The Need of Compatibility of Information Processing with the Control Structure of the Organization

Abstract

In order to be effective an information system must be compatible with the structure and dynamics of the organizational functions it supports and with the adaptability of the organization. An important aspect of the structure of organizations is their control structure, that is, the way in which their control functions relate to each other and to the organizational functions they control. The potential impact of the information system on the adaptability of the organization is particularly important since it affects the ability of the organization to cope with the uncertainty of its environment. This paper addresses the need for an information system to be compatible with the structure and dynamics of the organization it supports and with its adaptability. Because of the effect that the control structure of an organization has on its adaptability, modeling organizations as distributed control structures is particularly useful in our case.