The management of information technology investments in the Australian ambulance services

Information Technology plays a significant role in the administration and operation of most organisations today. This is certainly the case with each of the Australian Ambulance Services. With the rapid increase in the use of Information Technology and the expectation about its use by both staff and the general public, the Ambulance Service managements' are faced with the dilemma of trying to ensure that their organisations are able to get the full advantage of advances in Information Technology and at the same time ensure that investments in IT are maintained at appropriate levels that will ensure the maximum return on the investment in terms of the Ambulance Service achieving its mission and objectives. The research considers three questions: How are IT investment decisions determined? How are levels of IT investments determined? Do IT investments contribute to the organisation's overall effectiveness? The general feeling by the ambulance service CEOs is that the investment in IT has been worthwhile in terms of contributing to the organisation being more effective. These findings are contrary to a study by United Research/Business Week and described by LaPlante (1988) where less than half of CEOs surveyed felt that their organisation did an excellent job of linking computer strategy to corporate goals.

Grantor dc:publisher

Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia

Year dc:date

1994

Author dc:creator

• Ahern, Anthony J.

• Information technology
• Management
• Ambulance service
• Australia
• Finance
• Data processing
• Databases and Information Systems

Repository record dc:identifier

https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1105

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:ro.ecu.edu.au:theses-2106