Technology and organizational change:
a return to the 'The Real World'

Having briefly reviewed some of the features of what we will call " The Real World" (i.e. the world in which large businesses work), and some of the tactical and strategic responses to the changes in that environment, we will now return to the central issue of this module: the relationship between technology and organizational change.

This section of the module will use examples from the article Computer Based Information Systems and Manager's Work, and the associated case studies to illustrate the complexity and inter-relatedness of real world. We will begin by reviewing the previous material in terms of strategic objectives (intentions for the future) and tactical solutions (actions taken in the present) and look at two simple linear models of technological and organizational change. We will then go on to review some of the integrationist models that portray an impact not as a linear outcome but as an interactive and ongoing process. Following, this we will introduce the idea of a simple 2 x 2 matrix (which we will use both here and in later sections of the module).

There are no simple answers to management problems - the 'real world' is complex and dynamic and solutions to problems are multiple and multi-dimensional. The aim of the matrix below is to provide a simple analytical device to deal with this complexity.

The columns of the matrix are fixed as "social" and "technical" in line with our assumption at the start of the module that all problems have both a technical and a social component to them. The rows of the matrix (labeled X and Y above) can then be used to contrast other influences on the relationship between managing a large multinational business organization and the technology used to do this.

Throughout this section of the module the rows of the matrix will be used to represent two broad strategic objectives that an organization might pursue. Hence, using Porter's notion of competitive advantage, we label the rows "X = Cost Focus" and "Y = Value Focus". In the next four topics in the module, we will use this to review two predominantly technological approaches: Information Management Systems and Knowledge Management Systems followed by two predominantly managerial approaches: The Bureaucratic Organization and The Networked Organization. The corresponding matrix for this view of the relationship between (information) technology and management is shown below.

Reading

Books

• See any of the books from the MIS books section

or

• Negroponte, N. Being Digital. New York, NY: Random House, 1995
• Sproull. L. and Kiesler. S. Connections: New ways of Working in the Networked organization. MIT Press, 1992
• Scarborough. H. and Corbett. J.M. Technology and organization: Power, Meaning and Design. Routledge, 1992
• Zuboff, S. In the Age of the Smart Machine. Heinemann Professional Publishing. 1988

Articles

• Pinsonneault, A. and Kraemer, K.L. (2002) Exploring the role of information technology in organizational downsizing: A tale of two American cities. Organization Science, Vol 13, no 2, pp 191-208
• Tantoush, T. and Clegg, S. (2001) CADCAM integration and the practical politics of technological change. Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol 14, no 1, pp 9-27.
• Boddy. D. (2000) Implementing Inter organizational IT Systems: Lessons from a Call Centre project. Journal of Information Technology, Vol 15, pp 29-37
• Alkahtani, M.M. and Meadows, A.J. (1999) Management automation in Saudi Arabia: a case study of a developing country. Journal of Information Science, vol 25, no 5, pp 418-422
• Morris R, Donn C, (1997) New technology and industrial relations in United States and Australian shipping, New Technology Work and Employment, vol 12, no 2, pp 136-145
• Smith, T.J, Henning, R.A. and Smith, K.U. (1995) Performance of Hybrid Automated Systems - A Social Cybernetic Analysis. International Journal of Human Factors In Manufacturing, vol 5, no 1, pp 29-51
• Orlikowski, Wanda J. (1992) The duality of technology: Rethinking the concept of technology in organizations, Organization Science vol 3, no 3, pp 398-427.
• Nass, C. and Mason, L. On the study of technology and task: a variable-based approach. In: J. Fulk and C. Steinfield, eds. Organizations and communication technology. Newbury Park: Sage, 1990
• Rule, J. and Attewell, P. (1989) What do computers do, Social Problems vol 36, no 3, pp 225-241.
• Cambell. A. and Warner. M. (1987) New Technology, Innovation and Training: an Empirical Study of Selected British Firms. New Technology, Work and Employment. vol. 2 no. 2, pp 86 - 99
• Kiesler, S. (1986) The hidden messages in computer networks. Harvard Business Review, Jan, p 46 - 50
• Zuboff. S. (1982) New Worlds of Computer Mediated Work, Harvard Business Review, Sept - Oct, pp. 142 - 152

Links

• If you wish to search for additional sources of information, use the MIS links page

• Information Systems, Power and Organizational Relations
  This paper presents a critical analysis of the changes in organizational relations surrounding the implementation of a large information system in a New Zealand hospital.
• Technology, Ideology and Social Transformation
  Based on our three year longitudinal study of 40 work groups this paper presents six cases to illustrate commonly discussed transformations of work organization.
• Exploring the role of information technology in organizational downsizing: A tale of two American cities
  This study explores the role information technology (IT) plays in downsizing by studying two American cities ('Old City' and 'New City') over a period of 10 years.

• Technological Determinism and Social Choice
  Discusses definitions of technological and social determinism and contains links to more detailed material.

• Shaping Electronic Communication: The Metastructuring of Technology in Use
  This paper suggests that the use of computer-mediated communication technologies in new and fluid organizations can be facilitated by the explicit and ongoing adaptation of those technologies to changing contexts of use.