CARTOGRAPHIES OF CATASTROPHE AND COMPETENCY: IS IN THE LONDON AMBULANCE SERVICE (LAS)

The London Ambulance Service (LAS) attempts to enhance its services through the adoption of a Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system is a well known and well documented, if not notorious, ongoing narrative of information systems (IS) failure and success (Fitzgerald, Guy & Russo 2005). This paper suggests that René Thom’s catastrophe theory (Thom 1989) could be used as a visual metaphor, which can be used to interpret the historical saga of this possibly catastrophic and possibly successful technological and social change. The capacity of the imagery from ‘cusp catastrophe’ to further inform socio-technical practices, gleaned through these interpretations, will also be discussed

Using Actor Network Theory to Interpret the Introduction of Information Systems within the London Ambulance Service

This paper presents a comparative analysis of two attempts to computerize the dispatch system (known as CAD) for the London Ambulance Service (LAS). These two cases are relatively well known and the first attempt has been characterized as a „failure‟ and the second as a „success‟. However, this analysis focuses on the human elements and uses Actor Network Theory (ANT) as the comparative interpretive framework to draw insights from the two cases. The ANT analyses focus on the role of the chief executive (CE) in each case, and how well they were able to mobilize the relevant groups involved in the CAD development and implementation. Both cases involved conflict between management and workforce aimed at changing peoples‟ working practices and processes, organizational politics, industrial relationships and the CAD development. The concepts of the successful and unsuccessful problem solving actor networks are developed as a means of appreciating the complexities, comparability and differences of these scenarios. Lessons learned from the comparative experience of the LAS cases provide insights into organizational turnaround, with success attributed to actively integrating IS and business development based on effective problem solving

A critically systemic approach for understanding information systems failure in the UK public sector

In the United Kingdom, the implementation of large-scale Information System (IS) projects has led to multifarious problems over the last few decades, and this seems to be an ongoing situation. As a result, within the public sector organisations, a number of information systems have failed to meet their pre-specified goals in spite of the large amount money and effort spent on IS projects. Information system projects are highly complex and the complexity is varied based on the different aspects involved including technical, organisational, and social, while the traditional concepts have less of an effect when aiming to achieve considerable improvement to cope with the increasing complexity of the situation. This was apparent in the study of two examples of large-scale IS failures in the UK public sector, whereas the attention was on examining discrete elements without considering the potential relationships between the elements. The current study, therefore, proposes a system approach as an alternative to understanding the nature of large-scale IS failures in the UK public sector. The systems approach, as an advanced movement in management science, seeks to identify social context and organizational issues and to use a combination of methodologies, methods, tools, and techniques to help problem solvers better control problematic situations. Thus, the Systems Approach is privileged because it offers a holistic approach to look at the problematic situation rather than being focused solely on a particular aspect instead of the interconnected relationships among its parts. The alternative approach benefits from the new problem solving and practical intervention strategies toward a better understanding of the complexity, diversity, and change of the problematic situations, while providing a comprehensive insight into the real-world problem of IS failure. This extends to identifying the contradictory issues related to power, conflict, and culture affecting the situation. Within the Systems Approach the researcher employed critical pluralism to the current study, which is theoretically built upon a combination of methodologies and methods designed for a particular intervention.Some findings of the research disclose that large-scale IS failure in the UK public sector is treated inadequately, and solutions proposed to reduce the rate of failure ignore this complexity. The findings also reveal that there are four factors affecting large-scale IS failure in the UK public sector: political factors; organisational factors; technical factors; and human factors. The founding related to the methodology, the researcher found that critical pluralism appears able to capture a set of systemic processes: appreciation; analysis; assessment; and action. All these processes were conducted collectively and supported by a particular type of collected data activities in the way of identifying the natures of the IS system and its associated sub-systems. Finally, by conducting a particular Systems Approach technique to assess the IS failure problem in the UK public sector context, it cannot be claimed that the solution is applicable to other situations in another context because the approach itself views any problematic situation as unique and hard to be generalised. Nevertheless, the discovery of such solutions leads to the accumulation of knowledge that contributes to reductions in the rates of IS failure in general

Cast iron promises

During the Victorian era, a fiercely competitive industry emerged to build and operate Britain's railways. Many of the design and construction skills required were still fairly rudimentary, and were typically developed through practical experience. The resulting mix of entrepreneurship and new technology reshaped the landscape, but often in ways which proved hazardous for passengers. Minor accidents were commonplace, and a number of major failures occurred, one such being the collapse of the Tay Bridge, in 1879. Events in the ten years prior to this disaster still have some resonance today. Ambitions to exploit new technology are not always matched by foresight in the planning, financing or management of projects. Contracts may be based on wrong assumptions, and prove difficult to enforce. Once a project has gathered momentum, those working on it may fear that any attempt to draw attention to risks or defects will be seen as disloyal. When work is completed, it cannot be assumed that formal inspections will reveal potential flaws, or that those using the technology will appreciate the need to follow the procedures laid down for them. Some possible parallels with recent experiences in NHS computing are noted

Exploring knowledge management integration through EAI in local government domain

Information Technology (IT) infrastructure integration and knowledge management share communal objectives e.g. to make organisations more effective and efficient, agile and innovative, and more responsive to market changes. Such association when assimilates bona fide knowledge management philosophy, it offers the IT departments a headship opportunity for organisational transformation in affiliation with the rest of the establishment. Notwithstanding, in the context of Local Government Authorities (LGAs), the non-integrated nature of the IT infrastructure is associated with inefficient data and knowledge exchange and reduction in LGA services’ quality. Therefore, numerous data inconsistencies and redundancies occur that impact LGA services to their citizenry. LGAs have deployed Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) technological solutions to integrate their legacy with new developed Information Systems (IS). Literature indicates that EAI achieves integration at five layers namely: (a) connectivity, (b) transportation, (c) transformation, (d) process integration and (e) knowledge integration. This research adapts a Revised Model for Integration Layers (REAL) and tests through a case study in a local authority. The results indicate that cases leading to data inconsistencies and replication can be prevented by integrating knowledge through EAI

Identifying healthcare actors involved in the adoption of information systems

The adoption of information systems in healthcare is no less significant than in any other commercial or caring organisation. The literature on IS adoption in healthcare, makes it clear that the actors involved in the adoption process are almost universally seen as crucial, which matches our research results too. However, how such actors should be identified remains a topic for investigatory work since these are early days in achieving this. We derive and propose a structured method to model how actors might be identified: structured because such a rationale is explicable and such a method is more readily usable when transferred to others. Our structured method, named IGOHcaps, uses a static and then a dynamic step to pull out the individual, group, organisational and human determinants of the critical actors. In this process, the individual actors’ differing views emerge which could enable decision-making bodies to produce more robust proposals if they incorporated some of the appropriate views. We discuss the application of IGOHcaps through a hospital case study. While a single case study cannot be a proof, the engagement of the actors was encouraging

Research on information systems failures and successes: status update and future directions

Information systems success and failure are among the most prominent streams in IS research. Explanations of why some IS fulfill their expectations, whereas others fail, are complex and multi-factorial. Despite the efforts to understand the underlying factors, the IS failure rate remains stubbornly high. A Panel session was held at the IFIP Working Group 8.6 conference in Bangalore in 2013 which forms the subject of this Special Issue. Its aim was to reflect on the need for new perspectives and research directions, to provide insights and further guidance for managers on factors enabling IS success and avoiding IS failure. Several key issues emerged, such as the need to study problems from multiple perspectives, to move beyond narrow considerations of the IT artifact, and to venture into underexplored organizational contexts, such as the public sector. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York

The Impact Of Knowledge From Learning-About Electronic Health Records On It Innovation Adoption: The Moderating Role Of Absorptive Capacity

Learning-by-doing is a crucial process to successful IT adoption. Yet, this type of organizational learning process is necessary but not sufficient to the adoption success. Learning-about, the pre-adoption learning activity, plays an equally important role in an organization’s IT adoption. In healthcare industry, hospitals are not always able to utilize healthcare information technologies (HITs), such as electronic healthcare records (EHRs), to generate high quality information for decision making. Having pre-adoption knowledge and the capacity to absorb the knowledge is likely to better the adoption results. This research proposes a conceptual model to explain the importance of the knowledge from learning-about EHR technology and explore the role absorptive capacity plays in EHR pre-adoption. This study contributes to the existing EHR literature by (1) adding pre-adoption knowledge into the ingredients of successful adoption, and (2) discussing the moderating effect of absorptive capacity to the relationship between pre-adoption knowledge and outcomes of adoption

Benefits and barriers related to eai adoption: the case of a healthcare organisation

Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) technology has emerged to overcome integration problems at different levels such as process and data. Although, many public and private organisations have successfully implemented EAI solutions, the adoption of EAI in healthcare organisations is slow and problematic. The research that has been published in this area remains limited and has mainly focused on factors (e.g. benefits, barriers etc) that influence the decision making process for EAI adoption in healthcare. Notwithstanding, the implications of EAI have yet to be assessed, leaving scope for timeliness and novel research. The main contribution of this paper is the identification of the benefits and barriers associated with the EAI adoption in healthcare. In addition, this research has identified and mapped healthcare actors to these benefits and barriers. Therefore, it supports the decision making process as it results in more informed practices and thus speeds up EAI adoption in healthcare. This is of high importance as 23725 human lives are lost in UK every year due to the limitations of the non-integrated healthcare Information Technology (IT) infrastructures. The proposed approach is significant and novel as it (a) improves the realisation of EAI adoption benefits and barriers, (b) enhances the analysis of EAI adoption in healthcare by incorporating an actororiented approach and (c) facilitates healthcare organisations and decision-makers in realizing EAI adoption benefits and barriers. Thus, it significantly contributes to the body of knowledge and practice in this area. Thus, it provides sufficient support to the management and speeds up the adoption process