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The present wave of new and impending labour laws poses major problems for ill‐prepared managers. Here, David Wainwright — a management consultant with Binder Hamlyn Fry — provides a plan of action which can be adapted to suit the needs of individual companies.

The purpose of this paper is to adapt a causal modelling approach to investigate the organisational collaboration and information technology (IT) project management issues concerning the planning and adoption of inter‐organisational IT systems across NHS hospital pathology departments.

The researchers adopted an interpretive research approach utilising qualitative methods and in particular template analysis. Themes and categories were initially derived from a review of the literature based on critical success factors from enterprise resource planning (ERP) projects.

A causal loop modelling approach was adapted to define key linkages between success factors. This highlighted virtuous and vicious cycles associated with IT project management and team collaboration – influencing the adoption process of large‐scale integrated IT systems.

Single case studies can be problematic in terms of generalising from the research. The study had a limited number of interview participants due to the focus on strategic management. Future studies could extend the number of stakeholders involved and also focus on end‐users of services, such as clinicians in primary care.

The discussion and conclusions assess the appropriateness and utility of using a causal modelling approach, and an adapted causal loop model, to inform more effective approaches to IT planning, project management, team collaboration and adoption of integrated systems.

The findings indicate that a more enhanced understanding of project team collaboration involving technical, administrative and clinical stakeholders has the potential to inform more effective strategies for modernisation of hospital clinical services such as pathology.

This study investigates the anatomy of a high‐profile IT project under the umbrella of strategic modernisation of health services. Privileged access to key stakeholders has enabled the development of a causal model for IT project collaboration and management. This will form the basis for further development of more refined models to enhance project outcomes in the future.

The publication of the United Kingdom National Health Service (NHS) Information for Health Strategy heralded a new strategic focus for the provision of information systems (IS) support across the NHS. Key changes concerned the placement of much greater emphasis on clinical information needs by route of the Electronic Patient Record (EPR) and the Electronic Health Record (EHR). The last decade has seen unprecedented changes within the NHS due to government policies, political ideology, health‐care reform and pace of technological progress. This paper argues that this rate and scale of change has outstripped the ability of health‐care organisations to respond effectively in order to implement the key goals set by strategic policy makers. An historical review is combined with an analysis of recent empirical survey data to determine the evolution and progress of the NHS IM&T strategy over a period of ten years. The review and analysis is enabled by adopting techniques and theory derived from research within the field of Information Systems, whereby Information Systems maturity models are used as an heuristic to measure levels of sophistication of IT adoption and use. These models demonstrate that NHS hospitals are fairly immature in terms of the adoption and usage of information systems and technology; struggling to provide adequate foundations for systems integration (data, work and culture). Conclusions reflect on the current progress and ambition of the strategy and comment on its potential outcome given existing NHS knowledge of IT, skills, capability and infrastructure.

The purpose of this paper is to engage stakeholders in the development of a community based chronic pain-management service and identify their different agendas for service design and delivery.

Data were collected using the Nominal Group Technique (NGT), a ten-step process that generates qualitative and quantitative data. Seven NGT groups were conducted in the south-west region of the UK, three with General Practitioners and nurses, three with chronic pain patients, and one with Healthcare Commissioners.

The patient agenda for service development focused on process of care issues particularly the need for deep- empathy and emotional support from providers, while professionals prioritised cost-effectiveness. While there was some overlap between agendas they were largely discrete and often contradictory.

The findings imply service planners will need to make trade-offs between cost-containment and patient satisfaction. The methodology did not allow trade-offs to be put to participants in a structured form. However, such techniques are available, for example, Conjoint Analysis. There may also be value in bringing together patients and professionals in joint focus groups, to see if the gap between their different agendas can be bridged through discussion.

The findings provide a novel insight into the competing agendas of patients and professionals regarding service development and design which will be of value to service planners and managers as they strive to reconcile these differences.

Modern NHS organisations are seen to be increasingly reliant, in terms of achieving improvements and service targets, on the efficient provision of information to enable clinical, administrative and managerial decision making. A key barrier to effective ICT introduction in NHS trust hospitals has been identified as the complex social, organisational and political issues endemic within the organisation, preventing true discourse amongst key stakeholders. This paper describes how the adaptation of critical social theoretical thinking may be used to develop an innovative approach to participative process and information flow modelling. This approach is used within a hospital trust to investigate its potential as a precursor to ICT procurement and development. Empirical results of the research are described with suggestions for a more informed approach to ICT introduction, leading to a re‐examination of issues concerning: historical context, emancipatory practice and the role of the systems analyst.

The English National Health Service has undergone unprecedented political, economic and technological change. This has resulted in a requirement for radical improvements in operational efficiency and effectiveness. An effective IT infrastructure supporting key operational processes and management reporting is now seen as essential. This paper outlines the findings from empirical research in a North East hospital Trust. The authors collaborated on a requirements analysis project to investigate and model business processes and information flows using an automated IDEF0 software tool. A participatory action research framework was used, informed by principles derived from critical social theory, to describe the complexity of the situation and provide improved communication amongst stakeholders. The paper concludes by reflecting on the need for more “ideal” speech situations in order to deal with complex operations management problems where political, power and social issues can obstruct effective implementation of new computer‐integrated operations.

This paper aims to provide a review and critique of the benchmarking literature with respect to information and communication technology (ICT) adoption and usage within small firms. This is used as the basis for developing a competence based model contingency framework to be used for comparing practice and performance with respect to ICT within small firms.

A theoretical approach is proposed whereby the key metrics and questions related to the development of an ICT benchmarking framework are derived from recent empirical research reported in the literature.

The main findings indicate a paucity of empirical research with respect to benchmarking ICT and also underdeveloped theory in terms of IT adoption in small firms. The ICT competence and capability approach is proposed as a viable research avenue for investigating IT performance within small firms.

Limitations of this research are related to its current phase as work in progress. Testing of the theoretical framework and its development within the context of comparing ICT performance across small firms has yet to be carried out.

Practical implications of the research are very high as there could be a direct link between adoption and use of the benchmarking tool and improved ICT performance.

The development of an ICT benchmarking framework and tool that is directly focused on improving small firm performance – linked to a human and organisational competence approach as opposed to only measuring technological capability.

The purpose of this paper is to critically examine how social augmented parameters impact on the effective adoption of information and communication technology (ICT) by small‐scale agribusinesses operating in Southeast Nigeria. The relevance of incorporating social imperatives in scholarship focused on technology adoption is due to its role in sustaining the process of adoption and diffusion.

Data were gathered from a focus group made up of 27 agribusiness proprietors affiliated with a state cooperative based in the south‐eastern Nigerian state of Ebonyi.

This paper puts forward an argument that to ensure successful diffusion of innovation, a balance must be maintained between the amount of effort expended in the design of ICT and social factors such as language and traditional life. The paper finds that a willingness of indigenous ICT users is particularly influenced by the recognition and incorporation of visible social imperatives during the adoption process.

The outcome of this study highlights important issues for ICT adoption. One particular area that must be taken into consideration is the adoption channel. Perceptions of ICT adoption will differ significantly among adopters. For this reason, the need for developing an appropriate adoption channel that ensures successful diffusion of the innovation should be recognised.

This study contributes to ongoing research in ICT innovation adoption in small agribusinesses operating in indigenous societies. The theoretical implications of this paper are the development of a conceptual ICT adoption framework that emphasises social imperatives. The paper also demonstrates that agricultural enterprises should be treated as ‘normal’ firms in their own right.

The aim of this paper is to examine the impact of the digital culture on the music industries through an analysis of official and unofficial web sites, media reports and discussions with musicians.

A critical social theory approach is adopted to examine structures and processes related to communication between artists, fans, the media, as well as commercial and independent labels. The authors draw upon Habermas' theory using the concept of “communicative action” to inform an analysis of three vignettes or short case studies.

At first glance it would appear that technology has brought about greater opportunities for independent musicians to communicate, network, promote and distribute, which previously could not be widely published, and to organise against the commercial power of major labels (Majors).

In many spheres of the music industries this “empowerment” does not appear to be realised. For example, previous studies have shown that the domination of the Majors continues to impact on local music scenes to restrict and ultimately prevent the creative ideal deliver a situation that is necessary to empower independent musicians. Current media manipulation and corporate interests restrict and alienate independent musicians who often have more of an intellectual ownership and culture within their local music communities.

Although steps to enable improved visibility and cooperation have been made we are still a long way off musicians having a powerful enough voice to organise against the commercial power of the large labels and media conglomerates (e.g. Apple i‐Tunes). The ideal speech situation remains elusive and the hegemonic state remains unchallenged.

Music continues to be commodified and fans are increasingly constructed as “consumers”; the ultimate power remains in mass media and broadcasting rather than independent “narrowcast” and DIY artistry.

This paper extends debate on the impact of the developing “digital culture” focusing on independent musicians and the music industries. It raises issues for further research in this area.

Discusses the NHS Executive′s information management and technology (IM&T) strategy and its relationship to the 1991 reforms. Examines the recommendation for large acute hospitals to adopt integrated hospital information support systems (HISS). Reports that a recent census of these hospitals, undertaken by the authors, suggests that the implementation of the strategy′s recommendations has been slow at the local level. Attempts to diagnose the factors that are impeding implementation, using the evidence provided by the census. Identifies four main problem areas: the lack of success of past IM&T initiatives undermines confidence in the current strategy; the strategy is poorly aligned with other policy initiatives; the legacy of discrete, proprietary information systems within hospitals makes the creation of an integrative information environment difficult to accomplish without massive investment in new systems; and there are implicit contradictions between the following: the absence of a comprehensive post‐implementation evaluation of the economic, technological and cultural feasibility of HISS at any of the three HISS pilot sites; the strategy′s advocacy of HISS as the way forward for large acute hospitals; the requirement for a comprehensive business case to support any substantial investment in IM&T. Concludes that a massive rethink of policy is required, with a much greater emphasis on research, development and independent evaluation.