THE USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FROM A

COMPLEX SYSTEMS PERSPECTIVE

Jesús Marcelo Ramírez AriasPrograma de Posgrado en Ingeniería

Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

Jaime JiménezInstituto de Investigaciones en Matemáticas Aplicadas y Sistemas

Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico

June 23rd 2008

Content

► Introduction► SMEs as CAS► Method► Results► Discussion► Conclusions

Introduction

► IT use in the world

Source: Survey to IT executives, The Business Performance Management

Institute (Wood 2006, p:2)

Are in need of help40%

Having significant difficulties

27%

Can’t keep up at all9%

Not reported13%

No problems with IT use11%

Introduction

► IT projects in the word

Source: Standish Group (Chaos Report) (Rubinstein 2007, p:1)

Success35%

Failure65%

Introduction

► México and the use of IT

Source: Visión México 2020 (AMITI, CANIETI, FMD 2006, p:76)

Not stated31%

Invested in IT and wil do it again

26%

Invested in IT and won t do it again

43%

Introduction

► ¿What is IT?

SoftwareTele

communications

Hardware

Information TechnologiesIT

Source: Chaffey y Wood 2005, p:42

SMEs as CAS

► IT projects developed in organizations are, in most of the cases, related to the implementation of information systems.

► The problem is the sorted data provision, which has to be reliable and according to the always changing activities performed by the organization and/or its members.

SMEs as CAS

► If the information managed is always changing, it results paradoxical that the design, implementation, and use of IT in organizations (in particular information systems) are practices widely founded in notions of rationality and method.

► The organizational context is a critical success factor when we try to get the advantages related to IT implementation.

SMEs as CAS

► If information provision in the organization produces a disadvantageous change, it will try to adapt to this change, in order to get back its earlier status.

► Fuller and Morán (2001), suggest that the enterprise can be understood as existing in different layers, possibly unconnected and with different meaning and characteristics.

SMEs as CAS

► Posited ontological layers in the small firm domain

SMEs as CAS

► Carlisle and McMillan (2006), place organizations along a spectrum, ranging from random, unorganized and highly chaotic to highly ordered and mechanistic.

► In the middle lies the complex adaptive system behaviors.

Las PyME como SAC

► Types of system and degrees of order and stability

Method

► Information gathering

– Two levels of analysis were performed, organization's mechanics and dynamics.

• Mechanics analysis, allows to know were the organization is going to and which are the available resources (human and material).

• Dynamics analysis, studies the way people interact and the means or tools utilized to develop their functions.

Method

► Diagnosis

– The diagnosis was applied to a SME performing work supervision and control in construction and remodelling projects for banks and stores.

– 15 members of the staff were interviewed.

– Interviews were oriented to discover the information requirements of each one of the members in the organization.

Method

► Constraints.

– Low knowledge level about work processes and procedures.

– The organization members were not able to establish a solid relationship between the results generated and their information needs.

Results

► Original organizational structure.

General Director

General Coordinator

Work Coordinator

Work Supervisor

Assistant

Project Manager

Work Supervisor

Work Supervisor

Organization

Project

Project Director

Work Supervisor

Results

► New organizational structure

General Director

Executive Director

OperationsFinance and Accounting

Planning and Systems

Project Manager

Technical Coordinator

Administrative Coordinator

Assistant

Project Manager

Technical Coordinator

Administrative Coordinator

Organization

Project

Results

► Environment and Projects Information Management Process.

Projects Software

Administrative Software

Operations

Finance and Accounting

Planning and Systems

Information

Information

Information

Discussion

► This work hypothesis is: an SME can be understood as a CAS in order to perform a better selection of IT.

► The survival of SMEs is similar to CAS. It is not certain, but in rapidly changing environments it will try to increase its chances by seeking to operate primarily at ‘the edge of chaos’.

Conclusions

► There is evidence that SMEs can be classified as loosely coupled systems.

► In organizations the actors are complex, teleological and if the environment is appropriate they become autonomous. This is why IT implementation in organizations and specially SMEs has high failure probability.

Conclusions

► The loosely coupling and ‘the edge of chaos’ operation must not be understood as synonym of low performance or informal organizations.

► It is necessary to focus the initial diagnosis in discovering the relationship between the organization members rather than in its goals and objectives. This will conduce to the definition of the “instability – stability” position.

THE USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FROM A

COMPLEX SYSTEMS PERSPECTIVE

Jesús Marcelo Ramírez Ariasjmramireza@applicar.com

www.applicar.com

Jaime Jiménezjjimen@servidor.unam.mx

www.iimas.unam.mx