Technology change and management strategy in the Benefits Agency

Abstract

Based on longitudinal research, this paper examines radical technological innovation in the Benefits Agency, which was central to the redesign of business strategy and to intended shifts in the management of the work of computer users. However, unrealised assumptions about the functionality of the new computer system created a serious misalignment between IT design, strategic performance targets and the intended strategy for managing labour. This required a process of learning by computer users, their line managers and senior management, one that pivoted on the performance goals that were seen as achievable within the opportunities and constraints afforded by the change programme. A labour strategy emerged out of the progressive alignment between these goals and an appropriate pattern of practices for the management of computer users, one at variance with strategic intentions founded on a smooth integration of technical and work systems. Moreover, this multilateral organisational learning not only transacted the constraints that were imposed by the business strategy, but also powerfully influenced its development in turn. As such, its key constituent elements of technology, structure and strategic performance objectives did not simply establish the conditions for the formation of labour strategy, but were significantly affected by the learning about their deficiencies and the necessary changes in them which were at its heart. Consequently, rather than simply flowing from “higher order” decisions, labour management was integral to the shaping of the organisation's business strategy over time.