1. Chapter Discussion Mastering the Three Worlds of IT
MIS 7003
MBA Core Course in MIS
Professor Akhilesh Bajaj
The University of Tulsa
Chapter Discussion
Mastering the Three Worlds of IT
© Akhilesh Bajaj, All rights reserved.

2. Discussion Points
Investment per worker in IT is over $5100 per year per employee. Are they doing it
wisely?
No real theory to guide IT investment. The same system may work very well in one
organization but fail in another very similar organization.
IT is a general purpose technology (like electricity), and over time such technologies
get better, have people get more familiar and find more uses, get network externality
(as more organizations use it, it gets disproportionately stronger)
and lead to fundamental changes in social and economic behavior.
GPTs need organizational complements (helping factors) to work: better skilled
workers, higher levels of team work, redesigned processes and autonomous
decision making.
Function IT boosts individual productivity, without complements. E.g., word processing,
CAD design.
Network IT enables complements. E.g., , blogging, IMs, bottom up usage
Enterprise IT requires complements. E.g., ERP systems, CRM systems, top-down
usage
© Akhilesh Bajaj, All rights reserved.

3. Discussion Points
Managers should select the right kind of IT and lead adoption as well as ensure that
other skill-sets are developed amongst employees as well.
IT selection: FIT delivers productivity & optimization, NIT delivers collaboration, and
Emergence of patterns & EIT helps standardize and monitor work.
IT Adoption: Executives need to point out the benefits of FIT and prod employees a bit,
demonstrate the features of NIT which is more easily adopted, and finally mandate and
more carefully manage the adoption of EIT. Enterprise technologies cause
people to rebel. This is because they change the power structure in top down fashion.
IT Exploitation: Show people how to use it down to the frontline level.
E.g., Washington DC project.
Question: How can an executive change this power structure, without causing best
people to leave? E.g. Doctors refuse to put orders online, but like to hand write
prescriptions.
© Akhilesh Bajaj, All rights reserved.