AMERIREAL Corporation: Information Technology and Organizational Performance

Abstract

This instructional case, based on an actual firm’s experience (name changed) is intended to challenge student thinking with regard to the extent to which information technology (IT) can demonstrably contribute to organizational performance and productivity, and to which users of IT can relate their investment decisions to measurable outcomes. Relationships between an organization’s investment in IT and the effect of such investments on the organization’s performance and productivity have long been the subject of discussion and research. Managers, interested in knowing the “payoff” of such investments, are continually seeking answers to this question. A failure to understand the benefits of IT investment, or an over- or under-estimation of the benefits of a planned investment in IT relative to the costs, will likely result in less than optimal investment decisions.