Why we need to align IT with Business?

Lately, I have been following discussions on various blogs about the need to align IT with Business.
In college I have majored in Management Information Systems, a field of study where the focus is in bridging the gaps between IT and Various Units in an organization. But why IT is always the focus when there is a conflict in the Organization? Why there is even a need to align IT with business? Why IT department cannot be a unit in itself? Why there are always discussions at corporate level about the need for IT to align itself with the rest of the Business units?

IT is a separate field of knowledge that has its own standards and procedures. Many articles I have read about this subject suggested the need for top mangers and decision makers to educate themselves about various IT functions within the organization.

IT department can function on its own just like any other departments within the organization. We don’t often hear the need for the Marketing department to align itself with the rest of the organization.

Many none-technical managers and employees feel intimidated by the technical aspects of today’s technical world and they feel as if IT people are not really part of the team so we hear the calls for the need to align IT with Business.
IT is a very dynamic and ever changing field, the call to align IT with business by educating managers and top decisions makers about various technologies is not practical, and it will require constant learning by managers.

IT department head should be a person with knowledge in both technical fields as well as various fields that make up modern organizations. When I majored in Management Information Systems, I didn’t really know what I got myself into; I majored in MIS because it was HOT. Management Information Systems gave me both the technical and business foundations.

Although colleges have been teaching Management Information Systems for over ten years now, many business people are not aware of it. There are actually people out there who have experience in both IT and Management, there is no need to align IT with Business, because it’s not a practical task, what needs to be done is to have IT department headed by a person who has experienced both fields.