Management information systems : two case studies and a conceptual appartus

The relative failure of Treasury Board's attempt to introduce performance measurement information systems into federal agencies and departments, despite the assistance of private sector consultants and respected academics raises questions about our understanding of management information systems in government organizations. This thesis investigates two case studies recording the experiences of two government departments in this area. The investigation makes use of an analytic apparatus developed from perspectives on information systems discussed in the first three chapters. The case studies are discussed from a closed system technical approach as well as from an organizational point of view. It was found that the open system social organization approach coupled with the separate discussion of technical issues provides a useful set of concepts in  understanding management information systems and their implementation in the federal government. The thesis suggests that the ultimate failure of Treasury Board's attempt to implement integrated management information systems is due to the incompatibility of departmental decision-making processes with the operating style implied by these new management tools and the failure of Treasury Board to deal with this conflict.