Lecture 20 socio-organizational issues and stakeholder requirements –Part 3

Lecture 20

socio-organizational issues and stakeholder requirements –Part 3

Today’s Topics Today we will cover

Effective Technical and Human Implementation of Computer-based Systems ETHICS

Ethnographic methods and Contextual Inquiry

ETHICS

Effective Technical and Human Implementation of Computer-based Systems

Developed by Enid Mumford,

Manchester Business School, 1979, 1983, 1985

“ a structured design approach that covers organizational, administrative and quality-of-working-life factors

and

“a participative problem solving methodology”

Mumford (1985)

ETHICS Developed through action research The socio-technical design view:

- Technically efficient

- Social characteristics leading to high job satisfaction and improved quality of

working life

i.e.; Effective computer systems require the technology to fit closely with the social and organizational factors

ETHICS Means of achieving this is the participation

of users at all levels in the design of computer systems

ETHICS embodies an ethical position and it has an explicitly stated philosophy

ETHICS

Technology

People Tasks

Organisationjob satisfaction organisation of work

objectives and mission

opportunities and constraintsgood systems design:

- new technology provides the opportunity for change and improvement

- distinguish between easy and difficult to implement changes

- job redesign needs to be part of the design task

ETHICS: socio-technical design

the socio-technical design approach acknowledges that: different individuals and groups have specific needs,

interests and values these must be met for the successful implementation of

change

job satisfaction:

a good “fit” between the employee's job needs, expectations and aspirations and the job requirements as defined by the organization

ETHICS

Provides a framework of factors for the description and measurement of job satisfaction:

individual’s personality, background, education:

the knowledge fit

the psychological fit competence, control and efficiency:

the efficiency fit

the task structure fit employee values:

the ethical fit

Job satisfaction a “good” knowledge fit:

the employee believes their personal skills and knowledge are being well used and developed

a “good” psychological fit:

the employee believes their personal interests are being catered for(responsibility, recognition, sense of achievement, status, advancement)

Job satisfaction a “good” efficiency fit:

the employee believes their financial rewards are fair, supervisory systems are acceptable, adequate support services

Job satisfaction a “good” task structure fit:

the employee believes their set of tasks and duties meets their task differentiation needs

a “good” ethical fit:

the employee believes the philosophy and values of their employer do not disregard their personal values

Job satisfactionif there is a “bad” fit on any variable(s): psychological, efficiency, and ethical fit

can be improved through changed personnel policies and organizational design

knowledge and task/structure fit can be improved through work redesign

Participation: structure, content and process Structure of participation

The mechanisms enabling participation to take place

e.g. Representatives, voting, pressure groups, spontaneous, direct or indirect (through intermediaries)

Content of participation

The nature of the issues about which decisions are taken

e.g. Management’s jurisdiction, executive decisions

ETHICS and participation

ETHICS and participation Process of participation

The acquisition of knowledge for informed decision making

e.g. Learning/training, working relationships, goal setting, solutions etc.

structure of participation

three levels are identified by Mumford: consultative

all users are consulted about/contribute ideas to the design process but the design task is carried out by systems analysts

representative

design groups formed from elected or selected representatives take design decisions


ETHICS and participation consensus

design group members constantly discuss ideas and solutions with all users

Recommended structure of participation for ETHICS:

a two tier structure of a Steering Committee and a Design Group for each department involved, and a facilitator

Steering Committee (sets design group guidelines):

senior managers from departments, management services and personnel, union

representatives


ETHICS and participation Design Group:

8-10 members, all interests represented e.g. all functions, sections, ages, grades (constituents), and systems analysts (their role is teacher, adviser and learner)

ETHICS and participation Facilitator:

an external or internal consultant who is “neutral” and has training in ETHICS and human relations skills

set social objectives set technical objectives

specify social alternatives specify technical alternatives

match as socio-technical alternatives

rank according to ability to meet social and technical objectives

consider costs / resources / constraints

select best socio-technical solution

Socio-technical systems design

Step 1: Why change?

Step 2: System boundaries

Step 3: Description of existing system

Step 4: Definition of key objectives

Step 5: Definition of key tasks

Step 6: Definition of key information needs

Step 7: Diagnosis of efficiency needs

Step 8: Diagnosis of job satisfaction needs

ETHICS 15 Steps

ETHICS 15 Steps Step 9: Future analysis Step 10: Specifying and weighting efficiency and job

satisfaction needs and objectives Step 11: The organizational design of the new

system Step 12: Technical options Step 13: Preparation of a detailed work design Step 14: Implementation Step 15: Evaluation

Fifteen step version described in Mumford (1983) & the prescribed text

ETHICS - 15 step versionStep 1: why change? Discuss existing problems, future demands, opportunities

provided by improved organization and new technology

Step 2: system boundaries Business activities, existing technology,

departments/sections, organizational environment

Step 3: description of existing system A complete view of how the existing system works: Horizontal input/output analysis (inputs / activities / outputs) Vertical analysis of activities at five levels

vertical analysis of activities at five levels from lowest to highest:

i. operating activities: what are the most important day-to-day tasks?

ii. problem prevention/solution activities: what are the key problems that must be prevented or quickly

solved?

iii. co-ordination activities:

ETHICS - 15 step version

ETHICS - 15 step version what activities must be coordinated within

the system or with other systems?

iv. development activities: what activities, products, services need to

be developed and improved?

v.control activities: how is the system controlled now/ (targets,

progress monitored etc.)

Step 4: Definition of key objectives ignore existing system and focus on the design areas:

- what is their primary role and purpose?

- what should then be their responsibilities and functions? produce a list of key objectives

- how far do their present activities match what they should be doing?

Step 5: Definition of key tasks what are the key tasks that must be carried out to achieve the

key objectives?


Step 6: Definition of key information needs what are the key information requirements associated

with the key tasks?

Step 7: Diagnosis of efficiency needs efficiency needs can be identified by looking for

variances:

“a tendency for a system or part of a system to deviate from some expected or desired standard or norm”


Key variances (systemic): Deep seated problems that cannot be eliminated as they arise

from the nature of the key objectives and key tasks, They often occur at system boundaries, e.g. Sales and

production departments have conflicting objectives in terms of quantity stock on hand

Operating variances: Not as deeply embedded, designed into the system through the

way procedures, machines and activities have been organized, can be eliminated

All staff identify and document variances they encounter (informal discussions and opportunity for all constituents to participate)

Efficiency needs and variances

ETHICS gives efficiency and job satisfaction equal weight Job satisfaction needs to be defined and measuredETHICS standard questionnaire is the basis for job satisfaction diagnosisThe facilitator administers and analyses the questionnaireAll potential users complete the questionnaire and are given a copy of the results for discussion with their Design Group

Step 8: Diagnosis of job satisfaction needs

Step 8: Diagnosis of job satisfaction needsSmall group discussions to explore reasons for results (each member of the Design Group meets with their constituents)The Design Group completes an Analysis of Social Needs form to document satisfactory and unsatisfactory aspects of jobs and identify preliminary suggestions for improvementDesign Group must not “rush” into design though

Step 9: Future analysis a new system must have enough built-in flexibility to

cope with future change identify and analyze future changes likely to affect the

system within the next five years

kinds of changes: technological, legal, economic (e.g. product and labor

markets), employee or customer attitudes, company organization (e.g. merging of departments)

potential impacts on the system of these changes e.g. Design Groups may need to consult both external

and internal experts

Step 10: Specifying and weighting efficiency and job satisfaction needs and objectives

The key step in ETHICS: Objectives are derived from careful diagnosis by the

design group of efficiency, job satisfaction and future needs identified by the group

These objectives are the basis of the new system design Interests of design group members, their constituents, the

design group as a whole and other groups within the organization need to be reconciled

Step 10: Specifying and weighting efficiency and job satisfaction needs and objectives

External groups (e.g. Customers, suppliers) need to be considered

Each design group member ranks the objectives

Meet with steering committee, constituents etc.: Discussion and evaluation - facilitator has a key role

Step 11: Organizational Design of the New system

(This step should occur with step 12: technical options) Identify organizational options:

ways of organizing departments to achieve job satisfaction and efficiency objectives

3 to 6 options should be identified The key objectives and key tasks of steps 4 and 5 guide this

process:

- Use vertical analysis to identify activities for the key tasks as well as key skills and roles and relationships necessary

- Organizational options are different ways of arranging the five types of activities, the skills and roles taking into account technologies as part of step 12

Each organizational option specifies:

Organization of design area as work groups, sections, and responsibilities

Detailed description of sub-groups and responsibilities and tasks

Description of how these are distributed amongst individuals and teams

Each option is evaluated against the objectives identified in step 10

Step 11: organizational design of the new system

Job designdifferent ways in which work can be organizedjob enlargement:

one person does a number of tasks

job enrichment:one person does a number of tasks and uses different

skills

task variety, job rotation, developmental aspects of tasks

Job DesignMumford suggests multi-skilled, self-managing work groups as the ideal:

all members carry out multiple tasks, diverse skills, groups organize and control themselves, including setting performance and quality objectives,

Scope for multi-skilled work must exist,

responsible, well-trained employees are necessary,

there are implications for salary levels and grading schemes

Step 12: Technical optionshardware, software and the human/computer

interface technical options are evaluated against the

efficiency, job satisfaction and future change objectives of Step 10

can create experimental examples (e.g. prototypes) of different options

a shortlist of technical options and organizational options

Step 12: Technical options Check compatibility of each with the others The combined option that best meets the

objectives is selected after discussions between the steering committee, the design group(s) and their constituents

The final choice reflects the careful diagnosis, objective setting, and evaluation of options by the design group, the broad company view via the steering committee, and the views of the users

Step 13: Preparation of a detailed work design

Detailed design of information flows, tasks, work groups, and procedures: check for good job design principles:

i. Clear work group/unit boundaries (identity)

ii. Each group’s set of tasks is a good mix of simple, intermediate and complex activities

iii.The work group can solve the majority of its problems itself

iv. The group is responsible for its work organization and co-ordination

Step 13: Preparation of a detailed work designv.The work group is responsible for

developing improved methods and practices for its area of activities

vi. The work group can set many of its targets and monitor its performance

vii. The work group can easily identify targets it has to achieve

ETHICS: steps 14

Step 14: Implementation the Design group has the role of implementation

group: selection of implementation strategy, e.g. total

change or phased change planning for the change process: activities,

problems, training discussions with Steering Committee and

constituents

ETHICS: steps 15Step 15: evaluation This occurs when the system has been

fully operational for a time Evaluate its ability to meet the objectives:

use variance analysis and job satisfaction analysis tools

ETHICS: good systems design

Mumford (1985):“The aim of good systems design is to introduce a mix of technical and organizational change that will assist the department, and the individuals working there, to achieve group and personal missions”

Provide the information to carry out key tasks and assist better control of key variances

Key tasks and key variances are stable

ETHICS: good systems design improvement in efficiency, effectiveness

and job satisfaction requires elimination or reinforcement of factors that are more easily changed

the involvement of users in the design process is the most effective way of

achieving a clear and comprehensive knowledge of the needs and behavior

of the user department

Characteristics of ETHICS Flexible Socio-technical design is an iterative process Consensus problem solving approach Importance of subjective, qualitative knowledge Is it practical?

Use of ETHICS Impractical:

- Unskilled users can’t do the design

- Management won’t accept it Mumford has used a version for requirements

definition (QUICKETHICS) ETHICS is flexible and has evolved over time as

experience in its use in different situations has developed (action research)

Mumford has published many case studies of its successful use in practice

ETHNOGRAPHIC METHODS

Ethnography“Ethnography is in itself not so much a method as a

category of human-computer interaction research”

adapted from sociology and anthropology a method of observing human interactions in social

settings and activities people in their cultural context

Anthropology is the study of humankind in all its aspects, especially human culture or human development. It differs from sociology in taking a more historical and comparative approach.

Ethnographic observation:

very different from controlled observations in the laboratory!

The observer looks at what people do in real life, recording data in great detail, and then tells a story rather than quantifying the data.

Ethnographic observation vs. experiments

Ethnographic studies: Experiments:


Ethnographic studies:

study behavior taking place naturally

Experiments:

study behavior during a controlled task




fewer observations

Experiments:


many observations




fewer observations

very rich observations

Experiments:


many observations

limited observations




fewer observations


no hypotheses

Experiments:


many observations


hypothesis-testing




fewer observations


no hypotheses

results may differ; speculative

contain confounds

Experiments:


many observations


hypothesis-testing

reliable results; scientific, replicable

eliminates confounds

Contextual Inquiry Approach developed by Holtzblatt

In ethnographic tradition but acknowledges and challenges investigator focus

Model of investigator being apprenticed to user to learn about work Investigation takes place in workplace - detailed interviews, observation,

analysis of communications, physical workplace, artefacts Number of models created:

Sequence, physical, flow, cultural, artefact Models consolidated across users

Output indicates task sequences, artefacts and communication channels needed and physical and cultural constraints

Summary of Today’s Lecture In order to meet socio-organizational

issues and stakeholder requirements different set of methodologies exists.

These methodologies focus on technical as well as social aspects of technology acceptance and rejection.

We have covered today, ETHICS and Ethnographic methods.

Documents

Lecture 20 socio-organizational issues and stakeholder requirements –Part 3