The Impact of Technology Insertion on Organisations

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HFIDTC/2/12.2.1/1 Version 3 / 21 November 2007 established work system has considerable potential to disrupt an already efficient performance rather than enhance it [2]. In the military domain technology insertion problems can lead to severe consequences for capability, performance and ultimately the survivability <strong>of</strong> personnel in the battlespace and as a result is undoubtedly a topic worthy <strong>of</strong> further consideration. 2.5 <strong>Impact</strong>, at What Level? This report deliberately focuses on the impact <strong>of</strong> technology upon organisations, the employees and personnel who make up the organisation and upon the end users <strong>of</strong> new technology systems. 2.6 Bounding and Scoping <strong>The</strong> original brief, which outlined the technical requirements for this report was titled ‘Organisational <strong>Impact</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> <strong>Insertion</strong>’ and went on to describe a concern that the insertion <strong>of</strong> ‘new technology, or … new concepts onto existing structures will almost certainly reveal socio-technical threats that could inhibit or negate the anticipated benefits’. Interestingly the use <strong>of</strong> the term technology insertion is not mentioned beyond the title and the first paragraph <strong>of</strong> the technical requirement. Instead questions on the ‘organisational implications and aspects <strong>of</strong> the introduction <strong>of</strong> new technology and concepts’ were emphasised. It was this emphasis on ‘organisational impacts’ <strong>of</strong> new technology led the author to broaden the focus <strong>of</strong> the work beyond issues exclusively related to ‘technology insertion’ or ‘mid life upgrade’ on existing systems or platforms. This allowed the customers’ queries regarding the impacts <strong>of</strong> ‘new technology’ to be addressed. Broadening the review provided an opportunity to explore research from nonmilitary and commercial domains where there is also long experience <strong>of</strong> managing the impact <strong>of</strong> new technology on organisations. Some <strong>of</strong> the key topics that the author was asked in the research brief included: • ‘How have technologies and concepts impacted on organisations historically?’ • ‘How have emergent properties been identified following organisational perturbations? • ‘What has been the impact <strong>of</strong> these emergent properties on organisational behaviour?’ Having established the state <strong>of</strong> the art on the topic, further activity was to investigate the feasibility <strong>of</strong> developing a toolkit for identifying the likely impact <strong>of</strong> inserting new technology into organisations. <strong>The</strong> research questions addressed in this study were, by their nature, incredibly broad. <strong>The</strong> aim <strong>of</strong> this study was to try to scope the breadth <strong>of</strong> the problem area and to identify those avenues that represented most value from the investment <strong>of</strong> further research effort. In order to investigate ‘socio technical threats’, ‘organisational perturbations’ and the ‘impact <strong>of</strong> technologies on organisations’ the review <strong>of</strong> literature concentrated on 5
HFIDTC/2/12.2.1/1 Version 3 / 21 November 2007 disciplines such as socio-technical systems, human factors, risk management, organisational science, change management, which specifically seek to address such areas. Harder engineering topics such as ‘system architecture’ and ‘modular design’ were not explored in this study because <strong>of</strong> the focus <strong>of</strong> the research. <strong>The</strong> specific issue <strong>of</strong> emerging technologies was not considered because their impact upon organisations had not yet occurred, nor, as history suggests, could their impacts be easily predicted. However, readers interested in journalistic comment on technology trends and speculation on the impacts <strong>of</strong> emerging technologies may want to take a look at the MIT journal ‘technology review’. <strong>The</strong> remainder <strong>of</strong> this report describes the key findings from the literature and interviews associated with TI including: risks in technology projects, human factors implications, and theoretical explanations for organisational impacts. Tools and techniques available to support management <strong>of</strong> TI are explored, and real-world case studies are reviewed from military and civil domains to illustrate where and how problems can arise. <strong>The</strong> final section makes recommendations for development <strong>of</strong> tools to support managing TI in organisations. 6
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