Summary New Ways of Working
Week 1 – Perspectives on digital transformation of work
Three approaches on the relationship between technology and organizations
1) Technological Determinism
➔ Technology is a neutral, exogenous force, exerts unidirectional, causal influences over
humans and organisations, similar to those operating in nature.
➔ Technology is an object that can exert influence on organisational outcomes, e.g. increasing
productivity, expanding collaboration, or lead to decentralisation or increase of managerial
authority.
2) Strategic choice
➔ Managers make choices about which technologies they will adopt through strategic
alignment of the technology with the organization.
➔ It is this choice that will determine the outcome, not the technology itself.
➔ Assumption is that managers rather than users are the key actors in shaping technology to a
particular organizational or economic end.
3) Enacted View
➔ Ongoing sociotechnical production: technology is the centre stage.
➔ It is as a result of our situated actions (practices) that the outcomes emerge.
➔ By actions we imply not only individual behaviour (and responsibility), but also collective
work practices.
↳ Three implications:
1) Technology is social, dynamic and multiple: Technology consists of multiple
components and is a product and a medium of human action, which is reshaped
over time and thus never fully stabilized.
2) Technology must be used to have effect: espoused technology vs. technology-
in-use.
3) Use of technology has unintended consequences: Longer-term nature (ripple
effects), not anticipated at the start. Change patterns of social action, not only
individuals (we are enacting a “collective system”). Change in norms,
expectations, shared new ideals. Separate from the intentions during design,
use, and immediate context.
, Week 2 – Knowledge and organization
Knowledge = The ability to discriminate and so draw meaning in a particular context, based on some
understanding derived from theory or past experience in interaction with a collection of other actors
(other people and objects like the stethoscope).
Knowledge management (KM) = Approach striving to generate value by improving the ways in which
they create, capture/store, distribute/transfer and effectively use/apply knowledge, because
knowledge is fundamental to both improving efficiency and innovating, the two basic processes that
enable organizations to compete.
Knowledge work = The making of decisions based on discriminations whether founded on
knowledge possessed by an individual, emergence from ongoing practices, the wisdom of the crowd
or the connections observed in a data-set.
↳ More than what’s in the brain;
↳ More than what can be formalized;
↳ Not neutral and can be used politically.
Tacit Knowledge = Knowledge that is impossible or certainly hard to write down and, even if written
down, does not express the knowledge adequately.
Explicit Knowledge = That which can be written down or articulated in language or some other
symbolic form.
Different Approaches for managing knowledge
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller lucwachter. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $0.00. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
