Intentionality and power interplay in IS implementation: The case of an asset management firm

This paper evaluates the interplay between intentionality of stakeholders, organizational power and information systems (IS) implementation in the context of an European firm implementing an Enterprise Resource Planning system. We found that the implementation coincided with significant restructuring of power relations within the firm. We also found that the intentions of various stakeholders came to bear in terms of how organizational power got manifested. Our findings suggest a complex interplay between individual intentions and organizational power. Specifically, our study contributes to the literature by providing insights into the systemic nature of organizational power regarding IS implementations and how it relates to individual intentions.     

Power and politics in requirements engineering: embracing the dark side?

This paper considers the role of power and politics in requirements engineering (RE). It presents a brief working definition of both terms and provides an overview of existing literature both in RE and related disciplines. It argues that, given the increased complexity, uncertainty, and organisational embeddedness faced by RE in practice, power and politics have necessarily become increasingly relevant factors, but that they have not yet been given adequate consideration. A framework for analysis is presented, examining power and politics in turn through the structure of power relations and the process of decision-making. This framework is explored by applying it to a case study of a website development in a publishing company. The use of a case study is intended to demonstrate the proposed framework, perform an initial validation of it, and an assessment of its utility to RE.     

Facilitating implementation of total quality management through information technology

There is growing interest in the service industries in the adoption of quality management programs to improve their operational efficiency and market competitiveness. Deming’s total quality management (TQM) philosophy is one of the well-known ones. The TQM emphasizes continuous improvement through statistical control and the continuous training of people in the principles of quality management. One of the main implementation issues is the large volume of data that must be statistically analysed. Although recent researches have reported on how TQM is applied in various industries, few have discussed the importance of information technology in ensuring a successful TQM program. This paper reports on the application of information technology in the TQM process and how it can support management decisions. A case example is included to support these views.     

The politics of networking technology in health care

The theme of the paper is the tension between centralization and the need for standardization versus the need for locally developed organization and use of information technology. Unanticipated side effects have always existed in IT-based organization change. However, the trend towards integration, both within and across organizational boundaries, may amplify the diversity and scope of such effects, thus making them more dificult to deal with. We will explore the tensions between local and centralized control on three levels: how networking technology applications can support centralization and decentralization of control, how standards and standarization processes deal with the central/local tension, and how well established information system design techniques such as modelling and formalization cope with this tension. The strategies for dealing with these political issues, we argue, are participatory and evolutionary standardization.We are grateful for extensive comments and advice from several people, helping us in clarifying the main topic of the paper and discussing our line of argument and presentation. We thank Mike Robinson, Jonathan Grudin, Ina Wagner, Barbara Andrews, David Hakken and Peter Holmes for their contributions.     

An empirical analysis of effective TQM implementation in the Hong Kong electronics manufacturing industry

The objective of this research is to develop a conceptual model of total quality management (TQM) implementation and test it empirically. The main research problem of this study is to investigate the effect of adopting TQM principles on quality achievement in manufacturing. The hypotheses specifying relationships between the core parts of the model including quality management infrastructure, core quality management practices, quality performance, and customer satisfaction are tested using survey research method. Data were collected from 50 managers of 25 manufacturing companies in Hong Kong. Correlation analysis on the ratings given by two different respondents from the same company shows that employee relations strongly facilitates the use of quality data and reporting, while training supports the function of product design, supplier quality management, and quality data and reporting. The results also indicate that employee relations and training have direct effects on quality performance which, in turn, relates to customer satisfaction. Practitioners are advised to build a supportive environment with a strong emphasis on human and organizational aspects to promote effective TQM implementation. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

基于WSNs的医院环境监测系统设计

针对传统医院环境监测系统现场布线难、设备移动性差、测量精度不高的问题,提出了一种基于无线传感器网络( WSNs)技术的医院环境监测系统,并详细介绍了该系统的结构、通信机制及软件实现流程.系统由无线传感器节点依据无线通信机制形成WSNs.在分析影响WSNs能耗的主要因素和现有节能技术基础上,提出了一种基于能量均衡的数据可靠传输算法,即动态能量管理分簇算法( DPMCA),该算法把DPM技术和CA有效结合,有效解决了传统医院环境监测系统中存在的问题.     

Sustaining safety across organizational boundaries: a qualitative study exploring how interorganizational complexity is managed on a petroleum-producing installation

A qualitative study was undertaken to explore how interorganizational complexity is managed on a petroleum-producing installation. Fourteen semi-structured interviews were conducted. Data were analysed by means of thematic analysis. Long-term organizational relations, management’s role in the field and worker involvement appear to facilitate high-quality work relations which, along with similar safety practices and philosophies across companies, appear to foster commitment to mutual operational goals and contribute to an open environment in which employees were inclined to report errors and problems. Still, due to the vast number of companies involved and the vast amount of information, coordinating work processes among companies was regarded as a constant challenge. Moreover, variations in experience among sharp-end workers from sub-contractor companies in periods of high activity and marked fluctuations were identified as a challenge. The quality of interorganizational work relations appears to have important implications for safety performance in this context, indicating that high-quality work relations across collaborating companies constitute an important component for achieving and sustaining safety. As research addressing relational factors in safety research to date has been sparse, more research is needed to further explore the safety functions of high-quality work relations. Theoretically, the current study contributes to extend the high-reliability organizations framework by highlighting the role of high-quality work relations as an element for achieving mindfulness.     

Tool support for planning the restructuring of data abstractions inlarge systems

Restructuring software to improve its design can lower software maintenance costs. One problem encountered during restructuring is formulating the new design. A meaning-preserving program restructuring tool with a star diagram manipulable visualization can help a programmer redesign a program based on abstract data types. However, the transformational support required for meaning-preserving restructuring is costly to provide. Also, programmers encounter comprehension and recall difficulties in complex restructuring tasks. Consequently, transformations were replaced with visual and organizational aids that help a programmer to plan and carry out a complex restructuring. For example, a star diagram manipulation called trimming was added, which mimics the way that basic restructuring transformations affect the star diagram display, allowing a programmer to plan a restructuring without depending upon restructuring transformations. With the ability to annotate trimmed star diagram components, plans can be recorded and later recalled. Programmer-controlled elision was added to help remove clutter from star diagram views. We implemented a star diagram planning tool for C programs, measured its elision capabilities, and performed a programmer study. We found that elision is effective in controlling star diagram size, and the study revealed that each programming team successfully planned its restructuring in rather different, unanticipated ways. These experiments resulted in important improvements in the tool's software design and user interface     

TARP: A traffic-aware restructuring protocol for Bluetooth radio networks

Bluetooth is a low-cost and short-range wireless communication technology. The Bluetooth device randomly searches and connects with other devices using the inquiry/inquiry scan and the page/page scan operations, resulting an uncontrolled scatternet topology. The unpredictable scatternet topology usually raises the problem of redundant traffic and causes inefficient communications. A traffic-aware restructuring protocol (TARP) is presented for partially restructuring a piconet or a pair of two neighboring piconets by applying role switch mechanism. The proposed TARP mainly consists of intra-piconet and inter-piconet restructuring protocols. According to the recent routes and their traffic load information, the intra-piconet restructuring protocol adjusts piconet structure by selecting the proper device to play a master role of a piconet and applies takeover operation to rapidly restructure the piconet topology. The inter-piconet restructuring protocol exchanges devices of two neighboring piconets to reduce the route length and thus improve the power and bandwidth consumptions and the end-to-end transmission delay. Performance results reveal that the proposed restructuring protocols reduce path length of recent routes and save power consumption, thus significantly improve the performance for a given connected scatternet.     

Technocracy and management control systems

There is a pervasive, and persuasive, call for “new” management control systems commensurate with the applications of advanced technologies within modern organizations. Unfortunately, there is little consideration given to the possible consequences and alternative trajectories of the changes. Our purpose is to initiate a discourse directed toward better understanding the changes occurring in organizational structure and management control systems fostered by advanced technology applications. We propose that advanced technology coupled with the dynamic market environment is precipitating a new organizational form, technocracy, that is replacing the traditional bureaucratic form. Technocracy is the organizational manifestation of the technocratic restructuring taking place as technical remedies are administered to the current economic and management crises. This new organizational form is related to a technocratic ideology that alleges objectivity, meritocracy, and an apolitical perspective. We argue that the proposals for revitalizing management accounting and control systems are unquestioningly grounded in technocratic ideology, embodying, and perpetuating, the characteristics of technocracy.     

TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT: A GDSS APPROACH

Teams are a major factor in total quality management (TQM), so any technology that improves team performance facilitates the TQM process. This article describes how group decision support systems (GDSSs) can be used to increase team productivity and effectiveness within the TQM framework.     

Exploring the relationship between total quality management and information systems development

This study examines a series of relationships between total quality management (TQM) and information systems (IS) development. Specifically, we consider whether organizations which have more fully adopted TQM will be different in their approaches to IS development. Our findings suggest that where TQM is adopted more fully, there will be a significant impact on four areas of IS development: system goals; system design philosophy/concepts; assumptions made by IS professionals about system users and user involvement in system development. We also report evidence that both TQM and IT may require similar organizational cultures.     

Trajectories,social worlds,and boundary objects: A framework for analyzing the politics of technology

Many people recognize that politics plays a central role in sociotechnical change. Despite this recognition, however, there is little discussion in the human factors literature about what the term “politics” actually means, and how it can be studied. In this article, we propose a definition of politics, based on symbolic interactionism, a sociological tradition that emphasizes the close relationship between human agency and social structures. We illustrate the use of the approach, and some of its key concepts, through a case study of a human factors intervention in the trial of an intelligent manufacturing system in Australia. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

MINIMIZING RESISTANCE TO TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE A Power and Politics Approach

To minimize organizational resistance to implementation of an automated project management tool, a technology team at Apollo Computer used a power and politics approach emphasizing the role of coalitions in decision making. The team built a coalition favorable toward the new tool by involving key project managers in all phases of the implementation process.     

Total quality management: An approach & a case study

For the last decade, American companies have been playing catch-up in the area of quality and productivity. Japanese companies and other foreign competitors have moved into markets that were once dominated by American companies, by producing higher quality products. The problem to date in the U.S. has obviously not been the lack of resources or documentation on quality and improvement programs, but the misdirection of these programs and the lack of total management commitment. Total Quality Management (TQM) is seen as an effective method that will accomplish the task of higher quality levels, and increased productivity.

The purpose of Total Quality Management is to implement a process that is long term and continuous, in which all of management participates in establishing continuous improvement initiatives throughout the organization, beginning with their own function in the organization. TQM integrates the fundamental techniques and principles of Quality Function Deployment, Taguchi Methods, Statistical Process Control, Just-In-Time, and existing management tools into a structured approach. The primary objective of this approach is to incorporate quality and integrity into all functions at all levels of the organization.

This paper examines the TQM process, philosophy, concepts, attributes and how it can be used to develop a “quality-based” culture. The paper also examines the introduction and implementation of the TQM process at an electronic's manufacturer.     

Epistemological and theoretical challenges for studying power and politics in information systems

Abstract.  The study of the role of power in managing information systems (IS) still offers a major epistemological challenge to researchers in the field. Although significant work has been done, there is yet to emerge a research approach that permits a penetrating study of the phenomenon of power by virtue of adopting a Machiavellian stance. This paper proposes such an approach in the form of an interpretivist position combined with a theoretical framework whose origin lies in political science and the sociology of technology. In developing its philosophical argument, the paper compares three meta-theories that have been applied to study IS: Phenomenology, Critical Theory and Structuration Theory. All three are compared in terms of their epistemological position regarding the relationship between power and IS. We argue that, although enlightening, those meta-theories fail to unravel the hidden and strategic nature of power. The paper concludes by proposing a particular theoretical formulation that, rather than censoring power and politics, will provide the epistemological means for unravelling them.     

Quality management and the work environment: an empirical investigation in a public sector organization

The integration of quality management initiatives, particularly total quality management (TQM), and ergonomics has received increasing attention from scholars and practitioners. Above all, the question of how TQM programs relate to ergonomic aspects of organizational design and culture is at the center of this discussion. This study examines how elements of a "typical", Deming-inspired, TQM program in the public sector interact with the work environment. Elements of the TQM program were defined and measured using the Malcom Baldridge Award criteria. The specific elements examined were "Management Support of Quality", "Information and Analysis", "Human Resources", "Processes and Quality Results", and "Customer Focus and Satisfaction". The relationship between these TQM elements and the work environment were defined through five separate hypotheses. The work environment was described by the constructs "Supervisor Support", "Task Clarity", "Task Orientation", and "Innovation". Data were obtained through survey questionnaires administered to employees of four departments in a municipal government organization. Results supported three of the hypotheses, but produced some unanticipated outcomes with regard to the other two. Namely, "Management Support of Quality" was significantly related to "Supervisor Support", "Task Orientation", "Task Clarity" and "Innovation"; "Human Resources" was significantly related to "Supervisor Support"; "Processes and Quality Results" was significantly related to "Task Orientation" and "Innovation". Contrary to predicted "Information and Analysis" was negatively related to "Innovation", and "Customer Focus" was unrelated to any of the outcome variables. The relationships between these TQM elements and work environment dimensions are discussed. Implications for TQM and ergonomic practice are analyzed, and directions for future research proposed.     

Social media information governance in multi-level organizations: How humanitarian organizations accrue social capital

Strategic social media use positively influences organizational goals such as the long-term accrual of social capital, and thus social media information governance has become an increasingly important organizational objective. It is particularly important for humanitarian nongovernmental organizations (HNGOs), whose work relies on accurate and timely information regarding socially altruistic behavior (donations, volunteerism, etc.). Despite the potential of social media for increasing social capital, tensions in governing social media information across an organization's different operational levels (regional, intermediate, and national) pose a difficult challenge. Prominent governance frameworks offer little guidance, as their focus on control and incremental policymaking is largely incompatible with the processes, roles, standards, and metrics needed for managing self-governing social media. This study offers a notion of dynamic and co-evolutionary process management of multi-level organizations as a means of conceptualizing social media information governance for the accrual of organizational social capital. Based on interviews with members of HNGOs, this study reveals tensions that emerge within eight focus areas of accruing social capital in multi-level organizations, explains how dynamic process management can ease those tensions, and proposes corresponding strategy recommendations.