Information Technology and Globalization Bob Galliers, Provost, Bentley

1. Information Technology and Globalization Bob Galliers, Provost, Bentley 1st International Conference on Information Systems and Technology Management São Paulo, Brazil 21-23 June 2004

2. Information Technology and Globalization:the need for trans-disciplinary and cross-cultural approaches in the field of Information SystemsBob Galliers, Provost, Bentley 1st International Conference on Information Systems and Technology Management São Paulo, Brazil 21-23 June 2004

3. Bentley?

4. Not this kind ofBentley!

5. Bentley – the US’s first business university Bentley is a business university. We do for students interested in business and related professions what the leading technological universities do for students of science and engineering.

6. The campus

7. Center for Marketing Technology

8. The Trading Room

9. Today’s agenda • To surface issues facing the IS academy in the context of globalization • IS in multi-national companies • Focusing on: • cross-cultural issues • trans-disciplinary approaches • Three case vignettes

10. Three vignettes • Case company A: • Corporate intranet for knowledge sharing • Case company B: • Socio-technical approach to knowledge sharing • Case company C: • Software development ‘sans frontiers’

11. Case Company A: background • Global bank • HQ on the continent of Europe • 70,000 employees • 70 countries • Formed following merger of two banks • 5th highest spender on IT in Europe • Highly decentralized

12. A crisis looms large … • Key account lost … why? • Inability to adopt similar procedures and provide similar services in different countries • “Exasperated” with inability to present a “common face” worldwide • Business goes to a rival bank

13. The response? • “The Networked Bank” • Pilot intranet project – sharing knowledge across functions and geographically dispersed sites • Common adoption of defined ‘best practices’ • Integration of procedures and services

14. The outcome? • During the 18 month life of the pilot … • 150+ known intranets in individual departments in different countries!

15. The outcome? • During the 18 month life of the pilot … • 150+ known intranets in individual departments in different countries! • Existing boundaries between functions and dispersed business units reinforced

16. The response? • A strategic workshop

17. The response? • A strategic workshop • Bankers and IT executives • 2 days @ company HQ

18. The response? • A strategic workshop • Bankers and IT executives • 2 days @ company HQ • 2 problems: • Bankers “too busy” to attend both days

19. The response? • A strategic workshop • Bankers and IT executives • 2 days @ company HQ • 2 problems: • Bankers “too busy” to attend both days • IT execs focused entirely on a technological ‘solution’ on the second day … a corporate portal

20. The outcome? • Within 10 days, the bank was the ‘proud owner’ of “six or seven” ‘corporate’ portals • Each with its own characteristics and idiosyncrasies

21. The outcome? • Within 10 days, the bank was the ‘proud owner’ of “six or seven” ‘corporate’ portals • Each with its own characteristics and idiosyncrasies … • … with more on the way!

22. Post-hoc analysis • Vision of ‘global bank’ in stark contrast to existing culture and structure • History of growth through M&A • Each bank left to own devices • No previous attempt to standardize • Culture of decentralization • Intranet concept adopted by each unit, for its own purposes

23. Case Company B: background • Multinational chemical corporation • Serving several industry sectors • 102 different countries • 1000+ different chemical products • Importance of knowledge sharing across company long recognized … • … but traditional methods used (globe-trotting experts; postal services)

24. The chairman responds … • Design and implementation of a global intranet forum • Industry-specific directories • Open access to all • Initial response very positive

25. The chairman responds … • Design and implementation of a global intranet forum • Industry-specific directories • Open access to all • Initial response very positive … • … but cultural and linguistic problems soon surfaced

26. Where to from here? • Four independent regional forums serving specific geographical region • Similar internal structures but … • … different languages

27. Where to from here? • Four independent regional forums serving specific geographical region • Similar internal structures but … • … different languages • Replicated solutions in different regional forums • Considerable overlap and differing interpretations

28. Back to the drawing board … • Further discussions across the whole company • Importance of addressing industry diversity surfaced • Forums reorganized: global/industry-based • Knowledge sharing stimulated by new role of intranet facilitator

29. Intranet facilitator role • Experts in given area • Responsible for ensuring that knowledge generated was useful and accurate • Queries addressed promptly • Volunteer section leaders followed

30. Reflections • The intranet generated knowledge sharing, but only after: • 1) boundaries had been created …“Good fences make good neighbors” * • 2)human experts facilitated electronic communications * Robert Frost, Mending a Wall

31. Case Company C: background • Founded in 1946 • Headquartered in Boston, MA • The largest mutual fund company in the United States • More than $880 billion under management as of June 30, 2003 • More than 19 million customers company wide • Products include mutual funds, brokerage, insurance

32. Globally distributed software development • Information services in financial markets • A profit center – competing for company business with third parties • USA, Ireland, India • India – a threat to Ireland, and esp. USA • Low cost imperative • Standardized technology, software, methodology imposed top-down

33. Summary of Preliminary Findings 1.The importance and challenge of building team cohesion among distributed personnel • Recognizing the role of team cohesion as an important variable in team productivity • Installing project initiation techniques that increase cohesiveness of the team

34. Summary of Preliminary Findings 2. The need to develop integrative and collaborative work among distributed teams • Providing the social networks to develop rapport, relationships, and trust among team members • Balancing formal and informal communications among team members • Building and creating in-company understanding to ‘circumvent’ cultural differences

35. Summary of Preliminary Findings 3. Over-reliance on standardized processes, ‘best practices’, methodologies, standards, ICT • While work standardization can aide in improved understanding and increased productivity among distributed teams … • Negative effects, e.g., lowering innovation, hurting morale, limiting application of skills • Needs balance between imposing a global work culture and allowing one to emerge

36. Summaryof Preliminary Findings 4. Evolution of roles versus planned assignment of roles • Emergent sense of anxiety and uncertainty over changing roles • Importance of articulating - preferably negotiating - shared common vision of roles and responsibilities of different centers

37. Moving from “Knowledge Management” to “Relationship Management” Through Processes • Standardized methodologies • Best practices • Technological pipelines Through Technologies

38. Moving from “Knowledge Management” to “Relationship Management” Through Processes • Standardized methodologies • Best practices • Technological pipelines Through Technologies Through Face-to-Face

39. Summary lessons • Case A: • Focusing on IT an IT “solution”, or rather … • an organisational problem • Case B: • Boundaryless corporations – a myth • “Good boundaries (and a socio-technical approach) make for good solutions” • Case C: • Standardised IT/methodology: necessary but not sufficient • Team building; communication/understanding across cultures

40. The argument for disciplinary purity • Excluding the IT artifact “makes ambiguous the boundaries of IS scholarship, thus raising questions regarding its distinctiveness - and hence its legitimacy - with respect to related scholarly disciplines.” Benbasat & Zmud, 2003; 189

41. The argument for disciplinary purity • Excluding the IT artifact “makes ambiguous the boundaries of IS scholarship, thus raising questions regarding its distinctiveness - and hence its legitimacy - with respect to related scholarly disciplines.” • “If IS research is no different from that undertaken in more entrenched scholarly disciplines (e.g., marketing, operations management, organizational behavior), why should institutions in the organizational field continue to invest in this new intellectual capability.” Benbasat & Zmud, 2003; 189

42. My counter argument … • Thomas Kuhn’s concept of paradigm • Ashby’s law of requisite variety • Gibbons’ et al. ‘Mode 2’ thinking • Charles Handy

43. Kuhn and the concept of paradigm • A monastic vision of science • “… members of a scientific community … know precisely the relevant research topics … the appropriate research methods and the proper interpretation of results.” Banville & Landry, 1989; 49

44. Ashby’s Law of Requisite Variety • “Only variety can absorb variety” W R Ashby, An Introduction to Cybernetics, 1956

45. Ashby’s Law of Requisite Variety • “Only variety can absorb variety” • The more complex the problem situation, the greater the range of variables/approaches that need to be introduced. • A counter to Descartes’ reductionist philosophy • “Variety’s the very spice of life” W R Ashby, An Introduction to Cybernetics, 1956 William Cowper (1731-1800) The Task, Book II; 606

46. Knowledge production • ‘Mode 1’ • Within a single discipline • ‘Mode 2’ • Trans-disciplinary Gibbons et al. The new production of knowledge, 1995

47. “God, it has to be said, did not see fit to divide up the world to accord with the faculties of universities.” Charles Handy, Understanding Organisations (1992)

48. Organisational Behaviour • A “more entrenched scholarly discipline?

49. Organisational Behaviour • A “more entrenched scholarly discipline”? • Hardly! • “ … the related theory and scientific study are extremely broad-based. It is an eclectic theory … comprised of … parts of sociology, psychology, anthropology, economics, political science, philosophy, and mathematics.” (Kast & Rosenzweig, 1974)

50. DisciplinarityOrganizationITInwardNarrowOB, Comp Sci, etc.DefinedA threat Trans-disciplinaritySocietyPeople/InformationOutwardBroadIS +EmergentAn opportunity Contrasting views of Information Systems Boundary Artifact Focus Scope Ref. disc. Properties Inter-disc.