Skip to main content
Log in

The misery of digital organisations and the semiotic nature of IT

  • ORIGINAL ARTICLE
  • Published:
AI & SOCIETY Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Contrary to common belief, IT systems often disappoint the expectations to increase productivity and flexibility of work and value creation processes. Moreover, most IT design and implementation projects still fail or burst time and cost budgets to a high extent. After presenting significant empirical evidence for these phenomena, the paper reflects on the reasons for their persistence by developing a semiotic perspective on the processes of dealing with computer artifacts in organisations. This semiotic view allows understanding the processes of designing, implementing and using IT systems as efforts of structuring social practices in organisations. A typical case of enterprise resource planning system implementation illustrates this. Finally, a number of guidelines for an improved practice of designing and appropriating IT systems for effective use in organisations are derived from the theoretical reflections.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. The class of semiotic machines can be further divided into the subclasses of organisational systems and embedded systems. The latter serve as control devices for natural processes and energy or matter transforming machines in which they are embedded; they are not considered in this paper.

References

  • Adler PS, Winograd TA (eds) (1992) Usability: turning technologies into tools. Oxford University Press, New York Oxford

  • Bendoly E, Jacobs FR (2004) ERP Architectural/operational alignment for order-processing performance. Int J Oper Prod Manage 24(1):99–117

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bresnahan TF, Brynjolfsson E, Hitt LM (2002) Information technology, workplace organization and the demand of skilled labour: firm level evidence. Q J Econ 117:339–376

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Brödner P (2002) Der Held von Caputh steht nicht allein. Wie Wissenschaft die Nutzungsprobleme der Informationstechnik ignoriert. In: Moldaschl M (ed) Neue Arbeit—Neue Wissenschaft der Arbeit? Asanger, Heidelberg, pp 339–364

    Google Scholar 

  • Brödner P (1997) Der überlistete Odysseus. Über das zerrüttete Verhältnis von Menschen und Maschinen. Edition sigma, Berlin

  • Brödner P, Lay G (2005) IT-related challenges for process innovation management. In: Proceedings of 6th International CINet conference “Continuous innovation—(Ways of) making things happen”. Brighton, CENTRIM

  • Brynjolfsson E (2003) The IT productivity gap. Optimize Issue 21 July

  • Brynjolfsson E (1993) The productivity paradox of information technology. CACM 36(12):67–77

    Google Scholar 

  • Brynjolfsson E, Hitt LM (2000) Beyond computation: information technology, organizational transformation and business performance. Journal of Economic Perspectives 14(4):23–48

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cooper A (2004) The inmates are running the asylum. Why high tech products drive us crazy and how to restore the sanity. SAMS, Indianapolis

  • Curtis B, Krasner H, Iscoe N (1988) A field study of the software design process for large systems. CACM 31:1268–1287

    Google Scholar 

  • Dahlbom B, Mathiassen L (1993) Computers in context. The philosophy and practice of systems design. Blackwell, Oxford

  • Davenport TH (1998) Putting the enterprise into the enterprise system. Harv Bus Rev July–August pp 121–131

  • Ehn P (1988) Work-oriented design of computer artifacts. Arbetslivscentrum, Stockholm

    Google Scholar 

  • Ehn P (1992) Scandinavian design: on participation and skill. In: Adler PS, Winograd T (eds) Usability. Turning technologies into tools. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 96–132

    Google Scholar 

  • Engeström Y, Miettinen R, Punamäki R-L (eds) (1999) Perspectives on activity theory. Cambridge University Press, New York

  • Farrell D (2003) The real new economy. Harv Bus Rev October:pp 105–112

  • Farrell D, Terwilliger T, Webb AP (2003) Getting IT spending right this time. McKinsey Quarterly 2003 No. 2

  • Floyd C (2002) Developing and embedding autooperational form. In: Dittrich Y, Floyd C, Klischewski R (eds) 2002: social thinking—software practice. MIT Press, Cambridge, pp 5–28

    Google Scholar 

  • Floyd C (1992) Software development as reality construction. In: Floyd C, Züllighoven H, Budde R, Keil-Slawik R (eds) Software development and reality construction. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 86–100

    Google Scholar 

  • Gibbs WW (1994) Software: chronisch mangelhaft. Spektrum der Wissenschaft, pp 56–63

  • Giddens A (1984) The constitution of society. Outline of the theory of structuration. Polity Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Kapor M (1996) A software design manifesto. Reprint In: Winograd T (ed) Bringing design to software. Addison-Wesley, Reading

    Google Scholar 

  • Kraemer K, Dedrick J (2001) The productivity paradox: is it resolved? Is there a new one? What does it all mean for managers? UCI, Irvine

  • Landauer TK (1995) The trouble with computers. Usefulness, usability, and productivity. MIT Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Martin R, Lempp P, Mauterer H (2003) Wie software wirklich nutzen bringt, Harv Bus Man Juni 71–77

  • Maucher I (2001) Komplexitätsbewältigung durch Entwicklung und Gestaltung von Organisation. Hampp, München

    Google Scholar 

  • Maucher I (Hg) (1998) Wandel der leitbilder zur entwicklung und nutzung von PPS-Systemen. Hampp, München

  • McAdam R, Galloway A (2005) Enterprise resource planning and organizational innovation: a management perspective. Ind Manage Data Syst 105(3):280–290

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKinsey Global Institute (2001) Productivity in the United States. http://www.mckinsey.com/knowledge/mgi/reports/productivity.asp

  • Mead GH (1903) Die Definition des Psychischen. In: Gesammelte Aufsätze, hg. von Hans Joas, Bd. 1, Frankfurt/M: Suhrkamp 1987, pp 83–148

  • Nake F (2001) Das algorithmische Zeichen. In: Bauknecht W, Brauer W, Mück T (eds) Informatik 2001. Tagungsband der GI/OCG Jahrestagung pp 736–742

  • Nake F, Grabowski S (2001) Human-computer interaction viewed as pseudo-communication. Knowl-Based Syst 14:441–447

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nardi BA (ed) (1996) Context and consciousness: activity theory and human-computer interaction. MIT Press, Cambridge

  • Naur P, Randell B (eds) (1968) Software engineering. Report on a conference sponsored by the NATO Science Committee. NATO, Brussels

  • Norman DA, Draper SW (eds) (1986) User centered system design. Lawrence Erlbaum, Hillsdale

  • OECD (ed) (2004) The ICT productivity paradox: insights from micro data. Economic Studies, No. 38 Issue 1, Paris OECD

  • Ogden CK, Richards IA (1989) The meaning of meaning. (Reprint of 1923 edition) HBJ, San Diego

  • Orlikowski WJ (2000) Using technology and constituting structures: a practice lens for studying technology in organizations. Organ Sci 11(4):404–428

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Orlikowski WJ, Gash DC (1994) Technological frames: making sense of information technology in organizations. ACM Trans Inf Sys 12:174–207

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ortmann G (1995) Formen der Produktion. Organisation und Rekursivität. Westdeutscher Verlag, Opladen

    Google Scholar 

  • Oz E (1994) When professional standards are lax. The CONFIRM failure and its lessons. CACM 37(10):29–36

    Google Scholar 

  • Peirce CS (1903) A syllabus of certain topics of logic, collected papers, 1.180–202, 2.219–225 and other paragrafs (German translation: Phänomen und Logik der Zeichen, Frankfurt/M: Suhrkamp 1983)

  • Pipek V (2005) From tailoring to appropriation support: negotiating groupware usage, Acta universitatis ouluensis A 430. Oulu University Press, Oulu

    Google Scholar 

  • Potthoff I (1998) Empirische Studien zum wirtschaftlichen Erfolg der Informationsverarbeitung. Wirtschaftsinformatik 40:54–65

    Google Scholar 

  • Royal Academy of Engineering (ed) (2004) The challenges of complex it projects. The report from a working group of the Royal Academy of Engineering and the British Computer Society. The Royal Academy of Engineering, London

  • Schon DA (1983) The reflective practitioner: how professionals think in action. Basic Books, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Schuler D, Namioka A (eds) (1993) Participatory design. Principles and practices. Lawrence Erlbaum, Hillsdale

  • Scott EJ, Vessey I (2002) Managing risks in enterprise systems implementations. CACM 45(4):74–81

    Google Scholar 

  • Standish Group International (2001) Extreme CHAOS. The 2001 update to the CHAOS report. http://www.standishgroup.com/sample_research/index.php

  • Suchman L (1987) Plans and situated actions. The problem of human machine communication. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Taxén L, Lilliesköld J (2005) Manifesting shared affordances in system development—the system anatomy. In: Ågerfalk PJ, Bannon L, Fitzgerald B (eds) Proceedings of the 3rd international workshop on action in language, organisations and information systems (ALOIS 2005). March 15–16 Limerick

  • Winograd T (ed) (1996) Bringing design to software. Addison-Wesley, Reading

  • Yu CS (2005) Causes influencing the effectiveness of the post-implementation ERP System. Ind Manage Data Syst 105(1):115–132

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Peter Brödner.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Brödner, P. The misery of digital organisations and the semiotic nature of IT. AI & Soc 23, 331–351 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-006-0066-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-006-0066-1

Keywords

Navigation