The Concept of Modularity in the Context of IS Project Outsourcing

Author(s):  
Shahzada Benazeer ◽  
Philip Huysmans ◽  
Peter De Bruyn ◽  
Jan Verelst

Information systems (IS) outsourcing became a very common practice in developed and in emerging economies. Over 94% of Fortune 500 companies are outsourcing at least one major business function. Despite IS outsourcing's popularity, failure rates are high. Many remedies are proposed in the literature, but failure rate of IS outsourcing projects remains high. It seems these remedies turned out to be partially successful at best. This chapter presents an alternative, new perspective on how to avoid IS project outsourcing failures and explores the concept of modularity and normalized systems theory (NST) in relation to IS outsourcing projects. Such a new perspective, which originates from the system sciences, may add value to outsourcing risk analyses. A case study analysis of a failed IS outsourcing project has been conducted. This study illustrates how the concept of modularity and normalized systems theory can be applied ex ante in order to mitigate the risk factors in IS outsourcing projects.

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 ◽  
pp. 101-135
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Mroczek-Żulicka

Purpose. The article deals with the issues of youth participation in the organization of tourist events on the example of the work of teenage instructors of The Polish Scouting and Guiding Association (ZHP). The purpose of this article is to answer the questions: who are the teenage educators, what kind of experience do they have, what is their motivation to perform such a role, do they see the results of their work? The main axis of research is to verify the hypothesis concerning the phenomenon of self-education among respondents. Method. This article regarded the author’s own qualitative research based on case study analysis. The study was conducted during scouting camps of the 2016 Summer Scout Action. Four instructors participated in the study. Findings. The interviewees, despite their young age, already have considerable experience working with children, and their participation in tourist trips, organizing leisure time within the ZHP organization stimulates them to further develop and is a source of pleasure and inspiration. The process of self-education among participants in the study - young ZHP instructors, was also observed: they are able to indicate their achievements and fields to continue working on themselves, they have strong internal motivation to achieve more goals. On the basis of the obtained research results, a model of becoming a conscious educator was constructed. Research and conclusions limitations. The case study analysis is based only on a selected piece of reality. The results cannot be generalized to the whole population. Practical implications. Thanks to the results of research, it is worth recognizing and using the effects of participation of young people in organizing tourist events in tourist practice. Originality. The presented views of the participants in the survey are an important voice in the discussion on the educational role of tourism. The originality of the research results concerns a new perspective of the analysis of self-education within or through tourism. Type of paper. This article is based on case study analysis.


2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-232
Author(s):  
Rayna D. Markin ◽  
Kevin S. McCarthy ◽  
Amy Fuhrmann ◽  
Danny Yeung ◽  
Kari A. Gleiser

Author(s):  
Kasey Barr ◽  
Alex Mintz

This chapter examines the effect of group dynamics on the 2016 decision within the administration of President Barack Obama to lead the international coalition in a mission to liberate Raqqa, Syria, from the Islamic State. The authors show that whereas the groupthink syndrome characterized the decision-making process of the US-led coalition’s decision to attack Raqqa, it was polythink that characterized the decision-making dynamics both in the US-led coalition and within the inner circle of Obama’s own foreign policy advisors. Through case-study analysis, the authors illustrate that groupthink is more likely in strategic decisions, whereas polythink is more likely in tactical decisions.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1354067X2110040
Author(s):  
Linus Paul Frederic Guenther

This case study shows how allegories are a means to express the inexpressible and how Allegory Analysis can be a method to reveal it and bring out the subjective meaning making, life script ideology, and capability to deal with the ambivalent in critical life situations. From a cultural psychological perspective, the research is based on feelings during the quasi-quarantine period of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study tries to understand the coping strategies with which people deal with a psychological crisis in general concerning for the COVID-19 lockdown. It discusses further ways to deal with the ambivalences and subjective meaning making arousing through such a crisis. The case study analysis of Miss K. not only showed her meaning making processes and attitude of life but also showed how to deal with the uncertainty during the critical lockdown period. Through her allegories, she utters her current life script ideology that living nowadays means to function like a machine while being creative, self-reflective at the same time. Her meaning making process counterbalanced between the voice of being delivered to withdrawal or depression versus the voice of being able to learn, connect, and relax. Her coping strategy was bearing the ambivalence in a psychological crisis with faith.


2020 ◽  
pp. 016059762093289
Author(s):  
Daniel Patten

Successful peace policy that enshrines human rights allows individuals to thrive economically, politically, and socially with minimal conflict. Building from literature on crimes of globalization, genocide, and human rights, the current research investigates the concept of a criminogenic policy that at its core is antithetical to peace policy. Using case study analysis, North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is found to be both criminal and criminogenic in violation of international law for two primary reasons. First, the NAFTA negotiation process was criminal and criminogenic for three interrelated reasons: (1) powerful elites heavily influenced the outcome, (2) it was undemocratic, and (3) the opposition was often repressed. Second, the NAFTA policy itself was criminal and criminogenic for two reasons: (1) NAFTA as a policy ignored all of the critical voices that predicted negative outcomes and (2) the written text of NAFTA is criminal for failing to include human rights protections while offering a litany of rights to protect business investment.


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