Managing People ,Info & knowledge - Assignment Example

?FridgeCom Case Study Busi48020 Question One The integration of any information technology (IT) into a business requires an understanding of the people that are involved. An information system (IS) is a communication system that makes use of technology in coordinating the way in which individual people act. As technology changes, the way in which management operates becomes particularly important. The people, their leadership styles and the relationships between them have a strong effect on whether the technology is effectively incorporated. Power exists only in the relationship between two or more people or groups .This has many ramifications for the way in which the business operates, and whether people within it are effective leaders. Power in this context can be defined as the ability that one individual or group of individuals has to affect control or change over a second individual or group of individuals. This control or change can come in the form of behaviour, attitudes, objectives, needs, opinions or values. Five general types of power are recognised, legitimate, expert, referent, coercive and reward . One issue that arises when any type of change is occurring is that the power of individuals comes into conflict. Each person aims to protect their position of power, and in many cases gain more . Because of this, the types of power that are exhibited in a corporation can have a substantial impact on leadership and the way that changes are implemented. Two different types of power that are evident in the case study is expert power which Veronica King exhibits, and legitimate power which is present in David Gill. Veronica has a significant amount of experience in her field, having a degree from Warwick and experience at well-respected firms. She is passionate about the field of human resources (HR) and feels that the department has more to offer than is currently recognised and that it is able to add to the profit of the company. Because of this, she can be considered an expert in her field, however, not everyone at FridgeCom agrees with her view of the department. As a leader, Veronica seeks to convert other people to her viewpoint, such as through the presentations she made to the board. Additionally, it is evident that her considerations of her own expertise lead her to be overly confident of her decisions and proposals. An example of this is the observation that Terry Cole makes that Veronica has a tendency to talk in ‘management terms’ when she does not know what she is talking about. Because she is not aware of what she does not know (as Terry puts it), Veronica risks being blind to alternatives and considering only her own opinion. She also generates conflict with other members of staff, as she is attempting to gain power for herself and her department through the proposed changes. She would like to see the HR department have a bigger role and be more integrated into the company; however, not everyone else agrees that this is desirable. Another person in the case study who exhibits expert power is Terry Cole. Terry is the head of information systems and acts as a liaison to external contractors as well as being responsible for the information and networking systems within the company. Like Veronica, he is very knowledgeable about his field of expertise. He has a tendency to confuse other managers by excessive use of technical language, and does not speak up about his own opinions. For example, he is concerned about the project that Veronica is proposing, as he does not believe that she knows the entire situation, and has not throughout about how her proposal will affect other systems within the company. He considers that Mike is too easily influenced into decisions; however, he is not prepared to confront Mike concerning this. Although both Terry and Veronica could be considered to have expert power, the differ in personality and in leadership styles. Veronica is more active than Terry in trying to gain power for herself, and she is also more confrontational in general. She is prepared to set up meetings and talk to Mike directly about her concerns, while Terry is not. This suggests that power only partially defined the leadership style of these two individuals, the rest is determined by personality and confidence. Mike is the leader of the company by birthright. The business has been passed onto him from his father, and was owned by his grandfather before that. Because of this, he exhibits legitimate power. Unlike other members of his staff, he does not need to complete for power. Mike’s style of leadership is somewhat laid back compared to the rest of the staff and he is fond of delegating responsibility. When it comes to solving the problem of staff turnover, Mike listens to the viewpoints of different staff members, but is ultimately convinced by his own judgement. To this effect he has listened to Veronica’s presentation and has had meetings with her, however, instead of agreeing with her perspective, he is making moves to hire external consultants to provide advice and a plan for remedying the situation. David is influenced easily by aspects such as Veronica’s degree and the SAP presentation that he and Terry had attended. This suggests that having legitimate power has resulted in an autocratic style of leadership. This form of leadership is associated with an authority figure who does not take the opinions of staff members into account . While, in the case study, Mike does seek the viewpoint of other staff members through staff meetings and private meetings, he ultimately makes his decisions independently of their viewpoints. It is likely that part of this is a result of his personality; however, his leadership style is largely driven by the fact that he does not have to prove his role to anyone or justify his decisions. Question Two A business has many different components that work together collectively to produce the products and services that the company offers. One aspect of the development of information systems is that each person views the problem from a different perspective. Because of this, they see different approaches as being optimal. In order to understand, and then solve the problem, it must be examined from all potential perspectives. Selective attention is a psychological approach that considers why people pay attention to some factors and not others. There are many different factors that affect selective attention, some of which are external and others are internal. External factors are the stimulus and the context. In the case study, the stimulus factors included the problem of employee turnover, the HR information system proposed by Veronica and the employment of external consultants that Mike has planned. The context factors are things like the company itself and its surrounding environment. These factors are the same for all employees within the company. However, for each employee, the internal factors vary and this leads to differences in selective attention. David Gill and Doug Statin are two members of the leadership team at FridgeCom, they have significantly different views of the situation that is occurring as a result of selective attention. The main internal factor of selective attention is expectation, which is the consequence of three interacting factors. These are learning, personality and motivation. These differ substantially between different people. David and Doug are an example of this. David is strongly focused on accounting and the financial aspect of the business. He does not consider any alternative viewpoint to be valid. With the situation facing FridgeCom, David is likely to consider only the way that it affects the company’s bottom line. In contrast, Doug is a team leader who works directly with staff both on the floor and as a union representative. He focuses on how any changes will affect his role or affect the people that he works with. Unlike David, Doug is prepared to compromise his position and accepts that middle ground must be reached for the benefit of the company. One aspect of selective attention is learning. What people learn is based off their experience. The experience that people have been exposed to varies from person to person. For example, some people have college education while others are used to working with people on a one-on-one basis. In the case study, David is the head of the financing and accounting department. This is a very specialised role and one for which David must have a significant amount of knowledge and experience in order to be effective at. Because of this, David may consider himself to be more informed and more knowledgeable than other people, and consequently considers that only his own viewpoint is relevant. In contrast, Doug is likely to have much less knowledge, but more experience working with people. These differences mean that David is likely to consider things from a educated perspective, while for Doug, the perspective of the individual is more relevant. Another factor in selective attention is personality. A person’s personality has a significant effect on the way that the live their life as well as the way that they perceive things. Someone with a dominant personality has a tendency to view things from their perspective, while a person who less confident is subject to other people’s opinions. Doug exhibits a less dominant personality. He looks for compromise in mediation, and is not confident in expressing his opinion. Although he has concerns about the new HR, he is not confident in expressing these to Mike. This can also be noticed in the way that he is generally ignored, despite being trusted by most of the senior management. In contrast, David has a dominant personality, refusing to consider the viewpoints of others and believing that his own experience and knowledge are superior. A final factor is motivation. Both men are motivated to see the problem of staff turnover resolved, but they have different driving factors. For David, employee turnover is a problem because it results in a loss of profits, while for Doug, it is important because he is actively involved in training and managing the new staff members. Thus, expectation, learning and personality interact within a person to form their individual expectations. This combined with the inputs from the environment, such as the situation that is occurring and the proposed resolutions, results in unique selective attention. David views things for the consideration of how they relate to profits, his strong personality means that he carefully considers the proposals from the financial perspective and draws his own conclusions, rather than allowing someone to draw them for him. Like Veronica, he sees the problem in terms of numbers and does not consider the individual people that are involved. Doug has a significantly different viewpoint of the situation; he wants to see change so that they will lose less staff members, and less time and effort will be spent on training new staff to take their place. Although he does not have much confidence in Veronica or her proposed solution, he is content to see what happens rather than make objections. This is indicative of his less dominant personality. These two men differ substantially in the way that they view the problem facing FridgeCom. Most, if not all, of these differences can be explained using the idea of selective attention. As with all people, both David and Doug focus on different aspects of the problem and are concerned with different parts of the solution. References Daft, R. 2004. Organization Theory and Design, Thomson Krause, D. 2004. Influence-Based Leadership as a Determinant of the Inclination to Innovate and of Innovation-Related Behaviors:: An Empirical Investigation. The Leadership Quarterly, 15, 79-102. Rahim, M. A., Antonioni, D. & Psenicka, C. 2001. A Structural Equations Model of Leader Power, Subordinates' Styles of Handling Conflict, and Job Performance. International Journal of Conflict Management, 12, 191-211. Van Vugt, M., Jepson, S., Hart, C. & De Cremer, D. 2004. Autocratic Leadership in Social Dilemmas: A Threat to Group Stability. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 40, 1-13.  Question Three Information systems (IS) are a means of working with data from creation, through processing, storage and retrieval. They are distinct from other types of information technology (IT) in that they consider and involve the organisation itself as well as the people, procedures and policies that are present. One important factor to consider when building an IS is the needs of the various stakeholders. Any IS project must be carefully designed and implemented, as research suggests that significant amounts of business resources are wasted by failed projects . Failure is often not associated with poorly designed systems, but rather with a poor fit between the users and the system, with the system not doing what the users originally wanted it to. In an environment where there are many different stakeholders, who have different ideas of the system and goals for its use, this is a factor that needs to be carefully considered. The system approach is a means of developing an IS that can be efficient and take the various factors into account. In general, one can define a system as a group of objects and the relationships that these objects have with each other as well as the environment as a whole. A systems approach provides a means of structuring ideas and plans. This considers the IS from a wide range of perspectives both from within the company and outside of it. It is an important approach, because how a IS is viewed depends on who is looking at it. For example, in the case study Veronica sees an IS as a means of gaining more control over information and growing her department and David sees it as a means of increasing efficiency and thus revenue. On the other hand, Doug is speculative about the idea. Although he wants to see staff turnover reduced, he does not know enough about computer systems to know whether an IS system will make a difference. The use of a systems approach also allows other stakeholders to be considered. Such stakeholders include suppliers and consumers, who have an interest in how effective the company is, as well as the government, as Veronica is attempting to be more alert as to the possibility of illegal workers, and illegal activities by FridgeCom’s suppliers. Terry Cole is the head of the information systems department at FridgeCom, and ultimately designing and implemented an IS would be largely his responsibility. There are a number of types of systems approaches that can be used in the development of an IS. One such approach is soft systems methodology (SSM). This approach is based on the idea that systems are a construct used as a frame of reference, rather than having any structure in the real world. As a consequence, it is a tool that is used by the person creating the system and is framed by their viewpoints . This type of approach places significant value on the people, their perceptions and beliefs, much more so than the information technology itself. The advantage of this in terms of the case study would be that it allows Terry to develop a system that closely matches what the different people in management desire. Using a systems approach, Terry would need to consider all the possible viewpoints on the situation, especially those of the senior management, who exhibit differing views about what the aim of the IS should be as well as how it should work. Although Veronica is the staff member pushing the idea of an IS, Terry does not think she knows what she is looking for in an IS or what is practical. An aspect that is often considered useful when designing an IS using a systems approach is modelling. This enables the designer to see how the IS would behave when it is being used and to work through problems in this way, rather than to do this when the IS is introduced. Modelling involves two factors, goal and scenario modelling, which work best in tandem. Goal modelling examines how well the system is at meeting its design and doing what the desired of it. Scenario modelling looks at how the system behaves under different situations, especially ones that may be difficult . In the case study, the primary goal of building an IS is to minimise the employee turnover by allowing the HR department to keep accurate records and potentially determine what is causing employees to leave the company. Another important goal is increasing the profitability of the company. Using modelling as part of a systems approach could help to ensure that all goals are met. One difficulty of using a systems approach is that Terry must attempt to do this without placing his own viewpoint ahead of everyone else’s. He already has preconceived ideas about the project that Veronica has put forward, and this may influence his opinion on her department as a whole. Furthermore, he cares about his own department and understands it well, and consequently is likely to place greater emphasis on his own needs than that of others. In this case, the use of the consultants which Mike has suggested may be useful, as they will be able to present a unified picture of what is required without being biased by preferences to one department or another. Consequently, using a system approaches has many advantages in the building of an IS, however, substantial planning, care and consideration is still required. System approaches have many different variables that need to be considered, which can make the situation complex. Terry also needs to be careful that he does not let personal feelings or biases affect his judgement. It may be useful to take advantage of the consultants that Mike wants to hire, as they are able to offer a less biased viewpoint as well as are much more experienced in working with this type of system. Question Four Information systems involve a number of different issues including both technical and social aspects. The use of IS has been viewed as strategic one for businesses as it can result in a decrease in costs, increased efficiency as well as allowing for much easier access to information. In the case study, Mike Wilson is faced with the decision of whether to implement an IS strategy to allow the HR department at his firm to work more efficiently. Traditionally, he and his company have viewed HR as being related only to personnel issues, however like many modern companies they are beginning to see that HR is an important component in achieving business. HR is an essential business component that plays an integral role in managing the demands of multiple stakeholders . There are many different approaches to IS and these differ as a consequence of the varying needs of the company involved. These approaches can be considered in two general categories. The first is the technical aspect, which considers factors such as the physical computer systems themselves, the software that is involved and the way that the different functions communicate with each other. The second category is the social aspect. For this part, the way that people interact, the procedures that they are accustomed to and the organisation of the business itself, are all important factors. It is important for FridgeCom that both the technical and social issues are taken into account when determining the optimal IS strategy. Both of these factors play an important part in the way that the business is run, and without taking them into account, it is likely that the IS would suffer from being mismatched with its users. A HRIS has many applications within a company and can be especially useful providing information as to how employees react to specific changes or events that occur within the company, and thus is an important tool in decisionmaking . In trying to understand the problems and requirements that FridgeCom has, Mike’s needs to consider what systems are currently in place, what is working and what is not. The problem at the broad scale is two-fold. First, there is a high staff turnover. This turnover is not only much higher than is desired, but it is also unusually high for a company of this size. The second problem is that on trying to identify causes of this turnover and to try and be more efficient in general, Veronica has discovered that the current HR system is severely out of date, suffers from numerous redundancies and is unreliable as a tool for decision-making. It is Veronica’s suggestion that the company needs a new HRIS system that consolidates this information, allows it to be inputted more efficiently, and gives the HR department significantly more power and more ability to effect change. One important approach to IS strategy that is important is the technical aspect. Part of this is the hardware that is involved. There are a number of different parts of this including the various input devices, the computer processor, communication devices and output devices. Another part is the software that is involved. The type of software that is used is important as it determines the way that data is processed into information, the different ways in which data is inputted and the type of interface that is worked with. As there are already a number of different computer systems present at FridgeCom, it is important that the software and hardware used for the HRIS is compatible with the current systems. Additionally, many systems which FridgeCom uses at present are old and do not communicate properly with one another. Because of this, it is crucial that the technical aspects of the IS are closely considered. The design of the IS should ideally pull together the current IT systems, allowing for better communication and a decrease in the amount of redundancy that is present. Consequently, one aspect that needs to be considered is what specific problems need to be addressed. Terry considers that the company does not have any clear idea as to what the technical problems are. Consequently, in building the IS system, an important aspect to examine is what the limitations of the current system are, and how the new system can improve on them. From the software perspective, the company may make use of an interface for the new IS software that is identical across departments, or instead may look at something that differs in design depending on which department it is being used for. Having different interfaces or functionality across department would require more work and potentially would cost more. However, it would have the advantages of meeting the individual needs of each department. These factors would need to be carefully considered in determining what the most effective IS strategy to take would be. The human aspect is an important part of implementing an IS strategy. At FridgeCom, there are a number of social interactions, and interpersonal tension. The departments differ in their goals and their desires from the new system, and these must be carefully considered. It is likely that many of the staff, whether they are department heads or members of a department, will not see the change as needed, such as Doug. Other staff members may consider it necessary, but have different desires for the system. Because of this, considering how the system will interact with the different departments is important. As a consequence, Mike needs to examine the way in which the departments currently interact and how they work individually with the current system. Consequently, considering the human and technical approach is important to the implementation of a new system. If some of the problems that are occurring are related to the people rather than the system itself, then change must be made on this front. When considering the approach to IS strategy it is important that Mike considers both technical and social issues. These two factors are both important in the way that the organisation currently works and the problems that it is currently experiencing. Mike needs to understand why the current system is not succeeding and what changes are likely to make a difference. For example, implementing a new IS that involved significant input from floor managers is likely to be ineffective, as they may not know much about the software or be interested in having much to do with it. Instead, much of the system work should belong to the HR department, as this is part of the department’s role and Veronica is interested in seeing the system implemented. HR is an important part of a company and plays a crucial role in providing the company with a competitive edge . This is a factor that should not be underestimated throughout this process, and every effort should be made by management to ensure that the IS strategy considers both social and technical issues. This will mean that the strategy developed is most likely to be effective. References Barney, J. & Wright, P. 1997. On Becoming a Strategic Partner: The Role of Human Resources in Gaining Competitive Advantage. Working Paper Series. Cornell University, Cummings, T. 2008. Handbook of Organization Development, Sage Publications, Inc, Jackson, S., Schuler, R. & Werner, S. 2011. Managing Human Resources, South-Western Pub, Liu, L. & Yu, E. 2004. Designing Information Systems in Social Context: A Goal and Scenario Modelling Approach. Information Systems, 29, 187-203. Pan, G. 2005. Information Systems Project Abandonment: A Stakeholder Analysis. International Journal of Information Management, 25, 173-184. Rose, J. 1997. Soft Systems Methodology as a Social Science Research Tool. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 14, 249-258.  Read More