“Rolling out E-File”
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Socio Technical Theory has an undeniable impact on corporations and businesses. This ideal is a tool that facilitates a smooth change process in technology implementation or a chaotic one. This case study proved the importance of this tool and validated the positive turnaround if it’s utilized properly. It also allowed one corporation’s turn around by balancing the social system and the technical system while introducing a new technology.
Socio Technical Theory is an intellectual model that helps us recognize patterns in the way technology is used. How well businesses can utilize this model can make or break the success or failure of an organization as they change the way they do business or introduce new technology to their workforce. The worker’s compensation board (WCB) of British Colombia, Canada were faced with a productivity issue due to using long standing paper based work processes and turned to STT to help them introduce an electronic document management system (E-file) to their business. The WCB used this theory brilliantly to introduce their electronic filing claim system. Along with several other variables, they considered primarily the financial gain the company would receive by streamlining the claims process, the pros and cons of the implementation phase and how to take care of their employees from beginning until the end of the rollout process. They shaped the final outcome of the new process implementation by emphasizing the technical system but also putting almost equal importance on the social system in all areas except financial gain.
In regards to the financial savings the company could attain, the WBC’s outcome was shaped primarily by the technical system. Initially, customer service was slow via telephone due to the resources they used to get “quick” information to customers. Running to a cabinet to surf though piles of paper
References: Painter, B. (2004). Socio-Technical Design of Knowledge Work: A Case Study Scacchi, W. (2003). Socio-Technical-Design.pdf. Institute for Software Research, Univ. of Wisconsin Charette, R. (2010, June 7). “Outstanding Success” or nightmare payroll system: Lawsuit will decide. Risk Factor. IEEE Spectrum. Retrieved from http://spectrum.ieee.org/riskfactor/computing/it/outstanding-success-or-nightmare-payroll-system-lawsuit-may-decide Association of Information Systems. (n.d.) Socio-technical theory. Retrieved fromhttp://www.fsc.yorku.ca/york/istheory/wiki/index.php/Socio-technical_theory ComputingCases.org. (2011). Why a Socio-Technical system? Retrieved fromhttp://computingcases.org/general_tools/sia/socio_tech_system.htm