A Spreadsheet Project for Integrating Global Issues in the Software Tool Kit Course

Objectives. The study set out to develop fundamental methodological principles for the logical integration of information systems (IS) in organizations and to quantitatively assess the topological significance of the IS integration process.Methods. Methods based on expert systems were used for the logical integration of information in conjunction with data-mining approaches based on various IS. In order to quantitatively assess the topological significance of the IS integration procedure, graph theory methods were used. Discrete topology methods were also employed for calculating the topological invariants of the IS interconnection topology.Results. Issues and challenges involved in the integration of IS in large organizations are considered in terms of integration methods based on physical and logical principles. While IS integration approaches based on logical principles offer distinct advantages over physical integration approaches, new problems arising in the context of logical integration approaches require innovative solutions. The proposed scheme for the logical integration of IS includes an algebraic method for quantitatively assessing the topological significance of integration, comprising an important numerical indicator in the logical integration of IS. Methods based on learning expert systems, which represent a fundamental solution for organizing the logical integration of IS for intelligent data analysis, are reviewed.Conclusions. When integrating IS in organizations, it is advisable to use a logical integration approach that preserves the logic of existing information systems. The application of logical integration enables intelligent data analysis using various IS. The use of expert systems in logical integration enables the creation of a new logical layer for providing decision support within the organization.

The large amount of work on information systems being taken up by maintenance activities has been one of the arguments of those announcing a ‘software crisis’. In this article we have investigated the applicability of this statement, and propose instead to look at the percentage of work being done on functional maintenance to assess the efficiency of the information system support in an organization, seen from the end‐user's point of view.A survey with results from 52 Norwegian organizations on development and maintenance of information systems has been performed, and some of the results are presented in the article. These are compared with results from similar investigations acting as calibration for our more novel results on functional development and maintenance. This is the first time to our knowledge that figures for functional maintenance have been investigated in a survey.From a functional point of view, the situation is better than previously perceived. Still, almost 45% of the work being done on computerized information systems in organizations is functional maintenance, i.e. not improving the information system support of the organization functionally. The amount of functional maintenance appears to be negatively correlated with the size measures for the organization, and with organizations having a well‐developed maintenance and development methodology, although further investigations should be performed to uncover the mechanisms of functional maintenance.

Studies in the literature indicate that many organizations have experienced a crisis of confidence in information systems (IS) functions and IS executives. We address the issue of joint chief executive/IT executive responsibility in building a corporate culture to overcome resistance to technological changes. This paper reports a study of differences in IT perceptions between chief executives and IS executives. The results suggest a similarity of views in three major dimensions of perception: IT vision, organizational IS issues and IT support for knowledge management. The study also suggests that national culture, industry type and the chief executive/IT executive relationship contribute to differences in IT perception.

Although many conceptual frameworks for development and maintenance of information systems in organizations have been proposed, we experience a lack of integrated support of the evolutionary nature, the interconnectedness, and the social processes for developing such systems. This paper present a classification of methodological frameworks for evaluating important aspects of methodologies having this in mind. Contrary to most classification frameworks presented in literature which look solely upon different ways of supporting development of new information systems, we have in our framework a broader view, including larger parts of what we term computerized information systems (CIS) support in organizations.

This paper presents a model curriculum for students studying organizational and end-user information systems (OEIS). Developed by the Organizational Systems Research Association (OSRA), the curriculum contains seven required and six elective courses which are based on a foundation of general education and core business courses. Core courses include an introduction to OEIS; computer user support; planning, design, implementation, and evaluation; technical training and delivery methods; telecommunications and networking; cases in information technology; and an internship. The elective courses comprise eBusiness and web technologies, collaborative technologies and knowledge management, network administration, operating systems, information systems security, and special topics. College and university faculty members in a variety of disciplines are invited to consider this model when revising or expanding their information systems curricula.

The article is devoted to the study of problems of information support of the organization, namely the assessment of the quality of information management. It is determined that the effectiveness of managing the activities of the organization largely depends on the level of information support, which is designed to provide the organization with the necessary information for the formation and achievement of goals. The main approaches to the evaluation of information and information support (semantic, pragmatic, economic, syntactic or structural) are considered. It is determined that the current state of information management of the organization should be determined on the basis of a pragmatic approach (qualitative assessment) for three groups of indicators: effectiveness, resource availability and adequacy. The indicators belonging to the specified groups are considered. It is proposed to assess the quality of management of information support of the organization on the basis of the calculation of the summary indicator. The expediency of assessing the level of management of information support of the organization on the basis of qualitative (non-metric) indicators is substantiated. The problems that arise in the process of assessing the quality of information management of the organization are identified. The role of information technologies and information systems in the process of information management of the organization is characterized. It is determined that the basis of information support of the organization are information systems. The specifics and features of control, evaluation and quality management of information systems in organizations are determined. Problems related to the process of assessing the quality of information systems in the organization are described. The need for further development of theoretical and methodological aspects of evaluation of quality assessment of components of information systems and information systems, as well as information management of the organization as a whole.

Many US companies adopted business process re-engineering (BPR) strategy to demonstrate the way culture influenced information technology (IT)-enabled organizational change and information systems. It was observed that many corporations improved their business performance after re-engineering their core processes. The BPR strategy used some of the specific cultural characteristics of American citizens to introduce IT-enabled organizational change and information systems. Specific cultural characteristics of the American citizens, such as innovativeness, individualism, self-reliance, a willingness to accept risk, and a desire for change helped them to adopt such a strategy and introduce changes. Several corporations in a number of other countries with diverse cultural traits also adopted the BPR strategy to introduce similar information technology (IT)-enabled organizational change and information systems.

User satisfaction has increasingly played an important role in information systems (IS) organizations' effectiveness. Does an IS organization's ability to design and develop increasingly effective systems depend on its maturity? Does maturity depend on bringing in state-of-the-art technology? Is maturity related to the organizational structure of the Data Processing/Management Information Systems (DP/MIS) Unit? Is maturity related to spending increasing amounts of money on IS organizations? The importance of these questions and their answers to DP/MIS managers and users cannot be overemphasized. The research uses a field study of IS users and managers to answer these questions and other related issues. The study shows a weak but significant overall relationship between user satisfaction variables and maturity criteria defined by Nolan [25]. Further research based on the findings of the study is suggested as a means of improving the degree of relationship between maturity criteria and user satisfaction variables.

As countries emerged from the Covid-19 pandemic, management teams faced the challenges of supporting their employees to return to the traditional office work environment, adopting hybrid work modes to ensure business continuity, and creating work conditions conducive to personal well-being. Despite the critical role of digital platforms during the pandemic, there is limited understanding of the role of digital platform continuance to retain employees during the Great Resignation phenomenon. To address this gap, this study focuses on organisational support as there is growing recognition of its importance in digital platform continuance. Using partial least square algorithms, we used the organisational support theory and information systems (IS) continuance literature to derive a research model tested on data collected from 447 knowledge workers across central Europe and Africa. The results show that management-by-objective (MBO) and support from direct managers are essential determinants of knowledge workers’ post-crisis digital platform continuance intentions. The perceived usefulness of digital platforms mediates the effect of direct manager support on digital platform continuance. We discuss how the results could extend organisational level IS continuance research and help organisations develop strategies to retain employees in this post-crisis work-related phenomenon.

<p>The latest Gartner report states that in 2012, the figure for global Information Technology (IT) spending amounted to US $3.6 trillion and a predicted $3.8 trillion in 2013. Achieving an effective measure of IS success and impact of information systems has been a goal for information systems researchers for decades. Numerous methods exist for measuring the quality, value and impact of information systems in organizations, including benchmarking, ISO standards, and user surveys. However, typically, often due to restricted access to data, researchers only use one type of measure. This study uses a single-organization case study investigating measures of the quality, value and impact of the SAP system in the largest telecommunications organization in New Zealand, using and comparing a range of methods and perspectives. The researcher also evaluates the best possible measures for organizations to adopt by comparing multiple methods.</p>

Executive access to information systems in Australian public organizations

This paper investigates the idea of organization transformation appropriate to the advent of information technologies (IT). Specifically, we describe a traceable framework of transformation, which accommodates the shift of information system (IS) support from automating to informating to knowledging. The paper intends to clarify the context of IT/IS-based organization transformation through the contextualization of IS support and its relation to organizational design. This is done by elaborating the design issue of IS support that help structure and facilitate knowledge interconnectivity, through the exposition of the social processes in which, in a specific organizational context, a particular group of people can conceptualize their world and hence the purposeful action they wish to undertake. That provides the basis for ascertaining what information support is needed by those who undertake that action. Only then does it become appropriate to ask how modern IT can help to provide that support. We conclude by reiterating the challenge of designing IS’s as meaning attribution systems in which people select certain resources out of the mass potentially available and get them processed by means of IT, to make them meaningful in order to support their purposeful actions.

In the considerable literature on the use of information systems in organisations there are occasional discussions of issues broadly relevant to the area of job redesign. Hedberg, for example, has pointed to the potential of such systems for facilitating organisational change, advocating what he termed ‘participative management information systems’. Attention has also been paid to the influence that computers and information systems have on different forms of employee participation (see for example Mumford and Sackman). But very few writers have specifically considered the impact of information systems on attempts at redesigning people's jobs. Of the few acknowledging the centrality of these systems, Wilkinson has stated that ‘a careful analysis and some redesign of the information systems … seems to be one of the most important aspects of redesigning jobs’, and Birchall in his statement that ‘information systems must make available all the data required for execution of decision‐making duties’, has intimated why this may be necessary. More recently Sime and Fitter have discussed the information needs of those responsible for making decisions, commenting that these needs are likely to change if decision‐making is devolved by job redesign exercises.

During an action research study a collaborative business engineering approach was developed, applied, and evaluated. Key characteristic of the approach is its focus on the participative design of organizational processes and supporting information systems. Following the approach, various design activities are carried out in close cooperation with groups of stakeholders supported by a Group Support System (GSS). This paper describes and reflects on the execution of these collaborative design activities in a police organization. Lessons learned with respect to GSS and collaborative design are formulated. Key insights illustrate the stakeholders' perception of the group technology and the way in which it facilitated an efficient design process.

User involvement is a need-based motivational attitude toward information systems and their development. As such, it has important implications for the successful creation and deployment of information systems in organizations. This paper reports on the development and validation of an instrument to determine if the distinction between a user's involvement in the process of information system diffusion can be measured independently of that user's involvement with the information system innovation itself. Utilizing previously-validated instruments from consumer behavior research, these two object-based categories of user involvement were operationalized.A longitudinal field study was conducted of users in a large financial institution during the implementation phase, in particular the later activities of the adaptation stage, of the information system diffusion process. During adaptation, the information system product becomes available for use in the organization. Late adaptation stage activities include hardware installation, system conversion, and training. The instruments were pre-tested and assessed as to their content validity, internal consistency, convergent validity, unidimensionality, temporal stability, discriminant validity, predictive validity, and factorial validity. The evidence indicates that the measurement scales are reliable and valid. The primary question of scale independence was examined by discriminant validity. The empirical evidence supports the theoretical distinction between user process involvement and user system involvement. The implications of these findings to research and practice are discussed.