Information Technology And Organizational Learningmanaging Behavioral Change Through Technology And Education

Focusing on the critical role IT plays in organizational development, the book shows how to employ action learning to improve the competitiveness of an organization. Defining the current IT problem from an operational and strategic perspective, it presents a collection of case studies that illustrate key learning issues. It details a dynamic model for effective IT management through adaptive learning techniques—supplying proven educational theories and practices to foster the required changes in your staff. It examines existing organizational learning theories and the historical problems that occurred with companies that have used them, as well as those that have failed to use them.

This book is designed to help business and individual managers understand and cope with the many issues involved in developing learning organizations and integrating an important component: their IT organizations. The book provides a combination of research case studies and existing theories on organizational learning in the workplace, to provide researchers and corporate practitioners tools to incorporate a growing information technology infrastructure with their existing workforce culture.

Since the publication of the groundbreaking first edition, the increasing rate of change in today’s business landscape has amplified the value of information technology (IT) in driving adaptive responses. Focusing on the critical role IT plays in organizational development, Information Technology and Organizational Learning: Managing Behavioral Change through Technology and Education shows how to employ action learning to improve the competitiveness of your organization. Defining the current IT problem from an operational and strategic perspective, the book presents a collection of case studies that illustrate key learning issues. It details a dynamic model for effective IT management through adaptive learning techniques—supplying proven educational theories and practices to foster the required changes in your staff. It examines existing organizational learning theories and the historical problems that have occurred with companies that have used them, as well as those that have failed to use them. Here’s a sample of what’s new in this edition: A new chapter on Virtual Teams and Outsourcing Updated case studies that cover noteworthy developments since the publication of the previous edition New material on infrastructure improvements and social networking as an improved method for team building Up-to-date coverage of virtual mentoring and how to better manage at the micro level across departments and the organization Seamlessly integrating IT and business issues, the text devotes a chapter to case studies—including a comprehensive case study that spans eight years of the author’s research. This complete resource also highlights valuable best practices to supply the understanding needed to transform your company into a more competitive and technically proficient organization.

Because digital and information technology (IT) has become a more significant part of strategic advantage and workplace operations, information systems personnel have become key to the success of corporate enterprises, particularly with the pursuit of becoming more "digital." This book focuses on the vital role that technology must play in the course of organizational development and learning and on the growing need to integrate technology, particularly digital technology, fully into the culture of all organizations. Fundamentally this fourth edition takes an even stronger position than the previous editions that organizational learning is crucial to the success of what has been coined "digital transformation." Companies are struggling to understand what it means to "be digital." Their technology personnel go far beyond the traditional IT staff into areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and natural language processing (NL). These three functions now fall under the auspices of "data science," which is now at the center of allowing companies to become more data dominant as is necessary for survival. While traditional IT personnel have long been criticized for their inability to function as part of the business, they are now vital to assist in the leadership of digital transformation. It could be a costly error to underestimate the technical skills needed by IT staff to ensure successful digital transformation. In fact, subsequent chapters will highlight the technical challenges needed to build new architectures based on 5G, blockchain, cloud computing, and eventually quantum processing. The challenge then is to integrate business and technical IT staff via cultural assimilation and to strategically integrate advanced computing architectures. This fourth edition includes new topics such as the future of work that addresses the challenges of assimilating multiple generations of employees and how to establish working cultures that are more resilient and adaptive and can be configured as a platform driven by data assets.

Successfully navigate the changing face of the CIO role Strategic Information Technology offers CIOs a handbook for engaging with the senior management conversations surrounding strategy. The CIO role is currently undergoing a massive transition from technology-focused expert to a more strategic mindset, and this book provides proven methods for taking your seat at the table. Lessons from high-performing CIOs and a wealth of leading-edge insight provide invaluable guidance for positioning technology as a strategic driver across the business, while a focus on building the necessary connections—for example, an alliance between IT and HR—provide a multimodal approach to navigating the transition. The evolution of the CIO’s role involves more than simply technical knowledge; the new CIO must be an influencer, an engager, and just as adept at the soft skills that become increasingly crucial as you climb the management ladder. It’s about changing mindsets, translating hard skills into strategic advantages, and demonstrating IT’s value to the strategic decision making process. This book provides best practices, illustrative examples, and up-to-date perspective for CIOs wanting to: Position IT as a critical driver of overall strategy Build on functional expertise with strategic insight Learn from the stories of successful tech-to-strategy transformations Engage C-Suite peers in shaping the strategic conversation Not long ago, the CIO occupied a unique place in the C-Suite. Executive by title, CIOs have nevertheless been seen as predominantly the “chief tech expert” with little input into strategy, as IT has historically been regarded as a tool rather than a source of competitive advantage. The truth is becoming increasingly apparent, with companies around the world turning to technology in order to gain a competitive edge, and CIOs are beginning to claim their place in strategy discussions. Strategic Information Technology offers much needed guidance for a successful transformation.

What the Book Is About This book is about the problem of organizational learning, that is the analysis of organizations conceived as learning systems. In order to survive in a period of a rapid change, organizations must innovate and than to develop and exploit their abilities to learn. The most innovative organizations are those that can respond with great efficiency to internal and external changes. They respond to and generate technological change by acting as effective learning systems. They maximize the learning potential of ongoing and "normal" work activities. The organizational structure and the technology allow members to learn while the organizations itself learns from its members. So organizations reach high levels of innovation when structured to take advantage of the social, distributed, participative, situated processes of learning developed by its members in interaction with the technological environment. Organizations should consider learning as an explicit "productive" objective. They must create integrated learning mechanisms, that encompass technological tools, reward and incentive systems, human resource practices, belief systems, access to information, communication and mobility patterns, performance appraisal systems, organizational practices and structures. The design of efficient learning organizations requires cognitive, technological and social analyses. All the computer-based technologies (e. g. office automation, communication and group decision support) not only those devoted to and used in training activities, have to be considered as tools for organizational learning and innovation.