In a competitive environment, selecting and effectively pursuing the right information systems/technology (IST) investments can be key factor in sustaining corporate viability and prosperity. This study examines the criteria used by 80 organizations in allocating strategic IST resources. Senior executives were asked to indicate which of 15 criteria they use in deciding among competing projects. They also identified how frequently the criteria are used and ranked them by importance. The results indicate that criteria such as the support of explicit business objectives and response to competitive systems are now important in selecting IST investments. Although financial criteria are used by most organizations, the extent of analysis and application appears to leave room for improvement.

The main aim of this paper is to present a systemic framework of what the field of Information Systems (IS) is about; its connecting areas and its central theme. It was born out of a search for structure in providing a cohesive picture of the subject and field of IS for students and business managers. The average manager and executive has difficulty in obtaining an integrated and holistic view of information systems, and it is said that this leads to a lack of alignment between IS and the strategic aims of the enterprise. Students, particularly MBA students, have a similar problem. Using a large number of disparate data sources, including a delphic survey of leading academics, the paper adopted a grounded theory approach in developing an integrating framework of five main areas for the field: (1) IS development, acquisition & support (2) people & organization, (3) information & communications technology, (4) operations & network management, and (5) information for knowledge work, customer satisfaction & business performance. The latter area is proposed as the central, distinguishing theme for the field. The paper also discusses the implications of the framework and how it might be used in teaching, the organizational setting, and IS research.

A study aimed at a determination of the organizational principles involved in systems decentralization (SD). It is based on a survey of 14 American and British companies selected for their significant investments in and mature experience of decentralized systems. There were eight principles underlying the policy and practice of SD in these companies, and the inference is that these principles appear to work. That is, considering their commonality of use and the depth of experience in the companies concerned, these principles appear to be optimizing the potential gains achievable through SD, while minimizing the potential losses. The implication is that, if these organizational principles can be effectively implemented in other organizations, they may facilitate success in systems decentralization, as well as the evolution toward distributed systems. Viewed as a whole, the principles appear to complement each other, such that they may be viewed as a conceptual model, wherein each depends upon at least one other for its effectiveness.

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