It’s all a Matter of “Choice”. Understanding society’s expectations of older adult ICT use from a birth cohort\ud perspective

Little research exists that examines older adults and their Information and Communication Technology (ICT) use or society’s expectations of their use. Using an intensive interpretive interactionism case study methodology, this paper examines how older adults ages 65-75 (from the Lucky Few birth cohort) view their own use and how other birth cohorts view the Lucky Few's ICT use

Chata Sia “I am Choctaw”. Using Images as a Methodology for Cultural and Technological Discourse

Unlike positivist quantitative designs, many qualitative researchers tend to dive right into data collection without benefit of an exploratory study or other pilot study. The purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) to share an image-based methodology adapted from a community strategic planning process and applied to an exploratory study of one native American tribes reaction to cultural images and\ud ICT’s, and (2) to share the many benefits of a pilot study in advance of a larger qualitative research study, including opportunities for discourse around ICT’s in relation to local culture

Understanding an Organization\u27s View of the CIO: The Role of Assumptions About IT

At the 2003 Society for Information Management¡¯s (SIM) annual meeting in New York City, many of the sessions focused on what CIOs could do once they got a seat with their business peers at the executive meeting table. Heightened concerns about information security and legislative compliance have increased interest in the an-swer. Despite the importance of IT to modern organizations, many IT executives are still not at that table because they are not viewed as equal to their business peers. Even elevating IT executives to C-level management and giving them the title of Chief Information Officer (CIO) do not guarantee that they are accepted and invited to high-level business meetings. This article provides one perspective on why some organizations are more open than others to affording their CIO an effective, influential, senior executive role. Our conclusion: Dominant assumptions about IT in different areas of an enterprise can explain differences in CIO status. Five assumptions that matter are: 1. Who should control IT direction 2. How central IT is seen to business strategy 3. The value placed on IT knowledge 4. Justifications for investing in IT 5. Who are deemed winners and losers when a new IT system is installed. This article explores these assumptions, and the IT clusters they form, to help CIOs and other senior IT executive better address the different ¡°assumption environments¡± they face

Organizational Cultures of Libraries as a Strategic Resource

Theorists have suggested that organizational culture is a strategic resource that has value in ensuring the continuing existence and success of organizations (Michalisin, Smith, & Kline, 1997; Barney, 1986, 1991; Hult, Ketchen, & Nichols, 2002; Gordon, 1985). This assertion is supported by various studies that have linked organizational culture to broad strategic outcomes such as an organization???s ability to manage knowledge (Davenport, Long, & Beers, 1998; Storck & Hill, 2000), innovation capability (Hauser, 1998), and strategic management of information technology (Kaarst-Brown & Robey, 1999; Reich & Benbasat, 2000; Schein, 1985). Based on this research, we suggest that there are characteristics of organizational cultures in information-based organizations that lead to increased collaboration, collegiality, and organizational effectiveness. The present article explores these characteristics and examines whether organizational culture can be leveraged as a strategic asset to attract staff, create favorable assessments by administrators and funders, and cast library institutions in a positive light for independent media and accreditation bodies. We believe that identification of those characteristics of organizational cultures that are uniquely relevant to the growth and success of libraries can provide current and future library leaders with guidance, models, and intellectual resources to enhance personal and organizational success.published or submitted for publicatio

The Business Transformation Payoffs of Cloud Services at Mohawk

As well as reduced costs and increased efficiencies, cloud services can provide business transformation payoffs, as illustrated by the case of Mohawk (formerly Mohawk Paper Mills). Mohawk designed and implemented a cloud integration platform that enabled it to transition its traditional manufacturing business model to become a service-oriented enterprise, with significant payoffs in terms of new sources of revenue and reduced internal operating costs.Click here for podcast summary (mp3)Click here for free 2-page executive summary (pdf)Click here for free presentation slides (pptx