Managing and Using Information Systems: A Strategic Approach - Sixth Edition

Managing and Using Information Systems:
A Strategic Approach – Sixth Edition
Keri Pearlson, Carol Saunders,

and Dennis Galletta
© Copyright 2016
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Chapter 4
IT and the Design of
Work
American Express Opening
Case
• What is the “Blue Work” program?
• What was the strategic thrust behind the Blue Work
program?
• What are “hub,” “club,” “home,” and “roam”
employees?
• What is the role of technology in these
arrangements?
• What was the impact of Blue Work?
• Have other firms found roaming employment
useful?
© 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 3
Work Design Framework

IT Has Changed Work
• IT has:
• Created new types of work
• Bureau of Labor Statistics: IT employment in the
USA is at an all-time high
• New jobs such as:
• Data scientists/data miners
• Social media managers
• Communications managers
• Enabled new ways to do traditional work
• Supported new ways to manage people
How IT Changes
Traditional Work
• Changes the way work is done
• Broadens skills; faster but more tasks
• Sometimes IT disconnects us from the tasks
• Sometimes people can perform more strategic tasks
• Few staff are engaged in order entry any longer
• Crowdsourcing is now possible at very low cost (M.Turk)
• Changes how we communicate
• More asynchronous and more irregular
• Social networking has provided new opportunities for
customer interaction
• Collaboration allows a firm to look “big” with new tools

How IT Changes
Traditional Work
• Changes decision-making
• Real-time information; more information available
• Data mining can identify new insights
• Ideas can be gleaned from social networks
• Middle management ranks have shrunk as Leavitt/Whisler
predicted
• Changes collaboration
• Work is now more team oriented; more collaborative
• Sharing is easier than ever, using multiple methods
• Crowdsourcing can now provide quick answers from tens,
hundreds, or even thousands of people
• We now can disconnect PLACE and TIME (Figure 4.2)
Collaboration
Technologies Matrix

How IT Changes
Traditional Work
• New ways to connect
• Many employees are always connected
• Lines between work and play are now blurred
• For many, home technologies are better than work
technologies
• New ways to manage people
• Behavior controls – direct supervision
• Outcome controls – examining outcomes not actions
• Personnel controls – pick the right person for the task
• The digital approach provides new opportunities at any of
those three levels (Fig. 4.3)

Changes to
Supervision/Evaluations/
Compensation/Hiring

Where Work is Done:
Mobile and Virtual Work
• Much work can be done anywhere, anytime
• People desire the flexibility
• Telecommuting = teleworking = working from home or
even in a coffee shop
• Mobile workers work from anywhere (often while
traveling)
• Remote workers = telecommuters + mobile workers
• Virtual teams include remote workers as well as those
in their offices, perhaps scattered geographically
• Virtual teams have a life cycle (Figure 4.4)
Key Activities in the Life
Cycle of Teams

Telecommuting: Global
Status
• A poll of 11,300 employees in 22 countries: 1
in 6 telecommute
• When employees in 13 countries were asked if
they need to be in the office to be productive:
• Overall 39% said “yes”
• But specific countries differed in the “yes” votes:
• Only 7% in India, but
• 56% in Japan
• 57% in Germany

Drivers of Remote Work and Virtual Teams
Driver Effect
Shift to knowledge-based work Decouples work from any particular

place
Changing demographics and Workers desire geographic and time-
lifestyle preferences shifting flexibility
New technologies with enhanced Remotely-performed work is practical

bandwidth and cost-effective
Web ubiquity Can stay connected 24/7
“Green” concerns Reduced commuting costs; real

estate energy consumption; travel
costs

Some advantages and disadvantages of remote work
Advantages of Remote Work Potential Problems
Reduced stress: better ability to meet Increased stress: Harder to separate

schedules; less distraction at work work from home life
Higher morale and lower absenteeism Harder to evaluate performance
Geographic flexibility Employee may become disconnected

from company culture
Higher personal productivity Telecommuters are more easily

replaced by offshore workers
Housebound individuals can join the Not suitable for all jobs or
workforce employees
Informal Dress
Security might be more difficult
Virtual Teams
• Virtual Teams: geographically and/or
organizationally dispersed coworkers:
• Assembled using telecommunications and IT
• Aim is to accomplish an organizational task
• Often must be evaluated using outcome controls
• Why are they growing in popularity?
• Information explosion: some specialists are far away
• Enhanced bandwidths/fast connections to outsiders
• Technology is available to assist collaboration
• Less difficult to get relevant stakeholders together

Challenges facing virtual teams.
Challenges Virtual Teams Traditional Teams
Communications • Multiple time zones can lead to • Same time zone.
greater efficiency but can lead to Scheduling is less difficult.
communication difficulties and • Teams may use richer
coordination costs (passing work). communication media.
• Non-verbal communication is
difficult to convey
Technology • Proficiency is required in several • Support for face-to-face

technologies. interaction without replacing
it
• Skills and task-technology
fit is less critical
Team Diversity • Members represent different • More homogeneous

organizations and/or cultures: members
- Harder to establish a group identity. - Easier group identity
- Necessary to have better com. skills - Easier to communicate
- More difficult to build trust, norms
- Impact of deadlines not always
consistent
17
Managerial Issues In
Telecommuting and Mobile Work
• Planning, business and support tasks must be

redesigned to support mobile and remote workers
• Training should be offered so all workers can
understand the new work environment
• Employees selected for telecommuting jobs must
be self-starters

Managing the Challenges
• Communications challenges
• Policies and practices must support the work arrangements
• Must prepare differently for meetings
• Slides and other electronic material must be shared beforehand
• Soft-spoken people are difficult to hear; managers must repeat key
messages
• Frequent communications are helpful (hard to “overcommunicate”)
• Technology challenges
• Provide technology and support to remote workers
• Use high quality web conferencing applications
• Clarify time zones for scheduling
• Information should be available for everyone (cloud storage can
help)
• Policies and norms about use of the technology can be important
Managing the Challenges
•Diversity challenges
• Concept of time differs throughout the world
• Anglo-American cultures view time as a continuum
(deadlines are important; many prefer not to multitask)
• Indian cultures have a cyclical view of time (deadlines are
less potent; many prefer to multitask)
• Team diversity might need nurturing:
• Communications differences
• Trust building
• Group identity formation

Gaining Acceptance For It-
induced Change
• Many changes might be a major concern for
employees
• Changes might be resisted if they are viewed as
negative impacts
• Several types of resistance:
• Denying that the system is up and running
• Sabotage by distorting or otherwise altering inputs
• Believing and/or spreading the word that the new system
will not change the status quo
• Refusing to use the new system (if voluntary)

Kotter’s Model

Managing and Using Information Systems:
A Strategic Approach – Sixth Edition
Keri Pearlson, Carol Saunders,

and Dennis Galletta
© Copyright 2016
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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Managing and Using Information Systems:

A Strategic Approach – Sixth Edition

Keri Pearlson, Carol Saunders,

© 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 4

© 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 6

© 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 8

© 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 9

© 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 10

© 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 12

© 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 13

Shift to knowledge-based work Decouples work from any particular

New technologies with enhanced Remotely-performed work is practical

Web ubiquity Can stay connected 24/7

“Green” concerns Reduced commuting costs; real

© 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 14

Reduced stress: better ability to meet Increased stress: Harder to separate

Higher morale and lower absenteeism Harder to evaluate performance

Geographic flexibility Employee may become disconnected

Higher personal productivity Telecommuters are more easily

© 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 16

Technology • Proficiency is required in several • Support for face-to-face

Team Diversity • Members represent different • More homogeneous

• Planning, business and support tasks must be

© 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 18

© 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 20

© 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 21

© 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 22

Keri Pearlson, Carol Saunders,

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