The expert system: constructing expertise in an IT/management consultancy

Despite widespread uncertainty, if not scepticism, about the precise nature of the expertise that consultants bring to bear in their client engagements, organisations continue to employ consultants in large numbers, especially in information technology-related projects. Drawing on a participant observation study of IT/management consultancy practice, this paper seeks to explore the different ways in which consultants are seen as experts in the light of the pressures of the consultancy market place. The ongoing construction of consultancy expertise through the interaction of consultants and their clients with an array of elements, including technical knowledge, skilled practice, individual and collective experience, and commercial interests is discussed. It is suggested that, rather than being a relatively-enduring property of individuals, based on their mastery of a body abstract knowledge or their skills at managing the perceptions of their clients, the precarious and multi-faceted character of their expertise means that consultants are continuously engaged in its active construction through their situated practice.     

Capabilities exchange through business interaction: An empirical investigation of a client–IT supplier relationship

This article focuses on the opportunities for capabilities exchange within a specific business-to-business context: the relationship between a client and an information technology (IT) supplier. Research on the features of this type of relationship, although fairly extensive, has focused on IT implementation issues, relationship between IT resources, organisation performance and competitive advantage, IT outsourcing relationships and definition of IT capabilities. However, our understanding of the context where IT capabilities are exchanged within consultancy projects and how this exchange emerges is rather limited. The paper aims to bridge this gap by adopting the Industrial Marketing and Purchasing (IMP) group's interaction approach as a tool for conducting an in-depth investigation of a case study to analyse the context, the parties and the interactions through which IT capabilities are exchanged. The research reveals that interpersonal relationships between users and consultants within consultancy projects are crucial to establish a long-lasting and stable relationship. As a result, during consultancy projects IT-related resources, in the form of IT physical infrastructures, human IT resources and IT intangible resources are exchanged and combined to create or enhance IT capabilities. Furthermore, we also claim that the success of such an exchange depends very much on the degree of social and interpersonal exchange.     

HR and IT capabilities and complementarities in knowledge-intensive services

The main premise of this article is that human resources (HR) and information technologies (IT) are central rather than support functions in knowledge-intensive services. By building management capabilities in both HR and IT, knowledge-intensive services can transform their business processes that, in turn, enable them to provide exemplary services to the customers. Our arguments are grounded in the three related theoretical frameworks of the resource-based view, organizational capabilities, and the theory of complementarities. We suggest that the research and practice in HR and IT fields may have to focus on HR and IT capabilities rather than HR practices or IT investments as the sources of sustainable competitive advantage since capabilities better fit the definition of a ‘resource’ than HR practices or IT investments. Further, organizational capabilities in both HR and IT may enable knowledge-intensive services to transcend the inherent tradeoff between cost and responsiveness. We also discuss the role of HR and IT in knowledge management.     

THE EFFECTS OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ON STRATEGIC DECISION MAKING

Information technology (IT) may be defined as computer-based technology for the storage, accessing, processing and communication of information. Many writers have suggested that the use of IT should improve strategic decisions and have developed a number of propositions about the effects of IT on strategic decision making. However, no study has yet addressed the specific effects of IT on major phases of this process. Using Mintzberg, Raisinghani and Theoret's (1976, ‘The structure of unstructured decision processes’, Administrative Science Quarterly, 21, 2, 246–75) strategic decision-making model, this study assessed the effects of IT on the major phases of the process through an intensive examination of eight decisions in four companies. the results of the study provide new information on the specific ways IT improves decision-making efficiency and effectiveness at each stage of the strategic decision process.     

ITIL管理标准在医院IT运维服务管理中的实践探讨

医院多种IT软件系统和网络设备的并存,使得IT运维管理变得越来越复杂、技术难度也越来越高,因而有效利用现有资源,提高运维工作效率,不断提高IT运维管理人员和技术人员的业务能力,正逐渐成为医院IT部门高效运行的关键因素。本文结合课题组正在进行的研究,导入ITIL标准进行医院IT运维服务管理实践应用,旨在打通IT部门和业务部门之间的结构性障碍,全面系统地实施IT运维服务管理,规范IT服务管理工作,提高IT管理工作的效率。     

STRATEGY AND ORGANIZATION THEORIES: COMMON FORMS OF DISCOURSE*

Attempts at developing a taxonomic classification scheme for knowledge in the area of strategy contain major shortcomings. With the aim of breaking through the limitations inherent in these classification efforts, this article rejects the idea that strategic discourse is autonomous, and proposes instead that organization theories be considered, since these allow for the development of discursive forms in the field of strategy. Four types of strategic discourse are identified; these are the classical, contingency, socio-political and socio-cognitive forms. the authors also stress the importance of developing a critical form of discourse in this area of study.     

Knowledge Stocks and Information Flows in New Product Development*

Although firms increasingly invest in systems (e.g. ISO, knowledge centres, IT systems) for utilizing stored knowledge and acquiring market information during new product development, few manage to benefit from these investments. To explore this issue, we suggest that firms rely on two distinct types of knowledge stocks– procedural and declarative memory – that affect new product short‐term financial performance and creativity in distinct ways. Additionally, we suggest that internal or external information flows can have distinct moderating impact on the memory types–product outcomes relationship. Our empirical study of product development activities indicates that there is an inverted U‐shaped relationship between procedural memory and product outcomes as well as a positive relationship between declarative memory and financial performance. Also procedural and declarative memory may work in a complementary fashion enhancing both outcomes. Finally, procedural memory is found to reduce the value of internal or external information flows for product creativity. These findings have important implications for the organizational knowledge, capabilities, and product development literatures as well as for practice and they open ways for future research.     

Internet professionals: job skills for an on-line age

The paper explores the increasing popularity of the Internet technology Singapore. It argues that the diffusion of Internet technology to South-East Asia would create new duties and responsibilities for human resource (HR) managers. One such duty is the identification of the skills which professional Internet staff would need to perform their work effectively in organizations. Using a triangulation research method, empirical study has identified the new professional Internet jobs which have emerged the IT industry in Singapore and the skills that professional Internet personnel require do their jobs effectively. Analysis of the findings indicates that professional Internet skills involve both technical and creative abilities and that, in explaining or defining professional Internet skills, it is necessary to use both the technical and the social conceptions of skill. This argument is based on the view that the creative skills include tacit skills so that a definition based solely on the technical conception of skill cannot capture the various dimensions of Internet skills. The implications of the research findings for human resource managers are raised.     

THE ORGANIZATIONAL CORRELATES AND CONSEQUENCES OF SUBCONTRACTING: EVIDENCE FROM A SURVEY OF SOUTH WALES BUSINESSES

Recent interest in the growth of subcontracting, as part of a broader trend towards greater ‘flexibility’in forms of employment relationship, has not as yet been matched by a full consideration of its organizational and managerial implications. In particular, the question of whether or not subcontracting has an impact upon, or is affected by, the organization's structural characteristics remains largely unexplored. the aim of this article is to report findings from a detailed study of subcontracting practices across a sample of British industry, which focuses upon the relationship between subcontracting and organizational characteristics. the results indicate several important points about the practice. Firstly, that there is wide variation in the use of subcontracting across industry, although the overall extent is limited. Secondly, that variation in the practice is significantly related to basic firm characteristics - namely, industrial sector, type of production system and pattern of ownership and control. Thirdly, that, on balance, subcontracting is associated with more, not less, structural complexity. Finally, that this greater complexity is found in particular types of firms - notably, outside the manufacturing sector, in mass and process production systems and amongst British independents and subsidiaries, rather than in their foreign competitors.     

Multi-level analysis in information systems research: the case of enterprise resource planning system usage in China

Information technology (IT) usage within organisations is a multi-level phenomenon that is influenced by individual-level and organisational-level variables. Yet, current theories, such as the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology, describe IT usage as solely an individual-level phenomenon. This article postulates a model of organisational IT usage that integrates salient organisational-level variables such as user training, top management support and technical support within an individual-level model to postulate a multi-level model of IT usage. The multi-level model was then empirically validated using multi-level data collected from 128 end users and 26 managers in 26 firms in China regarding their use of enterprise resource planning systems and analysed using the multi-level structural equation modelling (MSEM) technique. We demonstrate the utility of MSEM analysis of multi-level data relative to the more common structural equation modelling analysis of single-level data and show how single-level data can be aggregated to approximate multi-level analysis when multi-level data collection is not possible. We hope that this article will motivate future scholars to employ multi-level data and multi-level analysis for understanding organisational phenomena that are truly multi-level in nature.     

Mismatches in skills and attributes of immigrants and problems with workplace integration: a study of IT and engineering professionals in Australia

This article examines the mismatches between supply of skills and attributes of immigrants and the demands of employers that influence workplace integration of skilled immigrants in Australia. It argues that, despite being skilled, immigrants still cannot meet the requirements of employers in doing their jobs effectively. There are mismatches, which happen mainly in the aspects of English proficiency, qualification and culture. The study followed a qualitative research design taking skilled immigrants from IT and engineering professional backgrounds and their employers in Australia as the interviewees. The results confirm that the workplace integration of immigrants is not only affected by the inherent capacities of immigrants, but the mindset of employers and their perception towards immigrants' overall qualities also manipulate the process. The results are, however, indicative only, as the study is confined to IT and engineering professional groups, and does not report the experiences of other immigrants.     

IT战略规划--实现IT目标与企业目标的战略集成

伴随信息化的发展而出现的“IT黑洞”,使得IT治理成为当下企业的热门话题之一,而IT治理的核心环节是公司的IT目标是否与战略目标相一致。通过分析IT目标与企业目标的互动关系,进而提出实现二者战略集成的利器—IT战略规划,指出其对于有效地解决“IT黑洞”问题,以及推动我国企业信息化优势提升的探索与实践,都具有重大意义。同时就如何进行企业IT战略规划进行了论述,最后对IT战略规划作了进一步的思考。     

Making the cut: occupation-specific factors influencing employers in their recruitment and selection of immigrant professionals in the information technology and accounting occupations in regional Australia

The ongoing underutilisation of immigrant skills has become a topical issue for researchers and policy-makers alike. Within Australia, the majority of studies conducted in this space have adopted either the immigrant or policy-maker perspective, and have utilised human capital theory or labour market segmentation theory to explain the phenomenon. This paper contributes to the existing literature by proposing a novel occupation-specific approach focusing on the employer as a central player in determining labour market outcomes. In this exploratory study, interviews were conducted with 21 employers of accounting and IT employers in the regional city of Wollongong, Australia. The findings suggest that employers of accountants held a greater preference for Australian work experience and qualifications; communication skills beyond English language skills; and emphasised person–organisation fit over person–job fit. Conversely, employers of immigrant IT professionals were more tolerant of overseas-based qualifications and experience; were willing to accept candidates with ‘sub-standard’ communication skills; and were open to personal attribute variations. Immigrant accounting professionals were therefore more likely than their IT counterparts to experience disadvantage when seeking employment opportunities in Australia; a finding that represents important implications for immigrant professionals, policy-makers and employers.     

An Empirical Identification of Project Management Toolsets and a Comparison Among Project Types

This article presents the results of an empirical investigation of project management practice. Practice is investigated through the study of the extent of use of a large number of practices, tools, and techniques specific to project management. A sample of 2,339 practitioners participating in a large‐scale international survey is used for this article. The sample size and the diversity of contexts in which the respondents are working render the analysis feasible and the results reliable. The data is analyzed to identify patterns of practice. More specifically, using principal component analysis, the research identifies patterns that demonstrate that practitioners use project management tools and techniques in groups or “toolsets.” A brief attempt is made to compare results with A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (PMI, 2008 ) Knowledge Areas and Process Groups. The article also shows how practice varies with the management of different types of projects: engineering and construction; business and financial services; information technology (IT) and telecommunications; and software development projects. The identification of these variations has important consequences for practice and for the study of practice.     

No man is an island: Social and human capital in IT capacity building in the Maldives

In many developing countries, lack of IT skills and human capital impede the potential of IT investments in organizations in developing countries [Lee, J. (2001). Education for technology readiness: Prospects for developing countries. Journal of Human Development, 2(1), 115–151]. This paper draws upon theories of human and social capital, and knowledge, to explain enablers/obstacles for knowledge creation and transfer for IT capacity building in a tourism organization in a developing country – the Maldives. IT capacity building is intimately linked to knowledge and skills at the level of human resource development. Using the Nahapiet and Ghoshal (1998) [Nahapiet, J., & Ghoshal, S. (1998). Social capital, intellectual capital, and the organizational advantage. Academy of Management Review, 23, 242–267] framework for the role of social capital in knowledge creation and transfer, we examine the major issues of IT capacity building for the case organization. We conclude that the role of cognitive capital is the most important for the tourism sector of the Maldives, and may play a vital role in accumulating structural and relational capital, together with appropriate government policies on ICT.     

Acceptance of peer/upward performance appraisal systems: Role of work context factors and beliefs about managers' development capability

This article provides insight into acceptance of peer/upward feedback systems, and also furnishes some implications for HR practice when implementing these systems. Participants' beliefs that ratees can develop their skills following feedback were positively related to attitudes toward the appraisal system. Perceived context variables such as development resource availability, social support, and time demands were related to these development capability beliefs, and to attitudes. Importance of the appraisal dimensions moderated the influence of the development capability beliefs on attitudes, and also contributed to attitudes. Beliefs that raters had adequate opportunity to observe relevant behavior were also related to attitudes. © 1996 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

嵌入式智能家居系统实训平台设计

嵌入式技术是继IT网络技术之后,又一个新的信息技术发展方向。嵌入式技术发展潜力巨大,很多院校都开设嵌入式技术专业,但是由于专业门槛高,市场需求动手能力强的毕业生。所以,在嵌入式专业的课程中实践训练环节就必不可少。为此我们开发了一套智能家居系统实训平台来满足师生及有关工程技术人员嵌入式项目开发、嵌入式综合实训、嵌入式竞赛等。     

The mean residual of record values at the level of previous records

In the study of reliability of the technical systems, records model plays an important role. Suppose that a technical system is subject to shocks, e.g. peaks of voltages or stresses. The successive large shocks may be viewed as realizations of records from a sequence of identically independent voltages. Assume that the lower limit value of the mth record voltage (stress) is v > 0. Under these conditions, we propose a mean residual of records (MRR’s) for the future records. We study several properties of MRR. We show that the proposed MRR uniquely characterizes the distribution function that generated the sequence of records. It is proved that when the model under study has an increasing hazard rate the corresponding MRR is decreasing. We also compare between two record systems based on their MRR’s when these systems are ordered in terms of their hazard rates.     

BS7799标准及其在中观信息系统审计中的运用

在分析中观信息系统风险与损失的成因基础上,借鉴BS7799标准,一方面从物理层次与逻辑层次两个方面研究中观信息系统固有风险的评价模式;另一方面从一般控制与应用控制两个层面探索中观信息系统内部控制的评价机制。基于BS7799标准对中观信息系统审计进行研究,旨在为IT审计师有效实施中观信息系统审计提供应用指南。     

THE SINO-BRITISH JOINT DECLARATION, 1997, AND THE LAND MARKET OF HONG KONG*

In September, 1984, Britain and China concluded the Joint Declaration on the Future of Hong Kong. The Joint Declaration guarantees the continual practice of capitalism and a high degree of autonomy for Hong Kong for a period of 50 years after 1997. It helped to rebuild confidence and caused property prices to rise. However, Annex HI of the Joint Declaration places severe restraints on the present government, limiting its ability to respond to market trends and generate funds from land sales. This paper seeks to look at some of these effects. It is argued that there is very little room for the present government to maneouvre and that even now the constraints imposed by the Joint Declaration are affecting the land market in Hong Kong. Higher land prices, a slower rate of horizontal expansion of the city and a greater intensity of land use are likely consequences of the newly imposed contraints. The recent emphasis on inner city development and redevelopment vis-a-vis a new town development strategy is in part attributable to the Joint Declaration.