IMS5006 - Information Systems
Development Practices
Organisational Themes;
Organisational Culture and
Organisational Change
11.1
Organisational themes in ISD
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Strategic information systems
Business process re-engineering (BPR)
Information systems planning
Organisational culture
Organisational change
11.2
Organisational themes in ISD
 strategic information systems: top
management’s needs
 BPR (Business Process Reengineering): re-examination of the
organisation’s information systems
 Strategic planning approaches
11.3
Organisational themes in ISD
strategic information systems:
early computerisation focused on basic transaction processing:
cost savings quantifiable, perform same processing more
efficiently
limitations of further efficiency gains:
opportunities limited as more projects completed
some opportunities unlikely to demonstrate these types of
savings
emergence of an additional role for information systems and IT:
a direct tool for gaining competitive advantage
11.4
strategic information systems
use information systems to improve the business in the market
place:
competitive advantage:
-
redefine the boundaries of specific industries
-
develop new products and services
-
change the relationships between customers and suppliers
-
establish barriers to deter new entrants to the market place
cost justifications more difficult:
-
benefits are not reduced costs
-
need to show that benefits (e.g. improved service) will be
recognised
-
implications for methodologies
11.5
strategic information systems
“classic” examples of use of IS for competitive advantage:
American Hospital Supply Corporation, Merrill Lynch and Co
(see pp 51-52 Avison and Fitzgerald 2003)
the role of IS/IT:
success due to a good product, and can success be sustained
when competitors copy and improve on the product?
Michael Porter’s (1980) framework of competitive strategy:
bargaining power of customers, of suppliers, threat of new
entrants,
threat of substitute products/services, rivalry amongst existing
firms
(pp 51-52 Avison and Fitzgerald 2003)
11.6
strategic information systems
approaches to addressing competitive effectiveness using IS/IT:
1.
technology/ist-driven model:
assume IT investment always provides business benefits
can result in IT not meeting business needs, lack of
budget control over IT, lack of accountability
2.
-
competitor-driven model:
react to competitors by copying them
e.g. data warehousing
organisations will not develop their own strengths/innovations
miss opportunities for being a leader
may still be disadvantaged by not being the first
11.7
strategic information systems
approaches to addressing competitive effectiveness using IS/IT:
3.
Earl’s (1989) model:
a combination of approaches/techniques is necessary
top down analysis of business goals, objectives and the role of IT
e.g. CSFs, SWOT analysis, business-led
-
bottom up analysis of the current systems
evaluate strengths/weaknesses of existing IS/IT and take action:
business contribution/value and technical quality: enhance or exit
-
identify IT opportunities
assess the enabling effects of IT for its potential application
implications for methodologies
11.8
Business process re-engineering (BPR)
business process re-engineering (BPR):
opportunity to re-engineer business processes which is enabled
by technology:
“the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business
processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical,
contemporary measures of performance, such as cost, quality,
service, and speed”
Hammer and Champy (1993)
what an organisation should do, how it should do it, what its
concerns should be, not what they currently are
11.9
Business process re-engineering (BPR)
motivations for re-engineering
-
no choice commercially
-
competitive forces require re-aligning business processes
with strategic positioning
-
organisation management see re-engineering as an
opportunity to streamline and to overtake their competitors
-
the “band wagon” effect: copy the competitors
11.10
Business process re-engineering (BPR)
Hammer and Champy’s model
-
combine several jobs which are performed by a “case
worker” responsible for an entire process
-
“case team” members are empowered to find ways to:
improve service and quality, reduce costs and cycle times
-
process integration means less checks and controls
-
less defects as the entire process is completed by those
responsible for the final product
-
process steps determined by those completing the task
-
parallel processing of entire operations is possible
11.11
Business process re-engineering (BPR)
issues for a BPR programme
-
IT is an enabler, not a driver, of change
-
IS personnel should be involved in early planning but not
as leaders of the change process
-
consider the organisation of the company, the way work is
carried out, the existing operational systems
-
organisational culture change is inevitable:
e.g. flatter structure, customer focus, more teamwork,
coaching rather than directing, facilitative team
management style, balance between management
authority and worker empowerment
-
may need to recruit a BPR team
11.12
Business process re-engineering (BPR)
BPR: experiences of project failures (and failure rates)
-
senior managers lack motivation for organisational change:
BPR must be driven from the top
-
extent of necessary change not fully recognised
-
piecemeal approaches mean individual process gains not
translated into organisational level improvement
-
failure by top management to adequately define future
operations
-
non-critical business operations addressed
-
motivation is publicity/bandwagon or management’s
reputation
-
short-term financial pressures result in lack of resources
-
BPR is radical change, not TQM etc.
11.13
Business process re-engineering (BPR)
BPR crosses functional boundaries
-
increasingly complex environment means new threats and
challenges
-
BPR and IS/IT provide opportunity for radical change
-
need to maximise performance of interrelated activities
rather than individual functions: co-ordination of activities
-
alignment of IS with business strategy through strategic IS
-
role of IS personnel is support
BPR is itself now undergoing re-engineering
-
see pp 58-59 Avison & Fitzgerald 2003
implications for methodolgies
11.14
Information systems planning
planning approaches:
stress the planning required to develop an organisation’s
information systems
top management involved in analysing the organisation’s
objectives
plan for the use of IS/IT to achieve the business objectives
avoid a piecemeal approach to IS development
align IS/IT with the business
planning at three levels: long term, medium term, short term
11.15
Information systems planning approaches
-
organisation-wide perspective promotes integration
-
involvement of top management
-
IBM's BSP (Business Systems Planning 1975)
•
strategic management view of entire organisation
•
top management defines organisational needs
and priorities
•
establish a stable information architecture
•
implementation from bottom up
11.16
IBM's BSP (Business Systems Planning 1975)
1.
define business processes
2.
define business data
3.
define an information architecture
4.
analyse current systems support
5.
interview executives at top three organisational levels
6.
define findings and conclusions
7.
determine architecture priorities
8.
review information resource management
9.
develop recommendations and action plan
10.
overview of follow-up activities
(Sprague and McNurlin 1993)
11.17
Organisational culture
Organisational culture (corporate culture):
 “the system of shared beliefs and values that develops
within an organisation and guides the behaviour of its
members”
Schermerhorn et al (2000,1994)
Influence on:

the performance of an organisation

the quality of working life of its members
11.18
Organisational culture
Three levels of cultural analysis in organisations:
 observable culture, shared values, common assumptions
observable culture:
-
“the way we do things here”
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methods the group has developed and imparts to new
members
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stories, ceremonies, corporate rituals: define
meanings and roles
e.g. founding stories, heroic sagas, success stories:
convey “hidden” information, define group identity
11.19
Organisational culture
Shared values:
a dominant and coherent set of values shared by a
group as a whole: links people together, a motivational
mechanism for members of the organisation
e.g. quality, customer service
Common assumptions:
taken-for-granted truths that members share as a basis
of their collective experience
e.g. background influence of national cultures
11.20
Organisational culture
Subcultures
“groups of individuals with a unique pattern of values
and philosophy which are not inconsistent with the
organisation's dominant values and philosophy”
e.g. high performance task teams, special project teams
Counter cultures
“a pattern of values and a philosophy that rejects the
surrounding culture”
e.g. mergers and acquisitions may produce counter
cultures
11.21
Role of organisational culture
develops the consensus necessary to cope with
changing environments and change
 external adaptation:
core mission and strategy
goals, objectives, means
standards, corrective actions
 internal integration:
common language / jargon
membership criteria
power and status differentials
standards for rewards and punishments
11.22
Role of organisational culture
Cultural rules and roles:
 when various types of actions are appropriate
 where individual members stand in the social system
e.g. meetings:
a forum for dialogue and discussion,
encouragement of new ideas,
full participation
OR
forum for passing out directives and information about
what is being done,
new ideas etc. determined beforehand
11.23
Organisational culture
Elements of “strong” corporate cultures:
 widely-shared philosophy
 concern for individuals
 recognition of "heroes"
 belief in ritual and ceremony
 sense of informal rules and expectations
 networking amongst members
a competitive advantage
11.24
Organisational culture
A strong corporate culture:
positive:
 strong corporate identity
 enhanced collective commitment
 stable social system
 reduced need for bureaucratic controls
negative:
 a particular view is reinforced
 difficult to change
11.25
Organisational change
 introducing and managing organisational change:
-
new information systems
-
new information technology
 for systems development:
-
new system development methodologies
-
new system development technologies
-
new system development techniques
 user perspectives
 systems developers as users: changing roles and
technology
11.26
Organisational change
 organisational performance: efficiency etc.
 quality of work life
 a change agent:
“a person or group taking responsibility for
changing the existing pattern of behaviour of
another person or social system”
Schermerhorn et al (1994)
 unplanned change
 planned change
11.27
Organisational change
organisational targets for change (Kolb et al 1991)
 the people subsystem:
personnel flow, education
 the authority subsystem:
formal authority relationships, informal leadership patterns
 the information subsystem: formal, informal
 the task subsystem: job satisfaction, technology
 the policy/culture subsystem: formal explicit, informal
implicit
 the environmental subsystem: internal physical
environment, external environment
11.28
Organisational change
resistance to change:
 feedback that can be used constructively by the change
agent
 why do people resist change?
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fear of the unknown
-
doubts about future competence
-
comfort with the status quo
-
vested interests threatened
-
“surprise” factor
-
poor timing
-
lack of resources
-
job security
11.29
Organisational change
three phases of planned change:
1. unfreezing
2. changing
3. refreezing
11.30
Organisational change
the scope and nature of change:
• paradigm shift or incremental change
• level of task and organisational integration
• level of functionality
11.31
Organisational change
acceptance criteria for changes:
 changes must have clear, appropriate benefits
 changes must be compatible with existing values and
experiences
 changes must not be too complex
 changes should be able to be tried on an incremental or
experimental basis
11.32
Organisational change
strategies for gaining support for change:

force - coercion: legitimacy, rewards,
punishment

rational persuasion: expert power, rational
argument

shared power: trust-based, common vision
11.33
Organisational change
dealing with resistance to change:
(Schermerhorn et al 1994)
• education and communication
• participation and involvement
• facilitation and support
• negotiation and agreement
• manipulation and co-optation
• explicit and implicit coercion
11.34
Initiating and managing
change
SCOUTING
The Process of
Planned Change
ENTRY
DIAGNOSIS
PLANNING
ACTION
Kolb et al (1991)
p. 593
EVALUATION
INSTITUTIONALISATION
11.35
Initiating and managing
change
scouting
determine readiness for change, obvious obstacles
entry
negotiate a "contract" with entry point representatives
diagnosis
the perceived problem, goals, resources available
planning
define change objectives, alternative solutions, strategies
action
implement change: activities, resistance, monitor
evaluation
relate to objectives
institutionalisation
complete vs continuous
11.36
References
 Avison, D.E. & Fitzgerald, G. (2003).
Information Systems Development:
Methodologies, Techniques and Tools. (3rd ed),
McGraw-Hill, London. Chapters 4.2-4.6, 6.6, 15
 Kolb, D.A., Rubin, I.M. and Osland, J. (1995).
Organisational Behaviour: An Experiential Approach.
(6th ed) Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs.
 Schermerhorn, J.R., Hunt, J.G. and Osborn, R.N.
(2000). Managing Organizational Behavior. (7th ed).
Wiley, New York.
11.37