Determinants of Information Center Success

Implementation strategies for high-performance health care simulation centres: A multicentre exploratory case study in China

INTRODUCTION

The number of health care simulation centres (HSCs) in mainland China has increased exponentially recently. However, the performance of these centres varies significantly between hospitals. The aim of this study is to address two research questions: (i) what are the critical factors for implementing high-performance HSCs and (ii) how are these critical factors used in the development of implementation strategies to achieve satisfactory performance?

METHODS

Following a literature review on information technology (IT) implementation, we identified a framework comprising four key dimensions for HSCs implementation: technology, organisation, environment and individuals. This TOEI (technology-organisation-environment-individual) framework was then used as a basis for a multicentre case study through which data collection and analysis proceeded. We collected 12 one-to-one in-depth interviews alongside secondary data from six high-performance HSCs in mainland China.

RESULTS

Our study identifies critical TOEI factors that collectively influence HSC implementation performance and major activities at the six high-performance HSCs. Three strategies for implementing high-performance HSCs are also identified: facility management platform, education and training centre and innovation centre.

CONCLUSIONS

HSC implementation is an holistic approach. The critical TOEI factors collectively build a foundation for centre activities. An HSC's implementation strategy highly relies on organisational strategic goals. Additionally, HSCs in mainland China face some common challenges such as faculty retention and future opportunities such as expanding the research scope. Our study also provides insights for hospital leadership, medical associations and policymakers.

A McKinsey 7S Model-Based Framework for ERP Readiness Assessment

Implementing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems is a complex, lengthy and expensive process which usually faces serious challenges and failures. Thus, it is necessary to perform a readiness assessment at the initial stage of an ERP implementation project to identify weakness areas which may encounter the project with failure. This paper proposes a new framework for assessing readiness of an organization to implement the ERP project on the basis of McKinsey 7S model using confirmatory factor analysis. Through this method, the construct of ERP readiness is proposed based on 7 dimensions namely “structure”, “strategy”, “systems”, “skills”, “style/culture”, “staff”, and “shared values/ superordinate goals”. Using the framework, the current situation of the organization can be determined and necessary changes can be made prior to system implementation. The proposed framework is then applied to 2 real Iranian banking cases and the advantages of the framework over available frameworks are illustrated.

Understanding intranets in the context of end-user computing

In this paper, we examine the adoption and use of organizational intranets as an extension of the end-user computing movement. This perspective provides a background against which the rapid proliferation of organizational intranets in the 1990s can be compared and contrasted with the explosion of personal computers and end-user computing in the 1980s. Our retrospective analysis of end-user computing is based on academic and business journal literature. Our contemporary analysis of intranet development and use relies on data from a large-scale study of intranets in US firms. We examine similarities with early EUC efforts, such as the initial grass-roots, multiple adoption of PC technologies, that were followed by efforts to standardize and integrate technological "islands." We also highlight ways in which organizational experiences with intranets may diverge from earlier EUC experiences. Our discussion of these organizational experiences and practices draws on institutional theory to understand how and why organizational adoption and use of information technologies may differ from those of the past in important ways that require rethinking of current practices. In particular, we focus on the issues related to intranet integration and to the evolving roles of intranet end-users and IT professionals.