The Interplay of Agents in Improvising Telecommunication Infrastructures' Services to Rural Community of South Africa

The deployment of telecommunication infrastructures is a challenge in many parts of South Africa particularly in the rural areas. The challenge has impact of communities' members as they do not have network coverage for Internet in some areas. The challenge gets worse with individual telecommunication service provider. Hence there is technological proposal for sharing of infrastructure by the service providers. However, the sharing of infrastructure is not as easy as notion by many individuals and groups institutions included. The article presents findings from a study on how a South African telecommunication network service provider could deploy shared infrastructures in the country's rural communities. The sharing of infrastructure is described by the structure and actions of agents within the infrastructure sharing process. Structuration theory was employed as a lens in the data analysis. The key findings include insufficient distribution of infrastructure, ownership responsibility, competitiveness, infrastructure deployment cost, and signification of regulation.

Enterprise Architecture for Business Objectives

The demand for better services by customers and citizens keeps increasing at a rapid rate, enabling organizations the leverage towards competitive advantage. The enterprise architecture (EA) has merged as a possible solution for addressing organizational challenges, as well as for competitiveness and sustainability. The EA deployment involves agents, which are both human and non-human. The agents, based on their interest, influences and determines how the EA is deployed. During the deployment of EA, agents transform themselves in accordance to their interest at the time and space, making the process challenging in achieving the organisational needs. As examined and presented by this chapter, understanding of agents' interests is significant if the challenges that they pose are to be managed for successful deployment of EA. The chapter presents the impact of agents on the deployment of EA in organizations, through the lens of structuration theory.

Critical Analysis of the Roles of Actors in the Deployment of Software

Many organizations resort to software deployment with the intention to simplify their daily activities, and for competitive advantage. The deployment consists of two main phases, development and implementation. Unfortunately, software doesn't always fulfil the organization's intentions. This is attributed to numerous factors, some of complex nature, which happen among humans, non-humans, and between humans and non-humans actors during development and implementation of software. Case study research was conducted to understand the roles of actors, and how their actions and interactions impact the development and implementation of software in the organization. Actor Network Theory (ANT) was employed in the analysis of the data. The theory focused on activities including the negotiation among actors which happened within heterogeneous network.

E-Competences for Organisational Sustainability Information Systems

The present patterns of economic development are deemed to be ‘unsustainable'. It is believed that the concept of sustainability, assisted by the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) through organisational sustainability information systems (OSIS), is a ‘cure' for current extraordinary environmental changes. However, the effective use of these systems requires an ICT competent (e-competent) workforce. E-competences, a combination of ICT-related knowledge, skills and attitudes are discussed in a number of studies but the European e-Competence Framework 3.0 is the only known framework that includes a single sustainability related e-competence. This study, however, reveals that, although the E-eCF3.0 sustainability e-competence is relevant, it is not sufficient for the effective use of OSIS as it transpired that the users should also possess other e-competences if these systems are to be exploited effectively.

Information Systems Innovations Using Competitive Intelligence

The chapter outlines Information System's (IS) innovations using Competitive Intelligence (CI). The theoretical foundation supporting this chapter was reviewed and Information System framework was implemented. Recommendations as to how the framework for Information Systems innovation was implemented have been addressed in this chapter. Knowledge is used as a focal factor for competitive advantage, through effective and efficient performances by employees in many organisations. As a result, knowledgeable employees are expected to share their knowledge with others to increase innovation within the organisation. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Generally, employees behave differently within an organisation. The main challenge is that no organisation has total control of its employees' behaviour and actions. The behaviour and action has an impact on how Information Systems are deployed for innovation, in creating competitive advantage. As a result, many systems have been deployed by different organisations in attempt to address this challenge for the interest.

Engineering the Services of the Library through Mobile Technology

Many universities are struggling to response the needs of its users. This is attributed to the rapid change in technological innovations. The growing interest on mobile technology in organisations is at a fast pace, particularly in institutions of higher learning. Mobile technology could be used in academic libraries to provide a better service to their clients or improve the service that they currently provide. Case study research was conducted at Capital University to understand the factors that could influence and impact the adoption of mobile technology in academic library services.

Captive Offshore IT Outsourcing

A captive offshore center is a separate business arm of the parent company, wholly owned, to provide IT solutions to its parent company. Some of the reasons for setting up a captive offshore center in the literature include controlling cost and gaining access to low-cost skilled professional but in the case of a Chicago based Company (sears Holdings) it was considered a strategic. One hiding agenda was to lunch a new line of business offering to its US base customers from a low cost location. This chapter reveals how a Sears Holdings lunched a successful captive offshore IT center and why they received outsourcing best practices award from the industry. In achieving the goal of the chapter, interview data was collected from the management team in Chicago and the head of the offshore operation. We compare our result to previous research on offshore best practices and we find many correlations.

Knowledge Requirements for Information Systems Outsourcing

Information systems (IS) outsourcing is a complex, multi-layered and a multifaceted concept. An organisation may gain access to knowledge it does not own in-house or be able to obtain it at a lower price by entering into an outsourcing relationship. At the same time, the organisation may risk losing key skills and capabilities unless the outsourcing arrangement is managed strategically and knowledge transferred properly. Knowledge management is valuable in preventing a loss of knowledge when an organisation outsources its information system activities. This chapter analyses and describes the knowledge requirements relevant in an IS outsourcing arrangement.

The Interplay between Human and Structure in IT Strategy

Information Technology (IT) has significant impact on organisation's success or failure. However, IT does not operate in a vacuum. It is influenced by non-technical factors, such as of human actions and structure, which are inseparable. Hence the relationship between the factors is critical as revealed in this chapter. Structuration was applied as a lens to examine the types of structures that existed during the development and implementation of IT strategy, and the structures that emerged as a result of human action in the organisation used as the case. The chapter presents that both human actions and structures depends on each other on all processes and activities that are involved in the development and implementation of the IT strategy. Drawing from the findings, the chapter develops a model to illustrate how cultural, policy and personal issues enable at the same time constrain activities in the development and implementation of IT strategy.

Towards A Contingency Model for Assessing Strategic Information Systems Planning Success in Medium Enterprises

Strategic planning of information systems is vital in the business environment and this is still an open issue in the management information systems research. Through planning, organisations develop effective long-term use of information systems and subsequently ensuring the support of organisational objectives. This chapter develops a contingency model for measuring the success of strategic information systems planning in the context of medium enterprises. The contingency theory, as an analytical lens, advocates that organisational success can be achieved by matching organisational characteristics to the contextual factors. Drawing from this notion, this chapter postulates that the strategic information systems planning process, as a phase, may lead to successful planning. This relationship is moderated by contingency variables characterised by the presence of environmental uncertainty, organisational structure, government and policies, business strategy orientation and information systems maturity. This chapter studies the moderating role of contingency variables and identifies the influential factors and their effect.