Mapping Chargeback Systems to Organizational Environments

A critical problem facing information systems management is what kind of chargeback system to install and will it be appropriate in the future? The solution is to map the chargeback system to the organizational environment. This organizational environment can be described by: 1) the use to which the information technology is put, 2) the maturity of the information systems function, and 3) the level of development of the information systems managerial function. The authors have developed a model that defines the organizational environments according to these three dimensions, giving management an organizational definition by which to choose the chargeback system that best accommodates the organization’s accountability needs. This paper describes characteristics of chargeback systems, major chargeback methods and the authors’ model. Then the impact of the model and the extent of its implementation are displayed through two case analyses.