©NCC Education Limited V1.0 Information Systems and Organisations Lecture 8: The 21 st Century Organisation
Jan 19, 2018
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Information Systems and Organisations
Lecture 8: The 21st Century Organisation
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The 21st Century Organisation Lecture 8 - 8.2
Scope and CoverageThis topic will cover:
• Technology and changing organisational forms• Commitment and control – managing distributed
work• Evolving working practice and the network
organisation
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The 21st Century Organisation Lecture 8 - 8.3
Learning OutcomesBy the end of this unit students will be able to:
• Understand the way in which organisations and work are changing under the influence of technology
• Critically analyse working practices and control in the 21st century organisation
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The 21st Century Organisation Lecture 8 - 8.4
Contents• How technology is changes working practices and
possibilities• Contemporary and future organisational forms• Changing relationships with the organisation• Management of distributed work
• Emphasis – People, Organisation and Technology
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The 21st Century Organisation Lecture 8 - 8.5
How Technology Changes Work• Most work in organisations is co-operative in nature
at some time or other• Eason identified important ways of characterising
such work in terms of:- participants relative power and influence- division of labour
• The classification scheme is on the next slide
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The 21st Century Organisation Lecture 8 - 8.6
Co-operative Work Classification, (Eason,1996, p40)
Classification
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The 21st Century Organisation Lecture 8 - 8.7
Examples• Type A – Local division of labour and equality e.g.
decide amongst each other who does what • Type B – Local division of labour and managed
contribution (team members + supervisor) e.g. fast-food restaurant
• Type C – Predetermined division of labour and equality e.g. team of equal professionals
• Type D – Managed team of specialists
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The 21st Century Organisation Lecture 8 - 8.8
Transformation of Work: Time + Space
Time-space and power-work type classification transformation. Based on Hassall 1999 page 40.
TIME POWER AND
INFLUENCESPACE Same
(Synchronous)
Different
(Asynchronous)
Division of
Labour
Equal Unequal
Same
Location1 2 Local A B
Different
Location3 4 Pre-
determinedC D
e.g. A ‘traditional’ seminar ( 1 B )
... becomes an on-line forum ( 4 B )
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The 21st Century Organisation Lecture 8 - 8.9
Technology Effects• Automating work• De-skilling and up-skilling work• Distributing work • Changing discretion of individuals when doing work• Changing times when work can be carried out
(whilst travelling perhaps)• Changing location and synchronism of work tasks
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The 21st Century Organisation Lecture 8 - 8.10
Margin
InboundLogistics Operations Outbound
LogisticsSales andMarketing Services
Administration and Management
IT Infrastructure
Research and Technology Development
Personnel and HR Development
The Organisation – Flow of Value Added
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The 21st Century Organisation Lecture 8 - 8.11
Margin
InboundLogistics Operations Outbound
LogisticsSales andMarketing Services
Administration and Management
IT Infrastructure
Research and Technology Development
Personnel and HR Development
Outsourcing Secondary Activities
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The 21st Century Organisation Lecture 8 - 8.12
Margin
InboundLogistics Operations Outbound
LogisticsSales andMarketing Services
Concentrating on KEY Primary Activities
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The 21st Century Organisation Lecture 8 - 8.13
Organisation - Part of Business Networks
• “If the corporation embodied capital in the industrial age, then the b‑web does the same for the digital economy. In b‑webs, internetworked, fluid, sometimes highly structured, sometimes amorphous‑sets of contributors come together to create value for customers and wealth for their shareholders. In the most elegant of b‑webs, each participant focuses on a limited set of core competencies, the things that it does best.
• Business webs are inventing new value propositions, transforming the rules of competition, and mobilizing people and resources to unprecedented levels of performance. Managers must master a new agenda for b‑web strategy if they intend to win in the new economy.”
• (Tapscott, Ticol and Lowy, Digital Capital, p17)
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The 21st Century Organisation Lecture 8 - 8.14
Challenges for Management• Relationship between people and their work
changing• Home-working, hot-desking , mobile and other
forms of work emerging• Blurring in online world between work and social
spheres• Competitive pressures• Need to be able to manage networked contributions
and distributed work
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The 21st Century Organisation Lecture 8 - 8.15
Managing Distributed Work
Individualcharacteristics
Organisationalcharacteristics
Technologycharacteristics
Workcharacteristics
FIT
Societal
Outcomes
Organisational Individual
Based on, Boddy, Boonstra and Kennedy (2008), page 229.
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The 21st Century Organisation Lecture 8 - 8.16
Replacing or Complementing Skills• Consider a call centre:
- The IS can automate more of less of the call handlers task- Amount of discretion and skill will depend on what the IS
allows and the flexibility it provides
• Consider a modern garage company that services cars:
- Computerised diagnostics can quickly isolate engine faults, speeding the repair process
- Repairs fitting/replacement parts still a manual process
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The 21st Century Organisation Lecture 8 - 8.17
Human Contribution and Management
MANAGERS Information Systems
Enhance human contribution
Limit human contribution
May enhance managers role
May diminish managers role
Based on, Boddy, Boonstra and Kennedy (2008) figure 8.5 page 225
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The 21st Century Organisation Lecture 8 - 8.18
The 21st Century Organisation• Flat Structure• Networked business• Distributed working• Automation using IS where possible• IS to enhance and control human contribution• Partnerships with both Suppliers and Customers• Concentrating on core value creating activities
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The 21st Century Organisation Lecture 8 - 8.19
References• Boddy, D., Boonstra ,A., Kennedy, G. (2008) Managing
Information Systems : strategy and organisation 3rd ed. FT Pearson. ISBN-13: 978-0273 -71681-5XXX
• Tapscott, D. Ticoll, D. Lowy, A. (2000) Digital Capital, Harnessing the Power of Business Webs, Nicholas Brearley Publishing, ISBN 1 85788 209 1.
• Hassall, J C, 1999, Developing Performance Models for Co-operative Information Systems in an Organisational Context, Doctor of Philosophy, Aston University, July 1999
The 21st Century Organisation Lecture 8 - 8.20
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Lecture 8 – The 21st Century Organisation
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