Design Alternatives for Organizing Information Systems Activities

A number of recent articles have concluded that changes must occur in the manner information systems activities are organized. This article discusses the evolving nature of information systems activities, introduces a variety of alternative designs for organizing these activities, and presents some prototypal designs. Then, the implications to information systems managers of movement toward these new organizational forms are discussed. The article concludes with a discussion of some of the critical tasks to be undertaken by information systems managers and researchers in order that this transition toward an end user domination of many information systems activities can be successfully negotiated.