1st Edition

Information Technology, Organizations and People Transformations in the UK Retail Financial Services

By Jeff Watkins Copyright 1998
    268 Pages
    by Routledge

    This wide-ranging volume presents in-depth research into the effect of new information technologies on organizational structure, assesses their progress towards transformation and describes the changes they are making to long-established business process roles, cultures and working practices.
    The book is based upon a series of rolling surveys carried out between 1989 and the present day, and funded by leading organizations such as IBM and KPMG. It provides a detailed picture of a sector in transition during a period of anxiety and doubt dominated by restructuring, downsizing and experimentation with re-engineering.
    As the 'lean and mean' emerge, they must now ask themselves if their competencies will enable them to survive into the next decade as competitors, such as Sainsburys, Virgin, Microsoft and Ford position themselves to become major players in the sector. This book is a major contribution to the debate on the growth of knowledge work, the need for core organizational competencies in the information age and the need for evolutionary, or radical, change.

    PART 1 The research 1 Background to the research PART 2 The financial services sector 2 UK retail financial services and today's business challenge 3 Business and IT trends in retail banking, mortgage lending, life and general insurance PART 3 Technology 4 Analysing stages of IT development 5 Towards integration and business process redesign 6 Technology for transformation 7 Managing the IT function 8 Management strategies PART 4 IT and organisations 9 New structures for transformation 10 Structural transitions and the impact of knowledge intensity 11 Effects on clerical workers 12 Effects on professionals 13 Effects on senior and middle managers 14 Effects on motivation and reward systems

    Biography

    Jeff Watkins is continuing professional development co-ordinator at the University of Bristol.