CLUBIT

ClubIT

ClubIT

According to traditional studies of organizational information systems, individual perceptions of an information system are likely to be somewhat influenced by objective characteristics of the system, individual differences such as one's past experiences with similar systems, extent of use of the system, occupational demands and procedures, and level in the organization. For example, to the extent that one actually uses the system, one is more likely to understand and have experience with the system and therefore have stronger attitudes toward the system; for successful systems this implies more positive attitudes (Porter, 1999).

Efficiency in government operation is reported in terms of four phenomena: productivity gains, staff reductions, managerial control of subordinates and processes, and time-savings. Overall, the research is unambiguous in concluding that IT has enhanced efficiency. Next to information quality impacts, this is the area where the largest number of impacts is identified in the research, with a very high proportion of positive impacts. However, the number of reported impacts is quite varied across the four specific domains.

We assessed three potential impacts of IT on orientations: an emphasis on quantitative criteria; the manner in which policy problems are structured; and increased discretion for firm. There are only four empirically grounded findings in the articles that directly address the latter two categories of impacts. Three studies present findings regarding the impacts of IT on firm' discretion. In the Netherlands, Snellen (50) finds that the application of IT to quantify programmatic elements and policy options within the social services has reduced the scope of discretionary action for case administrators. In contrast, several other studies conclude that firm experience greater discretion over decision and action as IT enables them to access richer data which inform their decision-making on individual cases. (Porter, 1999)

In the research examined, most of the conclusions about IT-related effects on political orientations focus on the growing emphasis on quantitative decision criteria. Regarding such an emphasis, there are two general normative perspectives. One perspective argues that extensive quantitative data improve decision-making by providing relatively objective information which aids rational thinking and which actually makes it easier to introduce qualitative viewpoints in appropriate ways, within an analytic framework. The alternative perspective posits that IT privileges what Joseph Weizenbaum (Thompson, 2000) calls "instrumental reason" -- an orientation which devalues qualitative thinking and arguments in the decision process, relative to quantitative analyses, to the detriment of sound decision-making.

A firm pursuing a cost minimization strategy might use state- of -the-art purchased parts or services to create and sell the firm's final product line. This strategy avoids the requirement for investment in R&D associated with new products and related processes. However, if a purchased part makes a significant contribution to the performance of a product or service, then the firm is vulnerable to variations in supply.

This is an especially critical concern when the part is also an innovation. For example, Compaq Computer's "clone" strategy is based on the firm using off-the-shelf parts to construct its PCs and independent dealers to provide sales and ...