Ownership, organizational politics and information systems

Abstract

The development of information systems and information management continue to present considerable challenges for many organizations, and more often than not for reason other than technological ones. Politically sensitive issues that are frequently raised by and bound up in such matters are an important cause of difficulties. This thesis proposes that perceptions of ownership of business processes and data by various groups within an organization can be a potent contributing factor in the occurrence of such political troubles. The thesis uses the new concept of information wards to develop a graphical model that links the scope of system development or organizational change and ownership perceptions to the likelihood of political difficulties. It then explores the links to organizational theory. The applicability and usefulness of the model is then argued through its application to a variety of case drawn from the information systems literature as well as case study project that provided the initial stimulus for the model s development. It is shown that the model is capable of providing a variable explanation of the occurrence or absence of political troubles in the cases investigated. A prototype specialized group support system called Info*Warder based on the model has been built and is described in some detail. The software allows representative of organizational stakeholders to stake claims to business processes and data that are within the scope of systems development or change proposals, with the intention of permitting early detection of differences of opinion and potential conflicts. The thesis describes a research study in which the Info*Warder software was trialled within three Australia State Government departments. These departments were undergoing significant change both in their roles and information systems support arrangements and provided a useful test for the model and software. While the test was an indicative one only, it nevertheless showed that the software and its underlying theoretical model have the potential to assist in clarifying ownership issues related to information management and systems development in organizations, thereby helping to resolve them. Lastly, the thesis assesses how the developed model and software might fit into representative existing techniques and methodologies.