BUSI 4400 Management of Information Systems

1. BUSI 4400 Management of Information Systems Promoting IS-related organizational learning Dr Gerald Grant

2. Introduction • Continuous organizational learning is considered crucial to the development of core IT capabilities (Andreu and Ciborra, 1996). • Learning is critical if organizations are to understand how best to deploy and exploit computer-based information systems.

3. Introduction • Only as organizations are able to • learn from experience • specific search activities • basic research will they be able to develop and sustain the capabilities necessary to become proficient in implementing and using computer-based information systems.

4. A learning organization (Garvin 1993 ) “an organization skilled at creating, acquiring, and transferring knowledge, and at modifying its behavior to reflect new knowledge and insights”.

5. A learning organization (Garvin, 1993 ) • Learning organizations are skilled at: • systematic problem solving, • experimentation with new approaches, • learning from their own experiences and past history • learning from the best practices of others • and transferring knowledge quickly and efficiently throughout the organization.

6. A learning organization • Learning will be limited unless organizations are willing to commit both time and resources (financial, human, physical) in creating an environment in which learning is valued and pursued. • Responsibility for articulating and creating a vision of the learning organization rests with top management. • They need to devise the organizational mechanisms that will ensure that opportunities for learning can be exploited and barriers are removed.

7. Learning challenges • Organizations seeking to build information systems capability must address three learning challenges. These are: • how to expand their IS-related learning horizons; • how to effectively embed new knowledge and lessons learned into organizational memory; • how to avoid certain learning traps including the retention of dysfunctional behaviors and practices.

8. Expanding the IS learning horizon • To learn effectively about how best to deploy and exploit IT-based information systems organizations need to take deliberate steps to expand the universe of their IS/IT-related knowledge. • Expansion of the knowledge base - not equivalent to accumulating information about new technologies and systems.

9. Description Learning that results from implementing, operating and adapting technical systems. Example(s) Implementing and using computer-based systems. Modifying applications software to cater for changing requirements. Learning by operating and adapting Learning MechanismsBell (1994)

10. Description Regular recording and monitoring of performance feedback to identify and interpret performance Example(s) Post implementation review of IT deployment User satisfaction review Learning through performance feedback Learning MechanismsBell (1994)

11. Description Learning that occurs through formalized training. Example(s) User training Specialist training in using new systems development tools Learning by training Learning MechanismsBell (1994)

12. Description Hiring people with the required competencies Example(s) Hiring of experienced IS personnel, such as IS managers IT architects Web engineers Learning by hiring Learning MechanismsBell (1994)

13. Description Engaging in specific search efforts to develop organizational knowledge Example(s) Investigating web-based technologies Search for new packaged software IT equipment tendering process Learning by searching Learning MechanismsBell (1994)

14. Description Undertaking research activities including experimentation, field trials and case studies to discover new processes, technologies, etc. Example(s) Experimenting with different IT implementation approaches Testing the performance of new software and hardware technology Learning through basic research Learning MechanismsBell (1994)

15. Embedding IS-related learning in the organization • Knowledge developed during the process of learning will be lost to the organization if it is not systematically captured, stored and shared. • Most knowledge is tacitly embedded in the minds of people. • Knowledge need to be stored in way that will make it easily accessible to the those requiring it.

16. Knowledge Management Processes and the Potential Role of IT Alavi and Leidner (2001, p. 125)

17. Embedding IS-related learning in the organization • Knowledge repositories: • information centers • Intranets • libraries • databases • archives

18. Embedding IS-related learning in the organization • Information that may be stored: • proposals • tenders • financial records • technical reports • performance reviews • contact reports • expertise database • systems specifications • systems design • among other types of information • Etc.

19. Embedding IS-related learning in the organization • The systematic sharing of information is one way of ensuring that the knowledge is diffused throughout the organizations. • Ways of sharing information: • newsletters • electronic newsgroups • intranets • periodic seminars • training sessions • briefings

20. Embedding IS-related learning in the organization • New technologies • intranets, collaborative tools, group meeting systems, etc. now make it possible to easily implement on-line information sharing.

21. Avoiding learning traps and dysfunctional learning • Learning to do something really well can present a barrier to future learning. • Competencies developed in the past create built-in resistance to new ways of doing things. • Organizations need to unlearn some of the skills developed in the past. • Unlearning requires IS personnel to surface and challenge preconceptions they might hold about how best to accomplish a given task. • Organizations need to adopt mechanisms that will encourage re-evaluation and rethinking of jealously guarded notions.

22. Rigidities:(Leonard-Barton, 1992) • Leonard-Barton (1992) highlights the potential problems faced by organizations that have invested heavily in developing core capabilities in specific areas of endeavor. • Suggests that - values, skills, managerial systems and technical systems that served organizations well in the past may imbed sets of knowledge that are inappropriate in a new environment.

23. Rigidities in Skills and Knowledge • Rigidities in this area can occur because: • skills and knowledge that have become outdated. • one set of skills is emphasized over another

24. Rigidities in technical systems • Most IT systems embody a certain amount of rigidity in them. • Organizations build up a legacy of investment in technical systems and supporting processes • Even though change to new and more efficient technologies may be desired, companies are constrained by the magnitude of the change implied and the huge costs (financial and organizational) associated with making such changes

25. Rigidities in management systems • The way organizations are structured and managed can make them difficult to change. • Management processes and reward systems may undervalue certain jobs and activities. • It becomes difficult to attract good people into those positions.

26. Rigidities in values • “The very same values, norms, and attitudes that support a core capability and thus enable development can also constrain it.” (Leonard-Barton, 1992 p.119) • Values develop over time and tend to reinforce the current orthodoxy. • They are difficult to change in the short term.

27. Learning traps (Levinthal and March, 1993) The failure trap • Sometimes organizations get caught in a cycle of failure. • Failure leads to the search for new solutions which lead to failure, and so on. • Failure is prevalent because: • most new ideas are bad ones and therefore leads to unrewarding innovations • success depends on experience • people tend to be overly optimistic about potential success

28. Learning traps (Levinthal and March, 1993) The success trap • Organizational learning tends to focus almost exclusively on success • “any learning process tends to eliminate failures” (Levinthal and March, 1993) • Overemphasis on success can create significant barriers to effective organizational learning • Organizations often fail to learn from failures. • Organizations can benefit by critically analyzing failed IT projects to find out why failure occurred.

29. Firm specific nature of organizational learning • Organizational learning tends to be localized. • Moving from one organizational context to another will require significant new learning • Being able to successfully implement and information system in one organization does not guarantee the same success in another setting • A change of setting introduces new variables to the process

30. Creating learning organizations • “Learning organizations are not built overnight. Most successful examples are the products of carefully cultivated attitudes, commitments, and management processes that have accrued slowly and steadily over time” (Garvin, 1993 p. 91).

31. Creating learning organizations(Garvin, 1993) • Foster an environment that is conducive to learning • provide time for reflection, analysis and evaluation. • provide training in brainstorming, problem solving, evaluating experiments and other core learning skills

32. Creating learning organizations(Garvin, 1993) • Open up boundaries and stimulate the exchange of ideas • devise conferences, meetings and project teams which cross organizational boundaries. Create links with customers, suppliers to ensure a flow of fresh ideas

33. Creating learning organizations(Garvin, 1993) • Create learning forums Programs or events designed with explicit learning goals in mind. • strategic reviews (environmental analysis, SWOT) • systems audits • internal benchmarking reports • study missions • jamborees or symposiums with customers and suppliers.