Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
coordination requirements and not to opt for discretions to suit client needs. In
the Cadastral case, the strategic staff members already have to invest in acquiring
information about the needs and wishes of their partners on a regular basis, so there
is no additional transaction cost. This makes discretions favoring such needs easier
and less limited by any potential increase in transaction costs.
The combination of these theoretical explanations of discretionary behavior
provides a first step toward deriving a more “grand theory” on discretions. This may
help in understanding how and e-government projects evolve and how and where
projects managers can control and steer projects in a desirable direction.
9.8 Conclusions
Being able to recognize discretionary actions and behavior in interorganizational
geoICT projects is not evident, yet it is necessary to better understand good and bad
practices in interorganizational (geo)ICT projects in the public sector. Discretions
should be taken into account when designing and implementing ICT innovations.
Informatization can generate uncertainty or reduce it by limiting discretions of staff.
An important part of the recognition of discretionary practices is acknowledging that
they tend to arise as reactions to coordination requirements. The extent to which pro-
fessionals reach for discretions relates to the degree of freedom that the environment
grants to actors, the access to resources, and the ability of individual actors to seek and
benefit from this freedom. The first and most prominent expression of discretion is in
the simplification of tasks. A second expression of discretions is modifying prescribed
tasks to cater to the needs of external clients. The first promotes self-interest; the
second promotes interest of others. An additional dimension is that discretions vary
based on their organizational function: strategic, alignment, or operational.
Empirical evidence of discretions in geoG2Gs shows that strategic discretions
originate in the ability to envision alternative courses of action. They are often justi-
fied by a perceived need to adhere to external users or clients. The ability to envision
alternative courses of action also exists in other cases but is visible mainly among
alignment staff rather than strategic staff. Specific to the findings in the AHN
case is the relatively low score in the “cognitive filter to the environment” aspect
and the relatively high score in the “operations orientation” aspect. This suggests
that the functional domain of the geoICT partners can influence the potential of
discretions.
The Dataland and Sabimos cases do not exhibit any distinctive scores in discre-
tion aspects. In both AHN and Sabimos, the discretions are reached mainly by
alignment staff members and are reached mainly to simplify personal tasks. These
findings suggest that either the coordination requirements lack specifications,
requiring staff to create their own set of instruments and results, or the context in
which the coordination requirements need to be applied is too complex, requiring
the staff to simplify their own tasks.
Search WWH ::
Custom Search