The role of federal agency management information systems in dynamic, structured environments

The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the factors influencing the use of public-sector management information systems (MIS) developed to support decision-makers responsible for structured tasks performed in dynamic environments. The investigation was based on propositions posed by Barry Bozeman and Stuart Bretschneider, John M. Stevens and Robert P. McGowan, and examined by Blake Ives, Eric Blaustein, and others. It also examined criticisms of MIS use in the public sector made by oversight agencies such as the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO). The research methodology utilized structured interviews administered to thirty-four management information officials in seven federal agencies. Interview data, agency documentation, and GAO reports were examined qualitatively. Interview data were also tested quantitatively through analyses of regressions and contingency tables. Some relationships were found between levels of user satisfaction and characteristics of MIS operational environments, participation in MIS, and decision-maker attitudes toward developers (ADP groups). Findings include (1) Organizational officials appeared to view their MISes as fulfilling their needs for information. The age of the system did not appear to influence that view. While government officials stated that they used their MISes for purposes other than decision support, none of the study variables appeared to influence such use. (2) Environmental change as a group variable did not appear to affect attitudes toward MIS. Testing environmental variables individually revealed a relationship between changes in MIS operation and satisfaction with MIS database quality. (3) User participation in MIS design appeared to influence satisfaction with database quality. (4) User control of MIS operations appeared to have had no effect upon whether the MIS was viewed as satisfactory. User attitudes toward ADP groups influenced user confidence in MIS output. (5) No relationship was found between support staff turnover and satisfaction with MIS.