Information Systems Assignment: Impact Of IT On Organizational Structure
Question
Task:
Write a report on information systems assignment illustrating the impact of IT/IS on organizational structure using three different business scenarios.
Answer
Introduction
According to the research on information systems assignment, it is seen that information system in today’s business environment aims to support management, operations, and decision-making. It is also the information and communication technology (ICT) that is used by business organizations as a source that helps in interacting with technology in support of business processes (Scalia, 2015). The following report will be based on the discussion of three organizations and analysis of different main indicators of organizational structure that impacts the information systems. Overall, all the main indicators of organizational structure that impact information systems will be referred to as an organization, which will give a clear description of the discussion.
Discussion 1
Failure in IT impacting the organizational structure
IT plays a vital role in shaping an organizational structure by reducing workloads, improving efficiency, etc. In the era of rapid globalization, technology is crucial that helps in enhancing business activities Therefore, failure in information technology can lead to severe consequences for an organizational structure as several aspects of business management and manpower management are associated with information technology (Mellahi and Wilkinson, 2014). The mechanisms associated with an organization tend to reduce the need for communication and information processing so any disruptions in the mechanisms caused by IT failure can create an error in the processing of information along with lack of communication. In addition to that, IT failure can also hamper the decision-making system of an organizational structure as key business decisions are taken by analyzing statistical data and various reports that are extracted by the use of information systems. In any organization, the organizational structure divides the workforce based on the tasks and thus lack of authority and permission caused by a failure in information technology can hamper business operation. Overall, management information systems’ failures are based on certain behavioral factors and various structural constraints within an organization tend to hinder the development of resource centers that assists the process of training (Curlee and Tonn, 2015).
Example of an organization facing IT failure’s impact
JW Resources Sdn Bhd implemented information technology in the area of human resource management, which is a crucial aspect in terms of its business operation being a supplier of manpower (JW Resources Sdn Bhd, 2019). However, the company faced severe IT failure as the systems of the company were not efficient to handle the growing database. There were severe consequences faced by the company in terms of managing its organizational structure as the entire landscape of the company was shaking. Factors such as lack of communication and processing of improper information created tremendous confusion and hampered the supply of manpower. The organizational structure of JW Resources Sdn Bhd relied heavily on its information system for delegating the tasks to its employees along with maintaining records, so the failure in its information system opened the door for several errors and mismanagement, which is not acceptable in today’s competitive business environment. As a supplier of manpower, the company decided to enhance its business activities through IT implementation but certain lacking aspects like inadequate knowledge based on IT backfired tremendously for the company that caused severe losses, and hampered the company's market reputation. Therefore, IT failure requires to be properly dealt with to ensure maximum mitigation of the damages.
Discussion 2
The trend of IT impacting the organizational structure
Sales revenue refers to the income that a company receives from its provision of services and sales of goods. In the modern era, the trends in information technology keep on changing and this massively influences the job redundancy and sales revenue of an organization. When a particular company invests a significant amount in IT application and then the trend in IT changes immediately then it causes tremendous trouble in the organizational structure (Root, 2018). The company that recently invested in a particular IT trend also provides training to its employees regarding the new implementation. As a result of the changes, the company will again have to restructure its strategies and this transition tends to hamper sales revenue because of the associated expenses. Based on the losses suffered and business transition, organizations indulge in terminating employees for reducing the workforce and cover up the losses (Root, 2018). In this era of globalization and digitalization, the trend of IT plays a decisive role in terms of shaping an organization's future as every organization wants to implement the latest IT trends so that competitive advantage can be achieved. However, the changing IT trends have created trouble in the organizational structure of several organizations based on the unforgiving demands associated with and this causes job redundancy and hampers sales revenue.
Example of an organization facing a trend of IT impact
Interserve Plc is a UK-based construction company that has faced the effect of changing IT trends as it failed to implement cloud-based technologies in its business operation after immediate implementation of an information system that became outdated. About 16,000 small shareholders of the company lost their investment after the company invested in an outdated information system that got replaced by cloud technologies (Davies, 2019). The financial troubles of the company resulted in job redundancy caused by the declining sales revenue based on the investment outdated information system. As a result of the changing IT trends and the inefficiency of the company to adapt to changing IT trends, the sales revenue begin to decline. The organizational structure of Interserve Plc got drastically hampered and the company eventually lacked proper planning for drawing construction projects. Being one of the UK’s biggest government contractors, the company went into administration, and the control was passed to a new company. Therefore, changing IT trends massively hampered the overall organizational structure of Interserve Plc through the creation of job redundancy and declining sales revenue.
Discussion 3
Disabilities in influential IT impacting the organizational structure
For start-up companies, IT technology plays a significant role in terms of ensuring sustainability. However, there are several disabilities associated with influential IT technology that impacts organizational structure. Disabilities should not be an impediment to success and for start-ups, as they are emphasizing IT to make crucial decisions (Hassan et al., 2017). Although to a certain extent and in specific areas the use of IT influences major business decisions, still it is important to use human intelligence in certain areas. Relying too much on technology is making start-up entrepreneurs disabled with their thoughts and this is a major cause of start-up failures. With the advancement in technologies, the organizational structure of start-ups is becoming disabled as it is lacking innovation and a human approach. Some of the features of the information system used by start-ups lack practical solutions that are required for mitigating the inevitable challenges. Starting a new business requires tremendous support of IT implementation as factors such as analyzing the market, targeting the right customer base, and analyzing the profits are all integral components of an information system. However, factors such as taking key business decisions must be based on human analysis and the majority of the start-up businesses become disabled under the influence of IT.
Example of an organization facing disabilities in influential IT impact
Jawbone a start-up company that produced Bluetooth speakers, headsets, fitness trackers, etc. the company looked promising as it generated around $930 million as a venture-backed startup (Max, 2018). However, along with overfunding the company went too much under the influence of IT to make key business decisions. The management of Jawbone decided to invest a massive amount of money based on IT predictions without any significant analysis based on human intelligence. This factor contributed to Jawbone being disabled in terms of technological influence as the management of the company took the decision of undertaking its business activities under the influence of IT. The organizational structure of Jawbone suffered a tremendous blow as there was a conflict between the decision-makers that made the business activity disabled. The company became dwelled on a bad idea of overinvestment based on technical analysis that contributed to the massive losses and employees became frustrated as a result of the lack of progress. Overall, there was a lack of research that is important to get the market thinking about its unique selling point (USP).
Conclusion
In the end, it can be concluded that IT implementation has got both positive and negative effects. Business organizations sometimes tend to suffer consequences of wrong IT implementation because of failed analysis.
Discussion 1 of the report analyzed the impact of IT failure in organizational structure by taking the example of JW Resources Sdn Bhd where failure in IT implementation caused tremendous trouble to the organization in terms of human resource management.
Discussion 2 of the report analyzed the impact of changing IT trends by taking the example of Interserve Plc that suffered the consequences of rapidly changing IT trends. Interserve Plc went for an outdated IT system implementation and soon cloud-based systems became the latest trend.
Discussion 3 of the report analyzed the impact of disabilities associated with influential IT by taking the example of a failed start-up company named Jawbone. The company relied heavily on IT influence that made its decision-making system disabled.
Overall, after analysis of the three discussions it is evident that with rising globalization and digitalization, IT implementation is a major concern that needs to be dealt with effectively as failure to this can lead to severe consequences.
References
Curlee, T.R. and Tonn, B.T. (2015). The success or failure of management information systems: A theoretical approach. [online] www.osti.gov. Available at: https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/6684482 [Accessed 24 Feb. 2021].
Davies, R. (2019). Interserve goes into administration after rescue deal rejected. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/mar/15/interserve-to-go-into-administration-after-shareholders-reject-deal [Accessed 24 Feb. 2021].
Hassan, N., Ashraf, M., Ahmed, E., Hasan, M.R. and Bhattacharjee, V. (2017). The impact of information and communication technology (ICT) on the lives of disabilities: a case in Bangladesh. [online] degruyter. Available at: https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/ijdhd-2016-0027/html [Accessed 24 Feb. 2021].
JW Resources Sdn Bhd (2019). JW RESOURCES SDN BHD - Find out more! [online] ctoscredit.com.my. Available at: https://ctoscredit.com.my/business/JW-RESOURCES-SDN-BHD-1042206D [Accessed 24 Feb. 2021].
Max, E. (2018). These 9 famous startup failures have a lesson for you. [online] e27. Available at: https://e27.co/these-9-famous-startup-failures-have-a-lesson-for-you-20181218/ [Accessed 24 Feb. 2021].
Mellahi, K. and Wilkinson, A. (2014). Organizational failure: a critique of recent research and a proposed integrative framework. International Journal of Management Reviews, 5-6(1), pp.21–41.
Root, G.N. (2018). What Impacts Organizational Structure? [online] Chron.com. Available at: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/impacts-organizational-structure-75.html [Accessed 24 Feb. 2021].
Scalia, S. (2015). What Are Information Systems? - Definition & Types - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com. [online] Study.com. Available at: https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-are-information-systems-definition-types-quiz.html [Accessed 24 Feb. 2021].
