The aim of this thesis is to provide an original interpretative rationale of the role and effect of culture which may influence the development of a modern Small to Medium sized Enterprise (SME). Substantively, the research is two-fold: firstly, to examine organisational culture and, secondly, its relationship with IT implementations, specifically computer-based Management Information Systems (MIS). An extensive literature review has revealed a lack of synthesis between organisational culture and computer-based implementations, particularly in the SME environment. The research uses an approach based on ethnographic methods from qualitative research within inductivist confines. A thirty-month ethnographic study at a small engineering firm, verified and validated by triangulation techniques, has been used to form a Conceptual Model for successful MIS implementation. This new Model has been validated in several, unconnected, external organisations. The main case-study is supported by smaller studies which has provided a holistic (and therefore more realistic) view of the complexity of organisational culture. It is emphasised that achieving a change in organisational culture is a deeply political and turbulent process. Due regard must be given to managerial, cultural, organisational, human, technical, psychological and political issues. The research takes full account of these factors and discusses the importance of core competency, both from the organisation and its actors, to facilitate and realise effective cultural change. The Model proposed is one methodology for implementation in organisations with cultural and organisational difficulties. Due to the intricacies and complexity of culture, the implementation strategy is potentially a lengthy process. Contributions are made to knowledge in a number of different arenas. Firstly, a contribution is made in the area of IT change management by proposing a new Model for MIS implementation. The Model is given credibility having been verified and validated at several external organisations. Secondly, a contribution is made in the area of organisational theory as the SME focus provides this vital sector of the business community with additional, pertinent, information when undergoing IT implementations. Finally, the research contributes to knowledge in the area of research methodology as the novel combination of diverse paradigms has resulted in a new research approach for use in the SME environment.

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For IT project managers, how to implement IT projects successfully is always an important issue due to high failure rate of traditional IT project implementation. When more and more enterprises start to develop systems under the new IT methodology in service oriented IT projects, it is essential to access risks coming with this new IT concept. In this research we aim to identify risk factors related to service oriented IT projects and then analyze the impact and rank of these risk factors. Adapted from the general IT project risk category proposed by Ewusi (1994), we propose 6 risk factors of service-oriented IT projects. The risk framework highlights the properties of business strategy, business Process, and workforce under on-demand business architecture. We use a customer service system to justify our research framework, applying the IBM’s concept of SIMM (service integrated maturity model). A pretest is first conducted with several IT experts who has implemented service oriented IT project experience, followed by a general survey. A binary logistic regression is used to testify the hypotheses. The result shows that essential risk factors that influence the adoption of service oriented system, from the highest to lowest, are insufficient technology planning, lack of expertise, ineffective project governance, and organizational misalignment. The findings help CIOs and project managers realize of the risks and the priority of these risks that have to be noticed and controlled when making decisions on service oriented systems adoption.

This study focus on organizations transfer to cloud computing. Today many companies are shifting their attention towards cloud computing and the possibilities that it offers, with more flexibility and lower costs. Different kinds of cloud services, both for use by the individual and the large enterprise, are getting more popular. More and more organizations therefore decide to do the move to the cloud. There are several different strategies and many pieces of advice for these organizations to follow, but there’s not much research that have been conducted on this subject. In this study we give a presentation of what the cloud is, what its advantages and disadvantages are, what kind of problems organizations might run into while moving into the cloud and we analyze the gathered material to produce guiding knowledge within the subject. The study have mainly consisted of literature research, but we have also performed an interview with a company that made the move into the cloud to further confirm the results. As results of our study we present general pieces of advice for organizations to follow when they plan to make the move to the cloud. This essay is written in Swedish. / Den här studien fokuserar på organisationers övergång till molnet. Allt fler organisationer får upp ögonen för molnet och de möjligheter som användandet av det erbjuder, med bland annat mer flexibilitet och lägre kostnader. Olika typer av molntjänster, både för användning av individen och det stora företaget, blir mer populära. Fler och fler organisationer väljer därför att genomföra övergången till molnet. Det finns flera olika strategier och många olika råd för dessa organisationer att följa, men mängden forskning inom detta område är liten. I denna studie ger vi en presentation om vad molnet är, vilka dess fördelar och nackdelar är, vilka typer av problem organisationer kan stöta på när de genomför övergången till molnet samt analyserar det insamlade matieralet för att producera vägledande kunskapen inom området. Studien är huvudsakligen en litteraturstudie, men vi har också genomfört en intervju med en organisation som gjort övergången till molnet för att bekräfta resultaten. Som resultat av studien presenterar vi generella råd för organisationer att följa när de planerar att genomföra övergången till molnet. Denna uppsats är skriven på svenska.

As schools use more technology, they are increasingly likely to hire in-house IT support workers. Nothing is known, however, about relationships between teachers and IT workers. This study examines the perceptions of relationships between these occupational groups at an international private school in Singapore. As an international private school, the research venue is self-governed and self-funded. This autonomy allows the school to establish its own hiring practices and management structures devoid of the political interference and delayed responses that might characterise a larger-scale school system. A review of the literature reveals three themes: perceptions of professional status, perceptions of occupational prestige, and perceptions of occupational cultures – each subsequently investigated in terms of the relationships fostered between the two occupational groups. Twelve teachers and seven IT workers participated in detailed semi-structured interviews – which were then subjected to qualitative analysis using both open and axial coding. The research findings show that extant literature on each individual occupation is largely validated. Relationships between the two occupations were generally regarded as good, with each side reporting sources of minor irritation with the other. These irritants included exploitation by teachers and lack of prompt service from IT workers. Additional findings include: Two forms of inter-occupational ambassador exist: the tweeners, whose jobs place them at an intersection between the two groups; and bridgers, who voluntarily seek to strengthen interactions with their occupational counterparts. Teachers uniformly but sometimes hesitantly claim professional status. IT workers generally deny having professional status on the grounds that they lack complete mastery over their field of work. Other important elements of relationships include secretaries, communication, occupational cultures, and the geography of offices. The study concludes with suggestions for future research and recommendations for schools to improve relationships between teachers and IT workers.

Surfplattor har kommit in i förskolans verksamhet och med dom farhågor om hur bra det verkligen kan vara. Denna studie fokuserar på hur förskollärare arbetar med surfplattor i förskolan och hur barns lärande påverkas av dess användande enligt dom. Tidigare forskning visar att barn kan hantera surfplattor lättare än en dator och att de blir bättre på problemlösning och dessutom utvecklas deras kreativa sida av surfplattor. Det finns dock risker med att använda surfplattor för yngre barn så som allt för mycket stillasittande och stress. När förskollärare dokumenterar med surfplattor kan deras möjlighet till reflektion påverkas negativt eftersom tekniken gör att detta arbete kan göras så snabbt. Denna studie är baserad på kvalitativa intervjuer med sex förskollärare på två olika förskolor i norra Sverige. Resultatet visade att dokumentation är vad surfplattan används till mest på båda förskolorna. Barnen i sin tur spelar mest spel som förskollärarna har laddat ner. Alla sex förskollärare som deltog i studien underströk att det fanns innehåll i läroplanen som motiverade användning av surfplattor. Det visade sig också att förskollärarna på båda förskolorna ville arbeta mer med surfplattor speciellt tillsammans med barnen på ett pedagogiskt sätt. Det intryck jag fick utifrån denna studie är att surfplattor förenklar för förskollärarna med deras arbetsuppgifter och med mer kunskap om hur surfplattor kan användas kan de bli ett utmärkt verktyg att använda tillsammans med barnen.

Frågeställningar: Hur arbetar parterna i outsourcing-arrangemang för att etablera effektiva relationer och social anpassning?   Hur påverkar utformningen av outsourcing-arrangemanget parternas arbete med social anpassning?   Syfte: Syftet med studien är att utifrån ett kontextuellt perspektiv av outsourcing-arrangemang undersöka hur ingående parter arbetar med relationer för att uppnå social anpassning. Med kontextuellt perspektiv syftar vi på de olika aspekter som tillsammans påverkar hur outsourcing-arrangemanget är utformat. Med detta vill vi skapa större förståelse för hur parter i olika outsourcing-arrangemang arbetar med relationerna till varandra i praktiken i en allt mer heterogen outsourcing-miljö. Vidare vill vi undersöka vilken påverkan olika utformning av outsourcing-arrangemang kan ha på detta arbete och hur det påverkar arbetet med att uppnå social anpassning. Vi vill genom detta skapa större förståelse för social anpassning och göra det mer tillämpbart i praktiken genom att utgå från ett mer detaljerat, kontextuellt perspektiv.     Metod: För att uppnå studiens syfte har en kvalitativ metod använts genom intervjuer som metod för insamlandet av data. Det har genomförts sex semistrukturerade intervjuer med sju respondenter som alla har erfarenhet av ledande roller i outsouricing-arrangemang. Teorin som har använts har varit kopplad till bland annat outsourcing-relationer, social anpassning, boundary spannning och offshore-outsourcing.     Slutsats: I praktiken arbetar företagen mer “ad hoc” med att vårda relationerna än vad som teoretiska riktlinjer föreslår. Däremot värderas social anpassning högt och bidrar därför till att inblandade parter praktiskt förändrar processer och sätter in insatser, samt utarbetar välformulerade avtal för att uppnå bättre social anpassning mellan parterna outsourcing-arrangemang. Vidare kan det konstateras att utformningen av outsourcing-arrangemanget, påverkar vilka krav som ställs på relationen i att uppnå social anpassning, och därigenom hur parterna behöver arbeta för att uppnå social anpassning. / Questions: How do clients and vendors operate to enable effective relations and social alignment in outsourcing arrangements?   How does the formation of the outsourcing arrangement affect the work in social alignment creation?   Purpose: The main purpose of this study is to research how organisations work with relationships to achieve social alignment between the parties from a contextual perspective. The contextual perspective involves the different aspects that comprises the forming of the outsourcing-arrangement. Through this, we aim to develop greater understanding in how the parties of an outsourcing arrangement form their relationships in practice in a heterogeneous outsourcing environment. This will give a wider perspective to how these contextual aspects affect the social alignment between parties and how the relationships need to be tended to in achieving effective relationships and social alignment.   Method: In achieving the purpose of this thesis, a qualitative method has been applied to the data collection through a series of interviews. A total of six interviews have been conducted with respondents with great experience and leading roles within outsourcing arrengements. Theories that have been applied involve outsourcing relationships, social alignment, boundary spanning and offshore outsourcing, among others.     Conclusion: The organisations work more “ad hoc” in practice than what theoretical guidelines propose. The concept of social alignment from a practical perspective on the other hand is widely applicable and leads to the changing of processes and arranging of efforts to better achieve social alignment between the parties. Further, the aspects that comprise the shape of the outsourcing arrangement are concluded to have effect on the many ways in which the parties work whit their relationships in the forming of social alignment.

In this research we are evaluating how internet affects interpersonal business relationships. We have noticed t at t xisting it ratur t at t u s up n int rn t’s effects are mainly concerned with “that” and “what” internet affects. What we want to study is ”how” internet affects and in this study, how employees use internet as a medium and how internet affects interpersonal business relationship creation and building. This study is driven by our own curiosity as we want to learn more about this field as we will most probably come across it later in our careers. The study was conducted through a comparative case study design where the data was gathered through interviews with seven individuals who uses internet in their working life to communicate with customers. The interviews allowed us to see that internet was used in different ways and that the communication had different aims. We adopted the thematic analysis method when analyzing our data and found that int rn t’s ff t n busin ss r ati ns ips diff r d b tw n diff r nt bran s. It a s became evident that different individuals used it to different degrees when it came to actually creating and building relationships with the medium. From our finding we can conclude that: Internet does affect interpersonal business relationship creation and building but the effect might be both positive and negative depending on the user of the medium. The change inflicted on the business relationships by internet was also dependent on the line of business.