Chrisanthi Avgerou
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199263424
- eISBN:
- 9780191714252
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199263424.003.0009
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Organization Studies
This chapter examines information systems for the use of medical drugs, known as drug utilization systems, also referred to as prescription systems in the UK. Since the 1980s, information systems in ...
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This chapter examines information systems for the use of medical drugs, known as drug utilization systems, also referred to as prescription systems in the UK. Since the 1980s, information systems in the US and Europe that monitor drug utilization and influence doctors’ prescribing behaviour acquired great significance, due to the increased costs of drug treatments and the problem of cost containment faced by healthcare organizations. By outlining what drug utilization systems have been implemented in the US and the UK — two countries with very different healthcare systems and both experiencing reform pressures — this case study shows two things. First, how different information systems emerge in healthcare systems organized according to different principles of rationality. Second, how, even in the same country and organizational setting, information systems are confronted with different and competing substantive rationalities. In this case, economic management, equitable high-quality public service, and science-based professional conduct.Less
This chapter examines information systems for the use of medical drugs, known as drug utilization systems, also referred to as prescription systems in the UK. Since the 1980s, information systems in the US and Europe that monitor drug utilization and influence doctors’ prescribing behaviour acquired great significance, due to the increased costs of drug treatments and the problem of cost containment faced by healthcare organizations. By outlining what drug utilization systems have been implemented in the US and the UK — two countries with very different healthcare systems and both experiencing reform pressures — this case study shows two things. First, how different information systems emerge in healthcare systems organized according to different principles of rationality. Second, how, even in the same country and organizational setting, information systems are confronted with different and competing substantive rationalities. In this case, economic management, equitable high-quality public service, and science-based professional conduct.
Chrisanthi Avgerou
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199263424
- eISBN:
- 9780191714252
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199263424.003.0006
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Organization Studies
This chapter studies the efforts of Pemex, the Mexican oil corporation, to develop effective information systems over the past four decades. The information systems innovation processes are discussed ...
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This chapter studies the efforts of Pemex, the Mexican oil corporation, to develop effective information systems over the past four decades. The information systems innovation processes are discussed in association with the broader struggles for reform in Pemex. To make sense of the significance attached to information systems innovation in the organization, the difficulties faced, and controversies that arise, this case study describes the links of Pemex with its national context, the international oil industry, and the international financial and political institutions. The analysis shows that the information systems innovation efforts in this company have reflected the struggle over its complex role: simultaneously an actor in a competitive market and the most significant asset for the country’s socio-economic development. Information systems innovation, aligned with the managerial efforts which increasingly saw the company as a free-market-driven business organization, was often in conflict with the powerful alternative rationality of its national role.Less
This chapter studies the efforts of Pemex, the Mexican oil corporation, to develop effective information systems over the past four decades. The information systems innovation processes are discussed in association with the broader struggles for reform in Pemex. To make sense of the significance attached to information systems innovation in the organization, the difficulties faced, and controversies that arise, this case study describes the links of Pemex with its national context, the international oil industry, and the international financial and political institutions. The analysis shows that the information systems innovation efforts in this company have reflected the struggle over its complex role: simultaneously an actor in a competitive market and the most significant asset for the country’s socio-economic development. Information systems innovation, aligned with the managerial efforts which increasingly saw the company as a free-market-driven business organization, was often in conflict with the powerful alternative rationality of its national role.
Stuart Macdonald
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199241477
- eISBN:
- 9780191696947
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199241477.003.0014
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Innovation, Organization Studies
This concluding chapter summarizes the preceding discussions and argues that information is indeed important, not only in a certain organization, but to the whole of society. It is openly ...
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This concluding chapter summarizes the preceding discussions and argues that information is indeed important, not only in a certain organization, but to the whole of society. It is openly acknowledged that anything can be done with information. Information systems are well suited to some of the characteristics of information, and the vast capacity of these systems is not only directed towards an institutional purpose, but is also confined to certain sorts of information. It is also seen that information is used more and more efficiently for what is already being done, and that information for doing new things is increasingly disregarded. Information is simply something that bolsters everything else, something that serves strategy and policy, not something sufficiently distinct to have its own.Less
This concluding chapter summarizes the preceding discussions and argues that information is indeed important, not only in a certain organization, but to the whole of society. It is openly acknowledged that anything can be done with information. Information systems are well suited to some of the characteristics of information, and the vast capacity of these systems is not only directed towards an institutional purpose, but is also confined to certain sorts of information. It is also seen that information is used more and more efficiently for what is already being done, and that information for doing new things is increasingly disregarded. Information is simply something that bolsters everything else, something that serves strategy and policy, not something sufficiently distinct to have its own.
Chrisanthi Avgerou
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199263424
- eISBN:
- 9780191714252
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199263424.003.0008
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Organization Studies
This chapter examines a ten-year effort to reform the furniture manufacturing sector of Cyprus, according to the industrial model of flexible specialization. The reform initiative involved the ...
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This chapter examines a ten-year effort to reform the furniture manufacturing sector of Cyprus, according to the industrial model of flexible specialization. The reform initiative involved the setting up of information services and the development of information systems to strengthen the management of the furniture manufacturing SMEs and their consortia. However, little innovation took place and the whole reform experiment was abandoned in the mid-1990s. The analysis of the case examines how the theory of flexible specialization considered information systems innovation as a prerequisite of good management. It is argued that management and formal information processing and communication were alien and threatening to the owners of the small production firms, whose life values and entrepreneurial competencies could not be stretched to enable the promotion of export-oriented business.Less
This chapter examines a ten-year effort to reform the furniture manufacturing sector of Cyprus, according to the industrial model of flexible specialization. The reform initiative involved the setting up of information services and the development of information systems to strengthen the management of the furniture manufacturing SMEs and their consortia. However, little innovation took place and the whole reform experiment was abandoned in the mid-1990s. The analysis of the case examines how the theory of flexible specialization considered information systems innovation as a prerequisite of good management. It is argued that management and formal information processing and communication were alien and threatening to the owners of the small production firms, whose life values and entrepreneurial competencies could not be stretched to enable the promotion of export-oriented business.
Jie W Weiss and David J Weiss
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195322989
- eISBN:
- 9780199869206
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195322989.003.0004
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology
This chapter reviews ideas and work done or in progress which seem to indicate where basic research on human decision processes is going. These ideas have two closely related foci: dynamic decision ...
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This chapter reviews ideas and work done or in progress which seem to indicate where basic research on human decision processes is going. These ideas have two closely related foci: dynamic decision theory and Probabilistic Information Processing systems (PIP). The chapter begins by presenting the problem of dynamic decision theory and by proposing a taxonomy of human decision tasks to which such a theory should be applied. It then reviews current thought and experimentation in five areas that are crucial to the development of such a theory: information seeking, man as intuitive statistician, sequential prediction, Bayesian information processing, and dynamic programming. Finally, the idea of a probabilistic information-processing system is presented, both as a kind of system which is urgently needed in several military contexts and as a vehicle for research in dynamic decision theory.Less
This chapter reviews ideas and work done or in progress which seem to indicate where basic research on human decision processes is going. These ideas have two closely related foci: dynamic decision theory and Probabilistic Information Processing systems (PIP). The chapter begins by presenting the problem of dynamic decision theory and by proposing a taxonomy of human decision tasks to which such a theory should be applied. It then reviews current thought and experimentation in five areas that are crucial to the development of such a theory: information seeking, man as intuitive statistician, sequential prediction, Bayesian information processing, and dynamic programming. Finally, the idea of a probabilistic information-processing system is presented, both as a kind of system which is urgently needed in several military contexts and as a vehicle for research in dynamic decision theory.
David Rhind
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197262863
- eISBN:
- 9780191734076
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197262863.003.0013
- Subject:
- Sociology, Population and Demography
Maps and mapping are the manifestation of geography for the great bulk of the population. These play a key role in society and underpin many functions of the state. The situation is particularly ...
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Maps and mapping are the manifestation of geography for the great bulk of the population. These play a key role in society and underpin many functions of the state. The situation is particularly marked in Britain, both in war and peace, where the Ordnance Survey (the country's national mapping agency) has been central to national mapping for more than two centuries. It is no exaggeration to say that mapping underpins many of the activities of society, especially in Britain. The collation, visualisation and analysis of geographical information through maps are intimately intertwined. Since British geography and British geographers have been involved in all aspects of mapping and its successor, this chapter covers both academic and non-academic aspects of the subject area. This chapter examines the geographical underpinning of British society and its radical transformation, Geographical Information Systems and information technology and non-trivial cartography.Less
Maps and mapping are the manifestation of geography for the great bulk of the population. These play a key role in society and underpin many functions of the state. The situation is particularly marked in Britain, both in war and peace, where the Ordnance Survey (the country's national mapping agency) has been central to national mapping for more than two centuries. It is no exaggeration to say that mapping underpins many of the activities of society, especially in Britain. The collation, visualisation and analysis of geographical information through maps are intimately intertwined. Since British geography and British geographers have been involved in all aspects of mapping and its successor, this chapter covers both academic and non-academic aspects of the subject area. This chapter examines the geographical underpinning of British society and its radical transformation, Geographical Information Systems and information technology and non-trivial cartography.
Chrisanthi Avgerou
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199263424
- eISBN:
- 9780191714252
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199263424.003.0005
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Organization Studies
This chapter traces the root of diversity confronting information systems innovation in the unfolding processes of globalization. It starts from the concept of globalization as the shrinking of time ...
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This chapter traces the root of diversity confronting information systems innovation in the unfolding processes of globalization. It starts from the concept of globalization as the shrinking of time and distance, which directly implicates ICT. It then explores globalization as a multi-dimensional phenomenon comprising changes in economic, political, and cultural activities. While the extent to which the discernible trends in each of them increase or decrease diversity across the globe may be a matter of debate, it is shown that globalization is much more multifaceted than the notion of global competitive markets, to which information systems studies tend to be restricted, suggest. Taken together, the multiple facets of contemporary globalization reveal a much more variable organizational context. The extent of the variability is confirmed by a look at the current state of the global economy, which is grossly uneven.Less
This chapter traces the root of diversity confronting information systems innovation in the unfolding processes of globalization. It starts from the concept of globalization as the shrinking of time and distance, which directly implicates ICT. It then explores globalization as a multi-dimensional phenomenon comprising changes in economic, political, and cultural activities. While the extent to which the discernible trends in each of them increase or decrease diversity across the globe may be a matter of debate, it is shown that globalization is much more multifaceted than the notion of global competitive markets, to which information systems studies tend to be restricted, suggest. Taken together, the multiple facets of contemporary globalization reveal a much more variable organizational context. The extent of the variability is confirmed by a look at the current state of the global economy, which is grossly uneven.
Claudio Ciborra
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199275267
- eISBN:
- 9780191714399
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199275267.003.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Information Technology
This chapter discusses the main theme of this book, namely the redefinition of the agenda of information systems design, development, and management. It suggests that the information systems field — ...
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This chapter discusses the main theme of this book, namely the redefinition of the agenda of information systems design, development, and management. It suggests that the information systems field — with its rational views of knowledge, decision making, strategy, and orderly systems development — is based on a narrow model of rational, ideal actors. Passion and improvisation; moods and bricolage; emotions and workaday chores; existence and procedures will become integral to systems design and use, casting new shadows and lights on the unfolding world of technology.Less
This chapter discusses the main theme of this book, namely the redefinition of the agenda of information systems design, development, and management. It suggests that the information systems field — with its rational views of knowledge, decision making, strategy, and orderly systems development — is based on a narrow model of rational, ideal actors. Passion and improvisation; moods and bricolage; emotions and workaday chores; existence and procedures will become integral to systems design and use, casting new shadows and lights on the unfolding world of technology.
Simon Lilley, Geoffrey Lightfoot, and Paulo Amaral M. N.
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198775416
- eISBN:
- 9780191695360
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198775416.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Information Technology, Organization Studies
This textbook provides an accessible theoretical analysis of the organizational impact of information technologies. It seeks to examine and comment upon the myriad ways in which actors, ...
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This textbook provides an accessible theoretical analysis of the organizational impact of information technologies. It seeks to examine and comment upon the myriad ways in which actors, organizations, and environments are represented through these technologies. Contemporary threats to organizational form and stability are considered alongside the potential that information technologies offer to both exacerbate and overcome them. It examines, amongst others, issues surrounding the material and symbolic aspects of information systems; risk and prediction; systems implementation and systems success; knowledge management practices; accountability and other management practices; computerised modelling; and virtual organization. To this end it deploys a number of different theoretical lenses including: systems theory, social constructivism, labour process theory, post-structuralism, and actor network theory. These offer complementary and contrasting insights into the computerisation of managerial work. In order to ensure that the book is both relevant and approachable to students from a range of backgrounds, these theories are applied to real examples of the development and implementation of information systems. This combination fosters practical knowledge that is theoretically informed. The book thus aims to bridge the gap between the abstractions of current theories of organization and the grounded material that forms the bulk of Information Systems literature. It offers a novel way into the ongoing debates surrounding technological change and the perennial problems of managerial control.Less
This textbook provides an accessible theoretical analysis of the organizational impact of information technologies. It seeks to examine and comment upon the myriad ways in which actors, organizations, and environments are represented through these technologies. Contemporary threats to organizational form and stability are considered alongside the potential that information technologies offer to both exacerbate and overcome them. It examines, amongst others, issues surrounding the material and symbolic aspects of information systems; risk and prediction; systems implementation and systems success; knowledge management practices; accountability and other management practices; computerised modelling; and virtual organization. To this end it deploys a number of different theoretical lenses including: systems theory, social constructivism, labour process theory, post-structuralism, and actor network theory. These offer complementary and contrasting insights into the computerisation of managerial work. In order to ensure that the book is both relevant and approachable to students from a range of backgrounds, these theories are applied to real examples of the development and implementation of information systems. This combination fosters practical knowledge that is theoretically informed. The book thus aims to bridge the gap between the abstractions of current theories of organization and the grounded material that forms the bulk of Information Systems literature. It offers a novel way into the ongoing debates surrounding technological change and the perennial problems of managerial control.
Alnoor Bhimani
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- August 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199260386
- eISBN:
- 9780191601231
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199260389.003.0012
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Financial Economics
This chapter examines Internet-based information systems for not-for-profit organisations (NPOs). The information system requirements of special non-economic objectives are discussed. It is shown ...
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This chapter examines Internet-based information systems for not-for-profit organisations (NPOs). The information system requirements of special non-economic objectives are discussed. It is shown that information and Internet technologies enable the design of an effective information system for NPOs. The development and installation of an Internet-based warehouse management information system for German universities is described.Less
This chapter examines Internet-based information systems for not-for-profit organisations (NPOs). The information system requirements of special non-economic objectives are discussed. It is shown that information and Internet technologies enable the design of an effective information system for NPOs. The development and installation of an Internet-based warehouse management information system for German universities is described.
Claudio Ciborra
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199275267
- eISBN:
- 9780191714399
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199275267.003.0003
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Information Technology
This chapter argues that behind the enactment of strategic applications of ICT there are mundane modes of operation, such as bricolage, improvisation, or hacking. The bubbling up of new ideas from ...
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This chapter argues that behind the enactment of strategic applications of ICT there are mundane modes of operation, such as bricolage, improvisation, or hacking. The bubbling up of new ideas from the bottom of the organization can lead to acts of incremental or radical innovation, whereby the existing organizational reality, the environment, and ICT applications are seen anew by the members of the organization. In the latter case, strategic information systems (SISs) are intimately associated with business renewal. SIS applications are those that are developed close to and serve the grass roots of the organization, where its core competencies and skills are daily deployed and perfected thanks to the myriad invisible acts of bricolage and hacking. Managers and specialists need to appreciate local fluctuations in systems practices as the repository of unique innovations, and commit adequate resources and attention to their cultivation, even if, or especially when, they fly in the face of more established, structured approaches.Less
This chapter argues that behind the enactment of strategic applications of ICT there are mundane modes of operation, such as bricolage, improvisation, or hacking. The bubbling up of new ideas from the bottom of the organization can lead to acts of incremental or radical innovation, whereby the existing organizational reality, the environment, and ICT applications are seen anew by the members of the organization. In the latter case, strategic information systems (SISs) are intimately associated with business renewal. SIS applications are those that are developed close to and serve the grass roots of the organization, where its core competencies and skills are daily deployed and perfected thanks to the myriad invisible acts of bricolage and hacking. Managers and specialists need to appreciate local fluctuations in systems practices as the repository of unique innovations, and commit adequate resources and attention to their cultivation, even if, or especially when, they fly in the face of more established, structured approaches.
Robin Fincham, James Fleck, Rob Procter, Harry Scarbrough, Margaret Tierney, and Robin Williams
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198289043
- eISBN:
- 9780191684678
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198289043.003.0003
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Information Technology, Knowledge Management
This chapter presents case studies on project management in the banking, insurance, and credit card sectors, focusing on four main types of projects: large-scale branch automation systems, ...
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This chapter presents case studies on project management in the banking, insurance, and credit card sectors, focusing on four main types of projects: large-scale branch automation systems, out-of-branch banking, bought-in processing packages, and management information systems. During the research, a potential shift in the type of project being developed was observed, from a kind of stand-alone medium-scale development (such as home banking) which seemed to be typical of the mid-1980s, towards much larger scale and extensive projects (like branch automation) more typical of the later 1980s. But both of these types of project development are covered in the case firms. At the end of the day, the case studies did seem to provide a good cross-section of the information technology activities in the sector current at the time of the research. The firms examined in this chapter are the Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland, Clydesdale Bank, Mutual Life, Home and Auto, and Premier Financial Services.Less
This chapter presents case studies on project management in the banking, insurance, and credit card sectors, focusing on four main types of projects: large-scale branch automation systems, out-of-branch banking, bought-in processing packages, and management information systems. During the research, a potential shift in the type of project being developed was observed, from a kind of stand-alone medium-scale development (such as home banking) which seemed to be typical of the mid-1980s, towards much larger scale and extensive projects (like branch automation) more typical of the later 1980s. But both of these types of project development are covered in the case firms. At the end of the day, the case studies did seem to provide a good cross-section of the information technology activities in the sector current at the time of the research. The firms examined in this chapter are the Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland, Clydesdale Bank, Mutual Life, Home and Auto, and Premier Financial Services.
Brian P. Bloomfield, Rod Coombs, Jenny Owen, and Paul Taylor
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198289395
- eISBN:
- 9780191684692
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198289395.003.0006
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Information Technology
This chapter analyzes a series of events in the design and development of information systems in the National Health Service (NHS). The argument consists of three parts. Section two presents a brief ...
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This chapter analyzes a series of events in the design and development of information systems in the National Health Service (NHS). The argument consists of three parts. Section two presents a brief elaboration of the theoretical approach, signalling its linkages to related arguments in other chapters of the present volume. Section three presents the analysis of the evolution of information systems in the NHS. The final section concludes by drawing out the implications for our understanding of the interactions between organizational change and the development of information systems.Less
This chapter analyzes a series of events in the design and development of information systems in the National Health Service (NHS). The argument consists of three parts. Section two presents a brief elaboration of the theoretical approach, signalling its linkages to related arguments in other chapters of the present volume. Section three presents the analysis of the evolution of information systems in the NHS. The final section concludes by drawing out the implications for our understanding of the interactions between organizational change and the development of information systems.
George S. Yip and Audrey J. M. Bink
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199229833
- eISBN:
- 9780191696374
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199229833.003.0008
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Strategy, International Business
Knowledge provides a major competitive advantage. Keeping track of knowledge is particularly hard for global accounts, given the geographic nature of this beast. Having larger and more geographically ...
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Knowledge provides a major competitive advantage. Keeping track of knowledge is particularly hard for global accounts, given the geographic nature of this beast. Having larger and more geographically spread out accounts means having more and geographically spread out knowledge about these accounts. So the global demands of the accounts increase the necessity for global knowledge management capabilities. This chapter discusses the use of information management systems, the use of customer relationship management (CRM) systems and other knowledge management tools in global customer management (GCM) situations.Less
Knowledge provides a major competitive advantage. Keeping track of knowledge is particularly hard for global accounts, given the geographic nature of this beast. Having larger and more geographically spread out accounts means having more and geographically spread out knowledge about these accounts. So the global demands of the accounts increase the necessity for global knowledge management capabilities. This chapter discusses the use of information management systems, the use of customer relationship management (CRM) systems and other knowledge management tools in global customer management (GCM) situations.
Simon Lilley, Geoffrey Lightfoot, and Paulo Amaral M. N.
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198775416
- eISBN:
- 9780191695360
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198775416.003.0008
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Information Technology, Organization Studies
This chapter explores the linkages between accountability and information systems, returning to an example of oil management systems in refineries. It explores in some detail the importance attached ...
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This chapter explores the linkages between accountability and information systems, returning to an example of oil management systems in refineries. It explores in some detail the importance attached to clear accountability within these new forms of managerial control. For information systems not only allow accountability to be traced to a point in the organization's hierarchy, but the idealizations of their models also provide metrics against which performance can be measured in order to enable that accountability to be made real. Adopting a somewhat cynical twist, the chapter examines how this process occurs in practice through consideration of how accountability for systems delivery is enacted.Less
This chapter explores the linkages between accountability and information systems, returning to an example of oil management systems in refineries. It explores in some detail the importance attached to clear accountability within these new forms of managerial control. For information systems not only allow accountability to be traced to a point in the organization's hierarchy, but the idealizations of their models also provide metrics against which performance can be measured in order to enable that accountability to be made real. Adopting a somewhat cynical twist, the chapter examines how this process occurs in practice through consideration of how accountability for systems delivery is enacted.
Simon Lilley, Geoffrey Lightfoot, and Paulo Amaral M. N.
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198775416
- eISBN:
- 9780191695360
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198775416.003.0004
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Information Technology, Organization Studies
This chapter examines the roots of systems theory as well as its current role in the models that make up the core of many modern managerial information systems. Such models present a world that is ...
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This chapter examines the roots of systems theory as well as its current role in the models that make up the core of many modern managerial information systems. Such models present a world that is other to the world in which we live and face us with a stark set of choices, devil's alternatives first glimpsed in Chapter 2. Do we eschew the real world, whatever that may be, and choose instead to inhabit the fantasies of the model world, insulating ourselves within our idealizations in the vain attempt to ignore their inability to contain that which they purport to capture? Or do we impose our models on the world with such vigour and sufficient rigour to ensure that the world ‘as is’ is lost forever, replaced by the comforting images of our conceptualizations?Less
This chapter examines the roots of systems theory as well as its current role in the models that make up the core of many modern managerial information systems. Such models present a world that is other to the world in which we live and face us with a stark set of choices, devil's alternatives first glimpsed in Chapter 2. Do we eschew the real world, whatever that may be, and choose instead to inhabit the fantasies of the model world, insulating ourselves within our idealizations in the vain attempt to ignore their inability to contain that which they purport to capture? Or do we impose our models on the world with such vigour and sufficient rigour to ensure that the world ‘as is’ is lost forever, replaced by the comforting images of our conceptualizations?
William Lyons
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198752226
- eISBN:
- 9780191695087
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198752226.003.0005
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Language
This chapter deals with the information-processing account of Fred Dretske, an account that combines the representational aspect of mental content and the teleological interpretation of its cognitive ...
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This chapter deals with the information-processing account of Fred Dretske, an account that combines the representational aspect of mental content and the teleological interpretation of its cognitive aspect. The core of his account of intentionality lies in his view of the human brain and its perceptual organs as an information-processing system, which in turn is based on ‘information theory’. His works Knowledge and the Flow of Information and Seeing and Knowing show that by using the information-processing input mechanism called the senses, and treating the brain as the information processor, one can build up an account of those paradigms' sophisticated intentional states, knowledge and belief. The chapter also discusses belief states, representational systems, and brain-level functional accounts and consciousness.Less
This chapter deals with the information-processing account of Fred Dretske, an account that combines the representational aspect of mental content and the teleological interpretation of its cognitive aspect. The core of his account of intentionality lies in his view of the human brain and its perceptual organs as an information-processing system, which in turn is based on ‘information theory’. His works Knowledge and the Flow of Information and Seeing and Knowing show that by using the information-processing input mechanism called the senses, and treating the brain as the information processor, one can build up an account of those paradigms' sophisticated intentional states, knowledge and belief. The chapter also discusses belief states, representational systems, and brain-level functional accounts and consciousness.
Andrew Green
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780198571346
- eISBN:
- 9780191724138
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198571346.003.0006
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology
This chapter introduces a number of issues in the area of information. It discusses in general terms a number of characteristics of information. It then turns to the information systems that provide ...
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This chapter introduces a number of issues in the area of information. It discusses in general terms a number of characteristics of information. It then turns to the information systems that provide this basic requirement of planning. It examines methods of collecting information and then discusses the need for feedback within information-collection systems, and issues of the analysis and presentation of information. Lastly, the chapter introduces issues of system management.Less
This chapter introduces a number of issues in the area of information. It discusses in general terms a number of characteristics of information. It then turns to the information systems that provide this basic requirement of planning. It examines methods of collecting information and then discusses the need for feedback within information-collection systems, and issues of the analysis and presentation of information. Lastly, the chapter introduces issues of system management.
Eric K. Clemons
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195159530
- eISBN:
- 9780199834983
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195159535.003.0015
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Financial Economics
One of the reasons for investing in costly information systems projects is to exploit strategic opportunities. This chapter presents a mechanism for determining which contingencies to prepare for, ...
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One of the reasons for investing in costly information systems projects is to exploit strategic opportunities. This chapter presents a mechanism for determining which contingencies to prepare for, and thus, which investments to make. It examines the decision to invest in systems for direct distribution and online sale to customers, and considers alternative scenarios for e-commerce.Less
One of the reasons for investing in costly information systems projects is to exploit strategic opportunities. This chapter presents a mechanism for determining which contingencies to prepare for, and thus, which investments to make. It examines the decision to invest in systems for direct distribution and online sale to customers, and considers alternative scenarios for e-commerce.
Yolande Chan
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195159530
- eISBN:
- 9780199834983
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195159535.003.35-chapter-17
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Financial Economics
This chapter examines how privacy issues affect the contemporary management of information and information systems. It discusses privacy as an IT alignment issue, information privacy strategy, and ...
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This chapter examines how privacy issues affect the contemporary management of information and information systems. It discusses privacy as an IT alignment issue, information privacy strategy, and privacy as competitive advantage. Privacy represents a major challenge for businesses that needs to be addressed in terms of firm strategy and alignment. Privacy as competitive advantage requires that customers value at a minimum, and are willing to pay for, at a maximum, the careful, ethical, treatment of their information.Less
This chapter examines how privacy issues affect the contemporary management of information and information systems. It discusses privacy as an IT alignment issue, information privacy strategy, and privacy as competitive advantage. Privacy represents a major challenge for businesses that needs to be addressed in terms of firm strategy and alignment. Privacy as competitive advantage requires that customers value at a minimum, and are willing to pay for, at a maximum, the careful, ethical, treatment of their information.
