The Application of Analytic Hierarchy Process In Selecting Personnel- A Case Study

One of the most important and difficult decisions a manager makes is to select personnel. The criticality of this decision results in most manager struggling to find till appropriate selection approach. The interview approach is the most common method to selecting personnel. Many users seek to quantify this method by arbitrarily assigning weights and ranking scales for candidate answers. This paper seeks to show the use of AHP to provide a structured and multidimensional approach in assigning weights and ranking candidates. A case study is used to demonstrate the development and application of the structured. AHP approach in selecting personnel

The Complexity Issues of Enterprise Digitalization and the Organisational Challenges of Operations: The Case of Kosova

One of the main challenges to business digital transformation is lack of agile approach to the operations digitalization requirements. This problem can be translated on three main related hypothetical issues: business inability to change various things in a short period of time, lack of straightforward strategic line commitment, and failure to take iterative organisational fast approach towards simplification of technology complexity. This research aims to address the potential causes of organizational inflexibility, strategic issues, and the mode of response to the complex requirements of digitalization process. The target population is composed of Kosovar enterprises with a definite sample. Qualitative research provided forward-thinking knowledge about the theory of complexity and organization, while quantitative research provided testing of research hypotheses related to the three identified causes of the problem

Ethical Decision Making in Technology Development: A Case Study of Participation in a Large Scale Information Systems Development Project

Advanced systems engineering has traditionally paid little attention to ethical concerns relative to other technical and non-technical issues. This is particularly evident in systems analysis, design and development methodologies. This paper asks if it is possible that the lack of emphasis upon ethical considerations in development methodologies can result in the failure of advanced technology development projects? In order to explore this contention, the paper sets out the findings of a case study of a large-scale advanced technology project in a multinational engineering company involving the implementation of an enterprise resource planning system. The research examined the extent to which ethical issues emerged in the project and assesses the impact of ethical considerations upon the technology development process and its outcomes. Evidence is presented which shows how ethical concerns clearly impacted upon the outcome of the project, supporting the contention that ethics was a success factor in the case presented. However, it was also clear that the kinds of ethical considerations that emerged were highly complex, and associated with an ‘ethics of care’. The findings suggested that researchers should examine the potential of an ‘ethics of care’ as a way of complimenting the ‘ethics of rights’ currently dominant within engineering ethics

ISD AS FOLDING TOGETHER HUMANS & IT Towards a revised theory of Information Technology development & deployment in complex social contexts

This paper identifies a gap in ISD research regarding the philosophy of information technology as it relates to social impact in complex organisational contexts. It recognises that this will lead to problems of organisational stability, and that too often technology and knowledge transfer is accompanied by a one-sided approach resulting in a loss of local context. It posits a revised philosophical position based upon the work of current thinkers in the philosophy of technology/human relations and applies this position to ISD. This revised perspective challenges researchers to review their working assumptions about research in general and technology development and deployment in particular

From Information Systems in Social Settings To Information Systems as Social Settings

Research into the social impact of automation sees automation systems as separate entities to the social systems that they affect. This paper examines this research position. Social systems are defined as systems of organisation and work involving human cooperation and inter-relations (adapted from OED 1990). It explores the possibility that some automation systems are themselves social systems. This proposition reframes the question of social impact by placing the impacting system as part of the impacted social system. Manufacturing information systems (IS) are presented as an example of automation applied to information processing. Manufacturing IS’s attempt to provide streamlined, automated information processing in their host organisations. Information systems development (ISD) methodologies are centred upon delivering a technical solution in this space. The focus upon technology in ISD de-emphasises the social impact of these systems and places the technical system outside the impacted social system. This paper briefly summarises results from an empirical study, which reveals that the delivery of a new information system means the delivery of a new social system. This social system is the primary outcome of ISD. This issue is not explicitly recognised by most current research trajectories. This paper contends that the implications of this are extremely significant for research and development of complex automata for information systems

ADDRESSING TACIT KNOWLEDGE IN ISD METHODOLOGIES

This paper identifies a gap in ISD methodologies regarding the exclusion of tacit user requirements in the development of information systems (IS). It recognises that this will lead to IS failure, since given that tacit requirements are not considered or incorporated, these systems will not address these types of requirements. In the mid 90’s Clegg et al (1997) argued that 80-90% of IT investments do not adhere to the performance objectives of the user. They identified a number reason for systems failure, one of them being the poor articulation of user requirements. Tacit knowledge is inarticulable (Wong & Radcliffe, 2000) and subjective (Baumard, 1999). Therefore requirements that result from tacit knowledge use are omitted from consideration in current ISD processes. This paper identifies three characteristics and five acquisition dimensions of tacit knowledge that have a significant impact upon the ISD process. Four well-known ISD methodologies are then critiqued in relation to these. This leads to a revised perspective on current ISD methodologies, which challenges the traditional view regarding the development of systems

Privacy guidelines for telemedicine developers

This presentation was given at the Med-e-tel 2005 Conference in Luxembourg on April 8th, 2005.Ethical Issues in eHealth: This presentation provides an analysis of privacy for telemedicine based on common international privacy practices and a recently published privacy framework for information systems development. Some practical privacy guidelines are ultimately provided for telemedicine developers.ISOL Research Centre, Waterford Institute of Technology, Waterford, Irelan

Revisiting the Nature of Information Systems: The Urgent Need for a Crisis in IS Theoretical Discourse

This paper suggests that the emergence of large scale integrated business and financial information systems is another aspect of the deconstruction of financial and business realities into a simulacrum. It draws largely upon Baudrillard’s theory of modern society and how this society processes and exploits information in an ever increasing vortex of non-information. IS and management literature argues that large scale information systems such as ERP systems and supply chain integration systems are an important step forward for financial information processing because they integrate the disparate units of business information into a coherent whole. However, whilst this is a very tantalising vision, the reality on the ground seems to be different. This paper posits a theoretical position which adopts neither the traditional positivist, decision theory approach nor the social constructivist theories in which the IS is seen as a primarily social system. Instead the work of French Deconstructivists is used to interpret empirical data gathered by the researcher in a new way suggesting radical new trajectories for information systems research

Towards a Privacy Framework for Information Systems Development

Privacy issues are an increasing concern in our society (Pedersen, 1999). As information and communications technology (ICT) becomes increasingly pervasive, these concerns are being intensified. Privacy is a fundamental human right (UN, 1948) that continues to be violated by intrusive and unethical applications of technology in society and the workplace (cf. Baase, 2003). However, in spite of the ethical concerns and the pivotal role ICT plays in gathering and processing information on people, privacy remains a misunderstood and undervalued concept in ISD. Although literature addresses many ethical issues associated with intrusive technologies, privacy has received very little attention from ISD researchers, with mainstream literature treating privacy as analogous to data security. Palen and Dourish (2003) note that social and design studies of technology often unknowingly conflate the many functions of privacy and consequently fail to provide sufficient analytical treatment. Current ISD approaches are failing to recognise the significance of privacy ..

Privacy, patients and healthcare workers: a critical analysis of large scale, integrated manufacturing information systems reapplied in health

This paper examines the social impact of healthcare systems upon two key stakeholders, patients and healthcare workers. The paper focuses upon ‘privacy’, a growing concern of organisations involved in the delivery of healthcare services. Surprisingly, privacy is typically undervalued in information systems development, including healthcare systems. This paper applies a developmental privacy framework to determine a variety of privacy issues pertinent to the use of ICT for healthcare applications in the context of the two stakeholders above. The framework identifies privacy issues relevant to the stakeholders and a number of relevant themes are discussed. The paper also notes the absence of human-centred investigations of privacy in healthcare informatics. Finally, the paper demonstrates the usefulness of a recently developed privacy framework in assessing the social impact of advanced technology systems in the healthcare field