Chapter 3 -- Information Systems, Organizations, and Management

(This page last modified June 3, 1997. Please send comments to H.E. Dunsmore)

Teaching Objectives

• To introduce the concept of an organization.
• To describe the salient features of organizations that affect information systems.
• To present the major schools of analysis concerning the relationship between information systems and organizations.
• To detail the organizational issues that must be addressed during systems design, building and management.

Key Terms

Organization
Bureaucracy
Standard operating procedures (SOPs)
Organizational culture
Information systems department
Programmers
Systems analysts
Information systems managers
End users
Environmental factors
Institutional factors
Transaction cost theory
Agency theory
Classical model of management
Behavioral models
Managerial roles
Interpersonal roles
Informational roles
Decisional roles
Strategic decision making
Management control
Operational control
Knowledge-level decision making
Unstructured decisions
Structured decisions
Intelligence
Design
Choice
Implementation
Rational model
Cognitive style
Systematic decision makers
Intuitive decision makers
Organizational models of decision making
Bureaucratic models of decision making
Political models of decision making
"Garbage can" model

Chapter Outline

3.1 Organizations and Information Systems

What is an Organization?

Why Organizations Are So Much Alike: Common Features

Why Organizations Are So Different: Unique Features

3.2 The Changing Role of Information Systems

The Evolution of Information Systems

Why Organizations Build Information Systems

How Information Systems Affect Organizations

Implications for the Design and Understanding of Information Systems

3.3 The Role of Managers in the Organization

Classical Descriptions of Management

Behavioral Models

Implications for System Design

3.4 Managers and Decision Making

The Process of Decision Making

Individual Models of Decision Making

Organizational Models of Decision Making

Implications for System Design

Internet Resources

Window on Technology: Managers Turn to the Internet -- Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) was founded in New York City as a property management firm in 1917. It became the city's largest commercial real estate services firm, and in the 1960's and 1970's, expanded nationally. Since 1990, Cushman & Wakefield has expanded internationally through Cushman & Wakefield Worldwide.

An introduction to some of the issues discussed in this chapter is the Information Systems Organization website at the University of Colorado.

Another example is the Website mentioned in Chapter 2 at the University of Texas that provides information on enterprise integration and modelling.

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