1 Objectives: How organizations and information systems work together, or sometimes against each other The nature of organizations and how they relate

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Objectives:• How organizations and information systems work together, or

sometimes against each other• The nature of organizations and how they relate to Information

Systems

The Relationship Between Organizations and Information SystemsThe Relationship Between Organizations and Information Systems

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Complexity of the Relationship between organizations and information technology

Installing a new system or changing the old one involves much more than simply plunking down new terminals on everyone's desk

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What is an organisation?An organization is very similar to the Information System

• Both require inputs and some sort of processing, both have outputs, and both then depend on feedback for successful completion of the loop.

• Information Systems use data as their main ingredient. Organizations rely on people.

• However, the similarities are remarkable. They are both a structured method of turning raw products (data/people) into useful entities (information/producers).


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Why Organizations Are So Much Alike: Common Features

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Standard Operating Procedures

• Precise rules, procedures and practices developed by organisations to cope with virtually all expected situations

• How many of these characteristics fit your college class? • How many fit any organization you're in? • Some of the SOPs, politics, and culture are so ingrained in organizations that they

actually hinder the success of the group.

• Think about your experiences in groups. You had a leader (hierarchy), a set of rules by which you operated (explicit rules and procedures), and people appointed to perform certain tasks (clear division of labor). You probably voted on different issues (impartial judgments), and you decided on the best person to fill various positions within the group (technical qualifications for positions). Hopefully, the organization was able to fulfill its goals (maximum organizational efficiency), whether winning a softball game or putting on an award-winning play.

• If your organization wasn't successful, perhaps it was because of the SOPs, the politics, or the culture.


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Organizational Politics

• Everyone has their own opinion about how things should get done. People have competing points of view. What might be good for Accounting may not be to the advantage of Human Resources.

• The Production Department may have a different agenda for certain tasks than the Shipping Department.

• Especially when it comes to the allocation of important resources in an organization, competition heats up between people and departments.

• The internal competition can have a positive or negative influence on the organization, depending on how it's handled by management.

• The fact remains that politics exist in every organization and should be taken into account when it comes to the structure of the information system.


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Organizational Culture

• Just as countries or groups of people have their own habits, methods, norms, and values, so too do businesses.

• It's not unusual for companies to experience clashes between the culture and desired changes brought about by new technologies.

• Many companies are facing such challenges as they move toward a totally different way of working, thanks to the Internet.

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Different Organizational Types • Organizational Type

– Enterpreneural structure :Young, small firm in a fast-changing enviroment. – Machine bureaucracy: Large bureaucracy existing in a slowly changing

environment, producing standard products. It is dominated by a centralized management team and centralized decision making.

– Divisionalised bureaucracy: Combination of multiple machine bureaucracies, each producing a different product or service, all topped by one central headquarters.

– Professional bureaucracy: Knowledge-based organization where goods and services depend on the expertise and knowledge of professionals. Dominated by department heads with weak centralized authority. E.g :Law firms, school systems, hospitals

– Adhocracy: Task force" organization that must respond to rapidly changing environments. Consists of large groups of specialists organized into short-lived multidisciplinary teams and a weak central management.

– E.g : Consulting firms

Why Organizations Are So Different: Unique Features

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Why Organizations Are So Different: Unique Features

Organizations and Environments

• Some organizations are able to respond faster and better than others.

• Organizations differ because their ultimate goals differ

• For instance, contrast a real estate company with an insurance company…Both businesses are small and entrepreneurial. But they must respond to employees, customers, and potential customers in very different ways. Each has different business processes it must use to meet the goal of staying in business

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Why Organizations Are So Different: Unique Features Other Differences among Organizations

• The external forces on an organization are tremendous. You're living in a time when these forces are causing many organisations-public, private, and governmental-to reevaluate and alter their organizations because of the Internet.

• Some organizations are responding faster and easier than others. Why? Much of the cause can be attributed to the structure of the organization.

• If the structure and culture of the organization promotes new ideas, new products, and new methods, the organization can deal with environmental changes faster than a more staid organizational structure.

• Some companies are simply so big that they can't change their structure as fast as technology demands.

• Goals, Power, Constituencies, Function, Leadership, Tasks, Technology, Business processes

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• Many new jobs have been created because of technology. • Information Systems departments, previously a tiny group of people usually assigned to the

financial group, have moved into the mainstream of most companies. This department is responsible for maintaining the hardware, software, data storage and networks that comprise the firm’s IT infrastructure.

• Programmers have taken on more important positions within organizations. They must understand not only the technical side of computing, but also the business processes (functional side) within the company so they can adapt the technology to the needs of the business.

• System analysts serve as the bridge between the techies and the non-techies.

• Heading this group of people are the information systems managers. Their importance to businesses has grown as the emphasis on technology's role within organizations has grown.

• Just as most organizations have a Chief Financial Officer, the position of Chief Information Officer has been created to handle the problems and opportunities businesses face in today's technologically driven environment.

• Perhaps the most important role of all is the end user. The responsibility for successful integration of Information Systems has extended past the "techies" and become part of everyone's job. No one is isolated from the effects of computers and technology any more.

The IT Infrastructure & IT Services

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The IT Infrastructure & IT Services

IT InfrastructureHardwareSoftwareData StorageNetworks

Information Systems SpecialistsManagersSystems analystsSystems designersProgrammersNetwork specialistsDatabase AdministratorClerical

Information Systems Department

The ORGANISATIONSenior ManagementMajor end users(divisions)

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Managers and Decision Making • Decision making is often the manager’s most challenging role.• IS have helped manger to communicate & distribute information BUT only limited

assistance for decision making

Process of Decision Making• Strategic Decision making: determines long-term objectives, resources, and policies of the

organisation• Management control decision making: how effectively and efiiciently resources are used

and how well operational units are performing• Operational control decision making: determines how to carry out the specific task set forth

by strategic and middle-management decision makers• Knowledge level decision making: evaluating new ideas for products and services, ways to

communicate new knowledge, and ways to distribute information throughout the organisation

Within each level decision can be Structured or Unstructured.• Structured decision: repetitive and routine & involve definite procedure for handling them• Unstructured decision: Decision maker must provide judgment, evaluation, and insights

into the problem definition• Semi-structured decision: Only part of it has a clear-cut answer

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Stages of Decision Making• Intelligence: Identify & understand the problem in the organisation.

MIS systems that deliver wide variety of detailed information can help identify problems

• Design: Design possible solutions to the problem.

Smaller DSS ideal at this stage because they operate on simple models.

• Choice: Choosing among solution alternatives.

Larger DSS can be used at this stage.• Implementation: Decision is put into effect

Managers and Decision Making

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Managers and Decision Making

Stages of Decision Making

Intelligence

Design

Choice

Implementation

Is there a problem?

What are the alternatives?

Which should I choose?

Is the choice working?

The stages in decision Making do not necessarily Follow a linear path.

At any point, you may need to step back to the previous stage

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Implications for the Design and Understanding ofInformation Systems

• The central organisational factor when planning a new system:• The env in which the org must funtion• The structure of the org: hierarchy, specialisation and SOPs• The org’s culture & politics• The type of org & its style of leadership• The principle interest groups affected by the system and the attitude of workers

who will be using the system• The kinds of tasks, decisions & business processes that the IS is designed to

assist

Systems should be built to support both group & Organisationaldecision making. IS builders should design systems with the followingcharacteristics:• They are flexible and provide many options for handling data and evaluating

information• They are capable of supporting a variety of styles, skills, and knowledge as well

as keeping track of many alternative consequences• They are sensitive to the organisation’s bureaucratic and political requirements

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Strategy - general statement of long-term objectives and goals and

ways by which theses can be achieved.

Information Strategy - deals with the integration of an organisation’s

information requirements and information systems planning with its

long-term overall goals (such as customer service etc).

3 areas of Information Strategies:• Information Systems Strategy • Information Technology Strategy• Information Management Strategy

IT as a Business Strategy for organisationsIT as a Business Strategy for organisations

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3 areas of Information Strategies• Information Systems Strategy:

– The long-term directional plan. – Business-oriented and concerned to exploit IT either to support business strategies

or to create new strategic options. – It therefore deals with the integration of organisation’s information requirements and

information systems planning with long-term overall goals.

• Information Technology Strategy:– This leads on from the IS strategy - it deals with technologies (computing,

communications, data and application systems). – This provides a framework for the analysis and design of the technological

infrastructure of an organisation.

• Information Management Strategy: – The basic approach an organisation has to the management of information systems– Includes –

• Planning IS developments• Organizational environment of IS,• Control and Technology


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Reasons that justify the implementation of a strategy for Information Systems and Information Technology

• IT involves high costs (is a high cost activity)• IT is critical to the success of many organisations• IT is now used as part of the commercial strategy in the battle for competitive

advantage• IT as required by the economic context (from a macro-economic point of view)• IT affects all levels of management• IT may mean a revolution in the way information is created and presented to

management• IT involves many stakeholders, not just management, and not just within the

organisation• The detailed technical issues of IT are important (for compatibility between

Information Systems)• IT requires effective management as it can make a real difference to successful

IT use• IT can be used to develop new businesses (for e.g, Reuters created an electronic

marketplace where subscribers could trade via Reuters terminals)


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An Information Strategy must deal with 3 main issues:• The organisation’s overall business needs and its IT needs as a

consequence• The organisation’s current use of IT• The potential opportunities that IT can bring


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Developing an Information Strategy


IT/Business Needs

Encourage Creative Thinking

How can IT Support Business

Objective?

How good are current Systems? 1. Technically 2. Value to Business

Strategies for:

System (i.e, what)

Technology (i.e, how)

Management

Current Systems

Opportunities

Define Business Objectives

Identify Gaps in System Coverage

IT/Business Needs

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IT as a Business Strategy for organisationsIT as a Business Strategy for organisationsDeveloping an Information Strategy• Identifying Business Needs:

– The identification of business needs and the IT framework to satisfy them is at the heart of a strategy for Information Systems and IT. The IS and IT strategies should be part of the overall strategy for the organisation.

– So, the IS strategy should be conducted whenever the organisation prepares its long-term marketing or production strategies.

• Evaluation Business Needs: – This part of the strategy study is necessary so that the organisation might have some

idea where it is starting from, as, later, it will aid in the targeting of resources. – Secondly, the efficiency of current systems coverage is also evaluated. Are users

happy? Is the system reliable?

• Opportunities: – Opportunities cannot always be identified from the two processes above. Instead,

creative thinking in the organisation should be encouraged. – The organisation should foster innovation by encouraging and supporting new ideas

from its staff, and consulting users and customers. – Users should be encouraged to develop their ideas by providing them with the

technological tools to do so.

Documents

1 Objectives: How organizations and information systems work together, or sometimes against each other The nature of organizations and how they relate