Lecture 1Introduction to Organisations

and Information Systems

(Unit 1)

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a collection of interacting and interdependent individuals who work towards common goals and whose relationships are determined according to a common structure"

(Duncan, 1981)

Organisations

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Organisation

Vision

Mission Statement

Goals and Objectives

An aspirational

view

A general expression of the overall purpose

Why do organisations exist?

Organisational theories

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Organisational Structure

Objective of the organisational structure

Means of attaining objectives and goals

The extent to which, and the ways in which, one is controlled and constrained

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New Business Models

Multinational companies International organisations Virtual global companies

Page 336 of Turban et al.

Enterprise

Multinational companies Sometimes referred to as a "transnational corporation". A good summary is given at:

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/multinationalcorporation.asp

WiseGEEK discuss different business models used: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-multinational-corporation.htm

Good description is given by bized: http://www.bized.co.uk/learn/economics/notes/multi.htm

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Chief executive

Senior executive

Department/division heads

Superintendents

General foremen

First-line supervisors

Top management

Middle management

Supervisory management

Organisation Structure

Buchanan & Huczynski, 1997,

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Organisation Culture

What is meant by the term ‘Culture’?

a set of major understandings and assumptions shared by a group

Some Aspects of Culture(L.Aiman-Smith 2004)

Historical: Culture is social heritage, or tradition, that is passed on to future generations

Behavioural: Culture is shared, learned human behaviour, a way of life

Normative: Culture is ideals, values, or rules for living

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Functional: Culture is the way people solve problems of adapting to the environment and living together

Mental: Culture is a complex of ideas, or learned habits, for social control

Structural: Culture consists of patterned and interrelated ideas, symbols, or behaviours

Symbolic: Culture is based on arbitrarily assigned meanings that are shared by an organization

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Models of Culture Geert Hofstede – country culture – 5 dimensions

– Culture’s Consequences (1980) –reprinted in 2001 O’Reilly, Chatman, and Caldwell (1991) –

organisational culture – 7 dimentions Two dimensional framework

– internal or external focus – flexibility and individuality or stability and control.

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Organisational tension

Reflects conflict between

Order & Stability

Demands of the internal system and those of the external environment

4 cultural types

(Boddy et al., 2002)

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This type of organization has a sense of cohesion, with goals that strongly shared. Inside, the organization may feel more ‘family like” than ‘business like.” Clan Culture – Cameron and Quinn (1999)Having Involvement of all employees- (Denison, 1990)

The emphasis on being open to change and oriented to the outside world characterizes organizations in which innovation can thrive, indeed sometimes the innovativeness can run amuck. Adhocracy Cultures -Cameron and Quinn (1999)High Adaptability cultures -(Denison, 1990)

This type of organization often relies on formal structures, policies and procedures to keep things running.Hierarchy Culture - Cameron and Quinn (1999)An internal focus is on Consistency - (Denison, 1990)

These types of organizations are concerned about productivity, consistency, results, the bottom line. These organizations are very clear about their customers, and hence can be termed Market Cultures.(Denison, 1990) – These organizations have a sense of external Mission, combined with control, that can be very successful.

Internally focused Externally focusedF

lexi

bil

ity

and

Dis

cret

ion

Sta

bil

ity

and

Con

trol

(L.Aiman-Smith 2004)

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Flexibility

Order

Internal External

Human relations

Stability Productivity

Survival

Computer-aided instruction Interpersonal computing and conferencing Group decision supporting

Internal monitoring Internal controlling Record keeping Optimising

Environmental scanning and filtering Inter-

organisational linking Doubt and argument promoting

Modelling Forecasting

Sensitivity analysing

(Boddy et al., 2002:173)

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Environment

Organisation

Customers Suppliers Competitors Investors Regulators

Technology Knowledge IS

(Adapted from Laudon and Laudon, 2006:78)

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Organisations

peopleresources

Goals and objectives

vision

Mission

Organisational behaviour

Structure

Controlled performance

Culture

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Announcement

Module Representatives

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Developed by Ludwig von Bertalanffy in 1936

System Theory

“System theory is the transdisciplinary study of the abstract organization of phenomena, independent of their substance, type, or spatial or temporal scale of existence. It investigates both the principles common to all complex entities, and the (usually mathematical) models which can be used to describe them”

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What is a system?

‘A group of interrelated components working together toward a common goal by accepting inputs and producing outputs in an organised transformation process’

(James o’Brien, 2004)

“A system is an entity which maintains its existence through the mutual interaction of its parts”. Ludwig von Bertalanffy

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Organisation

Production process

Input from the environment

Output to the environment

Feedback

(adapted from Laudon and Laudon, 2006:73)

System Theory

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Emergence Anasynthis

(Introduction to Systems Thinking by Gene Bellinger at http://www.systems-thinking.org/systems/systems.htm )

Open systems Vs Closed systems

Close-coupled systems

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The Functions of Information

Technology (IT)

Capture

Process

Generate

Store/Retrieve

Transmit

James A. Senn, Page 23

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Information systems are the means by which organisations and people, using information technologies gather, process, store, use, and disseminate information.

(www.ukais.org)

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A Business IS (BIS) … convert data into information products that can be used to support forecasting, planning, control, co-ordination, decision making and operational activities in an organisation.

– Bocij et al.

Information Systems

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Input of data

resources

Processing data into

information

Output of information

products

Storage of data resources

Control of system performance

People Resources

End users and IS specialist

s Software Resources

programs and procedures

Har

dwar

e R

esou

rces

mac

hine

s an

d m

edia

Network Resources Communications media and Network support

Data R

esources

data and Know

ledge bases

(O’Brien, 2004, page 11)

The Components of an IS

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People resources

IS Specialists - People who develop and operate IS, e.g. system analysts, software developers, system operators

End Users - anyone who uses the information systems or the information it produces,

e.g. customers, salespersons, managers (O’Brien, 6th Edition, page 12)

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Software resources all sets of information processing instructions

Programs - System software (operating system programs), Application software (spreadsheet programs, word processing programs, payroll programs, etc.)

Procedures - data entry procedures, error correction procedures, paycheque distribution procedures, etc.

(O’Brien, 6th Edition, page 12)

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Hardware resources All physical devices and materials used in information processing

Machines - Computers, video monitors, magnetic disk drives, printers, optical scanners, etc.

Data Media - floppy disks, magnetic tapes, optical disks, plastic cards, paper forms, etc.

(O’Brien, 6th Edition, page 12)

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Network resources

Communications media, Communications processes, Network access and control software, etc.

(O’Brien, 6th Edition, page 12)

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Data resources

Product descriptions, Customer records, Employee files, Inventory Databases,Organisational knowledge bases External data warehouses, etc.

(O’Brien, 6th Edition, page 12-13)

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Data Vs Information Application programs Vs IS IS Vs IT (ICT)

Used To Build

Hardware Software Databases Networks other related components

Read Chapter 1 Page 18 ff of Turban et al.

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Application programs

IS

IT

Data Information

People

Decisions

Actions experience

Knowledge