Critical Issues in Information Systems

1. Critical Issues in Information Systems BUSS 951 Lecture 2 Information Systems as a Discipline; History and State of the Art

2. Notices (1)General • Make sure you have a copy of the BUSS951 Subject Outline • Please check the class role being circulated for errors and correct them- if this is your first lecture then add your details to the bottom of the sheet • BUSS951 is supported by a website (available from Tomorrow), where you can find out the latest Notices and get Lecture Notes, Tutorial Sheets, Assignments etc www.uow.edu.au\~rclarke\buss951\buss951.htm

3. Notices (2) Assignment 1 • Your first assignment which must be written up in the form of a case study report will be posted to the BUSS951 website (tomorrow pm) • Identify and Analyse the Theoretical, Methodological and Substantive Levels in a Selected Research Area. The selected research area is based on one of the Dept. Information Systems research areas. You will need to find relevant papers in the Reader and/or from the published research literature. • These research papers (published journal articles and conference papers) need to be attached to your assignment- no web resources are to be used • It comprises 15% of the final mark and due Week 5 Thursday 24/8 at 17:30

4. Notices (3)Role of the Reader • there is a reader called: Clarke, R. J. (2001) Reader for BUSS951: Critical Issues in Information Systems 2nd Edition • it is a prime source of materials- some of the materials in it you cannot get anywhere else • you will be given readings each week to be done prior to seminars the following week • these will be of help in your assignments and will also be part of the examination • you arerequired to be able to discuss them in class- read and summarise them- then think about what they are are saying

5. Notices (4)Readings for Week 3 • Burton Swanson, E. (1987) Information Systems in Organization Theory: A Review • Kling, R. (1991) “Excerpts From ‘Social Analysis of Computing: Theoretical Perspectives in Recent Empirical Research’”

6. Agenda (1) • Brief History of IS- discuss two basic ideas in IS Theory: • General Systems Model • Data and Information • At the end of the lecture you should understand that the basic IS theory is flawed • Provide a State-of-the-Art description of what is happening in IS • Describe the types of IS Research currently going on in the Department (relevant to Assignment 1)

7. Brief History of IS

8. Information Systems Theory • Information Systems Discipline = Concepts of ‘Systems’ + ‘Information’ • both ‘systems’ and ‘information’ have considerable theoretical, methodological and substantive problems, ie/ are problematic • we will first examine the General Systems Model of Organisations

9. General Systems ModelDevelopment • Contrary to what you may believe (or may have been taught) the IS Discipline did not develop the concept of the system • in fact the ‘General Systems Model’ was in wide circulationwell before computers were invented • understanding how we gotand how we use ‘general systems’ tells us a great deal about disciplines in general (and IS in particular) • the General Systems Model dates from the late 1920s-1930s

10. General Systems ModelDevelopment • the work originates in Biology • useful concepts emerge in population dynamics (Lotka c.1907 and later) • developed as a general model for biology (von Bertalanffy c.1930s; 1968) • entered sociology/political science in 1950s and 1960s • the view of systems theorists is that the general concept of a system can be applied to social systemsie. organisations

11. Closed Systems • some systems are closed • they are not influenced by their environment, eg. solar system • have entropywhich describes how these systems use up energy and run down • not useful to IS

12. Open Systems • social systems are open systems • can importenergy from the environment • can sustain themselves in response to changes in their environment • possess negentropy, and can achieve new states • they adapt

13. Organisations as Systems (1) • Organisations are open system (contrast with closed systems) • a physical systemof the firm transforms input resources into output resources • input resources come from environment, output resources go to environment

14. Input Resources Output Resources Transformation Process Organisations as Systems (2) • physical resources: • material flow(from suppliers to customers) • personnel flow(from the labour market and back) • machine flow(from supplier to scrap yard) • money flow(from owners who provide investment capital and customers who buy goods)

15. Closed Loop Systems (1) • some open system can control operations, some cannot • when no feedback loop is provided for an open system then it is called an open-loop system • when feedback loop and control mechanism exists- closed loop system • control is provided by a loop- called a feedback loop • feedback consists of signals are sent to provide a corrective action

16. Closed Loop System (2) Control Mechanism Transformation Process Output Resources Input Resources Signal Feedback

17. Physical System of an Organisation as a controlled system Management Transformation Process Output Resources Input Resources Signal

18. Information is Gathered from all Physical System Elements additional data-gathering activties at input and processing parts of the physical system Management Transformation Process Output Resources Input Resources Information Data

19. Information Processor transforms data into information for Management purposes Information Processor Management Transformation Process Output Resources Input Resources Information Data

20. Performance Standards added to Mgnt and Information Processor Standards Information Processor Management Transformation Process Output Resources Input Resources Information Data

21. Changes to Physical SystemDecisions are added & some signals re/classified Standards Information Processor Management Transformation Process Output Resources Input Resources Information Data Decisions

22. General Systems Model Boundary Standards Information Processor Management Environment Transformation Process Output Resources Input Resources Physical Information Data Decisions

23. Systems Approach to Decision Making

24. Problem-solving Elements problem Elements of the conceptual system alternate solutions desired standards manager info constraints current solution

25. Structured, Unstructured, Semistructured Problems (1) • Management problems are often considered to be either structured or unstructured in nature • Important criteria as these are used to identify different types of system: Operational Systems, MIS, and DSS

26. Structured, Unstructured, Semistructured Problems (2) • Structured Problems • consist of elements and relationships between elements which are understood by the problem solver • problem expressed in mathematical form and therefore probably implementable

27. Structured, Unstructured, Semistructured Problems (3) • Unstructured Problem • contains no elements or relationships between elements which are understood by the problem solver • quantification of unstructured problems is difficult if not impossible

28. Structured, Unstructured, Semistructured Problems (4) • Semistructured Problem • contains some elements or relationships between elements that are understood by the problem solver • other elements or relationships between elements may not be understood at all

29. Structured, Unstructured, Semistructured Problems (5) • Is there such a thing as a structuredproblem? This already presupposes a particular type of solution! • computers can solve structured problems • most managers deal with semistructured problems

30. Introduction to MIS (1) • computers first applied to business tasks • accounting functions • specific functional areas eg./ order entry • today computers used also to provide management information

31. Introduction to MIS (2) • as we will see the information needs of Management are different from the information needs of other system users • also, management has special responsibilities and obligations in organisations- require managed information

32. Introduction to MIS (3) • General Definition of MIS: A systems that provides the manager with information for decision making. • Either, the general information needs of managers or, all managers in a specific functional area

33. Membersof OrganisationsDistinct Types • Strategic Planning Level • top level managers, long term view, organisational wide scope • Management Control Level • middle level managers, regional managers, product directors and division heads • Operational Control Level • where operations occur in the organisation, example foreman in factories • Operations • workers, clerks etc... Management Others

34. Members of OrganisationsAssociated with ‘Hierarchy’ Strategic Planning Management Control Operational Control Operational

35. Categories of ISAssociated with ‘Hierarchy’ Increasing Uncertainty Strategic Planning EIS, DSS, GDSS, ES Management Control MIS, MkIS Operational Control AIS, MIS Operational TPS (EDP)

36. Major Categories of MIS • Major types of information systems for management • Management Information Systems (MIS) • Decision Support Systems (DSS) • Expert Systems (ES) • Office Automation Systems (OA) • Linked to Operational Systems

37. Problems that Result

38. Social Systems are harmful • in sociology... “Although hugely influential at the time... [attempts] to found a new general theory of... social systems [are] now adjudged a relative failure” (Jary & Jary 1991, 649) • there are therefore some obvious questions...

39. Isn’t ‘system’ OK for IS? • couldn’t it be suitable for IS but not suitable for sociology? • well this is possible • not likely • we find some theoretical problems with ‘systems’ as a way of modelling workplaces

40. Some technologies don’t fit • MIS do fit (EIS, DSS, GDSS, MIS, MkIS, AIS etc) and therefore by definition Operational Systems that feed them data • but others do not because they span all levels of the hierarchy, • Office Automation • EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) • e-mail and most intranet technologies

41. Why use ‘system’ • why does the information systems discipline still use it? • to answer this question we look at why sociology thinks ‘social systems’ are a failure • ‘conservative’ assumptions about the integration of social systems • levels of abstractionthat are removed from the workplace

42. Why use ‘system’ • relative neglect of the independent influence of individual members- this involves what are referred to as issues of agency • systems concepts cannot be used to address the effects of cultureon development and use of IS • there are alternatives to ‘social system’ explanations of organisations

43. Information SystemsTypical Definition “[An information system]...is a grouping of people, objects and procedures... [providing] information about the organization and its environment... which is useful to members and clients of that organization” Paraphrase Avison and Fitzgerald (1988, 1)

44. Data & Information • data is easy to identify and is created with purposes in mind • but informationdepends on who, what, where, how and when • for closed, biological systems the idea of information is great!

45. Data & Information • organisations are not axiomatic (rule determined) • the members can change the internal and external processes of the organisation • information becomes difficult to define/changes- just ask any systems developer

46. Data & Information • concept of information relies on Shannon & Weaver (c. 1940s) • defines information in terms which exclude meaning • in other words the second basis of our discipline (the concept of information) is theoretically inappropriatefor use when developing systems

47. Information SystemsDefinitional Problems • analysis, design and implementation practices focus on the people, objectsandprocedures • rarely focus on the use of systems- the purposes of systems in given organisational contexts

48. Summary

49. Summary • Critical Issues • Are organisations really systems? • What is information? • What does the IS Discipline do? • Further Issues • How might organisations be theorised? • How can we improve IS Development Practices?