ITM524 - Fundamentals of Information Technology Management Richard Patrone Module 1 – Case Introduction and Organizations as Socio-technical Systems Trident University International (TUI) Dr. Mary Lind Spring 2013 Assignment: The Case for this module centers on an organization implementing a new computer-based information processing system. Thousands of organizations go through the same kind of process every day—you yourself may have been involved in one or more such "technology transformations." Despite this body of experience; the advice of thousands of consultants, researchers, and computer gurus; and the leverage of multibillion-dollar corporations such as Microsoft, Google, and Oracle; a large proportion of these …show more content…
Outcomes Painter presents us with a case study of “a public insurance company’s conversion of long-standing paper-based work processes to an electronic document management system, “E-File”, with imaging, data integration, and automated workflow” that spanned 7 years, from 1995 to 2002. Painter’s case study of a ‘socio-technical’ approach to organization design can temper potentially negative effects of information technology, while boosting positive potentials to “up-skill” jobs, and yield an outcome, as stated in the subdivided outcomes that, because of the transition to the E-File system, claims officers showed a marked improvement with their ability to answer client inquiries, resulting in client satisfaction increasing from 70% and below to 80%. These surveys indicated that future gains were also possible mainly due to the “single point of contact” for work locations scattered across the province. The study did show that claim costs increased during the 1998-1999 period of intense E-File rollout, but this increase was not entirely fault-specific to the transition as there were many other factors involved that led to the revenue loss, but any change of process has its significance. Revenues eventually stabilized in the years 2000-2003 where a substantial decrease in claim costs had occurred. Claim costs continued to decline to a rate 25% lower than in the pre-E-File period. The technology shift
This article makes up Chapter 1 of the free, open access book titled, Information Systems: A Manager's Guide to Harnessing Technology, by John Gallaugher. Please ensure that you read the entire Chapter 1 of the book consisting of 3 parts (Part 1 Introduction; Part 2 Don’t Guess, Gather Data; and Part 3 Moving Forward).
Technology advances has been most dramatic in clerical and service work, which has led to the deskilling of labor. The basic job of this service work is to handle, maintain and process information. Improvements such as the computer, voice recognition software and automation processes have led to the deskilling of this service work. As a result of this technology people are now facing the threat of losing their job because a process has been changed, upgraded or eliminated.
Briefly discuss the historical context of the development. What was happening during that time period? What spurred the development of the
The information technology always require changes and updation time to time, because new technologies and techniques are coming in the market, that’s why, it is essential for the business organizations and companies to change and upgrade their information technology systems. Similarly, the requirements of the people and customers are also being changed with the passage of time and to fulfil the requirements of the customers companies are looking to change and upgrade their information technology system and environment.
Information overload in my opinion is here to stay, it is always compounding. It just takes adjustment to our technical and social systems. There are times, I recall using oversized status boards to display the status of aircraft. There were creative ideas being accomplished socially and we were able to input additional information and this led to having to build and adapt to the status boards getting larger and larger. Due time would change all of this data being displayed on the status boards and eventually we had to advance to the technical systems of the time. This update to inputting data into a computer presented challenges socially in the organization. There were costs for some of the
The major elements are cost efficiency, eliminating wastes, and researching future IT investments. In the IT Doesn’t Matter article, three main points were outlined, and they were spend less, follow, don’t lead, and focus on vulnerabilities, not opportunities. Overspending has always been a major issue in regards to applying new technology, and it is important to execute an IT budget for any organization. Office Depot adopted new technology to improve all of their operations, especially in the supply chain. They were able to increase efficiency, while modernizing their budget. Information technology can benefit any organization if they are researched thoroughly and will improve the business needs of the organization. If it will not improve the business needs, there is no need to invest in expensive technology. The most important phase in the system development life cycle is the systems analysis phase. The goal of this phase is to identify what problems need to be fixed and breaking down how the system will benefit all users. Therefore, the business needs need to be identified and outlined before new technology is adopted into an organization’s business model. Once new technology is applied, organizations must continue to research information technology. If organizations follow these elements of
The current business world is continually integrating technology into daily processes at a rapidly growing rate. The integration is having a major impact on the way that people within corporations accomplish their jobs and as such it is of significant interest as an area of study. The focus that was chosen was to attempt to gain an understanding of the issues and affects that new technology is having on a larger business via an interview with someone in either middle of upper management.
Midsouth Chamber of Commerce, a nonprofit, member driven, business advocacy group is in the processes of upgrading their current information system. Midsouth has decided they need to upgrade their information system to a more currently system, in order to increase revenue producing opportunities. Their original IS system was built by an outside consultant (who is no longer in business) on a departmental need base, rather than a company wide need. The original system was put into place in 1987, with modifications done in 1993, and 1995. During this time all IS decision were made by outside
Over the past few years technology has caused significant changes in the way enterprises conduct business.
“Here is a spoon. Please dig a 30-foot trench in the next couple of hours, please.” To most people, this is a ridiculous request as there are a vast amount of better suited equipment available to complete the job within the specified time. Yet, when companies do not align their Information Systems (IS) and Architecture with organizational business and strategic needs, their processes, equipment, and efforts prove ineffective and costly. For this reason, companies need to invest time and money into planning, investigating, and selecting the right software solutions, architecture and vendors to help them achieve high productivity and return on investment.
Information systems have gone through many changes. Experts currently refer to the current era as the “Customer-Focused Era” of modern computing (Petter & Mclean, 2012).
the information systems of a national company with some of its current employees . The
From the IT Strategy text mini case, Northern Insurance has spent an enormous amount of both human and financial capital on its pathway to putting the Technical Underwriting Financial System (TUFS) into place (McKeen & Smith, 2015). This paper will compare the relative IT information systems success rates to National Insurance’s experience with TUFS and make some determinations as to what might have been done differently during the life of the project and what can be done moving forward to salvage the TUFS project. In the analysis, this writing will compare past studies, personal experiences and suggest a path forward for Northern Insurance.
CHANGE is the only constant in the relationship between information systems and organizations. As technology evolves and changes, its introduction into organizations requires changes in the firm 's infrastructure and the services it can provide to its employees, customers, and suppliers.
All these factors are creating new challenges and new opportunities for businesses of all kinds and for the public sector. Adapting to the volatility and change is crucially dependent on, and in many cases driven by, IT. But to successfully meet these challenges and grasp these opportunities, you must focus on what you do best, not on becoming systems experts. Yet at the same time you must be 100 per cent certain that your IT support is efficient, cost effective and totally tuned to your needs.