organizations & systems sept. 12, 2005. outline what is an organization? interaction of it with...
TRANSCRIPT
Organizations & Systems
Sept. 12, 2005
Outline
• What is an Organization?
• Interaction of IT with the Organization
• Network Effects & Economics
• Classifying Business Organization Units & Information Systems
What is an Organization?
• Technical Definition: "A stable, formal, social structure that takes resources from the environment and proceses them to produce outputs." (Laudon & Laudon)
• Information Technology is introduced into this structure to make the production of outputs more efficient.
What is an Organization?
Structural, Behavioural and Other:• Hierarchy of authority• Impersonality• Written rules of conduct (operating procedures)• Promotion based on achievement (technical
qualifications for positions; meritocracy)• Specialized division of labor• Efficiency (maximal organizational efficiency) IT innovations can create conflicts between these.
A Pre-ITInsuranceClaimsOffice(c 1965)
Giuliani, V. E. “The Mechanization Of Office Work.” in Forester, T., ed.The Information Technology Revolution. MIT Press; 1985.
A Post-ITInsuranceClaimsOffice(c 1985)
Giuliani, V. E. “The Mechanization Of Office Work.” in Forester, T., ed.The Information Technology Revolution. MIT Press; 1985.
A Post-ITInsuranceClaimsOffice(c 2004)
• the computers may be in head office, or they may be operated by a service company
• the call centre is somewhere (and everywhere)
• the adjusters/claims agents may work out of their homes, as contract employees
TheNetwork
HeadOffice
DataCentre
CallCentre
Bank
Agents
Customers
IT & THE ORGANIZATION:BEFORE & AFTER
IP Pre-IT IP Post-IT
Skill Levels
• relatively low • relatively high
Information Needs
• structured flows• limited access
• structured storage• broad access
Responsiveness
• relatively slow • relatively fast
IT & THE ORGANIZATION:BEFORE & AFTER
IP Pre-IT IP Post-IT
Tasks
• specialized• compartmentalized• repetitive
• generalized• interconnected• varied/novel
Work Flow
• batch oriented • event-driven
Standard of Performance
• follow the rules • understand the process
IT & THE ORGANIZATION:BEFORE & AFTER
IP Pre-IT IP Post-IT
Organizational Structure
• strongly hierarchical• weakly networked
• strongly networked• weakly hierarchical
Workforce
• relatively larger • relatively smaller
3 Economic effects of IT on the Organization
1.Information technology costs generally fall, labour costs generally rise. IT can be substituted for labour, and result in fewer middle managers and clerical workers.
2.Information technology lowers transaction costs. Firms should therefore become smaller, and have more external transactions (e.g. through outsourcing).
3.Information technology lowers internal management (supervision and coordination) costs. Firms can therefore become larger. (?)
Org. Units & IT Systems
Function
Org. level
Sales & Marketing
Manufacturing & Production
Finance & Accounting
Human Resources
"Epistemological Level"
Strategic (Executive Support System)
Sales trend forecasting
Facilities location Profit Planning Labor force needs
Strategy
"Wisdom?"
Management (Decision Support System; Management Information Systems)
Pricing analysis
Production Planning
Budgeting Range & Distribution of wages, benefits
Knowledge
Knowledge (Knowledge Work Systems; Office Systems)
Market analysis
Computer Aided Design
Investment Portfolio Analysis
Design possible career paths
Knowledge and Information
Operations (Transaction Processing Systems)
Enter, process, track
Machine control Accounts Receivable
Track employee training, skills & evaluations
Data
Examples: Webtrends
• See: learningspaces.org/1311
Enterprise Systems & the Org
“old” integration of ITs
Enterprise Systems & the Org
“new” integration of ITs
The Major Eras Of The Computer Age
1964-1980 The System Centric Era 1964: introduction of the IBM 360
1981-1993 The PC Centric Era1981: introduction of the IBM PC
1994-2005 The Network Centric Era
2006-2015 The Content Centric Era?
FEATURE
Audience
Technology
Principle
Offerings
Network Focus
User Focus
Supplier Structure
Supplier Leadership
# Users at end
Market Size
SYSTEMS CENTRIC
Corporate
Transistor
Grosch’s Law
Proprietary Systems
Data Center
Efficiency
Vertical Integration
US systems
10 million
$20 billion
FEATURE
Audience
Technology
Principle
Offerings
Network Focus
User Focus
Supplier Structure
Supplier Leadership
# Users at end
Market Size
SYSTEMS CENTRIC
Corporate
Transistor
Grosch’s Law
Proprietary Systems
Data Center
Efficiency
Vertical Integration
US systems
10 million
$20 billion
PC CENTRIC
Professional
Microprocessor
Moore’s Law
Standard Products
LAN/WAN
Productivity
Horizontal ‘value chain’
US Components
100 million
$460 billion
FEATURE
Audience
Technology
Principle
Offerings
Network Focus
User Focus
Supplier Structure
Supplier Leadership
# Users at end
Market Size
SYSTEMS CENTRIC
Corporate
Transistor
Grosch’s Law
Proprietary Systems
Data Center
Efficiency
Vertical Integration
US systems
10 million
$20 billion
PC CENTRIC
Professional
Microprocessor
Moore’s Law
Standard Products
LAN/WAN
Productivity
Horizontal ‘value chain’
US Components
100 million
$460 billion
FEATURE
Audience
Technology
Principle
Offerings
Network Focus
User Focus
Supplier Structure
Supplier Leadership
# Users at end
Market Size
PC CENTRIC
Professional
Microprocessor
Moore’s Law
Standard Products
LAN/WAN
Productivity
Horizontal ‘value chain’
US Components
100 million
$460 billion
NETWORK CENTRIC
Consumer
Bandwidth
Metcalfe’s Law
Value Added Services
Public Network
Customer Service
Unified Computer & Communications ChainNational Carriers
1 Billion
$3 trillion
FEATURE
Audience
Technology
Principle
Offerings
Network Focus
User Focus
Supplier Structure
Supplier Leadership
# Users at end
Market Size
PC CENTRIC
Professional
Microprocessor
Moore’s Law
Standard Products
LAN/WAN
Productivity
Horizontal ‘value chain’
US Components
100 million
$460 billion
NETWORK CENTRIC
Consumer
Bandwidth
Metcalfe’s Law
Value Added Services
Public Network
Customer Service
Unified Computer & Communications ChainNational Carriers
1 Billion
$3 trillion
FEATURE
Audience
Technology
Principle
Offerings
Network Focus
User Focus
Supplier Structure
Supplier Leadership
# Users at end
Market Size
NETWORK CENTRIC
Consumer
Bandwidth
Metcalfe’s Law
Value Added Services
Public Network
Customer Service
Unified Computer & Communications ChainNational Carriers
1 Billion
$3 trillion
CONTENT CENTRIC
Individual
Software
‘Transformation’ Law
Custom Services
Transparent
Virtualization
Embedded
Content Providers
Universal
Too embedded to measure
FEATURE
Audience
Technology
Principle
Offerings
Network Focus
User Focus
Supplier Structure
Supplier Leadership
# Users at end
Market Size
NETWORK CENTRIC
Consumer
Bandwidth
Metcalfe’s Law
Value Added Services
Public Network
Customer Service
Unified Computer & Communications ChainNational Carriers
1 Billion
$3 trillion
CONTENT CENTRIC
Individual
Software
‘Transformation’ Law
Custom Services
Transparent
Virtualization
Embedded
Content Providers
Universal
Too embedded to measure