A critical systems view of power-ethics interactions in information systems evaluation

Information Resources Management Journal

Volumn 20, Issue 2, 2007, Pages 74-89

  Córdoba, José Rodrigo ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF HULL   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Critical systems thinking; Ethics; Evaluation; Foucault; Information systems; Power

Indexed keywords

INFORMATION SYSTEMS; SYSTEM THEORY;

CRITICAL SYSTEMS THINKING; ETHICS; EVALUATION; FOUCAULT; POWER;

PHILOSOPHICAL ASPECTS;

EID: 70249132998     PISSN: 10401628     EISSN: 15337979     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.4018/irmj.2007040105     Document Type: Article

References (99)

1. Avison, D., & Horton, J. (1992). Evaluation of information systems (Working Paper). Southampton: University of Southampton, Department of Accounting and Management Science.
2. Avison, D. E., & Wood-Harper, A. T. (1990). Multiview: An exploration in information systems development. Henley on Thames, UK: Alfred Waller (McGraw-Hill Publishing Company).
3. Avison, D., Wood-Harper, A. T., Vidgen, R. T., & Wood, J. R. G. (1998). A further exploration into information systems development: The evolution of Multiview2. Information Technology and People, 11(2), 124-139.
4. Ball, K., & Wilson, D. (2000). Power, control and computer-based performance monitoring: A subjectivist approach to repertoires and resistance. Organization Studies, 21(3), pp. 539-565.
5. Ballantine, J., Levy, M., Munro, I., & Powell, P. (2003). An ethical perspective on information systems evaluation. International Journal of Agile Management Systems, 2(3), 233-241.
6. Bariff, M., & Galbraith, J. R. (1978). Intraorganizational power considerations for designing information systems. Accounting, organizations and society, 3(1), 15-27.
7. Bernhauer, J., & Mahon, M. (1994). The ethics of Michel Foucault. In G. Gutting (Ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Foucault (pp. 141-158). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
8. Bloomfield, B., & Coombs, R. (1992). Information technology, control and power: The centralization and decentralization debate revisited. Journal of Management Studies, 29(4), 459-484.
9. Brocklesby, J., & Cummings, S. (1996). Foucault plays Habermas: An alternative philosophical underpinning for critical systems thinking. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 47(6), 741-754.
10. Brooke, C. (2002). What does it mean to be "critical" in IS research? Journal of Information Technology, 17(2), 49-57.
11. Burrell, G. (1988). Modernism, post modernism and organizational analysis: The contribution of Michel Foucault. Organization Studies, 9(2), 221-235.
12. Chan, A., & Garrick, J. (2002). Organisation theory in turbulent times: The traces of Foucault's ethics. Organization, 9(4), 683-701.
13. Checkland, P. (1981). Systems thinking, systems practice. London: John Wiley and Sons.
14. Checkland, P. (1990). Information systems and systems thinking: Time to unite? In P. Checkland & J. Scholes (Eds.), Soft systems methodology in action (pp. 303-315). Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
15. Checkland, P., & Holwell, S. (1998). Information, systems and information systems: Making sense of the field. Chichester, UK: John Wiley and Sons.
16. Checkland, P., & Scholes, P. (1990). Soft systems methodology in action. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons.
17. Churchman, C. W. (1970). Operations research as a profession. Management Science, 17, b37-b53.
18. Churchman, C. W. (1979). The systems approach and its enemies. New York: Basic Books.
19. Clarke, S. (2001). Information systems strategic management : An integrated approach. London: Routledge.
20. Clarke, S., & Lehaney, B. (2000). Mixing methodologies for information systems development and strategy: A higher education case study. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 51, 542-566.
21. Córdoba, J. R., & Robson, W. D. (2003). Making the evaluation of information systems insightful: Understanding the role of power-ethics strategies. Electronic Journal of Information Systems Evaluation, 6(2), 55-64.
22. Darier, E. (1998). Time to be lazy: Work, the environment and modern subjectivities. Time & Society, 7(2), 193-208.
23. Darier, E. (1999). Foucault and the environment: An introduction. In E. Darier (Ed.), Discourses of the environment (pp. 1-33). Oxford: Blackwell.
24. Dhillon, G. (2004). Dimensions of power and IS implementation. Information & Management, 41, 635-644.
25. Doherty, N., & King, M. (2001). An investigation of the factors affecting the successful treatment of organisational issues in systems development. European Journal of Information Systems, 10, 147-160.
26. Doolin, B. (2004). Power and resistance in the implementation of a medical management information system. Information Systems Journal, 14(4), 343-362.
27. Farbey, B., Land, F., & Targett, D. (1999). Moving IS evaluation forward: Learning themes and research issues. Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 8(2), 189-207.
28. Flood, R. L. (1990). Liberating systems theory. New York: Plenum Press.
29. Flood, R. L., & Jackson, M. C. (1991a). Total systems intervention: A practical face to critical systems thinking. Systems Practice, 4, 197-213.
30. Flood, R. L., & Jackson, M. C. (Eds.). (1991b). Critical systems thinking: Directed readings. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons.
31. Flood, R. L., & Romm, N. (1996). Diversity management: Triple loop learning. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons.
32. Foucault, M. (1977). The history of sexuality volume one: The will to knowledge (Vol. 1). London: Penguin.
33. Foucault, M. (1980a). Truth and power. In P. Rabinow (Ed.), The Foucault reader: An introduction to Foucault's thought (pp. 51-75). London: Penguin.
34. Foucault, M. (1980b). Two lectures. In C. Gordon (Ed.), Power/knowledge: Selected interviews and other writings Michel Foucault (pp. 78-108). New York: Harvester Wheatsheaf.
35. Foucault, M. (1982a). Afterword: The subject and power. In H. Dreyfus & P. Rabinow (Eds.), Michel Foucault: Beyond structuralism and hermeneutics (pp. 208-226). Brighton: The Harvester Press.
36. Foucault, M. (1982b). On the genealogy of ethics: An overview of work in progress. In P. Rabinow (Ed.), The Foucault reader: An introduction to Foucault's thought (pp. 340-372). London: Penguin.
37. Foucault, M. (1984a). The ethics of the concern of the self as a practice of freedom (R. e. a. Hurley, Trans.). In P. Rabinow (Ed.), Michel Foucault: Ethics subjectivity and truth: Essential works of Foucault 1954-1984 (pp. 281-301). London: Penguin.
38. Foucault, M. (1984b). The history of sexuality volume two: The use of pleasure. London: Penguin.
39. Foucault, M. (1984c). What is enlightenment? (C. Porter, Trans.). In P. Rabinow (Ed.), The Foucault reader: An introduction to Foucault's thought (pp. 32-50). London: Penguin.
40. Gregory, A. (2000). Problematizing participation: A critical review of approaches to participation in evaluation theory. Evaluation, 6(2), 179-199.
41. Gregory, W. J. (1992). Critical systems thinking and pluralism: A new constellation. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, City University, London.
42. Gregory, A., & Jackson, M. C. (1992). Evaluation methodologies: A system for use. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 43(1), 19-28.
43. Guba, E. G., & Lincoln, Y. S. (1989). Fourth generation evaluation. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
44. Handy, C. (1976). Understanding organizations. Aylesbury: Penguin.
45. Hirschheim, R., & Smithson, S. (1999). Evaluation of information systems: A critical assessment. In L. Willcocks & S. Lester (Eds.), Beyond the IT productivity paradox (pp. 381-409). Chichester, UK: John Wiley and Sons.
46. Horton, K. S. (2000). The exercise of power and information systems strategy: The need for a new perspective. Proceedings of the 8th European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS), Vienna.
47. Introna, L. D. (1997). Management, information and power: A narrative of the involved manager. Basingstoke: Macmillan.
48. Irani, Z. (2002). Information systems evaluation: Navigating through the problem domain. Information & Management, 40, 11-24.
49. Irani, Z., & Fitzgerald, G. (2002). Editorial. Information Systems Journal, 12(4), 263-269.
50. Irani, Z., & Love, P. E. (2001). Information systems evaluation: Past, present and future. European Journal of Information Systems, 10(4), 189- 203.
51. Irani, Z., Love, P. E., Elliman, T., Jones, S., & Themistocleus, M. (2005). Evaluating E-government: Learning from the experiences of two UK local authorities. Information Systems Journal, 15(1), 61-82.
52. Jackson, M. C. (1982). The nature of soft systems thinking: The work of Churchman, Ackoff and Checkland. Journal of Applied Systems Analysis, 9, 17-29.
53. Jackson, M. C. (1992). An integrated programme for critical thinking in information systems research. Information Systems Journal, 2, 83-95.
54. Jackson, M. C. (1999). Towards coherent pluralism in management science. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 50(1), 12-22.
55. Jackson, M. C. (2000). Systems approaches to management. London: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.
56. Jackson, M. C. (2003). Creative holism: Systems thinking for managers. Chichester, UK: John Wiley and Sons.
57. Jackson, M. C., & Keys, P. (1984). Towards a system of system methodologies. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 35, 473-486.
58. Jasperson, J. S., Carte, T., Saunders, C. S., Butler, B. S., Croes, H. J. P., & Zheng, W. (2002). Power and information technology research: A metatriangulation review. MIS Quarterly, 26(4), 397-459.
59. Legge, K. (1984). Evaluating planned organizational change. London: Academic Press.
60. Lewis, P. (1994). Information systems development: Systems thinking in the field of information systems. London: Pitman Publishing.
61. Lukes, S. (1974). Power: A radical view. London: Macmillan.
62. Lyytinen, K., & Hirschheim, R. (1987). Information systems failures - A survey and classification of the empirical literature. Oxford Surveys in Information Technology, 4, 257-309.
63. Markus, M. L. (2002). Power, politics and MIS implementation. In M. Myers & D. Avison (Eds.), Qualitative research in information systems. London: Sage.
64. Mertens, D. (1999). Inclusive evaluation: Implications of transformative theory for evaluation. American Journal of Evaluation, 20(1), 1-14.
65. Midgley, G. (1996). What is this thing called CST? In R. L. Flood & N. Romm (Eds.), Critical Systems Thinking: Current Research and Practice (pp. 11-24). New York: Plenum Press.
66. Midgley, G. (1997). Mixing methods: Developing systemic intervention. In J. Mingers & A. Gill (Eds.), Multimethodology: The Theory and Practice of Combining Management Science Methodologies. (pp. 249-290). Chichester, UK: John Wiley and Sons.
67. Midgley, G. (2000). Systemic intervention: Philosophy, methodology and practice. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum.
68. Mingers, J. (1984). Subjectivism and soft systems methodology: A critique. Journal of Applied Systems Analysis, 11, 85-113.
69. Mingers, J. (1992). Technical, practical and critical OR: Past, present and future? In M. Alvesson & H. Willmott (Eds.), Critical management studies (pp. 90-112). London: Sage.
70. Mingers, J. (2005). 'More dangerous than an unanswered question is an unquestioned answer': A contribution to the Ulrich debate. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 56(4), 468-474.
71. Mingers, J., & Gill, A. (1997). Multimethodology: The theory and practice of combining management science methodologies. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
72. Mora, M., Gelman, O., Cervantes, F., Mejia, M., & Weitzenfeld. (2003). A systemic approach for the formalization of information systems concept: Why information systems are systems? In J. Cano (Ed.), Critical reflections in information systems: A systemicapproach (pp. 1-29). Hershey (PA): Idea Group Publishing.
73. Oliga, J. (1996). Power, ideology and control. New York: Plenum.
74. O'Neill, T. (1995). Implementation frailties of Guba and Lincoln's fourth generation evaluation theory. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 21(1), 5-21.
75. Ormerod, R. (1996). Information systems strategy development at Sainsbury's supermarket using "soft" OR. Interfaces, 16(1), 102-130.
76. Ormerod, R. (2005). Putting soft OR methods to work: the case of IS strategy development for the UK Parliament. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 56(12), 1379-1398.
77. Parker, M. M., Benson, R., & Trainor, H. E. (1988). Information economics: Linking business performance to information technology. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
78. Piccoli, G., & Ives, B. (2005). IT-dependent strategic initiatives and sustained competitive advantage: A review and synthesis of the literature. MIS Quarterly, 29(4), 747-776.
79. Remenyi, D., & Sherwood-Smith, M. (1999). Maximise information systems value by continuous participative evaluation. Logistics Information Management, 12(1/2), 145-156.
80. Robey, D., & Boudreau, M. (1999). Accounting for the contradictory organizational consequences of information technology: Theoretical directions and methodological implications. Information Systems Research, 10(2), 167-185.
81. Rowlinson, M., & Carter, C. (2002). Foucault and history in organization studies. Organization, 9(4), 527-547.
82. Serafeimidis, V., & Smithson, S. (1999). Rethinking the approaches to information systems evaluation. Logistics Information Management, 12(1-2), 94-107.
83. Serafeimidis, V., & Smithson, S. (2003). Information systems evaluation as an organizational institution - Experience from a case study. Information Systems Journal, 13, 251-274.
84. Smithson, S., & Tsiavos, P. (2004). Re-constructing information systems evaluation. In C. Avgerou, C. Ciborra & F. Land (Eds.), The social study of information and communication technology: Innovation, actors and contexts (pp. 207-230). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
85. Stowell, F. (1995). Information systems provision: The contribution of soft systems methodology. London: McGraw-Hill.
86. Symons, V., & Walsham, G. (1988). The evaluation of information systems: A critique. Journal of Applied Systems Analysis, 15, 119-132.
87. Taylor, C. (1984). Foucault on freedom and truth. Political Theory, 12(2), 152-183.
88. Ulrich, W. (1983). Critical heuristics of social planning: A new approach to practical philosophy. Berne: Haupt.
89. Ulrich, W. (2003). Beyond methodology choice: critical systems thinking as critically systemic discourse. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 54(4), 325-342.
90. Valero-Silva, N. (1996). A Foucauldian reflection on critical systems thinking. In R. L. Flood & N. Romm (Eds.), Critical systems thinking: Current research and practice. (pp. 63-79.). London: Plenum.
91. Vega-Romero, R. (1999). Care and social justice evaluation: A critical and pluralist approach. Hull: University of Hull.
92. Walsham, G. (1993). Interpreting information systems in organisations. Chichester, UK: John Wiley and Sons.
93. Walsham, G. (1999). Interpretive evaluation design for information systems. In L. Willcocks & S. Lester (Eds.), Beyond the IT productivity paradox (pp. 363-380). Chichester, UK: John Wiley and Sons.
94. Walsham, G., & Waema, T. (1994). Information systems strategy and implementation: A case study of a building society. ACM Transactions on Information Systems, 12(2), 150-173.
95. Weiss, C. (1970). The politicization of evaluation research. Journal of Social Issues, 26(4), 57-68.
96. Weiss, C. (1998). Have we learned anything new about the use of evaluation? American Journal of Evaluation, 19(1), 21-34.
97. Wilson, B. (1984). Systems: Concepts, methodologies, and applications. Chichester, UK: John Wiley and Sons.
98. Wilson, B. (2002). Soft systems methodology: Conceptual model and its contribution. Chichester, UK: John Wiley and Sons.
99. Wray-Bliss, E. (2003). Research subjects/research subjections: Exploring the ethics and politics of critical research. Organization, 10(2), 307-325. (Pubitemid 36688989)