The study of information system development (ISD) process from the perspectives of power development stage and organizational politics

Abstract

This paper is to study the information system development (ISD) by looking into fifty-six cases from the perspectives of power development stage and organizational polities. We intend to find out why the ISD will be a success or a failure. In this research we sort out 192 examples of political games from 56 cases, which can be categorized into forty-one kinds of games. Some of them, because of their special features, appear only in one of the ISD stages of planning, development, or implementation. We have come to the following conclusions: The unclear performance evaluation system, role ambiguity, distrust placed in individuals, will induce more political games. And the political games will thus bring negative impacts on the organizational culture, too. Leading an easy life and providing lip service, game players usually exploit only the type of power I. The ten kinds of game players, including staying aloof exploit the type of power II, and then they can hold stronger power for they can act on their own, with no need to contact with others or to be bound by others' interests or actions, and express this kind of behavior, through a cynical retreat from polities. The eleven kinds of games, including finding a scapegoat may unconsciously exaggerate the danger of conflict and reprisal, and therefore cause workers more anxiety, because the players use the type of power III. The other five kinds of game players, including building a favorable image use the type of power IV, which can promote workers' interests and resolve conflicts while helping the workers develop some attachment to co-workers and the organization and lead to conventional organizational polities. This paper finds that the MIS manager and professionals play as many as half of the games, so it takes less effort to manage the MIS professionals in order to prevent many political behaviors. Finally, besides the four major adverse effects (deflection of goals, dilemmas of administration, dissipation of energies, and diversion of resources), the forty-one kinds of games mentioned above can also result in a good effect-the success of project.