It would be nice if we could have a precise checklist of how to establish an e-commerce organization design plan, but we can’t. No one can. This chapter provides information that can be used to help plan and analyze organization changes for e-commerce and other areas.
The triangle is back…..Hardware, Software, and Persware. All three elements will pose their own unique challenges to managers. Successfully reorganizing the company relies on more than just bringing in new equipment and new programs. Understanding and incorporating the social and political climate in any plan is one of the most important aspects.
Too many companies buy the hardware they think is necessary for a new or improved information system. Then they purchase some software to go along with the new hardware. Now they realize their hardware is inadequate for the new software, so they buy more hardware. The vicious cycle continues.
The problem is that too many companies don’t have a plan for integrating new hardware and software purchased into their overall business plan, let alone meshing them with the persware side of the triangle. The information plan should support the overall business plan and not conflict with it. The plan must include all levels of the organization, including the strategic and executive levels.
Business Systems Planning (BSP), uses the “big picture” approach. You look at the overall organization and figure out how each unit, each function, all the processes, and each data element fits in; like a jigsaw puzzle. The biggest drawback to BSP is that it only asks questions about current processes and current uses of information; this is not enough for integrating e-commerce and new technologies.
Change is hard on people and organizations. But it’s one of those necessary evils that keep companies in the lead or helps destroy them. The most common forms of organizational change are automation and rationalization. These relatively slow-moving and slow-changing strategies present modest returns with little risk. Reengineering and paradigm shifts are faster and more comprehensive changes that carry high rewards with substantial chances of failure.
Systems development includes every resource and every step that goes into producing an information system that solves problems or helps organizations take advantage of new opportunities. Structured and Object-Oriented Methodologies are two designing systems that can be used in planning the systems.
Supply and demand…..the supply of technical specialist is not enough to support the demand for new systems, or maintenance of the old ones. Something has to fill the gap; this is why we see so many new and advanced methods on the market.
New methods of developing systems are continually being introduced. These new technologies: rapid application development, joint application development, component-based development, and Web services are reducing the time, effort and cost for businesses and organizations of supplying employees, customers and suppliers with the information they need.
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