Taming runaway Information Technology (IT) projects is a challenge that most organizations have f... more Taming runaway Information Technology (IT) projects is a challenge that most organizations have faced and that managers continue to wrestle with. These are projects that grossly exceed their planned budgets and schedules, often by a factor of 2--3 fold or greater. Many end in failure; failure not only in the sense of budget or schedule, but in terms of delivered
ABSTRACT From 1992 to 2005 Singapore National Library Board has successfully incorporated informa... more ABSTRACT From 1992 to 2005 Singapore National Library Board has successfully incorporated information technology into its working procedures and customer service. The organization has adopted Radio Frequency Identification and other technology applications; transformed its operating routines and provided access to millions of publications for its library users. A key issue in this transformation is how the organization has managed its cultural change and has taken advantage of emerging technology. The success is considered remarkable since, in the past, public libraries in Singapore have carried the stigma of traditional public sector organizations in tending to resist new technology. To provide an insight into how Singapore National Library Board has managed its employees’ adaptation to the new technology, we examine the cultural changes resulting from introduction of information technology. A number of key factors have emerged which show how an organization can manage this kind of cultural adaptation. We discuss their application in research and practice.
This paper serves as a stimulus to investigators to examine the role organizational politics play... more This paper serves as a stimulus to investigators to examine the role organizational politics plays in decisions leading to the abandonment of information systems (IS) projects. While prior research has identified the development of IS projects as a highly political process, where stakeholders may be more concerned about furthering their self-interests than about contributing to the overall success of the
ABSTRACT Taming runaway information technology (IT) projects is a challenge that most organizatio... more ABSTRACT Taming runaway information technology (IT) projects is a challenge that most organizations have faced and that managers continue to wrestle with. These are projects that grossly exceed their planned budgets and schedules, often by a factor of 2-3 fold or greater. Many end in failure; failure not only in the sense of budget or schedule, but in terms of delivered functionality as well. Runaway projects are frequently the result of escalating commitment to a failing course of action,11 a phenomenon that occurs when investments fail to work out as envisioned and decision-makers compound the problem by persisting irrationally. Keil, Mann, and Rai reported that 30-40% of IT projects exhibit some degree of escalation. To break the escalation cycle, de-escalation of commitment to the failing course of action must occur so that valuable resources can be channeled into more productive use. But, making de-escalation happen is neither easy nor intuitive. This article briefly examines three approaches that have been suggested for managing de-escalation. By combining elements from the three approaches, we introduce a de-escalation management maturity (DMM) model that provides a useful framework for improving practice.
Taming runaway Information Technology (IT) projects is a challenge that most organizations have f... more Taming runaway Information Technology (IT) projects is a challenge that most organizations have faced and that managers continue to wrestle with. These are projects that grossly exceed their planned budgets and schedules, often by a factor of 2--3 fold or greater. Many end in failure; failure not only in the sense of budget or schedule, but in terms of delivered
ABSTRACT From 1992 to 2005 Singapore National Library Board has successfully incorporated informa... more ABSTRACT From 1992 to 2005 Singapore National Library Board has successfully incorporated information technology into its working procedures and customer service. The organization has adopted Radio Frequency Identification and other technology applications; transformed its operating routines and provided access to millions of publications for its library users. A key issue in this transformation is how the organization has managed its cultural change and has taken advantage of emerging technology. The success is considered remarkable since, in the past, public libraries in Singapore have carried the stigma of traditional public sector organizations in tending to resist new technology. To provide an insight into how Singapore National Library Board has managed its employees’ adaptation to the new technology, we examine the cultural changes resulting from introduction of information technology. A number of key factors have emerged which show how an organization can manage this kind of cultural adaptation. We discuss their application in research and practice.
This paper serves as a stimulus to investigators to examine the role organizational politics play... more This paper serves as a stimulus to investigators to examine the role organizational politics plays in decisions leading to the abandonment of information systems (IS) projects. While prior research has identified the development of IS projects as a highly political process, where stakeholders may be more concerned about furthering their self-interests than about contributing to the overall success of the
ABSTRACT Taming runaway information technology (IT) projects is a challenge that most organizatio... more ABSTRACT Taming runaway information technology (IT) projects is a challenge that most organizations have faced and that managers continue to wrestle with. These are projects that grossly exceed their planned budgets and schedules, often by a factor of 2-3 fold or greater. Many end in failure; failure not only in the sense of budget or schedule, but in terms of delivered functionality as well. Runaway projects are frequently the result of escalating commitment to a failing course of action,11 a phenomenon that occurs when investments fail to work out as envisioned and decision-makers compound the problem by persisting irrationally. Keil, Mann, and Rai reported that 30-40% of IT projects exhibit some degree of escalation. To break the escalation cycle, de-escalation of commitment to the failing course of action must occur so that valuable resources can be channeled into more productive use. But, making de-escalation happen is neither easy nor intuitive. This article briefly examines three approaches that have been suggested for managing de-escalation. By combining elements from the three approaches, we introduce a de-escalation management maturity (DMM) model that provides a useful framework for improving practice.
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Papers by Gary Pan