Review Questions
1. Which features of organizations do managers need to know about to build and use information systems successfully? What is the impact of information systems on organizations?
Define an organization and compare the technical definition of organizations with the behavioral definition.
Students can make use of Figures 3–2 and Figure 3–3 in answering this question.
The technical definition for an organization defines an organization as a stable, formal social structure that takes resources from the environment and processes them to produce outputs. This definition of an organization focuses on three elements: capital, labor, and production and products for consumption. The technical definition also implies that organizations are more stable than an informal group, are formal legal entities, and are social structures.
The behavioral definition states that an organization is a collection of rights, privileges, obligations, and responsibilities that are delicately balanced over a period of time through conflict and conflict resolution. This definition highlights the people within the organization, their ways of working, and their relationships.
The technical definition shows us how a firm combines capital, labor, and information technology. The behavioral definition examines how information technology impacts the inner workings of the organization.
Identify and describe the features of organizations that help explain differences in organizations’ use of information systems.
Common features for organizations include formal structure, standard operating procedures, politics, and culture. Organizations can differ in their organizational type, environment, goals, power, constituencies, function, leadership, tasks, technology, and business processes.
Describe the major economic theories that help explain how information systems affect organizations.
The two economic