsible for providing support to 7,000 users and 18 divisions such as the Territorial Headquarters, Divisional Headquarters, care centers, and remote users (Fisher, 2010). The organization commits itself to flexible working, and actively encourages its workers to use company equipment to fulfill their duties either at home or at the office. Thus, approximately 80% of the organizations IT infrastructure is thin client (Becrypt, 2011). This suggests that the majority of staff has to stream data from their personal computers or laptops to and from central data center. However, cases of unwarranted access to employee computers became more frequent recently. Additionally, the problem of human factor has always undermined data security at big corporations that allow employees use the company equipment for remote work: cases of employees leaving laptops with important data on trains or in restaurants as well as cases of stealing such computers became more frequent. Thus, the problem of information security is one of the most important for the organization. In order to ensure fast remote

Clients Last Name Goes Here 6 exchange of data and improve security Salvation Army employs full disk encryption software (Becrypt) and also employs Becrypt Enterprise Manager security management suite. Since much of the data stored by the Salvation Army is accessed by public sector body networks, this type of security solution allows the organization prevent major data loss. Human resource management problems are closely integrated with the necessity to provide user support by the IT function of the organization. In particular, in the United States, where the organization operates at more than 8,500 locations, IT organization grew organically. As a result, each IT service had its own practices in providing user support. Salvation Army Western Territory in the US went through a process of reorganization and consolidated 13 IT services into one department. However, the department still had to provide services to a geographically diverse group of users and employees of the organization. Prior to reorganization IT departments were using a number of remote support tools, including pcAnywhere, multiple versions of open-source VNC, and Laplink (Bomgar, 2011). However, such solutions were costly. The goals of developing a new support solution were the following. First of all, no clientside software was to be allowed on end-user PC. Secondly, the solution was to be capable of accessing any network in any geographic region. Thirdly, the solution had to be cost-effective. Additionally, Salvation Army Western Territory had only 75 IT professionals; therefore, the new technology that was to be installed had to work through a remote connection. In order to satisfy these requirements the Salvation Army uses Bomgar Box a software solution that allows providing support to clients regardless of the location. As a charity organization operating worldwide, Salvation Army has to implement effective solutions for financial management. Information management and cost reduction are closely aligned in business practices of such organizations. The major problem faced by the

Clients Last Name Goes Here 7 organization was the necessity to improve supply chain management, financial management, and property management with the objective of minimizing data fragmentation and improve information flow. Additionally, the organization has to comply with governmental requirements that are concerned with financial reporting and auditing. One of the potential solutions that could be used in Salvation Armys divisions around the globe was effectively implemented by Salvation Army Australia. Since 1998, this division effectively incorporated TechnologyOne Financials into its IT system (TechnologyOne, 2011). This software allows integration of financial information as well as control over such information combined with options for flexible report design and support for unlimited number of accounting ledgers. Additionally, Australian division of the organization actively uses Asset Management and CRM from the same vendor. The primary purpose for using this type of software was dictated by the necessity to manage a significant number of leases and property effectively. Property management operations in the organization involve purchase, sale, lease, maintenance, construction, and project planning. Additionally, the organization has to be well-prepared for auditing. Another challenge that the IT function resolved at Salvation Army Australia was bank account aggregation. Operating multiple bank accounts (in case of Salvation Armys Australian division there were 2,700) results in higher fees and increases data complexity. The goal of bank account aggregation was reduction of bank fees, improvement of interest rates, and reducing overdraft costs on individual accounts. Bank account aggregation was conducted through TechnologyOne Financials. IT department at Salvation Army is also responsible for effective management of IT solutions in accounting. Accounting information is required by different types of users such as accountants, auditors, managers, stakeholders and donors. Therefore, flexibility in presenting

Clients Last Name Goes Here 8 such information in accordance with requirements of various user groups is necessary. Additionally, with the magnitude of accounting operations at Salvation Army, their breadth, scope and detail it was necessary to minimize time that was required to produce accounting reports (such as monthly, quarterly and year-end reports). In 1999, the organization decided to optimize this process and reduce the number of days required to produce a year-end report from 14 days to 8 days. In order to do so, Salvation Army Australia employed TechnologyOne Financials. Human resource management and payroll management is another business function that has to be resolved through effective utilization of IT function of the business. For example, Salvation Army New Zealand, Fiji & Tonga Territory has approximately 3,300 employees and officers in approximately 200 locations. Prior to consolidating seventy of the territorys payroll systems, the organization had to operate separate payroll systems. The necessity to operate payroll systems separately was based on the fact that different employees had to provide different services (with diverse payment) as well as was dictated by complex legislation. The organization had to run seventy payroll systems with the smallest ones accounting for payments made to one or two people while the largest ones made payments to 950 or more people. For example, some employees had weekly payment cycles, other employees had fortnightly payment cycles; some of the workers received hourly payment while some of them were receiving monthly wages. The organization had to invest into training payroll operators. Thus, the organization decided to consolidate payroll systems using TechnologyOnes Human Resource and Payroll solution that provided Salvation Army with a flexible payroll IT solution that met all legal and reporting requirements of the organization. One of the primary benefits that was offered by the IT function to human resource department in this case was effective database

Clients Last Name Goes Here 9 management. Additionally, the employed solution allowed minimizing the range of human resource management systems that were operated and allowed HR department producing timely, accurate and relevant human resource information (such as reports) catered for the needs of various users. The system eliminated duplication of effort (which was often the case with 70 payroll systems installed) and allowed better managing personnel expenses. Salvation Army relies heavily on the ability of its field teams to make decisions concerning logistics (such as storing goods in a warehouse), or disaster relief. The organizations employees such as pastors, counselors and officers have to be able to have access to informational resources (such as financial information or client databases) in order to make such decisions remotely. Thus, the organization requires providing its employees with an opportunity to access enterprise applications as well as organizations databases from various locations and devices. A client-server application was developed in 1996 by Citrix Solutions for the Salvation Army United States Western Territory to enable the organizations employees to use the Web, WLAN, WAN and VPN to access such resources as Lotus Notes, Microsoft Office and proprietary solutions. The application serves more than 4,000 employees. The Citrix server solution operates Microsoft Windows servers and allows managing data-intense client-server connection. Networking environment consists of 10 HP Blade servers and HP Proliant servers connected by 802.11B wireless LAN, WAN, and VPN Internet connections. Thus, all Salvation Army Western Territory is currently using one server farm. Other divisions of the Salvation Army also operate on Citrix server solutions. For example, Salvation Army Australia Southern Territory that has 250 employees in the territorys headquarters, some 350 workers working from home-based offices, and the rest of approximately 2,000 staff deployed in various locations installed Citrix Solutions to improve on-demand

Clients Last Name Goes Here 10 application access from various clients using different devices and operating Internet connections of different quality and speed. The main problem that the Territory encountered was increased delay in application access and limited bandwidth. The network was failing to provide multiple users competing for scarce WAN resources with fast and unlimited access to necessary applications and remote solutions. Thus, a solution that would allow WAN traffic prioritization and compression was required. Thus, the Salvation Army employed Exindas WAN Optimization solution that allowed prioritizing Citrix traffic, data compression, report generation on network usage, and URL blocking. In particular, Exinda 4700 with its capacity of 100 Mbps allows managing traffic effectively having functions such as cross flow data compression, classification of applications at Layer 7, and high quality of service. The solution allowed improving application performance through giving priority to Citrix applications and giving low priority to such applications as Citrix printing, Web browsing, and AD traffic. Salvation Army often employs IT solutions to provide its employees with necessary training. One of the challenges of employee training (especially when it is closely intertwined with training for using software solutions) for multinational organizations is the fact that many employees who are to be trained are geographically scattered; however, they still have to be trained simultaneously and receive the same knowledge and skills. In 2010, the Salvation Army UK introduced a new billing system into its Social Centers (there are approximately 80 Social Centers of the organization across the UK and Ireland). The new system allows managing accommodation services offered by the centers, for example, it allows allocating rooms as well as collecting all costs incurred by the resident to transfer them to relevant authorities for billing. Social Centers incorporate Care Homes for the elderly as well as include Lifehouse support centers for homeless people. The majority of employees in these centers are more people-

Clients Last Name Goes Here 11 focused; therefore, adapting to the billing system became a challenge for them. However, they still had to learn how to enter data into the billing system as well as generate on-demand reports. Therefore, it was necessary to provide the staff with adequate training. Main limitations of training provision included the following obstacles: staff was geographically dispersed, centers operated 24/7, and training costs were limited. Thus, the IT department had to find a software solution that would incorporate a billing systems training version and provide the staff with the new information so that they could practice with using the new system. The organization employed eLearning that allowed breaking all required information into small modules that could be accessed by the staff one month prior to the new billing systems launch. Since centers operated 24/7, staff was able to find time to access those modules in a specific center. Apart from operational functions of the business, IT function of the Salvation Army has to resolve challenges that are connected with projects that the organization undertakes. These projects nature stems from the primary purposes of the organizations existence. Some of them require usage of digital communications and media in order to create public awareness of the matters that are important to a multinational fundraiser. Media planning is primarily a marketing function; however, much of it is resolved with the help of an effective IT strategy. For example, in 2010 Salvation Army Metropolitan Division had to create a solution that would allow maximizing donations during the holiday season. The IT department created a specific resolution to the problem through creating e-mail scripts, using Twitter and Facebook to increase public awareness and maximize potential donor response. To conclude, a multinational charity organization like the Salvation Army has its IT department closely intertwined with present business needs of the organization.

Clients Last Name Goes Here 12 Current challenges involved in the alignment of the IT function and business function of Salvation Army Primary challenges that are involved in the alignment of the IT function and business function of the organization are persistent in different locations in which the Army operates. Those challenges are the following: 1) Compliance with auditing and accounting standards in different countries. As a business function, this challenge requires legal and accounting training. IT function has to resolve this challenge through introducing effectively designed software and hardware solutions. 2) Logistic problems. The Army has to manage various types of goods (such as items sold through thrift stores) as well as account for donations and other inventory. Warehouse management software therefore becomes a challenge. 3) Property management. The Army has to manage various types of property and design appropriate systems that would cater for the needs of various users. 4) Accounting and financial reporting for different users and stakeholders. Every local division of the Army has to generate multiple reports that have to be based on current data; statistical and other type of analysis is also the function of IT since the IT has to provide effective software solutions that would allow for data analysis. 5) Human resource management and remote work. Many employees of the organization work remotely. HR information management thus becomes extremely complex. 6) Project-specific challenges (such as disaster relief or charity collection). 7) User support. Since many users utilize Salvation Armys IT resources remotely from locations such as churches, schools or other places, it is essential that the IT function has solutions that would allow resolving issues that users encounter.

Clients Last Name Goes Here 13 8) Payroll and HRM. The organization has to maintain different types of payroll systems since many of its employees are paid using various approaches to financial compensation. Effectively designed payroll systems that would allow minimizing effort are the challenge for the IT department. 9) On-demand information access. Due to a large number of remote users, the organization has to use server solutions to allow its members and employees access information fast. 10) Traffic compression and bandwidth usage optimization. Bandwidth capacity is limited; thus, it is necessary to create solutions that would allow optimizing its usage. 11) Logistical issues in employee training. Having outlined the most important challenges that are presented by IT and business function alignment in the organization it is necessary to analyze potential challenges that such alignment is likely to present in the future. Future challenges presented by IT and business function alignment Information security is highly likely to present a major challenge in the future. Since the organization supports remote workers and allows its employees use the organizations equipment to carry out their daily duties, it may also be desirable for the Salvation Army to allow its employees to use their own equipment for working on various projects with various degrees of data sensitivity. However, this decision creates a significant problem. While allowing users to bring their own equipment to the workplace and connecting it to network resources substantially reduces costs on purchasing IT equipment, the problem of designing a remote connection framework is especially acute. One of the potential solutions that Salvation Army UK headquarters are considering is usage of Becrypt Trusted Client (that in effect turns a laptop into a trusted access point) combining it with Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and VPN gateway

Clients Last Name Goes Here 14 (Becrypt, 2011). However, there still is a necessity to design a framework that would allow integrating this software into the overall IT system of the organization. Financial and property management are also highly likely to remain among most serious challenges that the companys IT department has to overcome. Since the Salvation Army has multiple types of property it has to take care of (such as houses, cars, or IT equipment), information streams that are generated in lieu of the management process are fragmented. Although software that is currently employed by some divisions of the organization allows reducing this fragmentation, it is likely to pose challenges in the future as more divisions would be faced with this problem. Therefore, it is desirable that organization-wide software-based framework is implemented. Accounting function of the organization calls for constant modifications of the implemented IT solutions. One of the potential challenges is presented by stricter regulations of financial reporting and new reporting standards that are implemented by governments around the globe in response to the financial crisis. Stricter regulation of accounting functions of organizations of different types would result in more scrupulous treatment of financial reporting data produced by the Salvation Army as that of a multinational charity organization. Additionally, substantial share of donations that are managed by the organization is from the government; therefore, the organization would require an IT framework that would allow proper accounting of such donations. If the organization becomes incapable of proper reporting to its major donors, it would inevitably experience lack of funding. HRM and payroll accounting would continue to present a challenge for the organization. At present with much of the workforce in multinational organizations being outsourced, companies have to plan in advance in terms of hiring. While multiple projects at Salvation Army

Clients Last Name Goes Here 15 require additional workforce or workforce relocation, a need for a software solution that would allow flexible workforce planning is likely to emerge. Moreover, the organization would have to incorporate workforce development plans and programs that it operates into the currently utilized software solutions. On-demand information access would still be a challenge for the organization. At present, only the United States division has successfully resolved the issue. However, future server consolidation for the purpose of service improvement is likely to become a challenge for the IT function of the organization. This project would likely reduce costs associated with on-site administration and user support. One of the primary limitations that the organization faces with this as well as with many other IT challenges is financial constraint. Limited bandwidth and traffic prioritization along with WAN optimization would also remain one of the major challenges as organization grows and employs more staff that would be scattered in various locations occupied with projects that are related to disaster relief or counseling. Scarce WAN resources utilized simultaneously by numerous users would have to be more strictly controlled. Additionally, network usage would have to be monitored more effectively. One of the potential challenges to the IT function would have to be implementation of software and hardware solutions that would allow monitoring application responses, URL analysis as well as incorporating VoIP reporting. With changes and new software solutions continuously introduced by the organization, employee training would continue to remain a challenge for the Salvation Army. Primary problems that the organization would have to encounter would be tightly connected with employee geographical disparity and the necessity to introduce effective solutions to employee training problems quickly at low cost.

Clients Last Name Goes Here 16 Recommendations This section of the paper presents an analysis of specific solutions and frameworks that are implemented by the non-profit sector engaged with social welfare services in order to improve alignment of IT and business functions of the organization. The primary problem that has to be resolved by the non-profit sector organization like the Salvation Army is that it has to compete with other non-profit organizations while at the same time competing with private sector organizations. While there is a substantial decline in public sector services, there is also a decline in government funding that is being directed at non-profits. However, the economic decline causes an increase in the demand for services, specifically, for services that an organization like the Salvation Army provides. Thus, it is possible for the organization to successfully employ IT to overcome these challenges. According to Hackler and Saxton (2007), there is a strong connection between organizational wealth and the capacity to successfully translate IT resources into improved organizational performance. Additionally, employing IT is beneficial for organizational transformation and optimizing technological, financial and managerial changes that occur at the organization (Hackler & Saxton, 2007). IT can change the nature of working conditions of nonprofit employees (such as transform workload, change working environments, improve intrapersonal relationships) and improve overall job satisfaction. However, IT requires substantial funding which suggests that competition between more and less technologically sophisticated organizations becomes increasingly complex. However, poor utilization of IT also has severe consequences for the organization. According to Schneider (2003; quoted by Hackler and Saxton, 2007) poor utilization of IT had the compounding effect of damaging the

Clients Last Name Goes Here 17 organizations reputation and, in the process, weakening its social networks and ties with critical local constituencies. Thus, this section of the paper examines the possibilities of successful IT utilization by non-profits and charities. It is structured as follows. First of all, strategic utilization of IT by nonprofits is examined and potential challenges and benefits are outlined. Secondly, failure and success factors that are related to IT system development in a charity organization are examined. Thirdly, external factors that affect technology adoption at nonprofit organizations are evaluated. Fourth, the impact of technology on nonprofit sector is examined. Finally, several frameworks for effective IT usage by nonprofits are presented such as information security framework and information security awareness program development framework is analyzed. Benefits and challenges of strategic use of IT by nonprofits The ultimate strategic goal of a non-profit organization (such as fundraising or charity) is the fulfillment of a mission. Therefore, strategic usage of IT is defined through how well the organization utilizes possibilities provided by technological advancements to proceed with this mission and effectively use its scarce resources to achieve the ultimate goal of the organization. According to Hackler & Saxton (2007), there are two components of an organizations strategic use of IT: organizational capabilities and practices that are prerequisites of strategic employment of IT resources and ways in which IT can be employed to help the organization achieve its strategic targets and goals. The following characteristics are dominating in literature as prerequisites of successful usage of IT by an organization: IT planning, budgeting, training, effective usage of online resources, support of IT employment by organizations board, understanding of strategic potential of IT by organizations leaders. Factors that are dominant in determining whether a typical nonprofit organization would develop such characteristics are

Clients Last Name Goes Here 18 primarily financial. Lack of budgetary resources suggests that fewer employees would receive appropriate IT training and would limit the capability of the organization to exercise proper IT planning. Effective utilization of IT is also limited by lack of staff that is knowledgeable and available full-time to assist in developing organizational resources. Effective employment of online services and the Web is one of the critical factors of a non-profits success. A study by Hackler & Saxton (2007) suggests that the more sophisticated the organizations virtual work process and overall Internet capability, the greater the strategic potential flowing from technology. The same study summarizes IT usage and core competencies development of the non-profit sector by stating that the voluntary sector is reluctant to align IT and business function and places insufficient emphasis on the importance of the IT function in the overall business strategy. The following characteristics are dominant in literature when strategic use of IT to achieve organizational targets and goals is concerned: communications and relationship building, acquisition of funding sources, financial sustainability, usage of donor assistance and strategic partnership (Hackler & Saxton, 2007). Organizations such as the Salvation Army should actively employ IT to conduct research, seek grants, conduct market research and use web-site based donations. Due to the fact that a limited number of nonprofits understand the possibilities that are offered by Web-based technologies, very few of them engage in such strategically important activities. Organizations should, for example, analyze who visits their website and engage in profiling their website users to be able to segment the market and target it more effectively. Given the great potential of Web 2.0 technologies (that provide organizations with an opportunity to employ interactive blogs, social networks, forums, microblogs and similar engines), organizations would be capable of achieving their strategic goal if they utilize this

Clients Last Name Goes Here 19 potential effectively. Moreover, they would be able to communicate with their stakeholders and donors as well as engage more of them in their projects. However, very few nonprofits have managed to employ IT for the purpose of achievement of their strategic mission. There are several reasons for this phenomenon. According to Hackler & Saxton (2007), many leaders of non-profit organizations realize that IT may assume a strategic rather than merely administrative role. Moreover, very few nonprofits can boast having necessary knowledge, skills and equipment for successful strategic employment of IT. Other areas of caution identified in scholarly literature include dependence on used and donated equipment (according to Hackler & Saxton (2007) an average age of a computer in a non-profit organization in the United States is three years), failure to properly budget IT and exercise budget planning accordingly, and reliance on in-house developed software (Mirza, 2010). As it was made evident from the previous section, an example of the Salvation Army that establishes relationships with third-party contractors shows that home-grown software use is not advisable for multinational social welfare organizations. Since the primary limitation that nonprofit social welfare organizations have in terms of such effective utilization of IT is financial, donor support is necessary to enhance the potential of nonprofits. IT system development in charity organizations: failure and success factors While a limited number of nonprofit organizations realize full benefits of IT, it is also necessary to analyze whether the decision to adopt information technology by an organization can be beneficial and what factors are determining success and failure in such decisions. Software projects implemented by an organization even when an external contractor is hired should be undertaken with extreme caution. While nonprofit organizations may envision IT as the potential solution to the majority of their problems and strategic tasks, when undertaking a

Clients Last Name Goes Here 20 software project the organization should be able to recognize exact need in the project as well as determine the potential functions of the designed or adopted system. In many situations when organizations decide to purchase or order particular software, they do not realize the full scope of its functions or are unable to determine whether these functions should be limited. Before attempting to design or purchase a software solution, adequate requirements should be defined. The process of requirements definition should involve all potential users of the software. One of the critical success factors is adequate estimation of exact needs of the system and the organization (Mirza, 2010). Additionally, designed and purchased software should be capable of anticipating changes and modifications that are dictated by particular circumstances. These circumstances may be formed by projects that the organization undertakes or they may be formed by reorganizational processes. Transformational processes taking place in the organization may also produce a significant impact on the formulation of IT project tasks. For example, during the analysis of the Salvation Armys IT function it was revealed that the organization is more prone to turning towards external contractors when undertaking a specific IT project or when enhancing its IT function to meet emerging business needs. However, as new challenges arise such as the necessity to improve remote user support, particular needs that the organization has should be carefully analyzed. Such support may be necessary when users of organizational resources are scattered geographically (like in Australia); however, establishing a fully-fledged remote user support system in regions where IT function is already consolidated may be unnecessary. Although adoption of information and communication technology in a particular charity or non-profit organization is dictated by organizational needs and limited by its financial resources, ICT adoption in the non-profit sector is impacted by organizational characteristics (it

Clients Last Name Goes Here 21 is directly related to the size of the organization), environmental characteristics, and pressure to establish legitimacy in the eyes of key stakeholders (Zorn et al., 2011). For example, organization size is positively correlated with ICT-related training. If an organization belongs to a network of other similar organizations (or as in the case of the Salvation Army is ingrained into a system of organizations) it is more likely that this organization would adopt new technologies (Zorn et al., 2011). Additionally, Zorn et al. (2011) provides information from surveys that show that organizations that enjoy high volumes of government donations are more prone to adopt new technologies. However, organizational characteristics are not the only factor that impacts technology adoption in the charity sector. Organizations are impacted by multiple external factors that form the necessity to compete for scarce resources. Therefore, in order to analyze whether there is a possibility for an organization to tackle existing and future challenges that are formed by aligning IT and business function it is necessary to determine external factors that impact IT adoption by an organization. Environmental factors influencing technology adoption The environment in which an organization operates is shaped by cultural and institutional forces that influence managerial practices and often dictate organizational changes as well as transformations. According to Zorn et al. (2011), it is quite often the case that organizations decide to enact transformational processes because of external pressure. Additionally, non-profit organizations are more pressured by environmental factors such as institutions for behaving in similar ways than for-profit organizations. Indeed, non-profit organizations should conform to external demands (legal requirements or expectations that stem from the public desire to see the organization assume a certain structure or conform to a set of norms to which similar organizations conform in their behavior and structure). Non-profit organizations with their

Clients Last Name Goes Here 22 reliance on donor funding should conform to the expectations of these donors. Moreover, nonprofit organizations are pressured by the behavior of others. For example, organizations tend to adopt expected practices do what other organizations in the field do such as adopt websites. Many non-profit organizations use the same sets of marketing instruments as used by for-profit organizations to achieve their goals. Finally, organizations that aim to be leaders have to stay ahead in everything they do. These pressures combined affect the rate and quality of technology adoption in the social welfare sector. A study by Zorn et al. (2011) examined factors that impacted ICT adoption in the nonprofit sector. The study revealed that both organizational characteristics and environmental pressures are significant in ICT adoption by non-profits. In particular, just like size and budget of the organization determine whether it would require additional technology, so do such characteristics as IT knowledge of decision-makers in the organization, expected practices in which organization should engage, scanning of the competing organizations as well as the necessity to be a leader in the field. In particular, expectations concerning organizations behavior in the field would impact ICT adoption for the purpose of acquiring resources as well as usage of IT for engaging stakeholders of the organization into specific processes that take place inside the organization. Organizations that are more likely to be held accountable to the government and other groups of donors would be more likely to use ICT for researching, assessing available options and applying for grant funding. Therefore, when deciding whether a particular IT function should be enhanced within an organization, those forces that impact ICT adoption should be taken into careful consideration. In particular, organizations that perceive themselves as leaders in a particular field or sector feel an increased pressure towards adopting a new technology at early stages (that is, when a

Clients Last Name Goes Here 23 particular technology is not yet adopted by the majority of the market players). However, it is important that these self-perceived leaders recognize particular benefits that this particular technology is likely to offer. It may be the case that the organization would choose to sacrifice efficiency in response to those pressures. A charity organization should therefore consider particular needs that it has before mimicking the behavior of other organizations in the field. The Salvation Army is one of the most powerful charity organizations in the world. In some countries it is the only organization that provides particular welfare services (such as addiction rehabilitation or housing for the homeless). Thus, the necessity to be ahead of the market is likely to impact technology adoption at early stages without recognizing the need for it first. For example, one of the challenges that emerged limited bandwidth capacity in some of the regions where the organization operates could be resolved with thicker pipes; however, a break-through solution from a contractor was used. However, as it can be seen from the analysis, the organization does not recognize all possibilities offered by this technology; neither does it utilize all options (such as VoIP) offered by this technology. On the other hand, the organization does not implement breakthrough solutions in one of the most important fields where it is held accountable by the government and private donors information security. Therefore, it is important to recognize this challenge for the organization and provide a set of recommendations that would allow Salvation Army to build an information security awareness program and construct an information security framework that would reflect organizations mission and tasks. Information security awareness program: a framework for a charity organization Non-profit organizations are confronted with a wide range of risks that stem from misunderstanding of the importance of information security. One of the most important risks is financial loss that may stem from information security breach or fraud. According to Kolb and

Clients Last Name Goes Here 24 Abdullah (2009), financial fraud, misappropriation of donations, theft of assets as well as cash may lead to financial losses by a non-profit organization. Since every breach in security that results in a financial loss should be carefully investigated, the costs of such investigation are also to be added to losses incurred during a security breach. Another important risk is the risk of reputation loss. Kolb and Abdullah (2009) emphasized that loss of reputation of a public nonprofit organization would result in declining revenues and severely damage funds that it raises. A non-profit would never be capable to restore loss of goodwill that is attributed to a security breach especially when this breach uncovers important information on organizations donors. The third risk that non-profit organizations are faced with in case of information security breach is damaged employee morale. The majority of non-profit organizations employ individuals who are highly motivated by the organizations mission and vision. Therefore, a breach in security that resulted from mismanagement or poor understanding of information security importance can seriously damage employee trust and may even result in leaving the organization. The fourth risk that organizations in the non-profit sector face in case of information security fraud is donor loss. Donors are unlikely to provide funding to an organization that exposes itself to security frauds especially when such frauds result in leakage of donor-related information. Finally, an information security breach that exposes data on organizations operations, donors and stakeholders may result in legal trials. Litigation may result in further damage done to the reputation of the organization and further distract donors and employees. While organizations business processes may rely heavily on the most recent software and hardware, lack of information security awareness or limited attention to such awareness in the organization may result in security breaches that would have significant negative effects. Therefore, it is important for an organization to adopt an information security awareness program

Clients Last Name Goes Here 25 that would allow minimizing the outlined risks. The purpose of such program is to allow individuals on all levels of the organizational structure to recognize IT security concerns and respond accordingly (Kolb & Abdullah, 2009). As a leader in the field, the Salvation Army should undertake the following measures to implement an information security awareness program that would be obligatory for all of its divisions worldwide. First of all, for an information security awareness program to be successful, senior management should engage itself in providing authority for the program. Therefore, organizations generals and officers should carefully position the program while IT specialists of the Salvation Army should provide appropriate information concerning benefits of such programs for the organization. Secondly, a team of specialists should be assembled in order to represent each area of the organization. A typical team would consist of a human resources manager, legal matters specialist and IT specialist. This team would be responsible for spreading and systematically educating users of organizations IT resources on the importance of security and measures of reasonable precaution. Third, the team that was assembled should conduct a careful and strict assessment of existing policies and procedures that concern informational security in the organization. Each policy starting with the policy that allows Salvation Armys employees use their own equipment for working with organizations intranets and resources and ending with data encryption algorithms that are employed throughout the organization should be examined in order to uncover its benefits, weaknesses and strengths as well as potential contribution to increasing risks that are faced by the Salvation Army in case of a security breach.

Clients Last Name Goes Here 26 Fourth, a careful survey of the organizations employees should be conducted. Typical questions on the survey should be concerned with the following important issues: awareness of viruses and other malicious programs, awareness of the mechanisms that are used to spread malware, awareness of spam and malicious emails, as well as awareness of the currently implemented security policies and their usage targets. Fifth, users of the organizations IT resources should be educated in regular sessions. A typical session could cover information security threats as well as a revision of the organizations policies and procedures. It is of particular importance that those divisions of the Salvation Army that do not have information security policies in place, design and carefully introduce protocols and plans of action on the following matters: e-mails and spam, passwords, usage of USB drives and external information carriers. However, one such session would be insufficient. Therefore, information security awareness sessions should be conducted regularly. However, developing an information security awareness program is insufficient. It is important that the Salvation Army has an information security framework that is similar to frameworks that are employed in for-profit organizations. Proposed information security framework An information security framework should be based on several principles. First of all, information systems security should be enhanced with a particular goal. For-profit organizations introduce information security management to ensure their competitive advantage and protect investments. Non-profit organizations should introduce it for the purpose of minimizing risks connected with information security breach. Secondly, information security management goals should be aligned with business objectives of the organization. Thus, there is a necessity for mutual understanding of information security risks by IT managers and organizational leaders as

Clients Last Name Goes Here 27 well as alignment of informational security goals with organizations mission and vision. Third, information security management is a complex task that involves constant interaction between the organizations social and technological environments. Individuals that are involved in information security managers are managers, employees, specialists, programmers and users. Technology that is employed includes the necessary software and hardware. Finally, information security management is a dynamic process that should continuously adapt to changes in the external and internal organizational environment. Based upon the principles outlined above, the following information security framework is proposed for the Salvation Army. 1) It is necessary to assess the complex organizational environment (internal and external factors) in order to determine information security needs and determine information security objectives. At this stage, security team is assembled, and managerial procedures for implementing informational security program are determined. 2) It is important to establish informational security objectives (both tactical and strategic). Such objectives may involve data confidentiality and privacy as well as data integrity and availability. 3) Information security requirements that are based upon information security objectives should be analyzed carefully and determined through both technical and managerial approaches. 4) Information security control measures should be developed. These controls should be divided into control procedures and technical controls. 5) Conduct information security training and establish a system of managerial support.

Clients Last Name Goes Here 28 References Ainsworth, D 2011, 'Six tips for getting the almost out of your IT', Third Sector, 676, pp. 24-25 Ainsworth, D 2008, 'Money matters', Third Sector, p. 9 Ashford, W., 2011, Case Study: Data encryption at the Salvation Army, Computer Weekly, August 5. Becrypt, 2011, Becrypt holds the key to security and compliance for Salvation Armys legion of 7,000 IT users, [pdf] Available at: <https://www.becrypt.com/assets/files/cs/Salvation%20Army%E2%80%99s%20%20Disk%20Protect.pdf> Best, D. 2004, "ICT for Social Welfare - A Toolkit for Managers", Journal of telemedicine and telecare, vol. 10, no. 5, pp. 310-310. Bomgar, 2011, The Salvation Army Case Study, [pdf] Available at: <http://www.bomgar.com/documents/resources/cssalvationarmy.pdf> Citrix, 2004, The Salvation Army Serving Applications to Serve the Community, [pdf] Available at: <http://www.citrix.com/site/resources/dynamic/customerStory/salvation_army_10_04_cs _us.pdf> Coulson, M. 2008, "Innovation in Human Service Information Technology Recognized in ISM 2008", Policy & Practice, vol. 66, no. 4, pp. 26-27. Coxon, A 2009, 'FOCUS ON IT', Third Sector, p. 24 Exinda, 2009, Exinda Networks Lends a Helping Hand to The Salvation Armys IT Network, [pdf] Available at: <http://www1.exinda.com/servlet/servlet.FileDownload?file=01520000000w3J9>

Clients Last Name Goes Here 29 Fisher, P, 2010, SC Magazine interview: Martyn Croft, chief information officer at the Salvation Army, SC Magazine, April 27. Fisk, R 2008, 'IT intelligence', Third Sector, p. 26 Hackler, D., Saxton, G.D., 2007, The Strategic Use of Information Technology by Nonprofit Organizations: Increasing Capacity and Untapped Potential, Public Administration Review, vol. 67, 3, pp. 474-487 IGEL Technology, 2008, Salvation Army turns to IGEL for IT to help homeless back to work [pdf] Available at: <http://www.igel.com/fileadmin/user/upload/documents/PDF_files/Case_Study_US/CS_ Salvation_Army_US.pdf> Kolb, N., Abdullah, F., 2009, Developing an Information Security Awareness Program for a Non-Profit Organization, International Management Review, Vol. 5, 2, pp. 103-107 Mirza, A.A., 2010, Failure and Success Factors of an Information System Development in a Charitable Organization, Global Journal of Management and Business Research Vol. 10 Issue 3 Park, C. 2006, Collaboration among human service nonprofit organizations: Mapping formal and informal networks of exchange, University of Pittsburgh. Qingxiong, M, Schmidt, M, & Pearson, J 2009, 'An Integrated Framework for Information Security Management', Review Of Business, 30, 1, pp. 58-69 Optimum Technology Transfer, 2011, Overcoming logistical challenges: eLearning for The Salvation Army [pdf] Available at: <http://www.optimum.co.uk/domains/optimum.co.uk/local/media/downloads//Case_Stud y___The_Salvation_Army.pdf>

Clients Last Name Goes Here 30 Saigal, A., 2008, A study on the impact of information technology use on nonprofit organizations, Grand Valley State University SmartDrive, 2009, The Salvation Army Relies on SmartDrive, [pdf] Available at: <http://www.smartdrive.net/documents/salvation-army-case-study.pdf> Sweatman, P. 2003, "Charity technology trust: A case study", International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 286-293. TechnologyOne, 2011, Case Study: Salvation Army, [pdf] Available at: <http://www.technologyonecorp.com/media/docs/CS_Salvation_Army_CaseStudy_CS01 5-1111_LR.pdf> Weiss, T.R., 2008, Q&A: Salvation Army CIO uses high-tech to support nonprofit, CIO, April 30. Zorn, T, Flanagin, A, & Shoham, M 2011, 'Institutional and Noninstitutional Influences on Information and Communication Technology Adoption and Use among Nonprofit Organizations', Human Communication Research, 37, 1, pp. 1-33