Information and Business: The key to success is people, not technology by Rybachuk Anya & Mitakidou Ioanna Business Administration & Economics Department CITY Liberal Studies Affiliated Institution of Sheffield University

Presentation outline: Why “Managing with IT”? The information age is here. IT brings benefits to business companies. Strategic alliances. IT project may fail. The Magic Bullet Theory. Conclusions.

Why “Managing with IT”? Two out of Three IT Projects Fail! (Trahant and Burke, 1998)

The information age Industrial age from Marketplace Information age to Doing business Organizing business Economics in business Populating business Infrastructure in business Marketspace Hierarchies Networks Physical resources Digital resources Machine workers Knowledge workers Real estate/plant IT

“ Change is not what it used to be. The status quo will no longer be the best way forward. The best way will be less comfortable and less easy, but, no doubt, more interesting - a word we often use to signal a mix of danger and opportunity” Charles Handy, “Age of Unreason”

Where we are going from here? Is it worth it?

The benefits of successful IT implementation Reduction in the cost of information exchange between enterprises; Reduction in operational costs and time; Increase in revenues by providing additional marketing channels; Higher level of customer satisfaction; Ability to maintain price competitiveness; Opportunity for quality assurance.

Strategic alliance: definition … a close, long-term, with mutual benefits agreement between two or more companies, in which sources, knowledge and competencies are exchanged in order for the competitive position of each partner to be improved Spekman et al, 1998

Separate Entities Achieving Goals Devotion, Trust and Mutual Benefits 70% FAILURE RATE! More Than Two Companies Predetermined Life Cycle Strategic Alliance VS. Marriage SimilaritiesDifferences

What can cause project to fail? Power structure of organization; Lack of cross-functional teamwork; Involving staff members too late; Inadequate team skills; Overall resistance to change; Unrealistic expectations;

The change resistance curve FEELINGS TIME SHOCK DENIAL ANGER DEPRESSION ACCEPTANCE RATIONALISATION NEGOTIATION REALISATION NEUTRALNEUTRAL Obolensky, 1994

The Magic Bullet Theory of IT and Organizational Change IT changes people & organizations by empowering them to do things they could not do before and by preventing them from working in old, unproductive ways. I am an agent of change because I initiate, design, or build a powerful technology. When people use my systems, desirable organizational changes result. Markus et al, 1997

Conclusion: People, People and People IT – package of ideas about how people should work differently; People are more often an opponents, rather than sitting ducks; People can foil the plans of the world’s best technologists; People must understand and accept the idea of and reasons for change. People must be empowered!