Authors: Baskerville, R., Smithson, S. Date: 1995 Title: “Information Technology and New Organizational Forms: Choosing Chaos over Panaceas” Journal: European Journal of Information Systems, 4 (2) Pages: 66- 73 |
| information technology, new emergent forms of organization, IT professionals, IT researchers |
| This paper examines five aspects of the critical relationship between Information Technology (IT) and new emergent forms of organization. First, there seems to be an unhealthy tendency among IT professionals to instantly elevate any single, highly successful practical experience into an overarching paradigm for managerial success. Second, there is a corresponding tendency for IT researchers to focus their efforts on the search for the single universal formula that will transform any type of organization in any situation from mediocrity to excellence. Third, IT researchers assign a preeminence to IT in organizational transformation that neglects many other important social and environmental factors. Fourth, management theorists seem unable to cope with the unpredictability, the multivariate nature, and the "messiness" of human organization in cultural contexts. Even studies that make qualitative allowances will still imply a surreal causal analysis that is mostly speculation. Fifth, several critical factors influence the interaction of changes in IT and emergent organizational forms. These factors include, organizational learning, structural premise, and power. |