s the processing power of computers and all hardware and software that accompanies it, enabling those components to retrieve, process, store and distribute information to support decision-making and control in an organization. With such tools individuals can access and share a wide variety of information “Information technology… transcends the knowledge base constraints of general technology and gives the user access to a theoretically limitless perceptual field” . The effects of computers and its accompanying systems have therefore, the capability to change social as well as organizational structures.Organization Structure: The structure of an organization is seen as providing the framework, which turns a collection of people and resources into an identifiable form. “Mintzberg places considerable emphasis on structure and his definition proposes it as the summation of the ways in which a firm’s labor is directed and coordinated into tasks” There are generally several models of organizations. But the most commonly used are the mechanistic form, which portrays the organization as a machine, and organic which view the organization as an organism, which is a more flexible model. Since structure (mechanistic or organic provides a framework for all the components of an organization including technology, we can therefore find a relationship between structure and technology, and more specifically IT.Historical Approach At the turn of the century, Frederick Taylor sought to put the wisdom for successful business organization on a scientific basis. His work guided a generation of managers towards success in adapting their organizations with the technologies, markets, labor and general environment of the era. By the 1920s, Henry Ford had applied the Taylorist approach and soon dominated the automobile market, driving dozens of competitors under. Ironically, these same principles are opposed to the prevailing...
