Chapter 4 MBA 610 Notes PDF

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chapter 4 lecture notes for MBA 610 Managing Information Systems with Professor Michelle Suzanne Salmona at Central Michigan University...

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Chapter 4 MBA 610 NOTES Impact technology has on the nature and design of work Work design framework -as the place and time of work is not as clear anymore, the concept of “jobs” is changing and being replaced with work. -Now, organizations are not focusing on specific jobs w “what needs to be done” and exactly what a position will do. -IT helps to function and collaborate all jobs that need to be done -simple framework assesses how tech. affects work and it designs characteristics of work by asking questions and helping identify where IS can affect work Questions: What work will be performed?(operations, sales, management) --outcomes, inputs, transformation needed to turn inputs to outputs -value chain helos to show workflow for key tasks Who is going to do the work?(individuals, groups) Who, what skills are needed, from what part of the org does this person work, who should be on the team? Where will the work be performed?(office, home, road) Managers can design work for ppl who work remotely -does it need to be done in a accompany office? When will the work be performed?(9-5, 24/7) -tech makes it so u can work when necessary -24/7 How can the acceptance of IT-induced change be increased? How to use IT to improve work -automating tasks How IT changes the Nature of work----#1 -provide tools to be more productive and more capable Three ways IT alters employee life: by creating new types of work, enabling new ways to do traditional work and by supporting new ways to manage people Creating new types of work -wide range of new jobs (web site designers, programmers, analysts…etc) -reliance on IS creates jons -people create and manage the systems

New ways to do traditional work----#2 1. changing the way work is done -traditional jobs now done by computers -changes day to day tasks of employees -results in new skills needed for these tasks -with IT salespeople become more like marketing and sales consultants. & do data analysis -biggest change is in data entry -now ac curacy of data is checked by the computer and its entered by customers when they place an order -data entry tasks are eliminated and its much faster

2. changing communication patterns -apps changes how we communicate -was person to person b4 -email -now individuals must be present on many different platforms in order to be contacted -also must know at what time of day people prefer to use which platforms to communicate -IT is changing communication patterns of employees –w suppliers for trucks -social networks are motivating managers to add value to their network by use of them “Thomas friedman said : thekey to success is to take advantage of all the new tools for collaboration to reach farter, faster, wider and deeper” 3. Changing organizational decision making and information processing -changes the info used in making decisions -data is captured earlier and makes it easier to make predictions -Info is pushed to employees in real time -IT changes the amount and type of info available to employees -siri gives access to info -less jobs for middle managers because it can be done easily by others -IT inc. flow of info and gives tools to analyze the info 4. Changing Collaboration -makes work more team oriented and collaborative -groups can share docs and connect by voice Collaboration takes place in ¼ ways: Teams are collocated and work together at the same time, they are collocated but work at different times, they are from different places at different times, they are not located in the same place but work at the same time 4. Changing the ways to connect -people are always connected -boundaries btwn work and play have been tethered

People think that devices at home are easier to use than at work

Activity stream: a list of activities on a web site that highlight what the individuals connected to that stream are doing -fewer face to face meetings, emails reduces, faster info, better collaboration and inc responsiveness. -IT changed day to day tasks which changed the skills needed by employees New ways to manage people----#3 --managers challenge with managing a workforce where employees are spread our around the world -orgs must choose btwn 3 types of formal controls to ensure work is being done properly: 1. Behavioral controls- direct monitoring and supervision of employee actions while work is being done -these make since for physical labor jobs 2. Outcome controls- examining work outcomes rather than work actions -make since for programmers, engineers, sales managers 3. Personnel controls- represent a proper fit between the person and the job, often involving picking the right person for the task -useful when it takes several years to evaluate results of work -when u don’t know when results will be and what results should even be expected Techonological solution: 1. Electronic employee monitoring: replaces direct supervision and provides begacior controls and web sites cisited and records contents on employee screen 2. Outcome controls by: tracking # of calls, emails sent or time on the web 3. Output monitored digitally -pay for performance compensations trategies. -It impacted the way employees are hired -don’t even have to meet in person to be hired the entire process can be done online -the way a org uses IT affects tech and non technical skills needed for employees -assesments that need to be completed to show it competency -It needs and opportunities also switch (digital natives finding new ways to do work)

Where work is done and who does it: mobile and virtual work arrangements -It effects the ability of some employees to work anywhere -some prefer work/ life flexibility to do things remotely

Remote work and virtual teams Tech enables employees to be virtually present

Telecommuting- employees working from home, at a customer site etc Mobile workers- work wherever they are Remote workers- both telecommuters and mobile workers Virtual teams- 2 or more people who work together independently with mutual accountability for achieving common goals And do not work in either the same place or same time and must use electronic communication -they have a life cycle and teams are formed, work is completed and the team is disbanded Factors driving use of remote work and virtual teams -1st factor: work is inc. knowledge based --- as effective from home as in office to share info 2nd factor: remote workers and virtual team members shift the time of their work to accommodate their lifestyles—people who cant leave the house can join the workforce and geographic flexibility, fixes bad weather and illness problems 3rd- the new technologies are better, cheaper and widely available. 4th- inc. reliance on web based tech. by all generations. Younger generations especially to stay connected w co workers 5th- inc. emphasis on energy conservation. No transportation and lower energy use Advantages and disadvantages of remote work ADV. -greater flexibility of where to work -more productive because they are choosing where they work --higher moral because of comfort -hire employees from anywhere -don’t have to monitor employees in person -less expensive for employers to give tools needed to do jobs DISADV. -employees work/ life balance suffers -Challenges managers to address performance evaluation and compensation—self discipline required -self discipline is a key concern because there is distractions at home -requires managers to do special planning and communication activities (schedules, policies) -it can disconnect employees from company culture and make them feel isolated -not all jobs are suited for remote work -it raises specter of offshoring-foregin outsourcing of jobs once performed internally in the organization -security is an issue if they bring computers into work and it has a virus or something ADV AND DIS of virtual teams Adv. Expand knowledge through team membership -no huge travel expenses while getting ppl w the skills needed

Disadv. -Diff time zones -challenges that if not managed correctly will turn into disadvantages Figure 4.7 for more details Managing remote workers and virtual teams -difference in management control activities for in office and virtual -managers cant observe actual behavior of them -monitoring is more limited -outcomes control monitoring instead of behavioral ncontroals -compensation based on teams performance and ability to reach goal not individual -policies about selection, evaluation, compensation of team members need to be enacted Managing communication challenges -make sure ocmmunciation policies and practices support work arrangements -sharing presentations remotely, no nonberbal communication, -team members may want to do face to face meetings instead of virtual and this results in successful virtual teams -frequent communication is important -quiet individuals have to be reached out to by team leaders for participation -team leaders should rotate meeting times to meet all members needs Managing technology challenges -must make sure remote collegues have access to what they need -managers must ensure all employees and team members have the tools they need and this might mean providing tech and security support for them -design work programs for remote workers and consider the office as just another location -managers must provide the framework for using the tech -policies and unwritten rules about how to use them w one another are important Managing diversity challenges -Managers must provide tech to support diverse team member characteristics – different views of time, planning and scheduling software. -managers w team members who have different views of time must develop strategies to motivate them w deadlines or assign them to tasks that don’t have deadlines -open communications -encourage team members to get to know more about one another Gaining acceptance for IT-induced change May be resiting new programs in these ways: -they may deny that the system is up and running -they may sabotage the system by distorting or altering inputs -they may try to convince themselves that the system really will not change the status quo -they may refuse to use the new system when its usage is voluntary

Managing change To help avoid these resistances : 8 steps to help bring change: 1. Unfreezing(creating moticatio to change) -1. Establish a sense of urgency: create a compelling reason why change is needed --2. Create the guiding coalition: select a team w enough expertise and power to lead the change --3 develop a vision and strategic plan to guide the change process --4. Communicate the change vision: devise and implement a communication strategy to consistently convey the vision 2. Changing(providing stakeholders w new info, systems or products, services) -5. Empower broad based action: encourage risk taking and creative problem solving to overcome barriers to change 6. generate short term wines: celebrate short term improvements and reward contributions to change effort 7. consolidate gains and produce more change: use credibility from short term wins to promote more change so that change cascades throughout the organization 3. Refreezing (reinforcing change by integrating stakeholders changed bahviors and attitudes into new operations resulting from change) 8. anchor new approaches in the culture: reinforce change by highlighting areas in which new behaviors and processes are linked to success

Technology acceptance model and its variants -to avoid negative consequences of resistance to change, must manage the change process and gain accesptance for new iS. -managyers cant get employees to use it until they want to -to convinve: employ unfreezing tactics to change employee attitudes -training, documentation and user support 4 categories of determinants of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use from the org. users Individual difference, system characteristics, facilitating conditions, social influencem

Chapter 5 Information systems and business transformation -Is can enable or impede business change Process: the parts of a business that are to be changed Silo perspective versus business process perspective -better more competative ways todo business Or if managers fail to adapt business processes because they rely on inflexible systems they can not change --Transformation requires discontinuous thinking—recognizing and shredding outdated rules and fundamental assumptions that underlie operations Functional (SILO) Perspective When an organization has silos(departments are organized on the basis of their core competencies) -specialized silos allow them to focus on what they do best Functional structure is -functions that deliver their portion of the the process -these functions become self contained functional unitsTHAT: ---Allow an org. to optimize expertise and training ---Allow org to avoid redundancy in expertise by hiring one person who can be assigned to projects across functions on an as-needed basis instead of hiring an expert in each function --- it is easier to benchmark outside organizations, utilize bodies of knowledge created for each function and easily understand the role of each silo -silo organizations can experience suboptimization ---1st- individual depts recreate info maintained by other dpts 2nd- communication gaps btwn departments are often wide 3rd- handoffs btwn silos are oftena source of probkems for fingerpointing, and lost info 4th-silos lose sight of the objective of the overall org. and operate ina. Way that maximizes their local goals/ -in a functionally organized silo business, each group is concerned w its own objectives. No big picture is seen—which looses business effectiveness Functional groups duplicate work, fail to communic. And lose big picture and establish suboptimal processes the customers are not being well served. Business Process Perspective Manager can fix suboptimization by managing from this perspective Business process perspective (process perspective)- keeps big picture in view and allows manager to concentrate on work that. Needs to be done -avoids duplicated work, facilitates cross functional comm. And optimizes buss processes and best serves custoemrs and stakeholders

Process: interrelated, sequential set of activities and tasks that turn inputs into outputs and includes: -beginning and end -inputs and outputs -a set of tasks that transform inputs to outputs -a set of metrics for measuring effectiveness Metrics are things like throughput (how many outputs can be produced per unit time. Or cycle time , how long it takes for an entire process to execute. Ex. Of business processes: customer order fulfilment, manufacturing planning,… -Focusing on business processes ensures focusing on the business goals (big picture) because there is an end point -this process recognizes that processes are cross functiona; -requires an understanding that processes properly exist to serve larger goals of the business aand that depts must work together

When managers use this process they are able to optimize the value that customers and stakeholders receive by managing the flow as well as the tasks They begin to manage these processes by: -identifying the customers of processes (who receives the output of process) -identifying these customers requirements (criteria for successful implementation) -clarifying value that each process adds to overall goals of org -sharing their perspective w/ other members of org. Building agile and dynamic business processes -these are processes that repeat thru a constant renewal cycle of design, deliver, evaluate, redesign… Agile business processes: designed to simplify redesign and configuration. They are flexible and easily adaptable to changes in bus. Environment Ex. Manuf operations, software development Dynamic business processes- reconfigure as they learn and the business utilizes them. High degree of IT use -ntwk w changing flow of data Changing business processes Transforming a business means redesigning the business process Two techniques to transform a static business process are: 1. Radical process redesign, (business process reengineering bpr) 2. 2. Incremental, continuous improvement (total quality managmenet tqm or six sigma)

Incremental change: -used to improve business processes thru small changes and involves: -choosing a business process to improve -choosing a metric to measure it -enabling personnel to find ways to improve based on metric -personel like this because they get control to improvements and it is less threatening Six Sigma—an incremental and data driven quality management approach for eliminating defects from a process -low rate of defects Radical change: -Attain aggressive improvement goals . serves demands of customers that are constantly changing -greater internal resistance , need to be carefully planned and only used when major change is needed in a short time It includes: -need for major change in short time -thinking from cross functional persp. -challenges to old assumptions -networked (cross functional) org. -empowerment of individuals in the process -measurment of success via metrics tied to business goals and effectiveness of new processes Workflow and mapping process Workflow-The series of connected tasks performed by people and computers that together form. A business process. Considering this is a way to assess a cross functional process Also means : software products that document and automate processes Workflow diagram- shows a pic, map of the sequence and detail of each process step/ helps to understand and communicate the current process. -define scope, mission and boundaries of business process then develop flowchart of everything that happens in the process and then check for accuracy and adjust it. Business process management (bpm) -manage person to person process steps, system to system steps, and a combo of both -includes: process modeling, simulation, code generization, process execution, monitoring and integration capabilities (company and web based systems)

-provide a way to monitor, build, execute automated processes

Enterprise systems - It is a set of IS tools that many orgs use to enable info flow w in and btwn processes across the org - They help to ensure integration and coordination across functions. Enterprise information systems- comprehensive software packages that incorporate all modules needed to run operations of a business

Enterprise resource planning (erp) -Designed to help large companies manage the fragmentation of info store in individual depts computers… across org -makes company info immediately available throughout company depts Erp2 -makes it immediately available to external stakeholders and partners -enables ebusiness Characteristics of ERP s=ystems on page 112 -integration 0-packages -best practices -some assembly required -evolving -allow companies to be more flexible in sourcing from multiple suppliers while also inc. the transparency in tightly coupled supply chains Managing customer relationships Customer relationship management- set of software programs that support management activities performed to obtain, enhance relationships w, and retain customers. -sales, support, service processes -it creates new ways to learn more about customers needs and behaviors to develop stronger relationships -goal of providing more effective interaction w customers and bring together all info in company that they have on a customer. When designing and implementing erp: it should not be implemented if the system is based on a cultural model that conflicts w the local customs and that cannot easily be accommodated

-social it is integrated into CRM solutions, Managing supply chains SUPPLY Chain management (SCM)- system that manages the integrated supply chain. -business processes are not just internally in the company -processes are linked across companies thru a single network -shares info across network Supply chain: begins w raw materials and ends w product or service ready to be delivered INC in IS= supply chain includes product design, product planning, contract management, logistic and sourcing Supply chain integration is approach of technically linking supply chains of vendors and customers to streamline the process and inc efficiency...