The Effect of Implementing an IT-Supported Business Management System on Organisational Culture: A Case Study

The literature suggests that the benefits of implementing a business management system (BMS) are mixed. While reported benefits include improved work quality and effectiveness and reduction in operating costs, formal certification is seen as a costly and bureaucratic process. This paper describes a project in which an Australian software development firm implemented an information technology (IT)-supported BMS to gain ISO 9001 certification. Survey data was gathered before and after the implementation process to measure the changes brought by the implementation. This paper focuses especially on the analysis of organisational culture. The results indicate that a BMS may have little obvious or immediate human benefit in small organisations or in organisations where a satisfactory work environment already exists. The major benefit may lie in the use of a BMS as a tool to review systematically critical aspects of a business, thereby reducing the risk of business errors.