A variety of IT tools: An investigation of the use of IT tools and of knowlegde sharing in an accountancy firm
Student thesis: Master programme thesis
- Anne Fritzen
4. term, Master of ICT and Learning (MIL) (Continuing education) (Continuing Education Programme (Master))
The dissertation addresses the following problem:
In order to develop methods for the promotion of organisational learning in connection with the implementation of a new IT tool a survey is carried out regarding the use of the present IT tools and the knowledge sharing related to this use.
The survey is limited to the use of IT tools in the preparation of annual reports.
An introduction to the accounting business is followed by a brief description of the company in question, its organisation, ownership and employees.
Then follows a general presentation of the IT systems of the company and of the tools covered by the survey: excel, word, a combination of word and excel as well as an older version of CaseWare – an IT tool developed specially for use in the accounting business.
The new tool – a new version of CaseWare – is presently being adapted to Danish accounting rules and the Danish language and tested by a group of super users chosen among the company’s employees.
The author reveals her bias as an employee of the accountancy firm in question and thus an insider as well as admitting that her point of view is the so-called Scandinavian Model, a Participatory Design originally developed in collaboration with Scandinavian trade unions.
The next part is a discussion of the socio-cultural theory or activity theory which forms the base of the learning theory on which the dissertation is founded. This theory is chosen because it emphasizes work (activity), communities, collaboration and the use of both tangible and mental tools and thus includes important elements for studying people at work.
This part is followed by a discussion about the nature of knowledge including the opinions of J: Dewey, D. Schön and M. Polanyi and a discussion about learning and knowledge in organisations based on the investigations of Danish researchers Pernille Bottrup and Peter Holdt Christensen.
Next part is about the method of investigation; the construction of the 24 questions and the range of answers in the questionnaire, and the problems and compromises dealt with in the construction process.
After receiving the answers (46 accountants responded of a population of 75 accountants includning trainees) obvious errors are corrected and for each of the 24 questions a graphic presentation of the answers is made and comments are added (Appendix 2)
The method of analyses is described and the ambiguity of some of the results is addressed.
The results show a preference for excel over the other existing IT tools for preparing annual reports and a preference for asking people over consulting resources like databases or manuals.
A chapter with summaries of 5 cases of investigating organisational learning and the lessons to be learned from these experiences. The final section is a list of suggestions for improving organisational learning in relation to the implementation and further development of the new IT-tool in the company.
Language | Danish |
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Publication date | 2009 |
Number of pages | 29 |
Publishing institution | Aalborg Universitet |
Keywords | organisational learning, knowledge sharing, implementing new technology, use of IT tools, accountancy firm |
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