Information Technology Organizations And People

This wide-ranging volume presents in-depth research into the effect of new information technologies on organizational structure, assesses their progress towards transformation and describes the changes they are making to long-established business process roles, cultures and working practices. The book is based upon a series of rolling surveys carried out between 1989 and the present day, and funded by leading organizations such as IBM and KPMG. It provides a detailed picture of a sector in transition during a period of anxiety and doubt dominated by restructuring, downsizing and experimentation with re-engineering. As the 'lean and mean' emerge, they must now ask themselves if their competencies will enable them to survive into the next decade as competitors, such as Sainsburys, Virgin, Microsoft and Ford position themselves to become major players in the sector. This book is a major contribution to the debate on the growth of knowledge work, the need for core organizational competencies in the information age and the need for evolutionary, or radical, change.

The freshest, most contemporary overview of information systems.

"Strategies for effectively managing how information technology impacts human and organizational behavior are discussed in this business guide. Covering both the ôsoftö and ôhardö dimensions of organizational development, information is provided on e-communication, virtual teams, and action learning. A framework for increasing crosscultural efficiency and the global economy engagement is provided."

Many of the technological and managerial challenges of operating in the international environment are being addressed through global IT applications at the functional level of the organization. Global Information Systems and Technology: Focus on the Organization and Its Functional Areas provides a forum for identifying the specific impacts of IT in each of these areas and for understanding how the various challenges and solutions in the functional areas are being integrated via information technology. With a total of 27 chapters, this book examines several functional areas -- marketing, financial services, accounting, manufacturing and logistics, research and development, human resources -- all within the context of today's international business enterprise.

This book is concerned with the ways in which organizations design, build and use information technology systems. In particular it looks at the interactions between these IT-centred activities and the broader management processes within organizations. The authors adopt a critical social science perspective on these issues, and are primarily concerned with advancing theoretical debates on how best to understand the related processes of technological and organizational change. To this end,the book examines and deploys recent work on power/knowledge, actor-network theory and critical organization theory. The result is an account of the nature and significance of information systems in organizations which is an alternative perspective to the pragmatic and recipe-based approaches to this topic which dominate much contemporary management literature on IT.

Technology, people, e-workplaces: these are the elements that fast moving organizations use to meet changing business requirements by using technology to invent new business processes, to re-align organizational structures, and to implement new management practices. Moreover, it has become apparent in today's global information economy, the most critical-indeed the primary-resource that distinguishes market leaders from everyone else is human talent! Countries, communities, and organizations are suddenly very interested in developing the human capacities that will allow them to compete in a networked world. Successful growing organizations have placed the combined development of information technology and human resources as their top priority. With the help of human resource professionals, organizations must grasp the pertinent aspects of both people and technology issues to create an effective e-workplace. These issues occur at the intersection of the disciplines of computer science, operation research, and human resource development. Because these issues are complex, they can best be understood through cross-disciplinary collaboration among experts who approach them from a range of perspectives. Human Resource Development and Information Technology: Making Global Connections presents just such a collaborative effort from leaders in the field. This book describes the changes that are occurring as technology plays a more central role in human resource development. It compares methods and tools that organizations can use to create their own practices for developing their most critical resource-people! In addition, the authors pose a set of interesting research questions that will help us further explore how countries, local communities, and organizations build dynamic systems for developing a sustained competitive advantage with human talent.

How best can we understand why the application of information and communication technology in organizations succeeds or fails? Calling on technical, organisational, social, psychological and economic perspectives, this book provides a fresh and comprehensive framework for answering this question. Consideration is given to how ICT is adopted, implemented and used within organizations. Throughout special features will help readers clarify their understanding. These features include: - Case studies and vignettes that chart the opportunities and pitfalls created by ICT - Useful chapter introductions - An up to date glossary of concepts and abbreviations