Deakin home > Deakin University Library > Deakin Research Online > Cybernetics and the agility question

Cybernetics and the agility question

Hobbs, George and Scheepers, Rens 2010, Cybernetics and the agility question, in OASIS 2010 : Proceedings of IFIP 8.2/Organizations and Society in Information Systems, [The conference], [St Louis, Mo.].

Document type: Conference Paper
Collection: School of Information Systems
Attached Files (Some files may be inaccessible until you login with your Deakin Research Online credentials)
Name Description MIMEType Size Downloads

Title Cybernetics and the agility question
Author(s) Hobbs, George
Scheepers, Rens
Conference name Organizations and Society in Information Systems (2010 : St Louis, Mo.)
Conference location St Louis, Mo.
Conference dates 12 Dec. 2010
Title of proceedings OASIS 2010 : Proceedings of IFIP 8.2/Organizations and Society in Information Systems
Editor(s) [Unknown]
Publication date 2010
Conference series Organizations and Society in Information Systems Conference
Publisher [The conference]
Place of publication [St Louis, Mo.]
Keyword(s) cybernetics
agility
IT function
Summary The ability to sense and respond effectively to fluctuations in an environment is the fundamental problem addressed by cybernetics. When applied to the context of the organizational IT function, agility denotes the capacity of the IT function to perceive "signals" from its internal and external environments, to interpret these, and respond appropriately. The processing of such signals requires the selection and filtering of information to drive decision-making for response in a timely way. The challenge for the IT function is processing an overwhelming collection of signals, in un-standardized formats, and from overlapping sources, that tends to overload decision-makers. Informed by a cybernetic model, we studied how the IT function enables agility. We found evidence (1) that the more mature the policy processes of the IT function, the more the IT function will create agility in information systems; (2) The more mature the intelligence processes of the IT function to look outside the organization, the more the IT function will create agility in information systems and; (3) The more mature the control processes of the IT function that focus on the current use of information systems, the more the IT function will create agility in information systems.
ISSN 1535-6078
Language eng
Field of Research 080699 Information Systems not elsewhere classified
Socio Economic Objective 970108 Expanding Knowledge in the Information and Computing Sciences
HERDC Research category E1.1 Full written paper - refereed
Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30036309
Connect to link resolver
 
Unless expressly stated otherwise, the copyright for items in Deakin Research Online is owned by the author, with all rights reserved.
Versions
Version Filter Type
Access Statistics: 32 Abstract Views, 2 File Downloads  -  Detailed Statistics
Created: Thu, 11 Aug 2011, 10:24:51 EST