Improving the quality of the information flow among top managers
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7433/s104.2017.02Keywords:
senior executive information flow, communication among top managers, information quality, organizational well-beingAbstract
Purpose of the paper: The paper aims to identify the factors that can affect the quality of horizontal information flows at top management level and suggest a method for their removal.
Methodology: From a theoretical perspective that draws from studies on managerial information systems, on top management horizontal communication and on total quality management, a method (narrative action research method, NARM) has been proposed, which is based on the direct involvement of the participants in the flow, in this specific case top managers. The method has been tested on 18 large organizations. Individual interviews of top managers and collective meetings with them were set up to assess their degree of satisfaction in relation to the quality of the flow.
Findings: This method has allowed to find that the factors which the quality of the information flow depends on are mainly organizational-relational in nature, thus highlighting the circular causality relationship between the quality of the information flow and organizational well-being.
Research implications: From a theoretical-conceptual viewpoint, this study has focused on the issue of the strategic information flow and its problems from a relational perspective that appears to have received less consideration in literature.
Practical implications: The method has proved effective in improving the quality of the process, with benefits in terms not only of decision-making capacity but also of organizational climate.
Originality of the paper: The method is the result of the original combination of the action research principles of change promotion and narration and problem solving techniques, which are respectively at the base of role-playing and quality circles.
References
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AMASON A.C., SAPIENZA H.J. (1997), “The effects of top management team size and interaction norms on cognitive and affective conflict”, Journal of Management, vol. 23, n. 4, pp. 495-516.
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AVGEROU C., MCGRATH K. (2007), “Power, rationality and the art of living through socio-technical change”, MIS Quarterly, vol. 31, n. 2, pp. 295-315.
BACCARANI C. (1988), Mutamenti ambientali e condotta strategica delle imprese municipalizzate, Cedam, Padova.
BERRY L.L. (1981), “The employee as customer”, Journal of Retail Banking, vol. 3, n. 1, pp. 33-40.
BONFANTI A. (2005), “Alla ricerca dell’armonizzazione dei conflitti organizzativi interni all’impresa”, Sinergie, n. 68, pp. 75-103.
BOSSE D.A., PHILLIPS R.A. (2016), “Agency Theory and Bounded Self-Interest”, Academy of Management Review, vol. 41, n. 2, pp. 276-297.
BREWER J.D. (2000), Ethnography, Open University Press, Philadelphia.
BULLINGER H.J, HUBER H. (1990), “Which information systems do managers really need?”, European Management Journal, vol. 8, n. 2, pp. 186-191.
BUYL T., BOONE C., MATTHYSSENS P. (2016), “Upper echelons research and managerial cognition”, Strategic Organization, vol. 9, n. 3, pp. 240-246.
DAFT R.L., LENGEL R.H., TREVINO L. (1987), “Message Equivocality, Media Selection, and Manager Performance: Implications for Information Systems”, MIS Quarterly, vol. 11, n. 3, pp. 354-366.
DE MARCO M. (2000), I sistemi informativi aziendali. Temi di attualità, Franco Angeli, Milano.
DE MARCO M., IMPERATORI B., ISARI D. (2010), “IS, Organization and Strategy: Convergence or Divergence? A Meta-Analysis”, in D’Atri A., De Marco M., Braccini A.M., Cabiddu F. (Eds.), Management of the Interconnected World, Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg.
DESAI V.M. (2016), “The Behavioral Theory of The (Governed) Firm: Corporate Board Influences on Organizations’ Responses to Performance Shortfalls”, Academy of Management Journal, vol. 59, n. 3, pp. 860-879.
ELLIS K., SHOCKLEY-ZALABAK P. (2001), “Trust in top management and immediate supervisor: The relationship to satisfaction, perceived organizational effectiveness, and information receiving”, Communication Quarterly, n. 49, pp. 383-398.
FINKELSTEIN S. (2003), Perché i bravi manager sbagliano: e che cosa possiamo imparare dai loro errori, Etas Libri, Milano.
FIOCCA R. (2002), “L’impresa: un insieme (organizzato) di persone che comunica”, Sinergie, n. 59, pp. 77-90.
GRÖNROOS C. (1984), “A service quality model and its marketing implications”, European Journal of Marketing, vol. 18, n. 4, pp. 36-44.
GUMMESSON E. (2001), “Are current research approaches in marketing leading us astray?”, Marketing Theory, vol. 1, n. 1, pp. 27-48.
HAMBRICK D.C. (2007), “Upper echelons theory: an update”, Academy of Management Review, vol. 32, n. 2, pp. 334-343.
HESKETT J.L. (1987), “Lessons in the service sector”, Harvard Business Review, March-April, pp. 119-126.
INVERNIZZI E., BIRAGHI S., ROMENTI S. (2012), “Entrepreneurial communication and the strategic role of internal communication”, Sinergie, n. 87, pp. 149-170.
ISHIKAWA K. (1985), What is Total Quality Control?, Prentice-Hall Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
JURAN J.M. (1981), Juran on Quality Improvement, Juran Institute Inc.
KANO L., VERBEKE A. (2015), “The Three Faces of Bounded Reliability: Alfred Chandler and The Micro-Foundations of Management Theory”, California Management Review, vol. 58, n. 1, pp. 97-122.
KANTER J. (1984), Management Information Systems, Prentice-Hall, Inc., Engelwood Cliffs, N.Y., Usa.
KEEN P.G.W., SCOTT MORTON M. (1978), D.S.S.: An Organizational Perspective, Addison-Wesley.
KELMAN S., SANDERS R., PANDIT G. (2016), “I Won’t Back Down? Complexity and Courage in Government Executive Decision Making”, Public Administration Review, vol. 76, n. 3, pp. 465-471.
LAUDON K.L., LAUDON J. (2006), Management dei sistemi informativi, Pearson, Prentice Hall, Milano.
MAGGIONI V. (1983), Il sistema informativo aziendale, Cedam, Padova.
MARTINEZ M. (2004), Organizzazione, informazioni e tecnologie, Il Mulino, Bologna.
MASTROBERNARDINO P. (2010), “La governance del sistema impresa tra istituzionalizazzione e azione del soggetto imprenditoriale”, Sinergie, n. 81, pp. 135-171.
MCARDLE K.L., REASON P. (2007), “Action research and organization development”, in Cummings T. (Eds.), Handbook of Organization Development, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA.
MOM T.J.M., VAN DEN BOSCH F.A.J., VOLBERDA H.W. (2007), “Investigating Mangers’ Exploration and Exploitation Activities. The Influence of Top-Down, Bottom-Up, and Horizontal Knowledge Inflows”, Journal of Management Studies, vol. 44, n. 6, pp. 910-931.
MUMFORD E. (2000), “A Socio-Technical Approach to Systems Design”, Requirements Engineering, vol. 5, n. 2, pp. 125-133.
NOLAN R.L. (1982), “Managing Information Systems by Committee”, Harvard Business Review, vol. 60, n. 4, pp. 72-79.
PAUL S., MÜLLER H., PREISER R., DE LIMA NETO F.B., MARWALA T., DE WILDE P. (2014), “Developing a management decision-making model based upon a complexity perspective with reference to the Bee Algorithm”, Emergence: Complexity and Organization, vol. 16, n. 4, pp. 1-13.
POSTMES T., TANIS M., DE WIT B. (2001), “Communication and commitment in organizations: A social identity approach”, Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, vol. 4, n. 3, pp. 227-246.
PRIDA B., GRIJALVO M. (2008), “The socio-technical approach to work organization. An essential element in Quality Management System”, Total Quality Management, vol. 19, n. 4, pp. 343-352.
RAES A.M.L., HEIJLTJES M.G., GLUNK U., ROE R.A. (2011), “The interface of the top management team and middle managers: a process model”, Academy of Management Review, vol. 36, n. 1, pp. 102-126.
RAINA R., BRITT ROEBUCK D. (2016), “Exploring Cultural Influence on Managerial Communication in Relationship to Job Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment, and the Employees’ Propensity to Leave in the Insurance Sector of India”, International Journal of Business Communication, vol. 53, n. 1, pp. 97-130.
RIITTA H., MARI-KLARA S., MATTI R. (2018), “Metaphors in managerial and employee sensemaking in an information systems project”, Information Systems Journal, vol. 28, n. 1, pp. 142-174.
ROBERTS N., CAMPBELL D.E., VIJAYASARATHY L.R. (2016), “Using Information Systems to Sense Opportunities for Innovation: Integrating Postadoptive Use Behaviours with the Dynamic Managerial Capability Perspective”, Journal of Management Information System, vol. 33, n. 1, pp. 45-69.
ROCKART J.F. (1979), “Chief Executives define their own data needs”, Harvard Business Review, March-April, vol. 57, n. 2, pp. 81-93.
SARACENO P. (1973), “Introduzione all’edizione italiana”, in Beer S., L’azienda come sistema cibernetico, Isedi, Milano.
SMITH K.G., SMITH K.A., OLIAN J.D., O’BANNON D.P., SCULLY J.A. (1994), “Top Management Team Demography and Process: The Role of Social Integration and Communication”, Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 39, n. 3, pp. 412-438.
SMITH W.K. (2015), “Dynamic Decision Making: A Model Of Senior Leaders Managing Strategic Paradoxes”, Academy of Management Journal, vol. 1015, n. 1, pp. 58-89.
SNOWDEN D., STANBRIDGE P. (2004), “The landscape of management: Creating the context for understanding social complexity”, Emergence: Complexity and Organization, vol. 6, n. 1/2, pp. 140-148.
SPENCE A.C. (1969), Management Communication, MacMillan, London.
SPRAGUE R.H. (1980), “A Framework for the Development of Decision Support Systems”, MIS Quarterly, vol. 4, n. 4, pp. 1-26.
SPRAGUE R.H., WATSON H.J. (1989), Decision Support Systems: Putting Theory into Practice, Prentice Hall, N.J.
STAHL BC. (2007), “Ethics, Morality and Critique: An Essay on Enid Mumford’s Socio-Technical Approach”, Journal of Association for Information Systems, vol. 8, n. 9, pp. 479-490.
THOMAS G., ZOLIN R., HARTMAN J.L. (2009), “The Central Role of Communication in Developing Trust and its Effect on Employee Involvement”, Journal of Business Communication, vol. 46, n. 3, pp. 287-310.
TROMBETTA J.J., ROGERS D.P. (1988), “Communication, climate, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment”, Management Communication Quarterly, vol. 1, n. 4, pp. 494-514.
TURBAN E. (1993), Decision Support and Expert Systems: Management Support Systems, Macmillan, N.Y.
VAN DER HEIJDEN H. (2009), Designing Management Information Systems, Oxford University Press, New York.
VARONA F. (1996), “Relationship Between Communication Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment in Three Guatemalan Organizations”, Journal of Business Communication, vol. 33, n. 2, pp. 111-140.
WILLIAMS R., EDGE D. (1996), “The Social Shaping of Technology”, Research Policy, vol. 25, n. 6, pp. 865-899.
XIANG J., ARCHER N., DETLOR B. (2014), “Business process redesign project success: the role of socio-technical theory”, Business Process Management Journal, vol. 20, n. 5, pp. 773-792.
YANG I. (2015), “Perceived conflict avoidance by managers and its consequences on subordinates’ attitudes”, Business Ethics: A European Review, vol. 24, n. 3, pp. 282-296.
ZACK M.H., MCKENNEY J.L. (1995), “Social Context and Interaction in Ongoing Computer Supported Management Groups”, Organization Science, vol. 6, n. 4, pp. 394-422.
ZORN T.JR., TOMPSON G. (2002), “Communication in top management teams”, in Lawrence R. Frey (Ed.), New directions in group communication, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA.
ALAVI M. (1982), “An Assessment of the Concept of Decision Support Systems as Viewed by Senior-Level Executives”, MIS Quarterly, vol. 6, n. 4, pp. 1-9.
AMASON A.C., SAPIENZA H.J. (1997), “The effects of top management team size and interaction norms on cognitive and affective conflict”, Journal of Management, vol. 23, n. 4, pp. 495-516.
ARON J.D. (1969), Information systems in perspective, Computer Survey, December.
AVGEROU C., MCGRATH K. (2007), “Power, rationality and the art of living through socio-technical change”, MIS Quarterly, vol. 31, n. 2, pp. 295-315.
BACCARANI C. (1988), Mutamenti ambientali e condotta strategica delle imprese municipalizzate, Cedam, Padova.
BERRY L.L. (1981), “The employee as customer”, Journal of Retail Banking, vol. 3, n. 1, pp. 33-40.
BONFANTI A. (2005), “Alla ricerca dell’armonizzazione dei conflitti organizzativi interni all’impresa”, Sinergie, n. 68, pp. 75-103.
BOSSE D.A., PHILLIPS R.A. (2016), “Agency Theory and Bounded Self-Interest”, Academy of Management Review, vol. 41, n. 2, pp. 276-297.
BREWER J.D. (2000), Ethnography, Open University Press, Philadelphia.
BULLINGER H.J, HUBER H. (1990), “Which information systems do managers really need?”, European Management Journal, vol. 8, n. 2, pp. 186-191.
BUYL T., BOONE C., MATTHYSSENS P. (2016), “Upper echelons research and managerial cognition”, Strategic Organization, vol. 9, n. 3, pp. 240-246.
DAFT R.L., LENGEL R.H., TREVINO L. (1987), “Message Equivocality, Media Selection, and Manager Performance: Implications for Information Systems”, MIS Quarterly, vol. 11, n. 3, pp. 354-366.
DE MARCO M. (2000), I sistemi informativi aziendali. Temi di attualità, Franco Angeli, Milano.
DE MARCO M., IMPERATORI B., ISARI D. (2010), “IS, Organization and Strategy: Convergence or Divergence? A Meta-Analysis”, in D’Atri A., De Marco M., Braccini A.M., Cabiddu F. (Eds.), Management of the Interconnected World, Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg.
DESAI V.M. (2016), “The Behavioral Theory of The (Governed) Firm: Corporate Board Influences on Organizations’ Responses to Performance Shortfalls”, Academy of Management Journal, vol. 59, n. 3, pp. 860-879.
ELLIS K., SHOCKLEY-ZALABAK P. (2001), “Trust in top management and immediate supervisor: The relationship to satisfaction, perceived organizational effectiveness, and information receiving”, Communication Quarterly, n. 49, pp. 383-398.
FINKELSTEIN S. (2003), Perché i bravi manager sbagliano: e che cosa possiamo imparare dai loro errori, Etas Libri, Milano.
FIOCCA R. (2002), “L’impresa: un insieme (organizzato) di persone che comunica”, Sinergie, n. 59, pp. 77-90.
GRÖNROOS C. (1984), “A service quality model and its marketing implications”, European Journal of Marketing, vol. 18, n. 4, pp. 36-44.
GUMMESSON E. (2001), “Are current research approaches in marketing leading us astray?”, Marketing Theory, vol. 1, n. 1, pp. 27-48.
HAMBRICK D.C. (2007), “Upper echelons theory: an update”, Academy of Management Review, vol. 32, n. 2, pp. 334-343.
HESKETT J.L. (1987), “Lessons in the service sector”, Harvard Business Review, March-April, pp. 119-126.
INVERNIZZI E., BIRAGHI S., ROMENTI S. (2012), “Entrepreneurial communication and the strategic role of internal communication”, Sinergie, n. 87, pp. 149-170.
ISHIKAWA K. (1985), What is Total Quality Control?, Prentice-Hall Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
JURAN J.M. (1981), Juran on Quality Improvement, Juran Institute Inc.
KANO L., VERBEKE A. (2015), “The Three Faces of Bounded Reliability: Alfred Chandler and The Micro-Foundations of Management Theory”, California Management Review, vol. 58, n. 1, pp. 97-122.
KANTER J. (1984), Management Information Systems, Prentice-Hall, Inc., Engelwood Cliffs, N.Y., Usa.
KEEN P.G.W., SCOTT MORTON M. (1978), D.S.S.: An Organizational Perspective, Addison-Wesley.
KELMAN S., SANDERS R., PANDIT G. (2016), “I Won’t Back Down? Complexity and Courage in Government Executive Decision Making”, Public Administration Review, vol. 76, n. 3, pp. 465-471.
LAUDON K.L., LAUDON J. (2006), Management dei sistemi informativi, Pearson, Prentice Hall, Milano.
MAGGIONI V. (1983), Il sistema informativo aziendale, Cedam, Padova.
MARTINEZ M. (2004), Organizzazione, informazioni e tecnologie, Il Mulino, Bologna.
MASTROBERNARDINO P. (2010), “La governance del sistema impresa tra istituzionalizazzione e azione del soggetto imprenditoriale”, Sinergie, n. 81, pp. 135-171.
MCARDLE K.L., REASON P. (2007), “Action research and organization development”, in Cummings T. (Eds.), Handbook of Organization Development, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA.
MOM T.J.M., VAN DEN BOSCH F.A.J., VOLBERDA H.W. (2007), “Investigating Mangers’ Exploration and Exploitation Activities. The Influence of Top-Down, Bottom-Up, and Horizontal Knowledge Inflows”, Journal of Management Studies, vol. 44, n. 6, pp. 910-931.
MUMFORD E. (2000), “A Socio-Technical Approach to Systems Design”, Requirements Engineering, vol. 5, n. 2, pp. 125-133.
NOLAN R.L. (1982), “Managing Information Systems by Committee”, Harvard Business Review, vol. 60, n. 4, pp. 72-79.
PAUL S., MÜLLER H., PREISER R., DE LIMA NETO F.B., MARWALA T., DE WILDE P. (2014), “Developing a management decision-making model based upon a complexity perspective with reference to the Bee Algorithm”, Emergence: Complexity and Organization, vol. 16, n. 4, pp. 1-13.
POSTMES T., TANIS M., DE WIT B. (2001), “Communication and commitment in organizations: A social identity approach”, Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, vol. 4, n. 3, pp. 227-246.
PRIDA B., GRIJALVO M. (2008), “The socio-technical approach to work organization. An essential element in Quality Management System”, Total Quality Management, vol. 19, n. 4, pp. 343-352.
RAES A.M.L., HEIJLTJES M.G., GLUNK U., ROE R.A. (2011), “The interface of the top management team and middle managers: a process model”, Academy of Management Review, vol. 36, n. 1, pp. 102-126.
RAINA R., BRITT ROEBUCK D. (2016), “Exploring Cultural Influence on Managerial Communication in Relationship to Job Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment, and the Employees’ Propensity to Leave in the Insurance Sector of India”, International Journal of Business Communication, vol. 53, n. 1, pp. 97-130.
RIITTA H., MARI-KLARA S., MATTI R. (2018), “Metaphors in managerial and employee sensemaking in an information systems project”, Information Systems Journal, vol. 28, n. 1, pp. 142-174.
ROBERTS N., CAMPBELL D.E., VIJAYASARATHY L.R. (2016), “Using Information Systems to Sense Opportunities for Innovation: Integrating Postadoptive Use Behaviours with the Dynamic Managerial Capability Perspective”, Journal of Management Information System, vol. 33, n. 1, pp. 45-69.
ROCKART J.F. (1979), “Chief Executives define their own data needs”, Harvard Business Review, March-April, vol. 57, n. 2, pp. 81-93.
SARACENO P. (1973), “Introduzione all’edizione italiana”, in Beer S., L’azienda come sistema cibernetico, Isedi, Milano.
SMITH K.G., SMITH K.A., OLIAN J.D., O’BANNON D.P., SCULLY J.A. (1994), “Top Management Team Demography and Process: The Role of Social Integration and Communication”, Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 39, n. 3, pp. 412-438.
SMITH W.K. (2015), “Dynamic Decision Making: A Model Of Senior Leaders Managing Strategic Paradoxes”, Academy of Management Journal, vol. 1015, n. 1, pp. 58-89.
SNOWDEN D., STANBRIDGE P. (2004), “The landscape of management: Creating the context for understanding social complexity”, Emergence: Complexity and Organization, vol. 6, n. 1/2, pp. 140-148.
SPENCE A.C. (1969), Management Communication, MacMillan, London.
SPRAGUE R.H. (1980), “A Framework for the Development of Decision Support Systems”, MIS Quarterly, vol. 4, n. 4, pp. 1-26.
SPRAGUE R.H., WATSON H.J. (1989), Decision Support Systems: Putting Theory into Practice, Prentice Hall, N.J.
STAHL BC. (2007), “Ethics, Morality and Critique: An Essay on Enid Mumford’s Socio-Technical Approach”, Journal of Association for Information Systems, vol. 8, n. 9, pp. 479-490.
THOMAS G., ZOLIN R., HARTMAN J.L. (2009), “The Central Role of Communication in Developing Trust and its Effect on Employee Involvement”, Journal of Business Communication, vol. 46, n. 3, pp. 287-310.
TROMBETTA J.J., ROGERS D.P. (1988), “Communication, climate, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment”, Management Communication Quarterly, vol. 1, n. 4, pp. 494-514.
TURBAN E. (1993), Decision Support and Expert Systems: Management Support Systems, Macmillan, N.Y.
VAN DER HEIJDEN H. (2009), Designing Management Information Systems, Oxford University Press, New York.
VARONA F. (1996), “Relationship Between Communication Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment in Three Guatemalan Organizations”, Journal of Business Communication, vol. 33, n. 2, pp. 111-140.
WILLIAMS R., EDGE D. (1996), “The Social Shaping of Technology”, Research Policy, vol. 25, n. 6, pp. 865-899.
XIANG J., ARCHER N., DETLOR B. (2014), “Business process redesign project success: the role of socio-technical theory”, Business Process Management Journal, vol. 20, n. 5, pp. 773-792.
YANG I. (2015), “Perceived conflict avoidance by managers and its consequences on subordinates’ attitudes”, Business Ethics: A European Review, vol. 24, n. 3, pp. 282-296.
ZACK M.H., MCKENNEY J.L. (1995), “Social Context and Interaction in Ongoing Computer Supported Management Groups”, Organization Science, vol. 6, n. 4, pp. 394-422.
ZORN T.JR., TOMPSON G. (2002), “Communication in top management teams”, in Lawrence R. Frey (Ed.), New directions in group communication, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA.
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2017-12-28
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