An agile approach for IS/IT benefits management

Doutoramento em GestãoInvestments in Information Systems and Information Technology (IS/IT) by organizations around the world have been increasing, as the competition grows fierce. Despite this increase, many organizations feel that their investments do not get the return they expected in terms of real benefits to the business. There have been several attempts to create methods to improve the success of the investments of organizations in the implementation of IS/IT and methodologies have been devised for this purpose, although with modest improvements. One of the main methodologies is the Benefits Management methodology created in the University of Cranfield, widely recognized as a great methodology with proven results, although its adoption is not as high as it would be expected and desirable. This research project looks at the published literature to find the reasons for this problem and then, resorting to Design Science Research methodology, creates artefacts aiming to help solving some of the known problems in the adoption of the Benefits Management methodology. The created artefacts, as defined by the Design Science Research methodology, were then evaluated with a case study that took place in a large Portuguese bank. The results of the evaluation indicate that the artefacts created during this research project were useful and helpful for the adoption of the Benefits Management methodology created in the University of Cranfield.Os investimentos em Sistemas de Informação e em Tecnologia da Informação (IS/IT) por parte das organizações em todo o mundo têm aumentado, à medida que a concorrência cresce ferozmente. Apesar desse aumento, muitas organizações sentem que seus investimentos não lhes trazem o retorno esperado em termos de reais benefícios para o negócio. Têm havido diversas tentativas para criar métodos para melhorar o sucesso dos investimentos das organizações na implementação de IS/IT e foram concebidas metodologias para esse fim, embora com modestas melhorias. Uma das principais metodologias é a metodologia de Gestão de Benefícios criada na Universidade de Cranfield, amplamente reconhecida como uma excelente metodologia, com resultados comprovados, muito embora a sua taxa de adoção não seja tão alta quanto seria expectável e desejável. Este projeto de investigação examina a literatura publicada, procurando encontrar os motivos desse problema e, em seguida, recorrendo à metodologia Design Science Research, cria artefactos com o objetivo de ajudar a resolver alguns dos problemas conhecidos na adoção da metodologia de Gestão de Benefícios. Os artefactos criados, conforme definido pela metodologia Design Science Research, foram depois avaliados num Estudo de Caso que decorreu num grande banco português. Os resultados da avaliação indicam que os artefactos criados durante este projeto de investigação são úteis e ajudam à adoção da metodologia de Gestão de Benefícios criada na Universidade de Cranfield.N/

Reducing the debt : is it optimal to outsource an investment?

International audienceWe deal with the problem of outsourcing the debt for a big investment, according two situations: either the firm outsources both the investment (and the associated debt) and the exploitation to a private consortium, or the firm supports the debt and the investment but outsources the exploitation. We prove the existence of Stackelberg and Nash equilibria between the firm and the private consortium, in both situations. We compare the benefits of these contracts. We conclude with a study of what happens in case of incomplete information, in the sense that the risk aversion coefficient of each partner may be unknown by the other partner

Who migrates overseas and is it worth their while ? an assessment of household survey data from Bangladesh

The paper assesses the costs and household level benefits of migrating overseas from Bangladesh. The authors survey households who have had overseas migrants to assess their characteristics compared to non-migrants. They also compute various types of migration and remittance related transaction costs and discuss the channels by which overseas migration is financed, remittances sent and the constraints faced by the poorest. Using the Propensity Score Matching method, the paper finds that overseas migration conveys substantial benefits to families as measured by household consumption, use of modern agricultural inputs, and level of household savings. The authors also offer some possible policy directions to strengthen the returns from migration as well as reduce some of the costs.Population Policies,Access to Finance,Remittances,Banks&Banking Reform,Debt Markets

Whose Information Is It Anyway? An Argument for Information Stewardship

Information is an important resource for businesses and government, with information quality influencing decision quality, and highlighting our need to manage our information well: as a resource. Information Resource Management (IRM) has as its goal the management of information as a resource, but has not been implemented with the level of success expected. Problems with the implementation of IRM are indicated by the presence of redundant or inconsistent data, inability to share information across systems, and difficulty finding the information on systems. We propose that these difficulties are related to behaviours linked to perceived ownership of corporate information by organisational sub-units. To evaluate the proposition, we performed a case study on an organisation to see if we could identify the presence of problems, and the presence of the ownership behaviours. The case study revealed the presence of both problems with information management and behaviours related to ownership. To improve the management of information in organisations, we recommend that organisations take ownership of the information resource at the corporate executive level, and educate users of the information on the benefits of stewardship of the information they use. This will encourage staff at all levels to see information as a resource, not merely a cost of doing business

The Australian family farm: Is it soon to be an illusive myth?

This paper examines the challenges faced by Western Australian rural enterprises since 1961 and the effects of economic and demographic change on the agricultural industry over the last thirty years. Increasing capitalisation and technological advances have led to major shifts in the way the business of farming is conducted. There is evidence to suggest that these changes have contributed to an oversupply of agricultural products, the development of large-scale agri-business firms and a general depopulation of the agricultural sector. The family farm has always been considered the backbone of Australian agriculture but there is evidence to suggest that in this state the number of family farms has halved in the last 35 years. Furthermore, women are leaving that sector at twice the rate of men despite the fact that the number of women owning small businesses in the agricultural industry is increasing. This paper outlines a number of reasons for this examines the implications of these changes for the industry itself, government policy and society generally in this state