Abstract
It has been of some concern that Systems thinking has been limited in its contribution to the growing debates on evaluation of and strategy in Information Systems. The strategy debates have been dominated by economics based frameworks or social theory. So far each have differing limitations for analysis, and for the construction or realisation of practical policy initiatives to achieve organisation development. This paper explores those limitations, and argues that construction of policy initiatives involving change can only be derived by the investigation and changes in the weltanshaungen (w) of the subjects and researcher.
This ‘foundation of knowledge’ construction, consistent with hermeneutic traditions, has been central to soft systems. However, this notion has not been applied with specific reference to the i. Strategic Information Systems (IS) policy change by referring to changes in the ‘w’s’ of stakeholders, with the ultimate objective of development or innovation; or to ii. the constraints on action in everyday affairs, reflected in the ‘w’s’ and actions of the subjects. This notion has been of some importance to the field of Organisation Development for some time, which (in part) explores the psychodynamics of the various ‘w’s’. By focusing on the ‘w’s’ with specific reference to these two points, linkage can then be made to the issues of change, and more specifically the evaluation and process of that change. The paper applies these principles specifically to Information Systems change, and by doing so argues that it provides a linkage between systems analysis and strategic initiatives. The paper argues this point, and then gives a short synopsis of a case where the ideas were put to practical application.
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Kawalek, J.P. (1999). Seeking Alignment of Organisation Development in Information Systems Research. In: Wood-Harper, T., Jayaratna, N., Wood, B. (eds) Methodologies for Developing and Managing Emerging Technology Based Information Systems. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-3629-3_26
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-3629-3_26
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