Stuart McLean, Michael B. Spring, Edie Rasmussen and James G. Williams
The Promenade image retrieval system is described in terms of its design, development and architecture. Design, development and implementation issues are discussed in terms of…
Abstract
The Promenade image retrieval system is described in terms of its design, development and architecture. Design, development and implementation issues are discussed in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. A preliminary usability study is presented and the data respiting from the preliminary study are analysed and discussed. Efficiency in terms of response time due to network delays, database processing, application processing and image characteristics and display is discussed. Response time results from 40 queries made to the image database are presented and discussed. The results of these studies demonstrate where improvements in the system need to be made in order to improve usability and response time.
Marina Trkman and Peter Trkman
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the benefits and challenges of using a wiki as an intranet/content management system in a company.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the benefits and challenges of using a wiki as an intranet/content management system in a company.
Design/methodology/approach
Combined with elements of action research, a longitudinal case study of implementing a wiki in a department of a Slovenian company was conducted. Interviews, surveys and a log analysis were used for the data collection. The Delone and McLean information systems success model was the underlying theoretical approach to explore the information, systems and service quality.
Findings
While a wiki may bring important benefits and change to a company's information/knowledge management, the main challenges remain the same as with earlier technological solutions. Additional problems arise due to cultural issues, the lack of control over quality and the fact that service quality largely depends on the users.
Research limitations/implications
A single case study within one company was conducted.
Practical implications
The findings are important for any manager or developer intending to implement a wiki as an intranet solution as they identify and classify potential challenges.
Originality/value
As one of the first longitudinal case studies of implementing a wiki, several new challenges of Web 2.0 applications and of creating online environments for knowledge sharing are identified, while well‐studied problems concerning other projects seeking to develop information systems also apply. A novel extension to the Delone and McLean model is proposed.
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Stuart Barnes, Richard N. Rutter, Ariel I. La Paz and Eusebio Scornavacca
The role of emerging digital technologies is of growing strategic importance as it provides significant competitive advantage to organisations. The chief information officer (CIO…
Abstract
Purpose
The role of emerging digital technologies is of growing strategic importance as it provides significant competitive advantage to organisations. The chief information officer (CIO) plays a pivotal role in facilitating the process of digital transformation. Whilst demand continues to increase, the supply of suitably qualified applicants is lacking, with many companies forced to choose information technology (IT) or marketing specialists instead. This research seeks to analyse the organisational capabilities required and the level of fit within the industry between CIO requirements and appointments via the resource-based view.
Design/methodology/approach
Job postings and CIO curriculum vitae were collected and analysed through the lens of organisational capability theory using the machine learning method of Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA).
Findings
This research identifies gaps between the capabilities demanded by organisations and supplied by CIOs. In particular, soft, general, non-specific capabilities are over-supplied, while rarer specific skills, qualifications and experience are under-supplied.
Practical implications
The research is useful for practitioners (e.g. potential CIO candidates) to understand current market requirements and for companies aiming to develop internal training that meet present and future skill gaps. It also could be useful for professional organisations (e.g. CIO Forum) to validate the need to develop mentoring schemes that help meet such high demand and relative undersupply of qualified CIOs.
Originality/value
By applying LDA, the paper provides a new research method and process for identifying competence requirements and gaps as well as ascertaining job fit. This approach may be helpful to other domains of research in the process of identifying specific competences required by organisations for particular roles as well as to understand the level of fit between such requirements and a potential pool of applicants. Further, the study provides unique insight into the current supply and demand for the role of CIO through the lens of resource-based view (RBV). This provides a contribution to the stream of information systems (IS) research focused on understanding CIO archetypes and how individual capabilities provide value to companies.
Eric Deakins and Stuart Dillon
The aim of this paper is to report on development and use of a survey instrument that captures qualitative, process‐related data from local authority officers in New Zealand, from…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to report on development and use of a survey instrument that captures qualitative, process‐related data from local authority officers in New Zealand, from which is derived a rigorous and parsimonious set of critical performance measures.
Design/methodology/approach
An instrument was developed utilising performance exemplars promoted by industry‐respected consulting experts. New Zealand local authorities were surveyed and exploratory factor analysis used to identify what the factors represent conceptually. Profile Similarity Indices (PSIs) describe the alignment between expected and actual consultant performances.
Findings
A rigorous set of five critical process‐related dimensions of performance and their associated (18) scales were derived, which demonstrate the desired properties of reliability and validity. Interpretation of the Profile Similarity Indices values is provided.
Research limitations/implications
Subjective data on excellent consulting practice sourced from industry‐respected consultants was used rather than justifying reasons for their choice from a theoretical basis. Generalisability of results to other business and industry sectors remains to be tested.
Practical implications
The derived performance measures may be used by practitioners to objectively assess management consultant performance and local authority performance (in specifying the contract). Where performance discrepancies exist, reasons and remedial actions may be determined via consideration of the individual scale items.
Originality/value
There continues to be a lack of research into the practices employed by local authorities when they retain and manage their management consultants; such purchasers often experience difficulty judging what is being offered and what kinds and levels of performance are relevant and achievable. Underperformance may be due to a lack of objective and well‐developed consulting performance standards. The present study examines these gaps.
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Eric Deakins and Stuart Dillon
Broadly conceptualised, a consultant's work can be evaluated by the deliverables produced and by the process used to achieve those deliverables. This paper seeks to report the use…
Abstract
Purpose
Broadly conceptualised, a consultant's work can be evaluated by the deliverables produced and by the process used to achieve those deliverables. This paper seeks to report the use of a survey instrument to assess and compare management consultant process performance and client performance (in specifying the contract), enabling meaningful dialogue between the parties.
Design/methodology/approach
A validated instrument, previously developed by the authors, was employed to survey all local and regional authorities in New Zealand regarding the expectations they have of their management consultants and their perceptions of process performance. Congruence of the performance profiles was assessed with the aid of profile similarity indices.
Findings
While results for the sector indicate that New Zealand local authorities appear to be generally well satisfied with the levels of service they are receiving from their management consultants, individual authorities are experiencing significant gaps between their expectations and what is being delivered. In addition, misalignments between client expectations and benchmark process performance measures indicate a lack of rigour when specifying contracts.
Research limitations/implications
The research makes use of subjective measures of excellent consulting practice sourced from industry‐respected consultants and authors in the field, rather than attempting to justify their choice from a theoretical basis. Conceptual difficulties with the use of profile similarity indices in alignment research are noted. The generalisability of the benchmark performance standards to consultants operating in other sectors remains to be tested.
Practical implications
Benchmark consultant performance standards provide the basis for local authorities to insist upon internationally recognized and recommended standards of contract delivery. The use of well‐developed process performance measures to assess differences between local authority expectations and perceived consultant performance, and between perceived consultant performance and benchmark expectations, provides the opportunity for local authorities and their consultants to engage in meaningful and objective dialogue. Skilled consultants will benefit from dialogue that should translate into greater respect and understanding of their true worth, and into the setting of contract specifications and pricing that reflect this assessment.
Originality/value
Previous authors have argued the lack of well‐developed performance measures and attendant benchmark performance standards expected of consultants. The present study directly addresses these gaps and focuses on the manner in which management consultants work with public sector clients to produce contract deliverables. Validated benchmark measures are used to detect process performance gaps, providing the opportunity for local authorities and their consultants to engage in meaningful dialogue.
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Ever since its introduction into the vernacular of imperial historiography over a half century ago, the concept of “informal empire” has had a profound influence on how historians…
Abstract
Ever since its introduction into the vernacular of imperial historiography over a half century ago, the concept of “informal empire” has had a profound influence on how historians have understood the size and nature of British expansion in the modern world. While offering a crucial corrective to definitions of empire that had focused exclusively on “formal” colonial holdings, such a division has also obscured other frameworks through which we might understand the contours of imperial power, while also underscoring traditional bifurcations between early modern and modern forms of empire. This paper suggests instead an approach that privileges schema that take into account the different institutional and constitutional forms that shaped imperial expansion, and specifically argues that the corporation was one such form, in competition with others including the monarchical and national state. Looking specifically at the early modern East India Company and its modern legacies, particularly George Goldie’s Royal Niger Company, it also suggests that institutional approaches that de-emphasize distinctions between behavioral categories, such as commerce and politics, allow the possibility of excavating deep ideological connections across the history of empire, from its seventeenth-century origins through the era of decolonization.