Affiliation:
1. University of Bradford, UK
2. The University of York, UK
Abstract
Using a new information system is a journey that end-users follow, sometimes by choice and at other times by obligation. This journey changes their attitudes and behavior as they explore the system and discover its workings. In this chapter we map such a journey using Morgan’s (1986, 1997) metaphors by tracking a change in end–user attitudes and behavior. We use a longitudinal case study approach to follow this journey, report the direction and any shifts in end-users’ conceptual position. Our results show that within a space of eighteen months the organization’s overall metaphorical stance shifted from the organism to the machine metaphor. This reflects the end-user’s initial optimism for the change to enable ease of working to that of efficiency dictated by the senior management towards the end. This shift was due to organizational conditional factors, such as the ISD methodology.