The Rationalization of Organizational Life: The Role of Information Systems

This paper focuses on the relationship between ISs and organisational processes from a perspective of rationality of actors, processes and organisations. Actors in organisational processes are considered rational to the degree to which their actions contribute to the achievement of their goals. Furthermore, organisational processes governed by rational actions are considered rational. More generally, the increase in rationality that characterises modern organisations and society is called rationalisation. The major role of many ISs has been to assist actors in selecting the best actions (e.g., production schedule) to achieve a predefined goal (maximise throughput or minimise waiting times). Given a particular criterion (e.g., minimise cost, maximise margins), such ISs automate the generation of alternative actions and the selection of the best or optimal action, thereby achieving optimal control and ultimate rationalisation of these processes.