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Functional
approaches to Information Systems (IS) evaluation which apply cost/benefit or
scoring techniques are not well suited to systems where the benefits are
primarily intangible and dependent on the nature of the organization. The
benefits of the deployment of Executive Information Systems (EIS) are seen more
in the promotion of better-informed decision making, the promotion of
organizational learning and the catalysing of organizational change, than in the
saving of time and materials. Since EIS is difficult to evaluate, investment in
it is often dependent on the support of an executive champion or on the
artificial application of scores which may hide the real reasons behind its
procurement.
The focus of
this paper is the need for social and contextual issues to be incorporated into
the evaluation process. A formal, rationalistic approach is insufficient for
what is a complex social system. An alternative, interpretive approach is
proposed which examines the context in which the system is to be justified and
the social process which has led to its justification. These elements are
considered in the light of structuration theory which seeks to link human
actions with social structure.
An interpretive
framework is applied to a case study within a Contracting Company. Elements of
content, context, process and content/process linkage are identified which
indicate that the EIS will be of value to the company. The value of EIS is
likely to be significant in a large organization, with large amounts of
available data, which is facing significant change. However, while tentative
conclusions can be drawn from considering the organization within an
interpretive framework, the framework's value lies in sensitising participants
to the political and cultural issues that will ultimately determine the value of
the system. |
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