A comparative analysis of executive information systems in organisations in South Africa and Spain

Executive Information Systems (EIS) grew out of the information needs of executives and are designed to serve the needs of users in strategic planning and decision-making. EIS are high risk information technology (IT) implementation projects. With the emergence of global information technologies, existing paradigms are being altered which are spawning new considerations for IT implementation. Web-based technologies are causing a revisit to existing IT implementation models, including those for EIS. The authors compare two recent survey studies of EIS implementation in well-established organisations in South Africa and Spain. From a comparative analysis, the authors report six identified similarities and three differences in EIS in these countries

Information Technology Acceptance in South Africa: An Investigation of Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, and Actual System Use Constructs

Information technology (IT) acceptance studies pay much attention to issues of significance in assessing the contributions of variables explaining IT usage for decision-making in organizations. Davis’ Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) states that Perceived Usefulness (PU) and Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU) are the two factors that govern the adoption and use of information technology. Actual System Use (behavior) consists of the number of times of systems use. The author conducted a survey of 31 organizations in KwaZulu/Natal, a region in South Africa, which implemented an Executive Information System (EIS). A validated survey instrument was administered to an EIS stakeholder in each organization surveyed. This paper reports on the PU, PEOU, and Actual System Use constructs for organizations surveyed in South Africa

Towards a Code of Cyberethics for a Municipality in South Africa

Cybertechnology has had a significant impact on our social and moral systems. Ethics is a branch of philosophy that deals with what is considered to be right and wrong. One of the ways in which ethical standards in the public service in South Africa can be promoted is by developing Codes of Conduct that set a standard of behaviour to be followed within specific occupational categories. One occupational category is Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). The diversity of ICT applications (such as supply chain management) and the increased use of ICT (such as e-Business) have created a variety of ethical issues. Kantian Ethics is based on the idea that duty is fundamental and ‘principle based’. The authors suggest that principle based theory should serve as backdrop to a Code of Cyberethics for a public service entity (a metropolitan municipality) in South Africa. In this paper the concepts of cybertechnology and cyberethics are introduced. eThekwini Municipality, the most populous municipality in South Africa, is selected as the environment for the formulation of a Code of Cyberethics. The methodology for the formulation of a Code of Cyberethics for eThekwini Municipality is described

Code of Ethics for Community Informatics Researchers

This draft Code of Ethics for Community Informatics (CI) researchers is intended to evolve. We invite CI researchers to contribute their ideas and perspectives based on their experiences of doing CI research and as new ethical concerns emerge

Managing challenges of multicultural Information Systems project teams in South Africa

Information Systems (IS) project teams in South Africa need to be led by individuals whose skills include managing cultural diversity. A three phase Delphi study was used to collect and rank the methods used to manage culturally diverse IS project teams in the Johannesburg area of South Africa. The ‘top’ fifteen methods were selected and are presented in the report. The leading method found was to appoint project managers or team leaders who are aware of diversity issues, followed by the placing of increased emphasis on goals, objectives, boundaries and tasks. The paper’s principal contribution is that the study is in an African and IS context; recommendations are made towards future research directions on this topic. In addition, the authors introduce, for the first time, a contribution in the form of a ‘tie-breaking’ method to the Delphi technique theory

Supporting decision making process with "Ideal" software agents: what do business executives want?

According to Simon’s (1977) decision making theory, intelligence is the first and most important phase in the decision making process. With the escalation of information resources available to business executives, it is becoming imperative to explore the potential and challenges of using agent-based systems to support the intelligence phase of decision-making. This research examines UK executives’ perceptions of using agent-based support systems and the criteria for design and development of their “ideal” intelligent software agents. The study adopted an inductive approach using focus groups to generate a preliminary set of design criteria of “ideal” agents. It then followed a deductive approach using semi-structured interviews to validate and enhance the criteria. This qualitative research has generated unique insights into executives’ perceptions of the design and use of agent-based support systems. The systematic content analysis of qualitative data led to the proposal and validation of design criteria at three levels. The findings revealed the most desirable criteria for agent based support systems from the end users’ point view. The design criteria can be used not only to guide intelligent agent system design but also system evaluation

Methods used in organisations in South Africa for managing multicultural Information Systems project teams: Evidence from a Delphi study

Abstract The work-in-progress study reports on established the methods used by Information Systems (IS) project managers, and other managers associated with the IS profession, in the Johannesburg area of the developing country of South Africa, to manage multicultural IS project teams. A three phase Delphi study was used to collect and rank the methods used to manage cultural diversity in IS project teams. Some of the projects undertaken by these IS project teams relate to e-Commerce. From these work in progress results, the authors present some useful pointers towards further research dealing with multicultural IS projects teams in organisations in South Africa

Towards a Code Of Cyberethics

Ethics and accountability are some of the cornerstones of public management. One of the ways in which ethical standards in the public service can be promoted is by developing a Code of Conduct that set a standard of behaviour to be followed. The diversity of information and communication technologies (ICT) and increased use of ICT have created a variety of ethical issues. In this paper, the process for formulating a Code of Cyberethics for eThekwini Municipality in South Africa is described. The development of such a code will also ensure service delivery that responds to citizens’ needs and improves the communication process with citizens