Within the organisational information system context there are several environmental factors that affect the use of an information system. In implementing ICT education, Vesisenaho et al. (2006) mention the importance of local circumstances, such as the availability of human and technical resources and sociocultural factors, which have created how people behave, for instance decision making.
On the basis of the literature, and partly of our own experience in information system development (cf. Tiihonen et al. 2006, Ciborra 2004, Lai et al. 2003, Molla and Loukis 2005, Mosse 2005, Soriyan 2004) and, as described in chapter 6.2, five factors were selected to the map 3:
the socio-political environment, infrastructure, organisation, people, and economy (Fig. 13).
Figure 13 Map 3: Categories of context analysis
All five categories are related to each other and are present in every information system, although it should be kept in mind that this is a kaleidoscope. Every part is there, forming a different picture. These categories are illustrated as sector slices in the bowl model as presented in Figure 13. The empty space between the slices implies other parts of society that are not significant for this research, but which may become important in a different type of research, for instance human rights.
7.4.1 Socio-political environment
The socio-political environment includes political safety and stability, as well as hierarchical constructions and the social security of the citizens of the country (cf. McGrew 2000). Additionally, beliefs, values, norms, and habits are parts of the socio-political environment. The socio-political environment acts as the basis for the all the other categories.
Furthermore, some specific instances, such as trade unions, are socio-political factors, which have a strong effect on working in any organisation. Unions influence current working practices, and specifically practices regarding training and wages. Union pressure is also negatively related to organisational commitment; the stronger the pressure from the union, the stronger the commitment to the union,
and this weakens the commitment to the organisation (Fiorito et al.
2007). Furthermore, unions’ sentiment affects working habits, and what is acceptable and what is not. For example, in Kerala, India, the trade unions were against any positive action to encourage IT technology;
they feared that computers would lead to the destruction of job opportunities (Nair and Prasad 2005).
The socio-political environment is analysed on a societal level, and the natural, but especially the cultural and historical contexts, are strongly present here. Particularly in developing countries, factors such as colonial history, the need for educated people, and gender questions are significant (cf. Chilundo 2004; Korpela 1996; Hedberg 1991). For all the levels, from individual to global, the socio-political environment and its stability are essential everyday realities.
7.4.2 Organisation
The organisation is the physical and social environment for the focus of this research, the organisational information system. Organisations are institutions where the production of the physical, financial, and human resources of a society takes place, for instance schools, universities, and research institutions; banks and insurance companies; hospitals and clinics, and local, regional, and national government.
7.4.3 Infrastructure
The operation of most work systems relies on infrastructure (Alter 1999). The definition of infrastructure we use in this research is all man-made possibilities, which includes for instance roads, buildings, power supplies, communication systems, water systems, tools, et cetera. This kind of infrastructure may also be called the technical infrastructure, although in some definitions the technical infrastructure includes only the machinery used inside an organisation. There are wider definitions of infrastructure as well, which include education and banking (Okunoye 2006) or qualifiers such as human resource infrastructure and economic infrastructure (Williamson and Shaw 2004).
On the societal level infrastructure covers for instance municipal engineering, logistics, buildings, and roads. On the organisational level, it is infrastructure inside the organisation. Both these levels are important to detect from the point of view of information system
development: what opportunities and what limitations does the societal infrastructure offer, and how should the organisational infrastructure be developed? On the group and individual level the infrastructure is the societal and organisational infrastructure, but also the tools used in everyday work.
The natural environment has a direct influence on the technical infrastructure in many cases, such as how the buildings should be made, what type of covering servers need to have, and how the power supply should be ensured. Secondly, the cultural and historical contexts are connected to the socio-political environment, which dictates the societal infrastructure supply. The most significant context for infrastructure in information system development is the immediate context, the moment at which an individual is using the information system.
7.4.4 People
People is a category that is linked to all other categories, and are also necessary in order to realise all others.Again, we have the fact that an information system is a human system; thus, it cannot exist without people (Ciborra 2004, Wilson and Heeks 2002). People carry with them to an organisation a collection of different kinds of experience and skills, which are used in the organisation for the production, but also for constructing and maintaining the organisational knowledge and memory. Furthermore, the people is not a resource which can be codified or stored as such: when “using” the people, the organisation will not only get the individual’s knowledge and experience, but also feelings, memories, and the chemistry between the people, and it may be this side in particular which sets a real challenge for the management of people.
On the global level, multicultural personnel, that is, people with different cultural and historical backgrounds, are valuable resources.
On the organisational level professional management resources are essential, and on the group level human resources are experts in their field. Individuals gather resources for instance via education and working experience. The availability of suitable people is tightly intertwined with the socio-political environment, culture, and history;
for instance, what kind of education/training is available, and for who,
and what the income level of the country is. In unstable times, experts’
decision level to leave the country is low. Naturally, the economy (e.g.
the income level) and technology (e.g. the availability of tools) directly affect the people of the society.
7.4.5 Economy
In information systems, as well as in many other man-made systems nowadays, almost everything depends in the end on the economy. The economy as a whole is a question of “how do we use this money we have”, concerning economic skills and decisions (McGrew 2002, Wilson and Heeks 2002). The cultural and historical context, and not the natural environment or natural resources, provides the basis for economic policies; for instance, in many developing countries there may be oil or diamonds, but the riches stay in the hands of a privileged few.
The global economy has a strong effect on national economies, for instance through an embargo or global depression, and this affects organisations directly. When the economy is good, it is possible to develop infrastructure and human resources are available.
Organisations can invest in new technologies, training, and tools, and the level of salaries is high, working groups have competent and motivated experts and tools, and individuals can be more motivated to work. During a depression the development stops, people lose their jobs, and the motivation is low.
The nature of the economy, and its different features concerning information system development, such as donations, funding, and corruption are very important areas of information system development, as especially in developing countries the donor may dictate which kind of solution is used, even if the solution is not suitable for the context.