Paul Raj Devadoss

Structurational analysis of e-government initiatives: a case study of SCO

Abstract Governments are eagerly looking toward a digital future, but their view is obstructed by the challenges they face in modernizing such vast enterprises. This case study discusses how a government agency developed and implemented an e-procurement system. In particular, the study findings suggest that in the initial stage of any e-government projects, having a tele-cooperation perspective would be useful as it provides a holistic view, focussing on the support of computer-mediated cooperation in a comprehensive sense. We analyse the data using a structurational model, to identify issues in developing this initiative, and construct a framework to analyse future e-government initiatives. We hope to provide a foundation for further discussions on this increasingly important area of research and practice.

Towards a holistic perspective of customer relationship management (CRM) implementation: a case study of the housing and development board, Singapore

Organizations have increasingly recognized the importance of managing customer relationships, and many organizations are turning to customer relationship management (CRM) to better serve customers and facilitate closer relationships with them. This paper examines the implementation of CRM at the Housing and Development Board (HDB) in Singapore. The CRM architecture (comprising operational CRM, collaborative CRM and analytical CRM) deployed at HDB reflects a holistic approach to CRM implementation that integrates three key perspectives of CRM, namely, the business, technology and customer perspectives. Drawing from the case study, we present a holistic framework for CRM that binds information technologies with business processes for the delivery of high service quality.

Managing knowledge integration in a national health-care crisis: lessons learned from combating SARS in Singapore

The outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome is the first severe and readily transmissible disease to emerge in the 21st century. Often one new infection meant tracing of several people to monitor their health conditions as well. In Singapore, several agencies coordinated their efforts to quickly bring the outbreak under control. The current breed of health-care information systems (HCIS) was not sufficient to handle new information-sharing needs during the crisis. In this paper, we take a look at the measures taken during the crisis in Singapore through a knowledge integration perspective. This perspective reveals interesting implications for HCIS.

The Impact of Ubiquitous Computing Technologies on Business Process Change and Management: The Case of Singapore’s National Library Board

Ubiquitous Computing technologies are reaching a stage of technical maturity that is enabling their application in everyday business environments. As organizations increasingly adopt these technologies, such as radio frequency identification (RFID), a deeper understanding of their impacts on business process management and design will reveal innovative opportunities for organizations to leverage upon in achieving their objectives. The case of RFID adoption at the National Library Board (NLB) reveals how the technology has enabled deskilling, modularity, and motility in business processes. As a result, NLB has enjoyed higher levels of efficiency, developed novel and differentiated services, and achieved greater customer satisfaction.

Complicating Utopian and Dystopian Views of Automation: An Investigation of the Work and Knowledge Involved in the Call Center Offshoring Industry in India

Offshoring is motivated by the relocation and standardization of organizational services to remote locations—typically the so-called developing nations—in order to achieve substantial cost efficiencies. Standardized business practices, aided by information technologies, are assumed to mobilize and recover the service practices in these new contexts. In this paper, we examine the boundary objects and boundary work involved in call center work. Data from several interviews with managers, industry consultants, and agents in the call center industry reveal that the recovery of call center practices in India involves substantial managerial and employee work, in order to manage and stitch together the diverse cultural and practical interests of the various groups. As a result, beneath the automated and simplified appearance of call center work is an underlying complexity of boundary work and boundary objects involved in linking the various participants—both human and nonhuman—into a temporarily stable industry. The result is a complication to both utopian and dystopian views of call center work.

Virtuality and Non-Virtuality in Remote Stock Trading

Advances in information technology allow for remote working, leading to suggestions that remote individuals can operate in virtual instead of face-to-face teams. This paper considers the continuation of face-to-face communication in a European group of stock traders, despite the capabilities of information technology to individuate the work. The case illustrates that traders prefer and need to work in face-to-face settings for various reasons. Short-term reasons arise from a need for instant and effortless communication in their manipulation of market prices and for instant knowledge sharing, leading to both higher individual and collective profits. Long-term reasons arise from a need for continuous learning by novices and experts, as stock markets and stock prices settle into behavioral patterns over longer periods of time. The implications for computing and work are discussed.