1. The Relationship Between Organizations and Information Systems
Objectives:
How organizations and information systems work together, or
sometimes against each other
The nature of organizations and how they relate to Information Systems

2. The Relationship Between Organizations and Information Systems
Complexity of the Relationship between organizations and information technology
Installing a new system or changing the old one involves much more than simply
plunking down new terminals on everyone's desk

3. The Relationship Between Organizations and Information Systems
What is an organisation?
An organization is very similar to the Information System
Both require inputs and some sort of processing, both have outputs,
and both then depend on feedback for successful completion of the
loop.
Information Systems use data as their main ingredient. Organizations rely on people.
However, the similarities are remarkable. They are both a structured
method of turning raw products (data/people) into useful entities
(information/producers).

4. Why Organizations Are So Much Alike: Common Features

5. Why Organizations Are So Much Alike: Common Features
Standard Operating Procedures
Precise rules, procedures and practices developed by organisations to cope with virtually all expected situations
How many of these characteristics fit your college class?
How many fit any organization you're in?
Some of the SOPs, politics, and culture are so ingrained in organizations that they actually hinder the success of the group.
Think about your experiences in groups. You had a leader (hierarchy), a set of rules by which you operated (explicit rules and procedures), and people appointed to perform certain tasks (clear division of labor). You probably voted on different issues (impartial judgments), and you decided on the best person to fill various positions within the group (technical qualifications for positions). Hopefully, the organization was able to fulfill its goals (maximum organizational efficiency), whether winning a softball game or putting on an award-winning play.
If your organization wasn't successful, perhaps it was because of the SOPs, the politics, or the culture.

6. Why Organizations Are So Much Alike: Common Features
Organizational Politics
Everyone has their own opinion about how things should get done. People have competing points of view. What might be good for Accounting may not be to the advantage of Human Resources.
The Production Department may have a different agenda for certain tasks than the Shipping Department.
Especially when it comes to the allocation of important resources in an organization, competition heats up between people and departments.
The internal competition can have a positive or negative influence on the organization, depending on how it's handled by management.
The fact remains that politics exist in every organization and should be taken into account when it comes to the structure of the information system.

7. Why Organizations Are So Much Alike: Common Features
Organizational Culture
Just as countries or groups of people have their own habits, methods, norms, and values, so too do businesses.
It's not unusual for companies to experience clashes between the culture and desired changes brought about by new technologies.
Many companies are facing such challenges as they move toward a totally different way of working, thanks to the Internet.

8. Why Organizations Are So Different: Unique Features
Different Organizational Types
Organizational Type
Enterpreneural structure :Young, small firm in a fast-changing enviroment.
Machine bureaucracy: Large bureaucracy existing in a slowly changing environment, producing standard products. It is dominated by a centralized management team and centralized decision making.
Divisionalised bureaucracy: Combination of multiple machine bureaucracies, each producing a different product or service, all topped by one central headquarters.
Professional bureaucracy: Knowledge-based organization where goods and services depend on the expertise and knowledge of professionals. Dominated by department heads with weak centralized authority.
E.g :Law firms, school systems, hospitals
Adhocracy: Task force" organization that must respond to rapidly changing environments. Consists of large groups of specialists organized into short-lived multidisciplinary teams and a weak central management.
E.g : Consulting firms

9. Why Organizations Are So Different: Unique Features
Organizations and Environments
Some organizations are able to respond faster and better than others.
Organizations differ because their ultimate goals differ
For instance, contrast a real estate company with an insurance company…
Both businesses are small and entrepreneurial. But they must respond to employees, customers, and potential customers in very different ways. Each has different business processes it must use to meet the goal of staying in business

10. Why Organizations Are So Different: Unique Features
Other Differences among Organizations
The external forces on an organization are tremendous. You're living in a time when these forces are causing many organisations-public, private, and governmental-to reevaluate and alter their organizations because of the Internet.
Some organizations are responding faster and easier than others. Why? Much of the cause can be attributed to the structure of the organization.
If the structure and culture of the organization promotes new ideas, new products, and new methods, the organization can deal with environmental changes faster than a more staid organizational structure.
Some companies are simply so big that they can't change their structure as fast as technology demands.
Goals, Power, Constituencies, Function, Leadership, Tasks, Technology, Business processes

11. The IT Infrastructure & IT Services
Many new jobs have been created because of technology.
Information Systems departments, previously a tiny group of people usually assigned to the financial group, have moved into the mainstream of most companies. This department is responsible for maintaining the hardware, software, data storage and networks that comprise the firm’s IT infrastructure.
Programmers have taken on more important positions within organizations. They must understand not only the technical side of computing, but also the business processes (functional side) within the company so they can adapt the technology to the needs of the business.
System analysts serve as the bridge between the techies and the non-techies.
Heading this group of people are the information systems managers. Their importance to businesses has grown as the emphasis on technology's role within organizations has grown.
Just as most organizations have a Chief Financial Officer, the position of Chief Information Officer has been created to handle the problems and opportunities businesses face in today's technologically driven environment.
Perhaps the most important role of all is the end user. The responsibility for successful integration of Information Systems has extended past the "techies" and become part of everyone's job. No one is isolated from the effects of computers and technology any more.

12. The IT Infrastructure & IT Services
The ORGANISATION
Senior Management
Major end users(divisions)
Information Systems Department
Information Systems Specialists
Managers
Systems analysts
Systems designers
Programmers
Network specialists
Database Administrator
Clerical
IT Infrastructure
Hardware
Software
Data Storage
Networks

13. Managers and Decision Making
Decision making is often the manager’s most challenging role.
IS have helped manger to communicate & distribute information BUT only limited assistance for decision making
Process of Decision Making
Strategic Decision making: determines long-term objectives, resources, and policies of the organisation
Management control decision making: how effectively and efiiciently resources are used and how well operational units are performing
Operational control decision making: determines how to carry out the specific task set forth by strategic and middle-management decision makers
Knowledge level decision making: evaluating new ideas for products and services, ways to communicate new knowledge, and ways to distribute information throughout the organisation
Within each level decision can be Structured or Unstructured.
Structured decision: repetitive and routine & involve definite procedure for handling them
Unstructured decision: Decision maker must provide judgment, evaluation, and insights into the problem definition
Semi-structured decision: Only part of it has a clear-cut answer

14. Managers and Decision Making
Stages of Decision Making
Intelligence: Identify & understand the problem in the organisation.
MIS systems that deliver wide variety of detailed information can help identify problems
Design: Design possible solutions to the problem.
Smaller DSS ideal at this stage because they operate on simple models.
Choice: Choosing among solution alternatives.
Larger DSS can be used at this stage.
Implementation: Decision is put into effect

15. Managers and Decision Making
Stages of Decision Making
Is there a problem?
Intelligence
The stages in decision
Making do not necessarily
Follow a linear path.
At any point, you may
need to step back to the
previous stage
What are the alternatives?
Design
Which should I choose?
Choice
Is the choice working?
Implementation

16. Implications for the Design and Understanding of
Information Systems
The central organisational factor when planning a new system:
The env in which the org must funtion
The structure of the org: hierarchy, specialisation and SOPs
The org’s culture & politics
The type of org & its style of leadership
The principle interest groups affected by the system and the attitude of workers who will be using the system
The kinds of tasks, decisions & business processes that the IS is designed to assist
Systems should be built to support both group & Organisational
decision making. IS builders should design systems with the following
characteristics:
They are flexible and provide many options for handling data and evaluating information
They are capable of supporting a variety of styles, skills, and knowledge as well as keeping track of many alternative consequences
They are sensitive to the organisation’s bureaucratic and political requirements

17. IT as a Business Strategy for organisations
Strategy - general statement of long-term objectives and goals and
ways by which theses can be achieved.
Information Strategy - deals with the integration of an organisation’s
information requirements and information systems planning with its
long-term overall goals (such as customer service etc).
3 areas of Information Strategies:
Information Systems Strategy
Information Technology Strategy
Information Management Strategy

18. IT as a Business Strategy for organisations
3 areas of Information Strategies
Information Systems Strategy:
The long-term directional plan.
Business-oriented and concerned to exploit IT either to support business strategies or to create new strategic options.
It therefore deals with the integration of organisation’s information requirements and information systems planning with long-term overall goals.
Information Technology Strategy:
This leads on from the IS strategy - it deals with technologies (computing, communications, data and application systems).
This provides a framework for the analysis and design of the technological infrastructure of an organisation.
Information Management Strategy:
The basic approach an organisation has to the management of information systems
Includes –
Planning IS developments
Organizational environment of IS,
Control and Technology

19. IT as a Business Strategy for organisations
Reasons that justify the implementation of a strategy for
Information Systems and Information Technology
IT involves high costs (is a high cost activity)
IT is critical to the success of many organisations
IT is now used as part of the commercial strategy in the battle for competitive advantage
IT as required by the economic context (from a macro-economic point of view)
IT affects all levels of management
IT may mean a revolution in the way information is created and presented to management
IT involves many stakeholders, not just management, and not just within the organisation
The detailed technical issues of IT are important (for compatibility between Information Systems)
IT requires effective management as it can make a real difference to successful IT use
IT can be used to develop new businesses (for e.g, Reuters created an electronic marketplace where subscribers could trade via Reuters terminals)

20. IT as a Business Strategy for organisations
An Information Strategy must deal with 3 main issues:
The organisation’s overall business needs and its IT needs as a consequence
The organisation’s current use of IT
The potential opportunities that IT can bring

21. Developing an Information Strategy
IT as a Business Strategy for organisations
Developing an Information Strategy

22. IT as a Business Strategy for organisations
Developing an Information Strategy
Identifying Business Needs:
The identification of business needs and the IT framework to satisfy them is at the heart of a strategy for Information Systems and IT. The IS and IT strategies should be part of the overall strategy for the organisation.
So, the IS strategy should be conducted whenever the organisation prepares its long-term marketing or production strategies.
Evaluation Business Needs:
This part of the strategy study is necessary so that the organisation might have some idea where it is starting from, as, later, it will aid in the targeting of resources.
Secondly, the efficiency of current systems coverage is also evaluated. Are users happy? Is the system reliable?
Opportunities:
Opportunities cannot always be identified from the two processes above. Instead, creative thinking in the organisation should be encouraged.
The organisation should foster innovation by encouraging and supporting new ideas from its staff, and consulting users and customers.
Users should be encouraged to develop their ideas by providing them with the technological tools to do so.