The Assessment of Information System - Essay Example

Topic: Assessment of IS (Information System) Lecturer: Presentation: Introduction Information Systems and Information Technology are becoming generally accepted for their significance in improving effectiveness and productivity of organizations. Organizational culture and behavior affect the effectiveness of an organization’s Information Systems and IT. Organizational culture is the manner in which the organization conducts its operations. It comprises the theories, values, customs and assumptions that an organization holds as the key factors that enable it to successfully carry out its operations. In other words, organizational culture is how operations are conducted in the organization. It affects virtually all aspects of an organization, which distinguishes an organization from other organizations. Shafritz & Steven (2001 p 374) observed that organizational culture comprises the collective fundamental assumptions that an organization has adopted through a careful consideration of their usefulness in approaching and solving challenges that face it in its daily operations. Organizational culture influences organizational behavior which on the other hand is the manner in which individuals conduct them selves in an organization in relation to the organizational culture. The nature, role and impact of organizational information systems suggests that the development and introduction of Information Systems and IT need to combine both technological and human-centered methods within a framework or methodology informed from the social sciences since an information system is a social system by nature, where as IT is meant to improve the effectiveness of humans. This essay is a critique of the human centered methods, organizational culture, structure and roles, which are fundamental factors to be considered in Information Systems and IT development and management. The essay also presents how organizational culture and behavior impact the Information System development process. Human Centered Methods in the Information Systems and IT Development Process The socio-technical systems theory applies in this case, which explains the implication of the interaction between people and technology (Clarke & Lehaney, 2000 p 61). In essence, technology is supposed to facilitate workers to be effective in accomplishing their tasks. Development of Information Systems therefore needs to be focused on assisting employees to accomplish their goals, rather than changing their values and believes to satisfy the requirements of the Information Systems and IT. Designing and development of the Information system needs to consider the social aspect of the workplace rather than considering solely the technical aspect. This is because in spite of the potential of technology to work faster and more efficiently in production, human beings are of utmost importance. Technology that overrides humans in the workplace may not be successful in accomplishing the organizational goals. In other words, the human centered approach to implementation of IS and IT projects in an organization needs to allow people to make decisions in regard to how they would like to work with the new technology. Gasson (2003 p 32) observe that the input of humans in the use of technology is important in making the technology useful. In the contemporary organizations, there is usually the social wellbeing and the technical interests to be considered when developing Information Systems strategies. These are mainly exhibited in the design of the IS in the workplace. Barthelemy et al. (2003 p 233) argues that it is possible to configure technology to fit the organization’s workplace setup whereas it is impossible to rearrange the human component to suit the technological change. In essence, it is the Information Systems and IT design that needs to be configured to go well with the social aspect of the workplace. It is therefore necessary to allow the intended users of Information Systems to participate in the decision process for the purpose of representing social interests in the design of Information Systems and IT. To accomplish a balance between social and technical interests, researchers have identified various methods that are important in the designing process. These are mainly focused on identifying the person(s) who are involved in the organizational operations when using the technology. (Clarke & Lehaney, 2000 p 72) observe that with such considerations, the designers put themselves in the place of the users and assume that they were using the Information Systems, while on the other hand, the users engage in the tasks of the designers to contribute to the decision process in designing. This is a participatory process that focuses on maintaining proper representation of the social aspect of the Information Systems and IT. The employees in an organization who will directly be involved in applying the Information Systems need to be represented as the users. Interaction design is also another important aspect in the implementation of a human centered approach to the development of Information Systems. Interaction design focuses on identifying the possible uses that humans are likely to apply Information Systems. Whatever design that is developed is therefore aimed at filling a gap that exists in the workplace. It is a form of assistance to the employees to be more productive by facilitating them to do what they could not accomplish without the Information Systems (Gasson, 2003 p 34). Such approach requires the designers to analyze the deficiencies that act as hindrances to effective implementation of organizational tasks. If there are no deficiencies, the IT experts asses the most appropriate design that can lead to improvements in the workplace. The IS design is based on reason and need. For example, the introduction of computers in the workplace may be driven by the need to avoid forgetfulness or loss of records which might be effectively stored in computers. Interaction design may also be necessitated by the need for the organization to maintain a large market share and profitability in a highly competitive environment. For example, customers may be attracted to banks that have computerized banking facilities, which they believe are likely to offer them better services. For banks with few customers and highly efficient workforce, it would be unnecessary to introduce a highly sophisticated Information System. However, it is necessary to have an Information System that will convince customers in regard to the effectiveness of the bank. The designers need to analyze the use of the IS among the workers and design the most appropriate system that they are capable of using without difficulties, and that which will improve their effectiveness. The designers in such a situation need to develop a system that reflects the needs of the employees and the entire organization (Clarke & Lehaney, 2000 p 73). The system needs to be developed with the current efficiency of workers in consideration. It is not supposed to affect their performance for the sake of computerizing the operations. In essence, Information Systems are supposed to enhance performance. The human centered method needs to accommodate not only the users but also all stakeholders in the organization. The interactive design is therefore a significant way of enhancing the satisfaction among stakeholders. For example, Information Systems that reveals personal information may interfere with individual rights to privacy and may lead to dissatisfaction among stakeholders. Through interactive design, the implications of IS to the stakeholders can be realized and adverse impacts prevented from occurring (Gasson, 2003 p 35). Organizational Culture in Information Systems and IT Development Process When developing IT and Information Systems within an organization, it is usually important to consider various factors of organizational culture that may affect a successful information system. It is important to understand the interactions between people and the information systems in the place of work to ensure that their values and believes in regard to their day to day operations are respected (Highsmith, 2000 p 63). For example, introduction of computerized operations in the workplace needs to consider the value attached to team work in the organization. If the organization’s culture is focused on building effective teams, the introduction of IT and Information Systems needs to be designed to accommodate teams. It might not be useful if it disrupts the culture of team building. The quality of work and satisfaction in the workplace needs to be maintained according to the organizational culture. The Information Systems need not introduce new working practices that do not allow employee satisfaction in the workplace. This would lead to reduced productivity and the Information Systems may not serve the desired goals. In other words, it is important to maintain a balance between the IS and the employees to ensure that both are utilized maximally for the organization’s productivity (Hannagan, 2007 p 57). The organization that emerges from application of the social technical approach usually attracts experienced employees as well as maintaining knowledgeable ones. Another cultural aspect of an organization that needs to be considered before implementing an IT and IS program in the organization is autonomy. Employees who work independently may not be productive if the Information Systems become a hindrance to their autonomy in the work place. It should also be important to consider aspects such as information sharing in the workplace that may hinder the effectiveness of employees in the workplace. The social aspect of IT and the Information Systems needs to be approached with watchfulness due to its implications on the employees and the organizational culture. In many circumstances, training or empowering workers to fit in the system is viewed as a social abuse whereby the employees are reduced to smaller systems that fit in to the larger Information Systems. Barthelemy et al. (2003 p 242) observes that such a practice may be presumed to be irrational and may hamper the accomplishment of the desired improvements considering the organizational culture. In other words, introduction of IT and development of Information Systems that improve the output while disregarding the rational being of humans may not be satisfactory in regard to organizational culture and goals of accomplishing contentment among employees and improving productivity. It is believed to be counterproductive and may hamper organizational success (Highsmith, 2000 p 61). Organizational Structure and Roles in Information Systems and IT Development Process There are many dimensions of organizational structure that can have an impact on the process of IT and Information Systems development. The structures also define the roles of the employees in an organization. For example, a structure that is based on specialization may be oriented towards employees being highly focused on particular activities or departments in the organization. There are usually no movements across departments, and the employees may not even be aware of what happens in other areas of organizational activities apart from what they specialize in. Each employee sticks to the roles defined in the work structure (Schwarz, 2002 p 153). It is important to consider specialization in an organization when designing the Information Systems since it may hamper development of an overall IS that applies to all departments. Specialization may necessitate development of varying IS for the various departments. On the other hand, a highly standardized structure may hinder accomplishment of an effective IS. This is a structure that is highly bureaucratic, such that all the organizational processes have to follow a specified procedure. Introduction of IS in such organizations without consideration of the structure may disorganize the process and may not be adopted easily by the employees as well as the management (Highsmith, 2000 p 74). Designers in the process of IS and Information Technology development therefore need to be informed regarding the procedures followed within the organization. Rigidity in the organization is also a major factor to be considered in the process of developing Information Systems. Highly formalized processes are not easy to integrate with new IS. The employees are not allowed to be flexible in accomplishing tasks because of the rules that are laid out. Such rules have to be put in consideration in the IS and Information Technology development process or else the Information Systems might not be useful for the organization. A centralized structure is influential in the development of Information Systems. This is because the hierarchical decision-making has to be adhered to, and other groups may not be allowed access to the Information Systems and IT. The role of the highest decision making group in the hierarchy can not be mixed with the lower groups (Hannagan, 2007 p 54). Even when the IS are focused on facilitating the operations of the employees in the lower groups of the hierarchy, they can not access some information in the process. The development process needs to make considerations of a centralized structure for the purposes of separating information to avoid workplace conflicts. In many cases, the highest group in the hierarchy is unwilling to allow Information Systems or IT that they doubt can leak critical information to the lower groups. Impact of Organizational Culture and Behavior on the Information System Development Process Schwarz (2002 p 154) notes that it is difficult to develop an effective system while representing fully the social interests in Information Systems and technology design. Humans are usually focused on maximum satisfaction of their desires in the workplace and may be too demanding regarding the Information Systems and IT design in spite of their limited knowledge of the design process. However, this may affect the design in totality, and the outcome may not be what intended (Highsmith, 2000 p 71) was. On the other hand, the members of an organization themselves may not share the same interests and therefore may hamper implementation of the design process. If the representatives of the stakeholders to participate in the design process are not carefully selected, i. e. according to their understanding capability and relevance to the Information System and technology design, they may hamper the development of a design that is human centered. In other words, stakeholders need not present their personal or political interests in the design process. Rather, they should be true representatives of the organization’s social interests that are aimed at generating satisfaction in the work force. If such trends are allowed in the organization especially if the organizational culture has political aspects, the ultimate users of the Information Systems may not be facilitated to work by the technology as planned. The human centered approaches whereby the users have to be represented by stakeholders in the organization need to be carefully planned regardless of the organizational culture, for example the issue of who represents the employees in decision making involving organizational stakeholders. An organizational culture where managers have all the authority to delegate and assign tasks may hamper the representation of users of Information Systems in the design process. Selecting a person with no expertise to such an important role may lead to failure in accomplishing a user focused design of the Information Systems. It is required that experts in Information Systems be the ones to represent the users for a human centered approach to be accomplished. In many occasions, (Highsmith, 2000 p 36) notes that some organizational cultures fail to recognize the role that users play in the implementation of tasks involving Information Systems. They trend to follow the organization’s leadership hierarchy; thereby disregarding the real meaning of the human centered approach that is focused on maintaining satisfaction among the users and enhancing their performance. In a situation whereby Information Technology professionals present a differing opinion with that of the leaders in an organization, it is usually difficult to accomplish the desired IS design. This is because the IT professionals raise an informed opinion regarding the design and they consider all the aspects of the systems operations. On the other hand, the layman’s approach to the Information Technology design may be inapplicable, but since the managers determine what is good for them and may only be willing to make an outlay for the project that is deemed as the most pertinent to them, there is a possibility that the Information Technology design will be developed according to their demands (Schwarz, 2002 p 154). Conclusion Organizational culture and behavior are important factors to consider in the process of Information Systems development. It is important to use human centered methods in designing the Information Systems, which allows the social and the technical interests in an organization to be effectively represented. The socio-technical approach and the interactive designs are important is important human centered methods to adopt in designing the Information Systems within an organization. It is important to identify the person(s) who are involved in the organizational operations when using the technology. Representation of the users of the IT and the Information Systems in their designing process is important to ensure that the technology adopted does not adversely affect their performance. However, the representatives should be Information Technology Professionals. The organizational structure of an organization is also an important factor to be considered in the IS and the Information Technology development process. These include; specialization, standardization, formalization and centralization of processes. Organizational culture and behavior may have a negative impact on the IS development process. References Barthelemy, J.P., Bisdorff, R., & Coppin, G. “Human centered processes and decision support systems”, European Journal of Operational Research, 136.2 (2002): 233-252 Clarke H. & Lehaney B. Human Centered Methods in Information Systems: Current Research and Practice, IGI Global, 2000. Gasson, S., “Human-Centered Vs. User-Centered Approaches to Information System Design”, the Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application, 5.2 (2003): 29-46. Hannagan, T. Management: Concepts and Practices, Financial Times/ Prentice Hall, 2007. Highsmith, J. Adaptive Software Development : A Collaborative Approach to Managing Complex Systems, New York, Dorset House Publishing, 2000 Shafritz, J. & Steven, J. O. Classics of Organization Theory, Fort Worth: Harcourt College Publishers, 2001. Schwarz, G.M. Organizational Hierarchy Adaptation and Information Technology. Information and Organization, 12 (2002): 153-182 Read More