Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In an increasingly competitive and cost conscious business environment, the Chief information
officer and business leaders are seeking to extract greater value from their technologies. At the
same time, business employees are more technically proficient than they have ever been, largely
on the back of emerging trends such as the consumerisation of Information and communications
technology. The convergence of this need to extract greater value from technology, and an
increasingly technology savvy employee is the trend known as user empowerment.
User empowerment implies the transfer of responsibilities and activities traditionally performed
within the Information and communications technology function of a business to the business
operations function.
In this report, the implementation of a user empowerment program is explored via a case study at
Maitland Group South Africa, a financial services firm based in Cape Town, South Africa. Through
this study, user empowerment is shown to have significant benefits to the business operations,
improving the job satisfaction experienced by business employees who felt they were able to add
additional value to the daily operations. In addition, user empowerment is shown to decrease risk,
increase operational agility, increase efficiency and improve quality, thereby resulting in an
improved customer experience. The experience at Maitland Group South Africa as explored
through the case study survey is aligned to this, with the business having achieved all of these
benefits. The business has also experienced some negative impacts, especially in the first few
months following the implementation of the program, resulting from a weak understanding and
appreciation of Information and communications technology governance amongst business users.
The concept of user empowerment is challenging to the Information and communications
technology function, especially those who have traditionally favoured a centrally run command and
control type model. The aversion the traditional Information and communications technology leader
might have to user empowerment is realised if sufficient understanding of the software
development lifecycle and associated governance processes are not transferred to business
operations. In those instances where end-users are empowered to perform activities traditionally
performed within Information and communications technology, without the appropriate
understanding of best practice and good governance procedures, the overall risk to the business
can be increased by empowering users. This risk is driven by poorly designed process, usually on
the back of poor testing and weak supporting documentation.
Overall though, if properly and appropriately executed, the benefits to the business of user
empowerment far exceeds the possible negative consequences.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/97265 |
| Date | 12 1900 |
| Creators | Hugill, Jon |
| Contributors | Butler, M. J., Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Graduate School of Business. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | xi, 82 pages |
| Rights | Stellenbosch University |
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