MIS 2000

1
MIS 2000 Organizations and Information Systems
Impact on Organizational Design (slightly
revised, see outline)
2
Outline

• Two typologies of Information Systems
• Organization design (structure, processes,
  culture, politicsdeleted due lack of time also
  minor revision of slide 11)
• Relationships b/w organization design and
  Information Systems

3
IS Types - Organizational Function Served

• Back-end Purchasing Systems supply chain
• Production Systems Manufacturing, Services,
  involved in org. core
• business operations
• Support to Production HR, Accounting Finance,
  Planning, Inventory, RD, Engineering/Product
  Development
• Front-end Marketing Sales Systems, Customer
  Relationship Mgt. (CRM) (customer tracking, sales
  recording, billing, competition/environment
  scanning, market segmentation)

4
IS Types Data and User

• Systems have different data, processing
  capabilities deliverables
• AND different Users

• Packing systems together (see Note).

Also called Reporting sys. or Admin. sys. The
MIS area of study refers to all system types, not
just MIS type of systems.
5
Relationship Between Two Typologies

• Different IS types based on data/user can be in
  each department.

Organizational Function Data User Type Data User Type Data User Type
Human Resources TPS MIS/RS DSS
Database of travel claims Detailed reports on travel claims in past month, drawn from Travel Claims Database Module with if-then rules that processes detailed reports and identifies deviations from organizations rules.
.
6
IS and Organizations

• Organizations use systems to advance their
  organizational design (get organized better)
  and, consequently, to achieve economic gains.
• Organizational Design Composition of tasks and
  processes, departments, methods of management,
  stable beliefs behaviors, power distribution

Economic aspects
7
IS and Organizations (cont.)

• Operational Efficiency Save time (on tasks)
  money (on materials, equipment, labour)
• Business Effectiveness accomplishing
  competitive targets
• New product (good or service)
• Product differentiated from competitors
• Market-related goals
• Customer-related goals
• Systems should advance methods of organizing and
  help to increase efficiency and effectiveness of
  organizations.

8
Organization

• Collection of individuals sharing work, following
  certain rules and using technology to produce
  certain good or service.
• Organization takes inputs from the
  environment, transforms them, and puts the result
  out into the environment.
• Organization can be viewed from the perspectives
  of
• Structure
• Processes
• Culture
• Politics

MIS 2000 Information Systems for Management
9
Organizational Structure

• Organization of work
• tasks, procedures, processes, jobs
• departments (functions grouping of work)
  distribution of work in geographical space
• Levels of management (Hierarchy)
• Rules and regulations (Formalization)
• Distribution of decision making power
  (Centralization)

MIS 2000 Information Systems for Management
7 of 15
10
IS Impact on Organizational Structure

• Systems can directly impact organizational
  structure via changes in the organization of
  work (e.g., task modification)
• Reduction of middle management (flattening of
  hierarchy)
• Reduction of explicit rules regulations (less
  written rules)
• Broader distribution of decision making power
  (decentralization)

11
Organizational (Business) Processes

• Process view of organizations is newer than
  structural. Business process is a set of tasks
  from a start to an end point, that deliver a
  value for a customer. Process can cut across
  departments.

Structure View Process View
Tasks, jobs, departments Tasks, sub-processes, processes (consisted of sub-processes)
What type of work is covered How work is actually done
How work is divided up How work links up
Static view describes work organization and rules Dynamic view flow of work, decision points
Frogs view, focus on pieces Birds view, focus on a whole
Skills in focus Both skills and IST in focus
No focus on performance (results) Performance focus (value for customer)
Status-quo (no change interest) Change interest
12
IS Impact on Business Processes (BP)

• IS used to support BP - Business Process
  Management (BPM).
• Electronic linking of tasks remote locations
• Automated management of linked tasks
• Measurement of time and quality enhanced
• IS used to change BP Business Process
  Reengineering (BPR). IS aids in making
• New BP possible (e.g., CRM, beyond org.
  boundaries)
• Simpler, faster, less labour-intensive BP

13
Organizational Culture

• Stable beliefs and behaviors shared among
  organization members.
• Beliefs and behaviors related to
  data/information/knowledge IST examples
• the role of IST in business (support vs. driver)
• when to change IST (conservative vs. progressive)
• proper communication (face-to-face vs.
  tech-mediated which)
• who should operate IST (all vs. specialists)
• what is better paper or electronic data format
• knowledge culture (e.g. 3M, Microsoft)
• how to plan develop IS, how to manage data

MIS 2000 Information Systems for Management
14
IS and Organizational Culture

• Organizational culture is an important condition
  for developing and using IS
• New IS can collide with organizational culture gt
  
• failure of IS, old culture resilient (some EMR
  systems)
• culture change required (ERP systems)
• mutual adjustment of systems and culture (GSS)

15
Mutual Influences ISOrganization

• Important! IS do not influence organizational
  design one way, existing organization (structure,
  processes, culture, politics) impacts on new IS
  as well.
• Mutual influencing, IS adjust to an organization,
  and the organization adjusts to IS.
• The proportion of mutual adjustment is a matter
  of scale, depending on a particular organization.
• Systems IT matters (flexibility)! Management of
  change matters (attention, persistence,
  initiatives)!