Module 5 Flashcards
What are the two perspectives of IT? How do IT supports organizations through them.
- Technical-focus on inputs and outputs in combination with new technology
- Behavioural–beyond technical arrangement; envisioning changes in the organizational balance of rights, privileges, obligations, responsibilities and feelings
From a technical perspective it encourages us to focus on how inputs are combined to create outputs when technology changes are introduced into the company
From a behavioral perspective we need to consider that information systems change the organizational balance of rights, privileges, obligations, responsibilities, and feelings, how it affects people.
* The two perspectives are complementary
Describe relationship between business processes, organization and routines.
Collection of routines make business processes and collection of business processes shape organizations operations- how they turn input into output.
IT role is to streamline business processes, making them efficient or redesigning them to suit efficiency needed.
Why is collaboration important between businesses/organizations?
Importance of collaboration to organizations increases due to, for instance:
– Changing nature of work
– Growth of professional work; “interaction
jobs”
– Changing organization of the firm
– Changing culture of work
– Emphasis on innovation
– Changing scope of the firm
Benefits of collaboration.
*Productivity
-collaboration can help people capture expert knowledge and solve problems more quickly
-fewer errors
*Quality
-faster communication of errors -reduction in time delays in design and production
*Innovation
-working together is more fruitful
-“wisdom of crowds”
*Customer service
-collaboration and social tools can solve customer complaints faster and more effectively
*Financial performance
-superior sales, growth
What is Social Business?
Social business refers to the use of social networking platforms to engage employees, customers, and suppliers, deepen interactions and expedite information sharing.
The goal is for firms to strengthen their bonds with consumers, suppliers, and employees.
What does collaborative business culture implies (looking from management perspective)?
– Senior managers rely on teams of employees
– Policies, products, designs, processes, and
systems rely on teams
– The managers purpose is to build teams
Collaborative business culture framework (see in slides).
Tools & Technologies for Collaboration and Social Business.
- Email and Instant Messaging (IM)
Allow users to engage in real-time conversations with multiple participants simultaneously - Wikis
Tools for storing and sharing corporate knowledge and insights - Virtual Worlds
Used for meetings, interviews, guest speaker events, and employee training - Virtual Meeting Systems (Zoom, Teams)
- Cloud Collaboration Services (Google drive)
- Enterprise Social Networking Tool (Salesforce Chatter, Microsoft Yammer)
Draw collaboration and social tool matrix.
Boxes:
1. Face-to-face interactions: (Same time & Same place)
decision rooms, shared table, normal meetings
2. Continuous-talk: (Different time & same place)
team rooms- see what others have prepared
3. Remote interactions: (Same time & different-place)
video conferencing
4. Communication+coordination: (Different time &different-place)
email, blogs, wikis etc.
How do Information Systems and Digitalization Change Organizations?
- Economic impacts
Information systems reduce costs as it substitutes for labour - Information technology helps firms contract in size because of reduction in transaction costs
- Transaction cost theory
What is transaction cost theory?
– Firms seek to economize on transaction costs (the costs of participating in markets) through e.g., vertical integration, hiring more employees, buying suppliers and distributors.
– IT lowers market transaction costs, making it worthwhile for firms to transact with other firms rather than grow the number of employees (outsourcing of many activities) (it is cheaper to contract with external suppliers than using internal sources).
Airbnb- platform that lowered transaction costs of agency, they subsidise hoasts and guest book them directly.
Amazon- contact suppliers directly, online reviews. Less time spent.
What is Agency theory?
Firm is combination of contracts among self-interested parties requiring supervision. Costs of managing and supervising.
Can IT reduce Agency costs? Give example.
Yes,
IT can reduce agency costs, making it possible for firms to grow without adding to the costs of supervising, and without adding employee. Because IT reduces both agency and transaction costs, we expect firms to shrink in size over time as more investments go into IT.
Example: tracking movements in warehouses, cookies on web etc.
IT flattens organizations. Explain how.
IT flattens organizations by broadening the distribution of information. Information systems enable more self-management and give managers the ability to supervise a greater number of employees. Employees have to be more competent to work with less supervision.
Organizational politics, how is it connected with IT?
Access to information is interlinked with politics, information systems require changes on a personal and professional level.
What causes organizational resistance to change?
– Nature of the innovation (IT development)
– Structure of an organization (Organizational structure)
– Culture of an organization (People shape culture)
– Tasks affected by innovation (Job tasks)
