Earlier academic studies didn't find a connection between IT spending and profits, but new research has a more upbeat conclusion: Investments in IT can have a positive effect on profitability--one even more pronounced than comparable spending on advertising.

Gartner is a major power in the IT advisory firm space. There is constant contention between Gartner and the vendors who think, right or wrong, that the company charges them way too much—sometimes upwards of $100 million—for positive reviews. IT buyers often complain that Gartner, like any large company serving lots of people, doesn't get down to their unique needs and often sends them analysts who are inexperienced. Furthermore, there has always been a concern with every vendor-funded firm in the segment that the difference between reviews and marketing collateral is negligible. With Gartner, the issue generally isn't corruption but, rather, timeliness and relevance.

Gareth Burton: IT Director for Europe, Africa, Russia and the CaspianBakerHughes

The hierarchy inside a company reflects its values and priorities. It can be a sensitive topic for CIOs. Who your boss is -- CEO, CFO, COO, someone else -- can color the way other executives view you and your staff.

Welcome to IT MythBusters, where we take your most cherished beliefs about IT and rake them over the coals. In this edition, we feature Jeanne Ross, director of MIT's Center for Information Systems Research and co-author of books on enterprise architecture, governance and IT value. Enjoy.

What department heads and line managers think of HR, what employees think, and what HR managers think.

Stephanie Christopher, national director of SHL Australia New Zealand, a company which assists companies — including recruitment firms — in their recruitment activities, says that for the more technical positions HR has to fill, “it would lean toward the line manager for advice; it would be the line manager who would have final say”.

Tell me if you’ve heard this one before: “Managers aspire to be strategic, but they are required to fulfil their duties as a functional expert.”

In the business world, describing your boss as “ape-like” is not typically considered a compliment. But it turns out there is a lot we can learn from chimpanzees about effective leadership. Applying human instincts to the corporate jungle can help IT leaders bring out the best from their team or manage technology change for end-users. Chimpanzees share 98 per cent of our DNA, making them more closely related to humans than gorillas. So it is little wonder that we have a lot in common.

Think of talent management and we immediately think of managing bright, high potential employees. But although ‘star talent’ individuals are important in any business, just managing stars is not enough. A high performing team means managers must understand the performance and contribution from all the team and manage the talent pool.