From the Technical Change to Socio-Technical Change

The organisational application of information technology commonly evokes a wide variety of impacts upon the enterprise as a whole, and the individual members of staff affected by it. However, there is much evidence to suggest that the identification and management of such impacts, which is typically referred to as the treatment of organisational issues, is poorly handled in practice. The primary aim of the research project, described in this chapter, was to develop a proactive approach to the analysis of organisational impacts. The aim of the approach, which is presented as a flow diagram, is to clearly articulate the sequence of activities that have to be undertaken and the decisions that need to be addressed to ensure that all organisational issues are treated effectively. This approach has been formulated from an extensive review of the literature, and the authors’ experience working in this domain for the past six years. It is argued that this approach may well succeed, where many of its predecessors have failed, as it complements, rather than replaces, existing development tools and methods. Moreover, as this approach adopts a common-sense perspective, it should be relatively easy to learn and apply. Finally, it benefits from adopting a proactive, flexible and coherent approach to the treatment of organisational issues.