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Information systems for government and business — trends, issues, challenges
Cornput., Environ. and Urban Systems. Vol. 12, pp. 133-135, Printed in the USA. All rights reserved.
1988
0198-9715/88 $3.00 + .OO Copyright 0 1988 Pergamon Press plc
REVIEWS
Information Systems for Government and Business - Trends, Issues, Challenges. Nagoya, Japan: United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD). 1988. 587 pages. Given a mission “to enhance the capabilities of the developing countries in localiregional development planning” (p. v), this volume represents the United Nations Centre for Regional Development’s latest contribution to an ongoing effort pertinent to information systems. This compendium of 25 papers by authors from 12 countries, based on papers presented at the July 1987 Second Kawasaki International Seminar on the Information Systems Challenge for Government and Business, presents a rich source of current information regarding the development and use of information systems in both the developed and developing nations. The papers run the spectrum, from broad philosophical treatises outlining theoretical functions of information systems, through strategic plans for effectively developing and implementing information systems, to descriptions of information system development and operation. A number of the papers deal with one of the main concerns of the Kawasaki seminar: concepts and experiences associated with the design and implementation of education and training needed for successful information system development and operation in developing countries. The five parts of Information Systems roughly correspond to five aspects of the topic, although many of the papers deal with more than one, and some with all, and thus the assignment of some papers to parts appears arbitrary. “Part I: The Challenge of Information Systems Today” lays out the basic theoretical capabilities of information systems for urban and regional planning with papers by Manheim, Klosterman, Kawakami, and Sundaram. “Part II: Comparative Case Studies of Information System Projects” presents examples from two international groups and projects in China, Thailand, Indonesia, the Netherlands, and Japan. Perhaps it also should have included papers presented later documenting experiences by the Singapore government and Japanese private corporations. “Part III: Training in Information Systems” contains four papers that document experiences and issues among several training programs. Included in this section is an excellent paper by Batty that presents a comprehensive overview of the role of information technology in urban and regional planning and the vital issues entailed in educating planners in the new skills required. “Part IV: Developing and Implementing Effective Information Systems Strategies” is a varied collection of papers giving attention to institutional factors and organizational issues. “Part V: The Advanced Information City” is an intriguing change of pace, presenting a stimulating image by Peter Droege “and team” regarding what a open high tech information oriented city of the future could be like. This volume ends with “Synthesis of Research Findings” containing Edralin’s appropriately entitled “Hopeful Beginnings: A Study of Information Systems Implementation in Developing Countries.” If one clear lesson emerges from this collection of papers it is that the great potential for information 133
134
Reviews
systems in developing countries is only just beginning to be realized and that progress in implementing information systems has just begun. This book will be of interest to a number of different audiences. A primary audience for the entire volume should be government officials, university students and academics interested in understanding information systems and their application to the developing world. Practitioners engaged in creating or using information anywhere in the world will probably find of interest several of the papers concerning experiences in the developed world. Papers detailing public sector experiences in the developed world include le Clercq’s review of information systems in Amsterdam, Kaji’s overview of an ambitious computerized information processing system for disaster management in Japan, and Hwa’s review of Singapore’s experience with information systems strategies for government experience. Information systems experts are likely to find many of the overview sections of papers to be too elementary; however, they may be enlightened by the tales regarding case study experiences in developing countries. Interesting case studies from the developing world include Moersidi’s review of the progress and problems in trying to utilize “Remote Sensing and Digital Processing for Regional Planning and Urban Monitoring in Indonesia,” Chanchareonsook’s discussion of the success with computerized land tax records and tax maps and the problems with attempting to develop land information systems in Bangkok, and Hong’s description of the limited bibliographic systems developed to date in China. These papers detailing experiences in the developing world are likely to provide some consolation and insight to practitioners struggling to implement information systems there. Although the title of the book includes the word “Business,” most of the volume deals with public sector issues that may be of limited interest to private business persons. However much of Marvin Manheim’s excellent introductory paper “Using Information Systems to Compete Successfully in Today’s World: A Challenge to Managers” is likely to be of interest to both private and public sector practitioners. Both groups are apt to appreciate his discussion of the use of information systems as a strategic weapon, his explanation of how effective technology change should be planned and managed as people change, his description of the systematic methods available to managers to use to develop an information systems strategy and implementation plan, and his outline of how an effective training program can support the information systems and telecommunications strategy of an organization. Many college and university students from the developing world may be pleased to find this volume relates to both the theoretical context and actual experiences entailed in trying to transplant computerized information system techniques to the developing world, techniques which have in many cases only recently been developed and oftentimes are still in the process of being first applied in the developed world! In this regard, the papers by Batty, Klosterman and Droege are particularly instructive to regional planning students seeking to gain an understanding of the role that computers and computerized information systems can play in public sector planning and management both now and in the decades to come. The volume’s strength is the fact that it presents a timely overview and comparison of potential and actual implementations of information systems in the developing and developed world. Its weaknesses stem mostly from its origins as an edited collection of papers from what was probably a fascinating conference where practitioners and educators from both the developed and developing world shared their aspirations and experiences.
Reviews
135
A number of dualistic themes emerge from this volume, with dynamic tension evident in the contrasts: (1) between theoretical possibilities and actual achievements; (2) between the states of progress in the developed and developing worlds; (3) between computerized and noncomputerized information systems; and (4) between utilization of information systems by private businesses and governments. The edited proceedings from such a conference in the hands of a strong editor could have reflected these creative tensions and with the addition of objective critiques or evaluations could have pointed the direction of the search for synthesis of ideas. Critical introductions to each part of the volume could have effectively tied together a cohesive whole, reducing some of the redundancy associated with too many articles having general overview sections. The lack of an index will impede this book’s function as a reference source, for several useful discussions show up in papers and sections whose title might not lead us to expect them. For example, Batty’s discussion of topics such as “the information society” (p. 3 18), “postindustrial culture” (p. 3 19), and “model of the planning task environment” (p. 324) might be missed by a browser who could be alerted to them by their presence in an index. With the capabilities of modern word processors, the lack of an index is a regrettable oversight. This volume represents not only a report on the “Hopeful Beginnings” that have been made towards implementing public sector information systems in developing countries but also a step towards its goal of encouraging planning practitioners and information system specialists “to pursue further the issues identified in efforts to develop and implement information systems projects. Additionally, the publication helps to meet a gap, in that currently there is scant material on comparative case studies and on training and research in information systems in the developing countries” (p. v). Hopefully this book will soon be in the library of every planning school, as well as of all persons interested in seeing that information systems be effectively implemented in the developing world. EARL G. BOSSARD
San Jose State University
1988
0198-9715/88 $3.00 + .OO Copyright 0 1988 Pergamon Press plc
REVIEWS
Information Systems for Government and Business - Trends, Issues, Challenges. Nagoya, Japan: United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD). 1988. 587 pages. Given a mission “to enhance the capabilities of the developing countries in localiregional development planning” (p. v), this volume represents the United Nations Centre for Regional Development’s latest contribution to an ongoing effort pertinent to information systems. This compendium of 25 papers by authors from 12 countries, based on papers presented at the July 1987 Second Kawasaki International Seminar on the Information Systems Challenge for Government and Business, presents a rich source of current information regarding the development and use of information systems in both the developed and developing nations. The papers run the spectrum, from broad philosophical treatises outlining theoretical functions of information systems, through strategic plans for effectively developing and implementing information systems, to descriptions of information system development and operation. A number of the papers deal with one of the main concerns of the Kawasaki seminar: concepts and experiences associated with the design and implementation of education and training needed for successful information system development and operation in developing countries. The five parts of Information Systems roughly correspond to five aspects of the topic, although many of the papers deal with more than one, and some with all, and thus the assignment of some papers to parts appears arbitrary. “Part I: The Challenge of Information Systems Today” lays out the basic theoretical capabilities of information systems for urban and regional planning with papers by Manheim, Klosterman, Kawakami, and Sundaram. “Part II: Comparative Case Studies of Information System Projects” presents examples from two international groups and projects in China, Thailand, Indonesia, the Netherlands, and Japan. Perhaps it also should have included papers presented later documenting experiences by the Singapore government and Japanese private corporations. “Part III: Training in Information Systems” contains four papers that document experiences and issues among several training programs. Included in this section is an excellent paper by Batty that presents a comprehensive overview of the role of information technology in urban and regional planning and the vital issues entailed in educating planners in the new skills required. “Part IV: Developing and Implementing Effective Information Systems Strategies” is a varied collection of papers giving attention to institutional factors and organizational issues. “Part V: The Advanced Information City” is an intriguing change of pace, presenting a stimulating image by Peter Droege “and team” regarding what a open high tech information oriented city of the future could be like. This volume ends with “Synthesis of Research Findings” containing Edralin’s appropriately entitled “Hopeful Beginnings: A Study of Information Systems Implementation in Developing Countries.” If one clear lesson emerges from this collection of papers it is that the great potential for information 133
134
Reviews
systems in developing countries is only just beginning to be realized and that progress in implementing information systems has just begun. This book will be of interest to a number of different audiences. A primary audience for the entire volume should be government officials, university students and academics interested in understanding information systems and their application to the developing world. Practitioners engaged in creating or using information anywhere in the world will probably find of interest several of the papers concerning experiences in the developed world. Papers detailing public sector experiences in the developed world include le Clercq’s review of information systems in Amsterdam, Kaji’s overview of an ambitious computerized information processing system for disaster management in Japan, and Hwa’s review of Singapore’s experience with information systems strategies for government experience. Information systems experts are likely to find many of the overview sections of papers to be too elementary; however, they may be enlightened by the tales regarding case study experiences in developing countries. Interesting case studies from the developing world include Moersidi’s review of the progress and problems in trying to utilize “Remote Sensing and Digital Processing for Regional Planning and Urban Monitoring in Indonesia,” Chanchareonsook’s discussion of the success with computerized land tax records and tax maps and the problems with attempting to develop land information systems in Bangkok, and Hong’s description of the limited bibliographic systems developed to date in China. These papers detailing experiences in the developing world are likely to provide some consolation and insight to practitioners struggling to implement information systems there. Although the title of the book includes the word “Business,” most of the volume deals with public sector issues that may be of limited interest to private business persons. However much of Marvin Manheim’s excellent introductory paper “Using Information Systems to Compete Successfully in Today’s World: A Challenge to Managers” is likely to be of interest to both private and public sector practitioners. Both groups are apt to appreciate his discussion of the use of information systems as a strategic weapon, his explanation of how effective technology change should be planned and managed as people change, his description of the systematic methods available to managers to use to develop an information systems strategy and implementation plan, and his outline of how an effective training program can support the information systems and telecommunications strategy of an organization. Many college and university students from the developing world may be pleased to find this volume relates to both the theoretical context and actual experiences entailed in trying to transplant computerized information system techniques to the developing world, techniques which have in many cases only recently been developed and oftentimes are still in the process of being first applied in the developed world! In this regard, the papers by Batty, Klosterman and Droege are particularly instructive to regional planning students seeking to gain an understanding of the role that computers and computerized information systems can play in public sector planning and management both now and in the decades to come. The volume’s strength is the fact that it presents a timely overview and comparison of potential and actual implementations of information systems in the developing and developed world. Its weaknesses stem mostly from its origins as an edited collection of papers from what was probably a fascinating conference where practitioners and educators from both the developed and developing world shared their aspirations and experiences.
Reviews
135
A number of dualistic themes emerge from this volume, with dynamic tension evident in the contrasts: (1) between theoretical possibilities and actual achievements; (2) between the states of progress in the developed and developing worlds; (3) between computerized and noncomputerized information systems; and (4) between utilization of information systems by private businesses and governments. The edited proceedings from such a conference in the hands of a strong editor could have reflected these creative tensions and with the addition of objective critiques or evaluations could have pointed the direction of the search for synthesis of ideas. Critical introductions to each part of the volume could have effectively tied together a cohesive whole, reducing some of the redundancy associated with too many articles having general overview sections. The lack of an index will impede this book’s function as a reference source, for several useful discussions show up in papers and sections whose title might not lead us to expect them. For example, Batty’s discussion of topics such as “the information society” (p. 3 18), “postindustrial culture” (p. 3 19), and “model of the planning task environment” (p. 324) might be missed by a browser who could be alerted to them by their presence in an index. With the capabilities of modern word processors, the lack of an index is a regrettable oversight. This volume represents not only a report on the “Hopeful Beginnings” that have been made towards implementing public sector information systems in developing countries but also a step towards its goal of encouraging planning practitioners and information system specialists “to pursue further the issues identified in efforts to develop and implement information systems projects. Additionally, the publication helps to meet a gap, in that currently there is scant material on comparative case studies and on training and research in information systems in the developing countries” (p. v). Hopefully this book will soon be in the library of every planning school, as well as of all persons interested in seeing that information systems be effectively implemented in the developing world. EARL G. BOSSARD
San Jose State University