Preface [Phenomenology, Organizational Politics, and IT Design]

The preface deals with some basic issues in the social and organizational study of information systems along three directions of analysis. The first direction draws attention on how phenomenological concepts make it possible to recast the idea and the use of formal representations in computer programming as a challenge for the information systems design. The second direction of analysis focuses on the changes in the practices of planning, designing, and deploying information systems in the case of global Information Infrastructures implemented across multiple sites within large branch-plan organizational structures. It further shows how these changes challenge core assumptions embedded in received notions of phenomenology via ethnomethodology, and discusses the biographic turn in the social study of information infrastructures. The third direction deals with the issues of whether and how organizational re-design associated with the introduction of ICTs in work settings is still possible even though the starting point is the focus on 'unique and singular worlds' which, actually, challenges the word of 'design'. It further discusses different conceptualizations of the concept-word of 'ICT-related organizational design' and different approaches to techno-organizational re-design. Finally, it addresses the issues of whether and how it is possible to carry out ICT- related organizational change processes consistently with organizational members’ requirements, and discusses the role of conflicts and power in this regard.