Computer-mediated interpretation of risk: the introduction of decision support systems in a UK retail bank

Abstract

This dissertation examines the consequences of introducing a computer-based decision support system into corporate loan risk assessment within a major UK retail bank. The findings are based upon a longitudinal case study conducted between 1993-1996 using an interpretive methodology. It is suggested that information and communication technologies highlight and accentuate some of the most important characteristics of the era in which we live. Organizations need to think beyond the formal-rational logic that dominates the management literature if they are to appreciate the complex, and sometimes contradictory, consequences that are likely to emerge when computer-based technologies interact with their context. Decision support tools, based on historical data and quantitative models, only present a partial view of organizational data. It is proposed that a hermeneutically-informed, interpretive approach is a useful way of understanding this and reveals important considerations with regard to the design, development, implementation and use of these technologies. Drawing on the case study and this interpretive approach, the thesis considers the formulation of strategy in practice. The strategic use of the Lending Advisor decision support system is then considered against the novel theoretical 'backcloth' of Ulrich Beck's risk society thesis. The theoretical context of a hermeneutically-informed risk society enables a re-conceptualisation of middle management which contributes to our understanding of the impact of technologies like Lending Advisor and their role in the transformation of modernity.