SOCIAL-SYSTEMS THAT MARGINALIZE THE PSYCHOLOGICAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL ASPECTS OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

This polemical paper is concerned with identifying the factors which s erve to marginalize the psychological and organizational aspects of th e development, implementation and use of information technology. Five sets of factors are delineated, those associated with: end-users; supp liers, 'experts' and the development process; management and organizat ions; research and development; and education and understanding. The a nalysis points to the presence of a complex, mutually reinforcing set of social systems acting to marginalize psychological and organization al concerns, and helps explain the massive difficulties in achieving c hange. It also reveals that psychological and organizational expertise tends to be supply-pushed rather than demand-pulled into the communit y. This may help explain why many working in this field fail to practi se the user-centred approaches that we preach.