Centralized vs. decentralized computing : organizational considerations and management options

The long-standing debate over whether to centralize or decentralize computing is examined in terms of the fundamental organizational and economic factors at stake. The traditional debate is examined and found to focus predominantly on issues of efficiency vs. effectiveness, with solutions based on a rationalistic strategy of optimizing in this tradeoff. A more behavioralistic assessment suggests that the driving issues in the debate are the politics of organization and resources, centering on the issue of control. The economics of computing deployment decisions is presented as an important issue, but one that often serves as a field of argument that is based on more political concerns. The current situation facing managers of computing, given the advent of small and comparatively inexpensive computers, is examined in detail, and a set of management options for dealing with this persistent issue is presented

Towards a theoretical lens to examine the structural impact of adopting Web 2.0

With the widespread integration of Web 2.0 technologies across society and business there is an increasing need to understand their underlying impact. Yet, very little research has been done on such technologies, so much so, that a definition still eludes the academic community. Nonetheless, their impacts cannot be ignored. For instance, from a societal perspective, the proliferation of social networks and attitude towards openness highlights the transformation from hierarchical type social structures to more non-hierarchical (horizontal) systems. However, rigorous analysis of the structural impacts of the technologies in an organisational context is more difficult due to the lack of theoretical frameworks. Moreover, there has been a call for researchers to build their own theoretical frameworks for further understanding in the domain. As a result, this paper aims to add to the body of knowledge by (i) further defining Web 2.0, (ii) reviewing past literature on organisational structure and technology, and (iii) developing a theoretical lens by rediscovering past socio-technical theories

A Contingency Analysis of Post-Bureaucratic Controls in IT-Related Change

Recent developments in IT-enabled change have sparked many discussions on the emergence of a new management paradigm beyond bureaucracy. However, many of these studies are anecdotal or descriptive in nature, with few empirical studies. This research attempts to address this problem by developing a contingency framework within which the impact of information technology (IT) implementation on forms of post- bureaucratic controls is examined. It identifies post-bureaucratic control as a portfolio comprising empowerment, and panoptic or ideological control and argues that the emergence of these controls will differ, depending on the nature of the task structuredness and the context of IT-enabled change. It argues that the panoptic visibility afforded by the new technology enables management to decentralize power to employees without completely losing control. However, the ability to textualize behaviors in unstructured tasks is limited. In compensation, management will use ideological control to ensure that organization goals are met. Using a mixed methodology of qualitative and quantitative methods, two organizations, one undergoing an automational change and another a transformational change, were selected as cases to illustrate the framework. This study should prove interesting to researchers as it undertakes an empirical examination of post-bureaucratic controls and proposes a contingency framework to tie up apparent contradictions in findings. It also identifies new forms of control beyond bureaucracy, which practitioners may find are becoming increasingly relevant in a more fluid, uncertain “new economy.

Interorganizational Cooperation to Develop Information Systems

Interorganizational cooperative relationships offer the potential to develop high quality, low cost information systems. Yet, such relationships are conspicuous by their absence, and important theoretical issues remain to be examined. In this paper, we analyze three cases of cooperative development of information systems, using the frameworks of cooperation theory and configuration theory. Cooperation theory highlights the role of trust in cooperation whereas configuration theory highlights the role of configurational compatibility. The within-case and cross-case analysis finds the pattern of cooperation to be paradoxical within the framework of cooperation theory, but, consistent with configuration theory, cooperation fell with increasing configurational distance. We find that the organizational changes required to overcome small configurational distances are complex and difficult to implement, raising barriers to cooperation. We examine the implications of configurational distance for the adoption and implementation of information systems innovations and suggest that configurational distance is a useful contingency variable in implementation research

Information Technology and Occupational Structure

A central tenet of much popular and scholarly literature is that computers -and more broadly speaking "information systems"- bring about significant change in organizations. Some scholars focus on changes in organizational structure- the division of labor and its coordination through authority and power (Blau, 1976; Danziger, et. d., 1982; Laudon, 1976; 1986; Keen 1981; Kling and Iacono, 1984; Orlikowski and Robey, 1991; Robey, 1981; Walton, 1989; Barley 1986; 1990) . Others focus on IT induced changes in the design of work (Zuboff, 1984; Bikson, et. al., 1985: Kraut, et. al., 1987; Sproull and Kiesler, 199 1; Turner, 1984; Iacono and Kling, 1987). Still others have argued that IT significantly alters occupational structure in organizations--the distribution of employment among occupations and skill classes of workers (Braverman, 1984; Kling and Turner, 1987; Berndt, et. al., 1992; Howell and W e , 1993; Cyert and Mowry, 1988; 1989). In general, the impact of IT on occupational structure of firms and organizations is a neglected area of empirical research despite the fact that scholars have strong opinions, and convincing theories, about such occupational shifts. In this paper we report the results of a twenty year longitudinal study of occupational structure in three of the largest and most intensive organizational users of IT in the United States. For benchmarking purposes we also examine occupational change at the aggregate society level and in the federal government sector over a twenty year period. The results of our research question the claim that IT brings about significant change in occupational structure. While the organizations we examine did experience significant change in occupational structure during periods of intense computerization, these changes did not conform to theoretical predictions and they were inconsistent from one organization to another. We conc1ude that organizational occupational structures are quite stable in the face of massive IT change and claims that IT brings about "revo1utionaryâ changes in organizational structure have little empirical foundation even though there may be isolated cases where such rapid and drastic changes do occur.Information Systems Working Papers Serie

Information technology and transitions in the public service: a comparison of Scandinavia and the United States

New information technologies have the potential to transform the ways governments are organized, the activities they perform, the manner in which such activities are performed and even the nature of the work itself. Governments in the US and Scandinavia have followed fundamentally different approaches to the introduction of computing and to dealing with its effects. In the US, automation has been individualistic – each individual unit of government has introduced the technology according to its own needs. For the most part, the implemented systems were small scale, have followed functional lines, have merely automated existing operations, were implemented incrementally and have evolved slowly over time. In contrast, automation in Scandinavia has been communal – systems have been designed, developed and implemented by communal data processing agencies serving an entire level of government, national or local. The systems introduced were relatively large scale, have crossed functional lines, have involved the reorganization of work, have integrated both data and work processes, and were implemented more or less simultaneously for all units or agencies of government. These differences in approach to automation have influenced each country’s view of the role of government in anticipating and dealing with the effects of changes in computer technology on the public workforce. © 1995, Operational Research Society Ltd

What is coordination theory?

"February 1988."Includes bibliogaphical references (p. 22-28).Thomas W. Malone