Hershey, Pennsylvania
New York, New YorkBeijing, China
An Ethnographic Study of Is Investment Appraisal

An Ethnographic Study of Is Investment Appraisal

Debra Howcroft (University of Manchester, UK) and Robert McDonald (University of Salford, UK)
Copyright: © 2007 |Pages: 34
DOI: 10.4018/jthi.2007070106
OnDemand:
(Individual Articles)
Available
$37.50
Current Special Offers
No Current Special Offers
TOTAL SAVINGS: $37.50

Abstract

Both academics and practitioners have invested considerably in the information systems evaluation arena, yet rewards remain elusive. The aim of this article is to provide rich insights into some particular political and social aspects of evaluation processes. An ethnographic study of a large international financial institution is used to compare the experience of observed practice with the rhetoric of company policy, and also to contrast these observations with the process of IS evaluation as portrayed within the literature. Our study shows that despite increasing acknowledgement within the IS evaluation literature of the limitations and flaws of the positivist approach, typified by quantitative, ‘objective’ assessments, this shift in focus towards understanding social and organisational issues has had little impact on organisational practice. In addition, our observations within the research site reveal that the veneer of rationality offered by formalised evaluation processes merely obscures issues of power and politics that are enmeshed within these processes.

Complete Article List

Search this Journal:
Reset
Volume 21: 1 Issue (2025)
Volume 20: 1 Issue (2024)
Volume 19: 1 Issue (2023)
Volume 18: 7 Issues (2022): 4 Released, 3 Forthcoming
Volume 17: 4 Issues (2021)
Volume 16: 4 Issues (2020)
Volume 15: 4 Issues (2019)
Volume 14: 4 Issues (2018)
Volume 13: 4 Issues (2017)
Volume 12: 4 Issues (2016)
Volume 11: 4 Issues (2015)
Volume 10: 4 Issues (2014)
Volume 9: 4 Issues (2013)
Volume 8: 4 Issues (2012)
Volume 7: 4 Issues (2011)
Volume 6: 4 Issues (2010)
Volume 5: 4 Issues (2009)
Volume 4: 4 Issues (2008)
Volume 3: 4 Issues (2007)
Volume 2: 4 Issues (2006)
Volume 1: 4 Issues (2005)
View Complete Journal Contents Listing