tech failures in organizations

Box 12.8 in your text discusses a research project Ted Zorn started on communication technology adoption and implementation in organizations. He began the project in early 2001, but after a year, found that the projects were either abandoned or implemented poorly. The authors of your text provide three reasons for the tech failures: (1) the systems led to increased rather than decreased workload, (2) the systems were too complex, and (3) insufficient training and development for users.

As someone who has taught online for nearly 10 years, I've observed these kind of mistakes in technology adoption at my university as well as other schools. For example, using Blackboard CE6 is far more work than using WebCT 4.0. One problem is that it can only be opened in one web browser window at a time. So as an instructor if all my files are in blackboard, I can look at only one page at a time, unless I open a window in a different browser. The system is much more complex to use and completely nonintuitive. And training has been spotty.

Another major reason technology adoptions fail is the lack of employee participation in the decision making process. This is true for any major changes in organizations. Without members' participation in all aspects of the change process, getting buy in during the implementation stage is challenging. In addition, important information is overlooked.

Involving faculty in deciding which learning management system to use may have led to a better decision at the university. As it is now, Blackboard is not compliant with accessibility laws, and if that remains the case, the university will have to go to a new system in two years--another failure in technology adoption. Consulting with a wider range of campus stakeholders might have resulted in choosing a different LMS that fit all users' needs.

~ Professor Cyborg