A number of relatively new technologies, such as Enterprise Resource Planning systems, the Internet and intranets, have entered the organizational landscape. These technologies have not only enabled a wide range of social and organizational transformations, but have also challenged much of the received wisdom that operates in academic and industrial discourses. This book attempts to capture some of these strands by discussing the social and organizational issues surrounding the implementation and use of these new technologies in organizational processes. Some of the contributions are critical and reflexive by nature, while others offer rich insights through the analysis of cases. The book represents a wide scope of traditions of thought, as well as research approaches, in addressing these emerging issues. A number of practical and theoretical topics are discussed in detail, including: Implementation of ERP; Electronic commerce; Intranet implementation; The management of standards; Issues of organizational analysis; Understanding BPR tools; Collaborative technologies; Knowledge work environments. This book contains the selected proceedings of the International Working Conference on New Information Technologies in Organizational Processes: Field Studies and Theoretical Reflections on the Future of Work, organized by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) and held in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, in August 1999. This valuable new title will be essential reading for researchers working in information systems and management, technology, social and organization studies.
Many organisations are using an increased range of information technologies to support a variety of new organisational practices and organisational forms. The book aims to investigate the integration of information technologies into work places and their effect on work and work-life. Issues include changes in: the nature, quantity and quality of work; power relations; privacy; and aspects of organisational culture. The book also considers the social process of shifting from present organisational structures and practices to new ones.
There is a strong movement today in management to encourage management practices based on research evidence. In the first volume of this handbook, I asked experts in 39 areas of management to identify a central principle that summarized and integrated the core findings from their specialty area and then to explain this principle and give real business examples of the principle in action. I asked them to write in non-technical terms, e.g., without a lot of statistics, and almost all did so. The previous handbook proved to be quite popular, so I was asked to edit a second edition. This new edition has been expanded to 33 topics, and there are some new authors for the previously included topics. The new edition also includes: updated case examples, updated references and practical exercises at the end of each chapter. It also includes a preface on evidence-based management. The principles for the first edition were intended to be relatively timeless, so it is no surprise that most of the principles are the same (though some chapter titles include more than one principle). This book could serve as a textbook in advanced undergraduate and in MBA courses. It could also be of use to practicing managers and not just those in Human Resource departments. Every practicing manager may not want to read the whole book, but I am willing to guarantee that every one will find at least one or more chapters that will be practically useful. In this time of economic crisis, the need for effective management practices is more acute than ever.
Organizations and Communications Technology is must reading for those interested in the relation of communication technology to organizational form and function. The book does what many such collections do not do: It presents in a complementary--if not totally unified--fashion a variety of perspectives on and answers to questions raised about the essential nature, determinants, and effects of the organization-communication technology interface. Such coherence in theme and structure is not accidental; rather, it derives from the editors′ commitment to a robust theoretical foundation in which to ground past and future research. . . . They have succeeded brilliantly in their efforts to focus substantive scholarship on theory building in a data-rich but theory-poor field. The result is a work that will no doubt be a classic. The reader who makes the commitment to mine its essays will not be disappointed. --Journal of Business and Technical Communication "As a summary of the field, this collection of theoretical essays succeeds on two main counts. . . . First, it brings together in one volume writers whose recent work has been widely cited and discussed throughout the literatures of information science, communication, management, and technology studies. Second, the book presents some exciting theoretical ideas about the relationship between communication technologies and social behavior that are applicable beyond the organizational setting. . . . On the whole, this book is a fine overview that updates and lends structure--′organizes′--this evolving literature for a diverse audience." --Journal of Communication "The editors . . . argue convincingly that the study of human and organizational aspects of communications technology suffers from a glut of data and a deficiency of theory. The objective of the book becomes one of starting the process of developing a corpus of theory that will integrate the knowledge we have. Overall, the book achieves this objective well, with the gratifying addition that there are also plenty of practical recommendations of immediate value to the practitioner. . . . This is an ambitious book and given the importance of the topic this is inevitable. It is aimed at a broad range of disciplines. It is unashamedly theoretical in its approach yet contains a good deal of immediate practical importance. My own prediction . . . suggests that this book will be regarded as a milestone from which future progress will be measured." --The Occupational Psychologist "Communications technology offers a wonderful springboard for much broader considerations of how people in organizations and behavior within them. Worthwhile . . . engaging." --Academy of Management Review "Will interest any business communication scholar concerned with the ways organizations are affected by new technologies. . . . Provide[s] a wealth of stimulating ideas." --Journal of Business Communication "Organizations and Communications Technology is an attempt to provide a foundation for theory development on information technology in organizations by delegating the task to a set of competent researchers and theorists. Given the dearth of theory development in the field such a strategy makes some sense. Because of (its) diversity, organizations, communications, and management information systems scholars should all find something of interest." --Administrative Science Quarterly How do technology and organization interact to shape organizational structures and processes? What organizational, political, and social processes constrain technological development? What forces shape the articulation of organizational and technological systems? Answering these and other pivotal questions, this powerful volume centers on the role of theory for advancing our knowledge of communication technology in organizations at several levels: micro, group, and macro. A distinguished team of contributors examines a richly diverse group of topics, including telecommunications, communication networks and new media, the use of group decision support systems, and discretionary databases, to name but a few. Organizations and Communication Technology offers nothing less than a fresh foundation for research and management practice. As such, it is essential reading for scholars, practitioners, and students in the fields of management studies, communication science, organization studies, and policy studies.
Recent years have yielded significant advances in computing and communication technologies, with profound impacts on society. Technology is transforming the way we work, play, and interact with others. From these technological capabilities, new industries, organizational forms, and business models are emerging. Technological advances can create enormous economic and other benefits, but can also lead to significant changes for workers. IT and automation can change the way work is conducted, by augmenting or replacing workers in specific tasks. This can shift the demand for some types of human labor, eliminating some jobs and creating new ones. Information Technology and the U.S. Workforce explores the interactions between technological, economic, and societal trends and identifies possible near-term developments for work. This report emphasizes the need to understand and track these trends and develop strategies to inform, prepare for, and respond to changes in the labor market. It offers evaluations of what is known, notes open questions to be addressed, and identifies promising research pathways moving forward.
Values, attitudes, and behaviors constitute an organization’s culture and employees both share and use them on a daily basis in their work. This book aims to briefly portray a new interpretation of organizational culture varying from the profusion of literature in the following ways: it attempts to include how cultures are created organically or through consistent planning and action in different organizations such as education, business, and health; focusing more on change, innovation, and learning opportunities. It also aims to provide leaders with experiences and reflections on how to initiate an organizational culture change. Finally, this book is expected to extend new perspectives and practices for both potential and actual managers of organizations contributing to the current debate on how to transform organizations into innovative and learning cultures.
Enterprise Systems have been used for many years to integrate technology with the management of an organization but rapid technological disruptions are now creating new challenges and opportunities that require urgent consideration. This book reappraises the implementation and management of Enterprise Systems in the digital age and investigates the vital link between business processes, information technology and the Internet for an organization’s competitive advantage and success. This book primarily focuses on the implementation, operation, management and integration of Enterprise Systems with fastemerging disruptive technologies such as blockchains, big data, cryptocurrencies, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, data mining and data analytics. These disruptive technologies are now becoming mainstream and the book proposes several innovations that organizations need to adopt to remain competitive within this rapidly changing landscape. In addition, it examines Enterprise Systems, their components, architecture, and applications and enlightens readers on the benefits and shortcomings of implementing them. This book contains primary research on organizations, case studies, and benchmarks ERP implementation against international best practice.
The rapid growth in the adoption and diffusion of information technologies has important implications for practitioners, academics and policy-makers. The widespread use of information technologies is challenging traditional business models and reshaping socio-economic paradigms, as well as promoting new social relations, jobs and working structures. By synthesizing prior research and providing a strong foundation for future research, the aim of this book is to contribute to our practical and conceptual understanding of the technological, behavioral, organizational, social and economic issues and their inter-relationship in organizations and electronic markets. The book covers five broad aspects: technological innovations and trends; organizational change and knowledge management; strategic transformation; and social and economic transformation. Contributions include works by scholars from recognized international communities of academics, practitioners and policy-makers.
This volume is part of a publication series emerging from an international interdisciplinary study group on "New Technologies and Work (NeTWork)". NeTWork is sponsored by the Werner-Reimers Foundation (Bad Homburg, Germany) and the Maison des Sciences de l'Homme (Paris). The NeTWork study group has set itself the task of intellectually penetrating various problem domains posed by the introduction and spread of new technologies in work settings. This problem focus requires interdisciplinary co-operation. The usual mode of operating is to identify an important problem within the NeTWork scope, to attempt to prestructure it and then to invite original contributions from European researchers or research teams actively involved in relevant analytic or developmental work. A specific workshop serves to cross-fertilize the different approaches and to help to integrate more fully the individual contributions. The concept of telematics refers to the integration of computer, telecommunication and information technologies. It alludes to the opportunities presented by the technical means to communicate and transfer data over large distances by "intelligent equipment". Teleshopping, teleconferencing, teleworking and telebanking are but a few examples of a development which influences both public and private environments. Both households and workplaces are likely to be thoroughly changed by telematics. This publication emphasises the application of telematics in working environments. The central questions of the book are: How will the present and future development of telematics effect the nature and organization of work, and under which conditions will this development be optimal? From the various contributions it is clear that telematics is not a single direct cause or determinant of particular changes in work and organization. The development and application of telematics depend on decision making of actors at a political scene both outside and inside the work organizations. The effects of the use of these applications appear to be co-determined by many other factors. In fact, the technology interacts with political, economic, and social factors in a complex process that shapes new organizational forms and work relationships.
