Impact of information technology on organizational structure and design : a study of organizations in Nepal, Thailand and Singapore | |
| Author | Hamal, Ramesh Kumar |
| Call Number | AIT RSPR no. SM-99-50 |
| Subject(s) | Information technology--Nepal Information technology--Thailand Information technology--Singapore Associations, institutions, etc.--Nepal Associations, institutions, etc.--Thailand Associations, institutions, etc.--Singapore |
| Note | A research study submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Administration, School of Management |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | Advanced Information Technologies that are used for strategic purposes by firms are becoming a pervasive aspect of organizations. The studies and research in these areas are mainly limited at organizations in the developed countries particularly in the west. This research is an attempt to identify the possible impact of IT on organizations in companies in Asia. For this purpose a comparative study in underdeveloped, emerging and the developed countries in Asia was undertaken. The main motivation of this research is of practical administrative importance. The intervention of IT with its relatively recent appearance and rapidly changing nature virtually guarantees that administrators and their advisors will not have experience as a guide in anticipating and planning for the impact they might face. This research in the Asian companies will help the administrators and the academicians by facilitating the understanding of the impacts occurring and anticipating the future trends. The study was conducted mainly in Nepal and Thailand with structured questionnaire and further follow-up personal interviews. The study in Singapore was only an attempt to examine the trend in more developed countries in Asia and thus only included personal interviews with managers of four companies. The empirical evidence from this research with managers of 65 companies indicates that IT has been one of the most important factors in transformation of organizations recently. Especially with higher use of IT organizations realized flatter organizational structure with reduced hierarchical layers and increased control functions of managers. And IT seems to have supported organizations in centralization and decentralization efforts for major organizational decisions. In reality many other internal and external influences are forcing companies to operate effectively and with enhanced speed reducing hierarchical barriers. Further trends in use of advanced information technologies and electronic media for departmental and personal communication have been experienced with lesser use in underdeveloped countries and frequent use in emerging countries. The development status of the country including the market size and availability of qualified & affordable vendors for IT system supply have been found as major factor in differing trends in such uses. |
| Year | 1999 |
| Type | Research Study Project Report (RSPR) |
| School | School of Management (SOM) |
| Department | Other Field of Studies (No Department) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Master of Business Administration (MBA) (Publication code=SM) |
| Chairperson(s) | Buechel, Bettina |
| Examination Committee(s) | Swierczek, Fredric W.;Raub, Steffen |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | NORAD (Norwegian Agency for Development) |
| Degree | Research Studies Project Report (M.B.A.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1999 |