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For this assignment, you will construct a 4-page intermediate strategic IS plan for Reynolds Tool & Die. You will create an outline detailing a comprehensive IT strategy (not just purchases) to support the upcoming merger and acquisition planned by the company. Your plan must address timelines, systems integration, and change management. In this assignment, you will be leading the IT transition team and once the merger and acquisition are completed, you will serve as the senior IT manager for the new organization that has absorbed the aircraft part manufacturer. You will also be the person working with your counterpart in the joint venture with the company from Mexico, but you will not have any managerial or supervisory role there. Assume the merger/transition announcement is made in the first quarter. Systems integration needs to start in the second quarter and then must finish by November 30 to be prepared for the year-end accounting procedures. Headings for your intermediate strategic information systems plan should include: You’ll need to assess and analyze the IT operations and infrastructure of the organization you are about to merge with and/or acquire. This assessment should include hardware, software, and IT personnel. Based on your assessment, you are to propose an intermediate strategic plan for systems and IT organization integrations. Address these questions: Include at least one additional reference in addition to the class text for this assignment. For this assignment, you’re a senior IT manager at Reynolds Tool & Die. You have been asked to write a 4-page plan detailing how you will create a culture of innovation in IT operations and integrate IT innovation into long-range strategic planning. Your proposal should include recommendations for specific technology innovations and explain how you expect these innovations to drive business success over time. This assignment requires you to analyze the company’s goals; analyze how IT innovation can contribute to those goals and how the current environment might be able to support innovation. After you have completed your analyses, you will synthesize all of this information into a long-range IT plan focusing on innovation. Specifically, your plan needs to address two things: Headings should be as follows: Consider this a wish list. What innovative technologies will you propose to help Reynolds accomplish its long-range goals? For example, does artificial intelligence have a place in the organization? Big Data? What about next-generation cloud technologies? How will mobility (related to mobile devices) fit into your planning? To implement creative solutions, you need an innovative team. Going forward, you’ll want to hire the right people and train them the right way. You already have staff who have been doing things a specific way, and you need to create a culture of innovation throughout the organization. How will you do that? Some areas to address are: Does your current staff have the right skill sets? What skill sets will they need to add to be innovative? What are the potential budget considerations for ongoing training? Can you make the case for research and development (R&D) within Reynolds’ IT organization? R&D isn’t synonymous with product development; it’s a function tasked with pursuing forward-thinking, innovative strategies, even strategies that the business doesn’t expect to pay off in the short term but hopes will pay off eventually in the long term.