This study was conducted in order to identify and examine the IT/IS evaluation practices employed in Saudi private organisations, and any factors that hinder such organisations in evaluating their IT/IS systems effectively. It also seeks to explore the possible relationships between IT/IS evaluation and the IT/IS organisational management. A questionnaire was developed and validated in order to provide quantitative data relating to the motivations for conducting an IT/IS evaluation, the perceived benefits of it, the attitudes towards it, and factors influencing the process. Supplementary qualitative data was obtained using interviews and case studies. The sample organisations were drawn from the databases of the Saudi Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Questionnaires were distributed to 200 private organisations, of which 79 replied. In addition, four case studies were conducted and 24 IT/IS managers were personally interviewed. The data shows that 64.6°/ of the responding organisations conducted IT/IS evaluation to some extent. It is conducted as a management process and it is not a formal evaluation. The most common reasons for conducting IT/IS evaluation were to assess work efficiency, to assess technical performance, to assess system productivity and to assess cost/benefit. The primary benefits expected from IT/IS evaluation are an awareness of necessary future strategies for the organisation and to assist in better planning for future systems (Time & Budget). The factors that could lead to resistance when conducting IT/IS evaluation were a lack of top management support, lack of the decisionmaker's awareness about the importance of IT/IS evaluation, lack of user involvement and lack of sufficient training. In addition, the main obstacles to conducting IT/IS evaluation, reported by both organisations that evaluate their IT/IS systems and those that do not, were the lack of the decision-maker's awareness about the available IT/IS evaluation methods, lack of direction from top management, and lack of training programmes in IS development. The IT/IS organisational management was found to be a major influence on the decision to conduct IT/IS evaluation in private organisations in Saudi Arabia. The significant differences found between the organisations that conduct IT/IS evaluation and those that do not were in relation to the IT/IS organisational management variables that were selected in this study. Recommendations are made to assist Saudi private organisations when evaluating their IT/IS systems.

The aim of this thesis has been to provide a thorough examination on formal and relational elements of IT outsourcing governance as well as their interplay. In my research I conducted three longitudinal case studies in the financial services industry. In my examination, I initially focused on the characteristics of the exchange as these are instructed by the theory of transaction costs and provided a thorough investigation of the predictive power of the theory on the choice of governance structures. My findings demonstrated significant limitations that constrain the predictive power of the theory. Similarly to previous research I observed a neglect of the social context within which the transactions take place; an intense focus on cost minimization efforts; and an over-emphasis on the behavioral assumption of opportunism. I further identified that the theory of transaction costs treats the choice of governance structures as a decision that is relatively isolated from other challenges related to the execution of the outsourcing arrangement and a relative downplay of the impact of uncertainty in the generation of transaction costs in the case of non-specific assets. In my research, I additionally adopted a more integrated perspective in the assessment of formal and relational aspects of IT outsourcing governance and illustrated how the Foucauldian notions on governmentality, discourse and power relations can enhance our understanding. According to my findings, "contracts" and "relationships" appear to emerge as modes of governmentality and utilize different means of surveillance, discipline and control. These different modes can be complementary, but simultaneously mutually undermining, in outsourcing arrangements that emerge as dynamic - from contextual factors and the circuits of power relations that constitute these arrangements. Furthermore, Foucault's theorization draws attention to the fact that there is an 'outsourcing' discourse with recurring themes, issues, language and regularities. This discourse appears to discipline peoples' thoughts and actions and distinguishes between desirable and undesirable types of behaviour. In this manner, a Foucauldian perspective illuminates the productive character of power, not only in terms of the production of truth and knowledge, but also in terms of practical behaviours seen as appropriate and useful.

This thesis explores the apparent paradox of information technology (IT) evaluation methods not being broadly employed despite their seemingly innate qualities of assisting organisations in improving their management of IT costs and benefits. This is paradoxical since a multitude of evaluation methods exist and both academic and professional literature argue that their use will lead to beneficial effects. The thesis aims to deepen understanding of the employment process of IT evaluation methods in organisations. Building on diffusion theory and actor-network theory (ANT), it is an in-depth case study of the employment process of an IT evaluation method at a Dutch insurance company. The diffusion theory is a good initial candidate for understanding the phenomenon of underutilisation, but fails to unravel the paradox. An ANT analysis suggests that during a process of mutual translation both the evaluation method and its surrounding actors enter into a dynamic negotiation mutually translating each other. The evaluation method is appropriated by its surrounding actors in a black-boxing attempt. These actors capitalise on weaknesses in the method's inscriptions, increase their strength and follow anti-programs. The method also appropriates these surrounding actors, assigning them new roles (changing their work processes, responsibilities and prerogatives) and moving them to new positions in the actor-network. The resulting employment process has emergent properties and is characterised by improvisation rather than blue-print planning. When employed, the method is unlikely to resemble its initially planned outcome. The origin of the paradox is based on the assumptions that evaluation methods are neutral and have innate qualities and that their employment proceeds according to planned outcomes. This thesis undermines the paradox by arguing that a limited understanding of evaluation methods and unrealistic assumptions about evaluation employment are why such methods do not manifest their expected employment.

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Project success is vitally important for companies to execute and achieve their strate-gies, as well as carry out their visions. Today, more than ever before, companies oper-ate under tremendous strain to deliver results rapidly and, at the same time, remain viable and adaptable. Many organisations face multiple constraints in the process of implementing successful governance structures, especially where meaningful information technology (IT) deals are involved. Every organisation is confronted by problems exclusive to itself as each organization’s ecological, political, geographical, economic and social issues are unique. Research has indicated that IT projects are likely to fail where governance is lacking due to organizational limitations. Each of the mentioned challenges is capable of giving rise to difficulties that make the provision of effectual governance impossible, or challenging. Investments by financial institutions in South Africa in IT projects can conservatively be estimated at billions of rands. Given such colossal investment amounts, there is concern as to why there is still a lack of cooperation between various banking institutions in developing unified standards and procedures which result in successful management of IT projects. The unified standards would ensure that the investments in IT generate business value and mitigate the risks associated with IT, an integral part of the overall business delivery. IT governance is an integral part of corporate governance and en-sures that IT goals are met, and attendant risks are mitigated. IT governance powers ensures alignment between IT investment and programme delivery, and must justly measure accomplishments. This study was undertaken to evaluate and establish the reasons why IT project man-agement and IT regulatory governance fail within the South African banking industry. The objectives of the study were to find ways of addressing the way in which IT project management and regulatory governance are implemented so as to address project fail-ures. Another objective was to recommend frameworks which would usher in positive impacts on IT project implementation and develop effective IT regulatory standards for the South African banking sector. The findings of the study reflected that IT projects should be directed from the very top of organisations. The boards of directors and senior management should take owner-ship of IT projects and governance issues. The findings also revealed that there is a need for supervision by the boards of directors. This ensures that investments made in IT systems produce reasonable returns for the institutions. Regular checks of IT systems and governance compliance are essential to ensure enforcement. The research results were explained and equated to the studied information. / School of Computing / M. Tech. (Information Technology)