Browsing by Author "Muganda, Nixon"

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Applied Business and Management Research: Exploring the principles and practices of research within the context of Africa.
(2010) Muganda, Nixon
Assessing alignment of an e-government project in the context of a developing country: a Heideggerian perspective
(2009) Muganda, Nixon
E-Government has increasingly become an alternative for enabling public governance at various. The situation is especially poignant in developing countries where there are increasing calls to improve governance for improved national development. This study sought to investigate managerial processes in the alignment of e-government within Local Authorities in Kenya. A case study research design underpinned by critical realism assumptions was used. The analysis was grounded on empirical results of the study, and employed theoretical thematic analysis. Under the alienating conditions of social exclusion, the alignment of the e-government artifact espoused strong managerialist orientations of augmenting and reinforcing central governments control over its polity. A consequence of this alignment is a tendency towards technocratic evolution of the public service delivery system in local authorities in Kenya. However, it was also recognised that the form of e-government projects are constantly in flux, and that relying on a single case was therefore a limitation of the study. Categories and Subject Descriptors
Assessing the Effects of Culture on Organizational Capabilities in Business Process Offshoring: A Grounded Theory Perspective
(2011) Muganda, Nixon; Fadhili, Athman
Forms of power, politics and leadership in asynchronous virtual project environment: An exploratory analysis in South Africa
(2013) Muganda, Nixon; Pillay, Kiyashen
Purpose – The paper aims to investigate the forms of power, politics and leadership exercised by project leaders within asynchronous virtual project environments (VPEs). The purpose of this paper is to link effective project leadership to particular forms of power and politics within a VPE. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical data are based on a quantitative telecommunications sector case study, complemented with some interviews, following a semi‐structured approach. The research was approached based from a positivistic philosophical paradigm and using a survey research strategy. The questionnaire‐based survey consisted of a sample of 28 respondents split between project managers (39.3 percent) and team members (60.7 percent). Findings – The research results indicated a significant finding which linked leadership effectiveness to asynchronous VPE usage and communication. Factor analysis of the type of leadership exercised within an asynchronous VPE revealed two forms of effective leadership. The first one, named, Structured Charismatic Exchange, is underpinned by three forms of leadership styles: charismatic, virtual and transactional leadership. The second insight from the factor analysis also revealed significant loadings for two forms of leadership: Participative and Shared leadership. The common strand in both is the need to elevate the ethos of teams, which effectively implies that control in VPE ought to be decentralized responsibly to enhance sharing. This is possibly relevant in a bid to minimize conflicts and thus develop a project organization that encourages teamwork. Therefore, this factor was named Decentralized Team Leadership. Unlike the first factor, where the focus is on how the project leader projects his/her personality to influence people, the realization is that for a project organization to succeed, project goals and decisions emerge from bargaining, negotiating, and jockeying for position among members of different coalitions. Research limitations/implications – Reported limitations are based on the sample size, effect of sectoral culture on the findings and constrained view of the virtuality construct. Future research should investigate other sectors with a large sample and expand the dimensions of the virtuality as a construct. Practical implications – The paper concludes that project leaders should re‐orient leadership practices to fit virtual project environments, taking into account the need for a more decentralized form of leadership and systematic trust building. Originality/value – The recognition of the uniqueness of particular forms of power and politics relevant for the exercise of effective leadership in asynchronous virtual environments is emphasized in this research paper.
Global Diffusion of the InternetXIII:Internet Diffusion in Kenya and ItsDeterminants– A Longitudinal Analysis
(2008) Muganda, Nixon; Belle, Jean-Paul Van; Brown, Irwin
This paper assesses Internet diffusion and its determinants in Kenya using the Global Diffusion of the Internet (GDI) framework. Kenya was selected due to its strategic importance for the economic progress of the great lakes region of Africa. An understanding of Internet diffusion in Kenya provides preliminary insight in to how the process might unfold in Eastern Africa. Theanalysisshowsthatin2008,lessthan10percentofthepopulationaccessedtheInternet,with a majority of users clustered around two major urban centers. There is an indication that across the sectors of education, commerce, health, and public service, the Internet is being embraced, with potential for further diffusion. The underlying national Internet connectivity infrastructure is well established, but skewed in favor of urban centers that have high levels of electricity penetration. Vibrant competition exists between Internet service providers despite a persistent monopoly in national ﬁxedlinetelecommunicationsprovision. A few sophisticated applications of the Internet were found in several sectors. A snap shot of the state of Internet diffusion in Kenya reﬂects, on average, good performance on the various dimensions of the GDI framework. However, this overall picture masks the reality that the majority of the population, mostly in rural areas, lack access to basic amenities such as electricity,and hence infrastructure to support the Internet. The trajectory along which the Internet is diffusing has therefore led to the exclusion of this majority. The critical role that governments in developing countries play needs to be brought to the fore in order to ensure that the Internet diffusion trajectory is not left entirely to the commercial sector. The government’s ability to marshal resources, execute telecommunications regulation, as well as enable change remains pivotal to ensuring inclusive Internet diffusion.
GROUP THINK DECISION MAKIN G DEFICIENCY IN THE REQUIREMENTS ENGINEERING PROCESS: TOWARDS A CROWDSOURC ING MODEL
(2012) Muganda, Nixon; Asmelash, Dawit; Samal, Mlay
We make an argument that requirements engineering, as a primer to information technology deployment in organizations, is largely failing because decision making in the requirements engineering (RE) process empathizes with the ethos of 'group think' which 'fuels' inefficient 'control indeterminacy.' We make this argument from the premise that technological artifacts that get inscribed within organizational culture and design do so through an initial process that involves prioritization, which in itself is theorized as an outcome of organizational discourse. We draw on critical realism's retroductive approach and the practice of 'group think' for grounding crowdsourcing in IT project prioritization. Our choice of crowdsourcing as a remedy for inefficiencies in IT Project prioritization is deliberate: it elevates the notion of group think as a theoretical lens; and is in line with the positioning of organizational decision making as deliberately constitutive and representative of stakeholder interests. However, we remain attentive guard against utopianism, but still make the claim that crowdsourcing provides us with some traction for seeking alternatives that can lead to a re-invigoration in RE research for effective practices in IT projects. The analyses links RE decision making deficiency to the prevalence of Organizational Resistance, Technical Incompetence, Lack of a Moral and Ethical Code and Inappropriate Leadership for Creativity
Key Issues for Cios in South Africa
(2007) Johnston, Kevin; Muganda, Nixon; Theys, Karen
Business strategy, operations, communication and technology have converged and resulted in increased demand for business flexibility. Chief Information Officers (CIOs) are particularly challenged because they operate at the intersection between information technology, their organisations, and society. Amidst increasing emphasis on cost-efficiency, information technology resource investment and emergence of new technologies, stakeholders need to understand the most relevant issues within a three- to five-year period. This study was undertaken to contribute to the body of knowledge around key information systems issues in South Africa, with its unique social issues. Thirty-one responses were received from South African CIOs surveyed in late 2004. The top issues were: Security and control, Building a responsive IT infrastructure, IT value management, Service delivery, and Improving IS strategic planning. The ranked list of issues was compared to previous studies, and further analysed by industry and source of IT services (in-house, outsource or combination). Industry and the sourcing of information services were found to have an effect on the ranking of key issues.
Key Issues for Information Officers in South Africa
(2006) Johnston, Kevin; Muganda, Nixon; Theys, Karen
Business strategy, operations, communication and technology have converged and resulted in increased demand for business flexibility. Chief information officers (CIO) are particularly challenged because they operate at the intersection between information technology and their organisations. Amidst increasing emphasis on cost-efficiency, information technology resource investment and emergence of new technologies, stakeholders need to understand the most relevant issues within a three- to five-year period. This study was undertaken to contribute to the body of knowledge around key information systems issues in South Africa. Thirty-one responses were received from South African chief information officers surveyed in late 2004. The top issues were: security and control, building a responsive it infrastructure, it value management, service delivery, and improving is strategic planning. The ranked list of issues was compared to previous studies, and further analysed by industry and source of it services (in-house, outsource or combination). Industry and the sourcing of information services were found to have an effect on the ranking of key issues.
THE LINK BETWEEN THE CONCEPTUALIZATION OF E-GOVERNMENT AND ITS PERCEIVED IMPACTS: AN EXPLORATORY EMPIRICAL STUDY IN KENYA
(2010) Muganda, Nixon
This paper examines how e-government is conceptuali zed and the possible relationship with the expected impacts of e-government in a developing wo rld context. The aim is to shed some light on why e-government initiatives often fail in developi ng world contexts. This research was based on an exhaustive survey among government agencies and con sultants in Kenya. The dimension of e- government impacts was initially operationalized in terms of connectivity, openness, efficiency and effectiveness. Government conceptualizations could be classified under tool view; proxy view; ensemble view; computational view and nominal view. Interestingly, the empirical data yielded very different impact factors than originally envisaged, which were enhanced interactions and accessibility , enhanced cooperation and awareness, a better connec ted public administration and enhanced citizen opportunities. Canonical function analysis found a supply-side focus which linked connected government to the conceptualization of e-government as an Evolving Artifact. The main contribution of this paper lies in highlighting the fact that the i mplementation of western information technologies i n developing countries will be shaped by how their im pacts are perceived. Thus both purveyors of the technologies and researchers can be made aware that , because of the very different expectations and contexts, these technologies may be conceptuali zed differently than in developed countries. In addition, the paper demonstrates a practical resear ch approach to assist in uncovering these conceptualizations more explicitly .
Linking the Role of Government to Internet Diffusion in Nigeria: Is the ‘Giant’ of Africa Awakening?
(2008) Muganda, Nixon; Bankole, Felix
This paper focuses on the role of government in the development of the Internet, as a representative artifact of a National Information Infrastructure (NII) of a country. We consider Nigeria, a developing country that has been attempting to enhance the role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in various sectors of her economy over the years. A longitudinal analysis of Internet diffusion, as a representative NII technology was undertaken using the Global Diffusion of the Internet (GDI) framework. As is the typical practice with studies employing the GDI framework, empirical data was gathered from a variety of documentary sources including government/regulatory bodies reports and policies, websites, newspapers and research articles. The analysis reveals that there has been a determined focus on the development of the NII infrastructure in Nigeria. What comes to the fore is the important role that government is playing in ensuring that the Internet contributes to the economic rejuvenation of the country. We pinpoint that the federal government has been ineffective in indirectly facilitating the sector in the roles of strategist, guider and integrator. It is hoped that current and future policy initiatives in the telecommunications industry will change the negative determinants of NII development
Teaching Business Programming Using Games: A Critical Analysis
(2012) Muganda, Nixon; Pieter, Joubert Jr; Toit, Jacques Du; Johnson, Roy
This paper examin es the persistent problematic issue of engaging business st u- dents in teaching computer programming. Studies continue to document challenges in teach- ing computer programming and various methods have been proposed with varying degrees of success. From an edu cator’s perspective, the concern is how to engage students to enable the effective delivery of computer programming principles to the students. From a student’s per- spective, how they experience the computer programming course will leave students with good programming habits, the ability to learn on their own and a favourable impression of the field of Information Systems as a profession. Method. The study used a case study design in which a survey and interviews were conduc t- ed among 138 students currently registered for a second year computer pr o gramming course at large urban University in South Africa. Three instructors involved in teaching the class were also interviewed to gauge their perspectives in relation to those offered by the st u dents. Results. Ou r findings refutes the notion that the popular use of computer games in social co n- texts implies that they can be used successfully for teaching computer programming to bus i- ness students. This allowed us, as educators in a position of power over students, t o reflect on our intentions when re - designing cu r ricula. Discussion and Conclusion. We suggest that while teaching innovations should be linked to a broader theme reflexive practice of experimentation; educators should encourage fee d back from other stakeho lders to foster ‘reflexive competence’, a desired property for transform a- tion of cu r ricula.Discussion and Conclusion. We suggest that while teaching innovations should be linked to a broader theme reflexive practice of experimentation; educators should encourage fee d back from other stakeho lders to foster ‘reflexive competence’, a desired property for transform a- tion of cu r ricula.
Towards a Nomadic E-Government Co-Evolutionary Framework (NECE) for Building Knowledge Infrastructures for African Countries
(2009) Muganda, Nixon
Purpose - E-Government, introduced in African countries under the banner of New Public Management (NPM), is envisaged to fundamentally aid in improving governance in developing countries. The imported model of EGovernment is therefore transferred to African countries as a panacea to bad governance by carriers such as international donor agencies, consultants, Information Technology vendors and Western-trained civil servants. Improved governance is expected to impact on the socio-economic development of these countries implementing E-Government, as an NPM instrument. This article recognizes that E-Government success, which is critically dependent on the World Wide Web, requires success frameworks that are context-dependent. This paper presents a framework for building E-Government infrastructures (NECE) in transition economies such as those in Africa. The above framework is based on a number different literatures sources and frameworks. It synthesizes literature sources on frameworks of nomadic information environments and those with a specific focus on E-Government as an E-Transformation response to the digital divide. The framework recognizes that the key technological drivers that underlie the development of computing technology are mobility, digital convergence, and mass scale. Dubbed the NECE (Nomadic E-Government Co-Evolutionary) framework, the critical dimensions focus attention on the macro level of building of Flexible Infrastructures; the meso level building of Nomadic Networks and the micro level building of Confident Communities. The critical linkages at the various levels focus on having in place the social, human resources, digital and physical resources that are necessary for addressing social exclusion of E-Government in developing countries. The new conceptualization of e-government presented in the NECE framework can be seen to have some practical implications. The NECE framework lays emphasis on the building an e-government infrastructure which is linked to the presence of various resources, which on the surface do not appear remotely connected to e-government. The conceptualization advocated for in the NECE framework recognizes that e-government is not only a technology solution, but also a social system that elevates the need for empowered individuals, communities and whole societies through the building of social, human, digital and physical resources. Thus the adoption of e-government should pay attention to the ‘localities’ within which the artifact is finding expression and that it is difficult to achieve successful implementation as long as it remains foreign and a myth.