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Teams, markets and systems: business innovation and information technology
international
Journal of Information
Management
(1994). 14 (7576)
Book Reviews Jennifer Rowley. Computer-s for libraries (3rd edition). Library Association Publishing, 1993. 336 pp. ISBN 1 85604 013 5. f3.5.00. This is the third edition of a book first published in 1980, under the Bingley imprint. According to the author, this new edition represents ‘a significant review of the earlier edition’, in two ways. First it, reflects the increasing importance of networking and resource sharing, and ‘access-based policies’ in general. Second, it is intended as much more of an introductory student text than were previous editions, which aimed to serve both the student and ‘the non-computer expert professional’. Rowley considers that there can be few library and information professionals who have survived the years since the first edition without contact with computer systems. While this is clearly true, I am not convinced by its implication, that the profession, not even the presumably more technologically literate information management section, is now sufficiently computer literate that a book of this sort is of no value to the practitioner. Flattering, no doubt, to professional egos, but perhaps bad marketing. Eschewing an in-depth coverage of any topic, the book seeks to identify key issues, and to offer a structure which forms a basis for further study, also claiming a practical, how to get started, approach, claimed to appeal to the ‘young professional’ (librarian presumably). The book, like Caesar’s Gaul, is divided into three parts. The first, introduction to information technology, has chapters on computers, systems (which here means telecommunications systems), information structure and software, databases, and managing information systems (which actually deals with systems analysis and design, rather than management). The second part, dealing with information retrieval, covers basics, online hosts, optical discs, text man-
026&4012/94/01
007502
agement systems, and ‘other topics’ (largely dealing with printed indexes and videotex). The final part, library management systems, has only four, rather short, chapters, dealing with basics, functions an overview of the market, and library networks. Overall, the book is clearly, if tersely, written. There are useful checklists, in evaluating online hosts, choosing a network, etc., although strangely nothing on choosing a computer; surely not everyone is denied choice by corporate purchasing policies. The index is reasonable, there is a useful, if already dated, list of acronyms, and the chapters are well-referenced. Coverage, inevitably, is rather thin in most areas, but a reasonable balance is struck between what is covered. Some topics seem to be covered in rather too superficial a way for a tertiary level course; programming, for instance, is dealt with by a consideration of the various generations of languages, without the fundamental distinction between imperative and declarative programming being mentioned. Although evaluation of systems and services is discussed in several places, nowhere is any systematic framework for evaluation presented, again a rather fundamental failing. Given the emphasis on networking in the introduction, it is surprising to find no index entry for the Internet. Such criticisms are easy to make, and rather unfair; the book sets out to cover a very wide area at an introductory level, and succeeds on the whole. The lack of rigour, and of coverage of some important recent developments, are of some concern, however, in what is intended as a student text. Rather more serious, in considering its potential value to an information management audience, is its inexorable ‘library’ emphasis. This is, of course, clearly intentional, but it is to my mind unfortunate that what could have been a useful ‘IT for information services/management’ overview is thereby ghettoized. So who, if anyone, is going to find
0 1994 Butterworth-Heinemann
Ltd
this book useful? It is certainly a vahable source book for students, given its wide coverage, and good selection of literature references, but I rather wonder just how much use it will actually get. There are so many useful texts on IT and computing available, that the market for this book must inevitably be limited to LIS courses. Even here, I wonder if the library orientation will add sufficient userfriendliness for this book to be a main text. I would certainly regard it as more appropriate for background reading, and would recommend it as such. On the other hand, this would be in many ways an excellent text for short courses for practitioners wishing to update their knowledge, although it is a shame that its title will restrict its appeal so narrowly; is it really still wise to divorce the IT concerns of librarians from those of the wider information world? I am sufficiently cynical to doubt that there are many of us who would not learn something interesting, or gain a new perspective, from perusing this book. If the publishers market it purely as a student text, they are doing themselves, and potential readers, a disservice. David Bawden City University, London, UK
CU. Ciborra. Teams, markets and systems: business innovation and information technology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993. ISBN 0 52140463 0. E30.00. Claudio Ciborra of the University of Bologna has an international reputation in the field of the impact of technology on organizations and this book is a distillation of several years’ research and thinking on the impact of information technology and on the implications for the design of systems. The book is divided into three sec-
75
Book reviews
tions: foundations, covering cognitive models of man and organizations, teams, and support systems; design, covering the ‘transaction-cost’ model of information systems; and applications, covering the application of the ideas in the bonds market, an airline and public administration. The cognitive models of man, organization and information are at the root of Ciborra’s work and, as such, will be recognized by many in the field of information science who have adopted such models in exploring information behaviour. The model explored by Ciborra is that of strategic rationality and opportunistic information which assumes that full cooperation is not present in an organization (a reasonable assumption!) and that, as a consequence, individuals will use information opportunistically, ‘to create and maintain monopoly power, or “first mover” advantage in their mutual dealings’. This model, the author suggests, is appropriate to the study of the socialization effects of computer network technologies, that is, the enlargement of the scope and depth of teamwork through the provision of reciprocal exchange possibilities. The transaction cost approach to systems design examines the basic organizational processes of coordination and control in terms of bargaining. Transactions are the focus for information exchanges and all transactions have associated costs, which are often related to the kinds of information needed at different stages of the transaction process. For example, there are search costs associated with setting up the exchange (obtaining prices, bargaining for discounts, etc.); contracting costs relating to determining terms of trade; control costs (quality control, feedback rates, etc.); and maintenance costs (effective historical etc.). Under this data systems, approach, Ciborra defines the information system of a business as: of information . . the networks flows that are needed to create, set up, control and maintain the organisation’s constituent contracts’. These ideas are applied in examin-
76
ing, in the third part of the book, a number of applications of information technology in organizations. First, the development of Quotron, a system for transactions involving fixed income bonds, is shown to ‘render the market for transparent and efficient’ by making dealers’ prices available on-line to all players and by allowing the participation in the market of small investors. The system reduces transaction costs through increasing the volume of transactions and by leading to a decrease in prices through increased competition. The proposed airline system relates to the bidding process whereby pilots bid for flights and training periods with the airline, with the company retaining the right to assign pilots for uncovered flights. A group-ware product is proposed for this system, viewing the pilots as a ‘team of teams’ with the system providing an electronic bidding system, e-mail links, and bulletin boards, thereby allowing faster bids, direct communication among pilots by e-mail (providing for bargaining over bids), and a bulletin board for general discussion among pilots. Finally, the book explores the application of the ideas in the development of computer systems for public administration - an area that involves the further contextual issue of political exchanges. No specific system is examined here, but the discussion of such matters as the nature of the state and alternative models of the computerization process is instructive and stimulating. In short, this is an important book: it steps back from the technologydriven approach to information system development and shows the real world of organizations for what it is, a complex interweaving of systems, structures, and the negotiations and conflicts of interested parties. However, its strength lies in the methodology it develops for applying a strategy to take account of these issues in the design of systems. Highly recommended. Professor University
Tom
P.A. Tom. Managing resource.
information
as a corporate
New
York: Harper-Collins, 1991. ISBN 0 673 46372 9.
I criticized the first edition of this work for having a misleading title and misleading titles are endemic in this area. The book is actually about the management of information technology resources, as chapter titles such as Systems Development, Computer Operations Management, Information and Systems Security, the Integration and Management of Microcomputers, and Management Control of Information Processing, make clear. There is no detailed treatment of management information needs only a cursory glance at the Critical Success Factors technique - and no examination of the nature of information resources, the internal files and record systems, the structure of transaction records, the character of external information needed for planning and strategic control, and no discussion of the relevance of external online financial, business, and news information resources. However, this is a major revision and expansion of the original book (published in 1987), from 322 pages to 464, with a new chapter on Communications Planning, a revised chapter on Microcomputers, and a Glossary. The case studies have also been revised, with some new ones, and these provide a useful way of pointing up the lessons of the individual chapters. The reader will not learn a great deal about information resources, but the discussion of technology issues is sound, and as a basic text-book, the work has a place. Professor University
Tom
Wilson
of Sheffield,
UK
Wilson
of Sheffield,
UK
International Journal of Information Management
February 1994
Journal of Information
Management
(1994). 14 (7576)
Book Reviews Jennifer Rowley. Computer-s for libraries (3rd edition). Library Association Publishing, 1993. 336 pp. ISBN 1 85604 013 5. f3.5.00. This is the third edition of a book first published in 1980, under the Bingley imprint. According to the author, this new edition represents ‘a significant review of the earlier edition’, in two ways. First it, reflects the increasing importance of networking and resource sharing, and ‘access-based policies’ in general. Second, it is intended as much more of an introductory student text than were previous editions, which aimed to serve both the student and ‘the non-computer expert professional’. Rowley considers that there can be few library and information professionals who have survived the years since the first edition without contact with computer systems. While this is clearly true, I am not convinced by its implication, that the profession, not even the presumably more technologically literate information management section, is now sufficiently computer literate that a book of this sort is of no value to the practitioner. Flattering, no doubt, to professional egos, but perhaps bad marketing. Eschewing an in-depth coverage of any topic, the book seeks to identify key issues, and to offer a structure which forms a basis for further study, also claiming a practical, how to get started, approach, claimed to appeal to the ‘young professional’ (librarian presumably). The book, like Caesar’s Gaul, is divided into three parts. The first, introduction to information technology, has chapters on computers, systems (which here means telecommunications systems), information structure and software, databases, and managing information systems (which actually deals with systems analysis and design, rather than management). The second part, dealing with information retrieval, covers basics, online hosts, optical discs, text man-
026&4012/94/01
007502
agement systems, and ‘other topics’ (largely dealing with printed indexes and videotex). The final part, library management systems, has only four, rather short, chapters, dealing with basics, functions an overview of the market, and library networks. Overall, the book is clearly, if tersely, written. There are useful checklists, in evaluating online hosts, choosing a network, etc., although strangely nothing on choosing a computer; surely not everyone is denied choice by corporate purchasing policies. The index is reasonable, there is a useful, if already dated, list of acronyms, and the chapters are well-referenced. Coverage, inevitably, is rather thin in most areas, but a reasonable balance is struck between what is covered. Some topics seem to be covered in rather too superficial a way for a tertiary level course; programming, for instance, is dealt with by a consideration of the various generations of languages, without the fundamental distinction between imperative and declarative programming being mentioned. Although evaluation of systems and services is discussed in several places, nowhere is any systematic framework for evaluation presented, again a rather fundamental failing. Given the emphasis on networking in the introduction, it is surprising to find no index entry for the Internet. Such criticisms are easy to make, and rather unfair; the book sets out to cover a very wide area at an introductory level, and succeeds on the whole. The lack of rigour, and of coverage of some important recent developments, are of some concern, however, in what is intended as a student text. Rather more serious, in considering its potential value to an information management audience, is its inexorable ‘library’ emphasis. This is, of course, clearly intentional, but it is to my mind unfortunate that what could have been a useful ‘IT for information services/management’ overview is thereby ghettoized. So who, if anyone, is going to find
0 1994 Butterworth-Heinemann
Ltd
this book useful? It is certainly a vahable source book for students, given its wide coverage, and good selection of literature references, but I rather wonder just how much use it will actually get. There are so many useful texts on IT and computing available, that the market for this book must inevitably be limited to LIS courses. Even here, I wonder if the library orientation will add sufficient userfriendliness for this book to be a main text. I would certainly regard it as more appropriate for background reading, and would recommend it as such. On the other hand, this would be in many ways an excellent text for short courses for practitioners wishing to update their knowledge, although it is a shame that its title will restrict its appeal so narrowly; is it really still wise to divorce the IT concerns of librarians from those of the wider information world? I am sufficiently cynical to doubt that there are many of us who would not learn something interesting, or gain a new perspective, from perusing this book. If the publishers market it purely as a student text, they are doing themselves, and potential readers, a disservice. David Bawden City University, London, UK
CU. Ciborra. Teams, markets and systems: business innovation and information technology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993. ISBN 0 52140463 0. E30.00. Claudio Ciborra of the University of Bologna has an international reputation in the field of the impact of technology on organizations and this book is a distillation of several years’ research and thinking on the impact of information technology and on the implications for the design of systems. The book is divided into three sec-
75
Book reviews
tions: foundations, covering cognitive models of man and organizations, teams, and support systems; design, covering the ‘transaction-cost’ model of information systems; and applications, covering the application of the ideas in the bonds market, an airline and public administration. The cognitive models of man, organization and information are at the root of Ciborra’s work and, as such, will be recognized by many in the field of information science who have adopted such models in exploring information behaviour. The model explored by Ciborra is that of strategic rationality and opportunistic information which assumes that full cooperation is not present in an organization (a reasonable assumption!) and that, as a consequence, individuals will use information opportunistically, ‘to create and maintain monopoly power, or “first mover” advantage in their mutual dealings’. This model, the author suggests, is appropriate to the study of the socialization effects of computer network technologies, that is, the enlargement of the scope and depth of teamwork through the provision of reciprocal exchange possibilities. The transaction cost approach to systems design examines the basic organizational processes of coordination and control in terms of bargaining. Transactions are the focus for information exchanges and all transactions have associated costs, which are often related to the kinds of information needed at different stages of the transaction process. For example, there are search costs associated with setting up the exchange (obtaining prices, bargaining for discounts, etc.); contracting costs relating to determining terms of trade; control costs (quality control, feedback rates, etc.); and maintenance costs (effective historical etc.). Under this data systems, approach, Ciborra defines the information system of a business as: of information . . the networks flows that are needed to create, set up, control and maintain the organisation’s constituent contracts’. These ideas are applied in examin-
76
ing, in the third part of the book, a number of applications of information technology in organizations. First, the development of Quotron, a system for transactions involving fixed income bonds, is shown to ‘render the market for transparent and efficient’ by making dealers’ prices available on-line to all players and by allowing the participation in the market of small investors. The system reduces transaction costs through increasing the volume of transactions and by leading to a decrease in prices through increased competition. The proposed airline system relates to the bidding process whereby pilots bid for flights and training periods with the airline, with the company retaining the right to assign pilots for uncovered flights. A group-ware product is proposed for this system, viewing the pilots as a ‘team of teams’ with the system providing an electronic bidding system, e-mail links, and bulletin boards, thereby allowing faster bids, direct communication among pilots by e-mail (providing for bargaining over bids), and a bulletin board for general discussion among pilots. Finally, the book explores the application of the ideas in the development of computer systems for public administration - an area that involves the further contextual issue of political exchanges. No specific system is examined here, but the discussion of such matters as the nature of the state and alternative models of the computerization process is instructive and stimulating. In short, this is an important book: it steps back from the technologydriven approach to information system development and shows the real world of organizations for what it is, a complex interweaving of systems, structures, and the negotiations and conflicts of interested parties. However, its strength lies in the methodology it develops for applying a strategy to take account of these issues in the design of systems. Highly recommended. Professor University
Tom
P.A. Tom. Managing resource.
information
as a corporate
New
York: Harper-Collins, 1991. ISBN 0 673 46372 9.
I criticized the first edition of this work for having a misleading title and misleading titles are endemic in this area. The book is actually about the management of information technology resources, as chapter titles such as Systems Development, Computer Operations Management, Information and Systems Security, the Integration and Management of Microcomputers, and Management Control of Information Processing, make clear. There is no detailed treatment of management information needs only a cursory glance at the Critical Success Factors technique - and no examination of the nature of information resources, the internal files and record systems, the structure of transaction records, the character of external information needed for planning and strategic control, and no discussion of the relevance of external online financial, business, and news information resources. However, this is a major revision and expansion of the original book (published in 1987), from 322 pages to 464, with a new chapter on Communications Planning, a revised chapter on Microcomputers, and a Glossary. The case studies have also been revised, with some new ones, and these provide a useful way of pointing up the lessons of the individual chapters. The reader will not learn a great deal about information resources, but the discussion of technology issues is sound, and as a basic text-book, the work has a place. Professor University
Tom
Wilson
of Sheffield,
UK
Wilson
of Sheffield,
UK
International Journal of Information Management
February 1994