Organization and management of information systems functions: Comparative study of selected organizations in Bahrain

This study evaluates and compares the organizational structure, management and communications strategy of IS functions in selected organizations in Bahrain. The IS activities fit, with some variations, into Zmud’s traditional IS roles model. The IS departments of two of the organizations maintain a successful project and work oriented matrix structure for software development functions and the usual functional structures for computer operation units. Two other organizations use the traditional functional structures, as they are primarily involved in acquisition, implementation, and maintenance of overseas developed application software. These operations are carried out with difficulty, as they become fire-fighting. The four organizations were fairly successful in maintaining the desired communication within their various IS sub-functions. Some of them face difficulties in appointing and retaining qualified and experienced staff. With some exceptions, the organizations maintain no established steering committee that can formulate IS policy and plan and prepare project selection and resource utilization guidelines. The relationships of each IS department with its users during routine activities were satisfactory. Each organization encourages the user departments in using PC-based fourth generation software tools. But these organizations are a long way from adopting Zmud’s evolving IS roles and organizational model. The findings also suggested that Nolan’s growth stages are applicable to these firms.