11.1 Organisational Themes; Organisational Culture and Organisational Change IMS5006 - Information Systems Development Practices

11.1

Organisational Themes;Organisational Culture and

Organisational Change

IMS5006 - Information Systems Development Practices

11.2

Strategic information systems Business process re-engineering (BPR) Information systems planning Organisational culture Organisational change

Organisational themes in ISD

11.3

strategic information systems: top management’s needs

BPR (Business Process Re-engineering): re-examination of the organisation’s information systems

Strategic planning approaches


11.4

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


11.5

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

11.6


“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)

11.7


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

11.8

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


11.9

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

Business process re-engineering (BPR)

11.10

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


11.11

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


11.12

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


11.13

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.


11.14

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


11.15

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

Information systems planning

11.16

- 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

Information systems planning approaches

11.17

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)

11.18

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

11.19

Three levels of cultural analysis in organisations: observable culture, shared values, common assumptions

observable culture:

- “the way we do things here”

- methods the group has developed and imparts to new members

- stories, ceremonies, corporate rituals: define meanings and roles

e.g. founding stories, heroic sagas, success stories:

convey “hidden” information, define group identity


11.20

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


11.21

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


11.22

Role of organisational culturedevelops 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

11.23

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

Role of organisational culture

11.24

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


11.25


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

11.26

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

Organisational change

11.27

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


11.28

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


11.29

resistance to change: feedback that can be used constructively by the change agent why do people resist change?

- 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


11.30


three phases of planned change:

1. unfreezing

2. changing

3. refreezing

11.31


the scope and nature of change:

• paradigm shift or incremental change

• level of task and organisational integration

• level of functionality

11.32


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

11.33


strategies for gaining support for change:

force - coercion: legitimacy, rewards, punishment

rational persuasion: expert power, rational argument

shared power: trust-based, common vision

11.34


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

11.35

SCOUTING

ENTRY

DIAGNOSIS

PLANNING

ACTION

EVALUATION

INSTITUTIONALISATION

The Process of Planned Change

Kolb et al (1991) p. 593

Initiating and managing change

11.36

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

Initiating and managing change

11.37

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.

Documents

11.1 Organisational Themes; Organisational Culture and Organisational Change IMS5006 - Information Systems Development Practices