An inquiry into the perceptions of chief executive officers: What exactly needs to be known about chief executives and information technology in the organisation to gain this understanding? Clearly, it is not related to an expectation that chief executives do, or should, participate in the daily or departmental micro-management of information technology. Neither is it dependent on an expectation that CEOs should have a grasp of all the technical and philosophical issues relating to information systems or technology management and development. Rather it stems from a view that technology, as an enabler of change, should receive the attention of the chief executive in order to best harness its power to achieve corporate goals. / What is it that chief executives actually do when considering information technology issues in their organisations? If they are not computer literate and have limited understanding of the technological possibilities for the organisation, what are their sources for such information? If they are comfortable with technological concepts and terminology, how much does this affect their relationship with the senior information officer? How do chief executives communicate with their senior technologists? What are the CEOs' perceptions and assumptions about technology and the future? How is their decision-making affected? Do CEOs' use criteria or processes for technology projects other than those normally applied? Does the educational level, qualifications, years of experience as chief executive, or domain expertise, affect their approach to aligning the strategic direction with technology? Will different leadership styles map consistently with different ways of influencing the corporate technology function? Are there other factors that affect what strategies they choose? / Summary: The purpose of this research is to gain a better understanding of the perceptions of chief executive officers relative to the actions they take when faced with leadership of organisational change using information technology as the enabler. To that end, the literature is reviewed, the research methods for the project are described, and the research findings are presented. Relationships and relevant theories are discussed, a new theory is proposed, conclusions are drawn, and further research is suggested. / Thesis (MBusiness-Research)--University of South Australia, 2001.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/267232 |
| Creators | Watts, Dianne Leslie. |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | copyright under review |
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