Implementing microcomputers in local government: a case study of a loosely structured approach
Authors: John F. Sacco
Venue: Proceedings of the 1994 computer personnel research conference on Reinventing IS : managing information technology in changing organizations: managing information technology in changing organizations (1994)

Microcomputers and microcomputer technology offer ample opportunity for improving the productivity, decision making, and work quality of government. However, if they are not adequately implemented, the opportunities are lost and resources wasted. One purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of a loosely structured implementation approach on various criteria of microcomputer success, including redundancy, opportunism, decision quality, and work quality. Another purpose is to determine whether the loosely structured approach is just a stage in a development toward a more structured strategy, or alternatively, whether the loosely structured technique is an enduring, workable method of implementation. Loosely structured connotes an approach that has both openness and rules, but favors individual choice over formal organizational rules and structure. The loosely structured approach is important to probe because it may be a default choice. It may be used because of lack of knowledge about traditional, formal methods of computer implementation. It may also be a forced, cost containment choice that relies mostly on endusers, supplemented by some professional systems analysis assistance. The research to investigate these issues is a longitudinal case study of a budget office in a large local government that started with a loosely structured style. The period covered included the years 1985 to 1992 with interviews taking place in 1988, 1990 and 1992. Theoretical premises were drawn from organizational work on loosely coupled systems and evolutionary models of implementing information technology. The findings show that the loosely structured approach initially encouraged and bred opportunism, that is, innovative and useful application of microcomputers by a few, but low or routine use by many. The loosely structured approach gradually gave some ground to a more traditional systems strategy. This entailed assistance from professional information management specialists on more complex connectivity applications and development tasks, as well as planned systems analysis by the budget staff itself. These efforts yielded better data exchanges plus office wide network applications. However, a linear evolution from loosely structured to planned control did not occur, rather, the two intermingled and existed side by side. Overall, the loosely structured approach benefitted the work of the office, but its functionality also derived from the highly professional nature of the staff and the influx of new staff with greater computer knowledge. Continued work is needed to compare different implementation approaches and different work environments in order to advance the implementation of microcomputers and the associated technology, especially as the microcomputer positions itself to become an integral part of organizational information technology in government.