Chapter Summary

One of the more difficult problems facing MIS departments and company executives is the conflict between centralization and decentralization. These issues were involved in many decisions during the last 5 to 10 years, from politics to corporate organizations, to the way in which MIS fits into the organization. Although there is no single answer that applies to all situations, there has been a distinct trend during the last few years toward decentralization. In larger organizations, this propensity has been hampered by the highly centralized organizations and computer systems that have been in place for the last 30 years.

Decentralization of MIS can occur in any of four areas: hardware, software, data, and MIS personnel. Economics is driving the decentralization of hardware because of tremendous price performance values in personal computers. The challenge is to accommodate this decentralization without losing the benefits of centralization. One option would be a completely decentralized information system, where each user and department is responsible for its own information. Today, the Internet standards provide new technologies to gain the benefits of both centralization and decentralization. Applications running on Web servers can retrieve centralized data to be displayed and modified using thin-client browsers. The goal is to gain the economies of scale and improved control and ease of sharing offered by centralized servers, yet provide users with the individual tools needed to perform their jobs. The simpler client hardware and software platforms offer the promise of less user support.

Managing servers and networks, as well as building applications, can be difficult tasks for many companies. It is hard to find and reward good IS workers, and continually solving technical problems takes time away from the daily business tasks. So, many organizations have chosen to outsource various IS functions—from development to maintenance to development and operation of the servers. Outsourcing provides a short-term increase in cash for the company, access to computer specialists, and the ability to concentrate on the company’s primary business. However, firms requiring specialized talent, high security and control, high levels of recent technology, new state-of-the-art information technology, or complex market structures should avoid outsourcing and retain in-house management of the information function.