Agents of the network society: spatial mobility patterns among managerial and professional workers

Agents of the network society: spatial mobility patterns among managerial and professional worker

The diverse patterns of work-related business travel: accounting for spatial scale

In understanding workers’ work-related mobility patterns it is more accurate to talk of mobilities, rather than mobility, as a heterogeneous range of different types and patterns of work-related travel are undertaken (Jones 2010). It is suggested here that the spatial mobility of workers can involve undertaking quite different types of journeys on different spatial scales, and that the diverse spatial scales over which business travel occurs need to be taken greater account of. In the present paper, this is done via utilizing and illustrating Hislop’s (2016) framework on the spatial scales of business travel. This framework distinguishes between four broad scales and journey types: localized land-based travel, long distance land-based travel, short haul plane-based journeys and long haul plane-based journeys. To illustrate the type of journeys undertaken at each spatial scale, empirical data is drawn from a study of UK business travellers involving journeys undertaken by car, plane, and train A number of illustrative vignettes are presented which give rich insights into the various types of workers who regularly travel for work, the type of journeys they undertake, and some of the key impacts that their work and travel patterns have on their non-work lives

The work-related affordances of business travel

Sociological understanding of how business travellers make use of travel time is somewhat lacking. This article addresses this gap in knowledge via presenting an analysis of survey-based data collected from business people travelling by plane, train and car. Through disaggregating the data by travel mode, journey stage, technology use and task type the article provides a level of granular detail in the general patterns of business travellers’ travel time behaviour not previously provided by other surveys. Utilizing the concept of ‘affordances’, the article shows how the type of work activities undertaken are shaped by the dynamic interaction between the characteristics in the travel environment, the type of work tasks undertaken and work technologies utilized in carrying out these tasks and the active choices of business travellers

The rhetoric of ‘knowledge hoarding’: a research-based critique

Purpose - Via a study of IT service professionals, this article responds to a recent trend towards reifying ‘knowledge hoarding’ for purposes of quantitative/deductive research. A ‘rhetorical theory’ lens is applied to reconsider ‘knowledge hoarding’ as a value-laden rhetoric that directs managers towards addressing assumed worker dysfunctionality. Design/methodology/approach - A qualitative study of practicing IT service professionals (assumed within IT service management ‘best practice’ to be inclined to hoard knowledge) was conducted over a 34 day period. 20 workers were closely observed processing IT service incidents and 26 workers were interviewed about knowledge sharing practices. Findings - The study found that the character of IT service practice is more one of pro-social collegiality in sharing knowledge/know-how than one of self-interested strategic knowledge concealment. Research limitations/implications - The study concerns a single occupational context. The study indicates that deductive research that reifies ‘knowledge hoarding’ as a naturally-occurring phenomenon is flawed, with clear implications for future research. Practical implications - The study suggests that management concern for productivity might be redirected away from addressing assumed knowledge hoarding behaviour and towards encouraging knowledge sharing via social interaction in the workplace. Originality/value - Previous studies have not directly examined the concept of knowledge hoarding using qualitative methods, nor have they considered it as a rhetorical device

Towards sustainable KM in high-performance sport

For knowledge management initiatives to be successful and provide sustainable competitive advantage, it is imperative that they are rooted in the organisation’s context. This paper presents a knowledge management audit methodology for conducting a systemic inquiry into the multiple factors within an organisational context that can impact on the success of the KM strategy. Drawing from the practice-based perspective, the KM audit is proposed to study the organisational objectives, identify the strengths and barriers in the context and highlight the existing knowledge resources and processes. As opposed to the existing audit methodologies in the literature that present a snapshot evaluation of the context, the present audit methodology will adopt the iterative approach of the action research process; the data collection and analysis phases will be conducted simultaneously, progressively developing insight and meaning. Further, the findings will be continuously fed back to the organisation and used directly to inform the KM strategy through forming a working relationship with the current Knowledge Manager in the organisation. The overall aim is to inform a KM strategy that will strategically align to the organisational context whilst utilising the available resources. It is expected that this approach will result in a KM strategy that will foster a long-term focus on KM in the organisation, provide sustainable competitive advantage and be robust in the face of dynamic organisational climates. This work-in-progress study is being conducted in a not-for-profit, knowledge intensive, high-performance sport organisation to illustrate the KM audit in practice. This paper presents the audit methodology and discusses the rationale and benefits of conducting a KM audit, along with preliminary findings and reflections from the audit process at the case study organisation

Sustainable knowledge management: The role of knowledge management audits

Sustainable knowledge management: The role of knowledge management audit

The process of individual unlearning: a neglected topic in an under-researched field

This article presents the findings of a participative action research project into how arts-based inquiry can revitalise equality and diversity organisational practices. We demonstrate that the arts-based methodologies introduced enabled participants to explore the meanings they brought to equality and diversity work, by creating a liminal space for learning. We illustrate our findings through an exploration of how participants engaged with the inquiry, the learning about equality and diversity that took place in the workshops and the challenges and opportunities of translating this into change practice in the workplace. The article’s originality lies in its analysis of poetic writings, dreams and visual artefacts created in the context of participative inquiry. Engaging with tacit knowledge extended understanding of the contribution that arts-based, aesthetic inquiry can bring to organisational practice, and more specifically towards restoring the transformative potential of organisational practices to promote equality and diversity

The impact of the internet of things on mobile workers

Ongoing developments in digital, computer, and communication technologies are likely to have profound long-term consequences for the nature of work and employment (Brynjolfsson & McAfee 2016). One significant area of development concerns the Internet of Things (IoT). The IoT can be described as everyday objects, such as cars, fridges or watches, having internet connectivity allowing them to send and receive data. The IoT is predicted to be a major IT-enabled business trend over the next 10 years. Peppet (2014) suggests the potential for 200 billion connected devices by 2020 and a trillion by 2025, and Mishra et al. (2016) note that according to McKinsey (2013), IoT has a potential global economic impact of $36 trillion. A recent Computing (2016) report indicates that in the UK, applications of the IoT in work settings are most likely to involve the use of tracking devices for internal deployment to achieve cost optimization. For example, an English county police force are deploying an IoT platform to create connected vehicles and 4G streaming cameras that are lightweight and wearable and can stream high definition video. Internet-connected police cars allow police officers to use laptops, mobile phones and tablet computers in their vehicles giving them access to important information while working remotely (Palmer, 2015). Thus, the IoT has the potential to have significant impacts on the organization and management of mobile workers. This study will examine the impact of IoT technologies on mobile work in UK organizations. The main emphasis of the project is to develop user-centric considerations of digital technologies to counterbalance techno-centric research on this topic: the users in this study are defined as both organizations and individual workers. This is partly because various concerns have been raised regarding surveillance implications of these technologies for workers (O’Connor, 2015). This exploratory study has two aims: 1) to understand organizational drivers for the adoption of IoT for mobile work; 2) to explore how IoT technologies impact on mobile workers

Variability in the use of mobile ICTs by homeworkers and its consequences for boundary management and social isolation

We examine how the use of mobile information and communication technologies (ICTs) among self-employed homeworkers affects their experience of work, focusing particularly on where work is carried out, how the work/non-work boundary is managed, and people's experiences of social and professional isolation. Positively, their use enhanced people's sense of spatio-temporal freedom by allowing them to leave the home without compromising their work availability. This also helped reduce people's feelings of social isolation. More negatively, their use enhanced people's sense of 'perpetual contact', creating a sense that work was difficult to escape from. However, the extent to which mobile ICTs were used, and the extent to which their impact on people's experiences of work were understood, were found to vary significantly, highlighting the agency that users have with regard to technology use. The findings are framed by combining Nippert-Eng's boundary work theory, with an 'emergent process' perspective on socio-technical relations

The diverse patterns of work-related business travel: accounting for spatial scale

In understanding workers’ work-related mobility patterns it is more accurate to talk of mobilities, rather than mobility, as a heterogeneous range of different types and patterns of work-related travel are undertaken (Jones 2010). It is suggested here that the spatial mobility of workers can involve undertaking quite different types of journeys on different spatial scales, and that the diverse spatial scales over which business travel occurs need to be taken greater account of. In the present paper, this is done via utilizing and illustrating Hislop’s (2016) framework on the spatial scales of business travel. This framework distinguishes between four broad scales and journey types: localized land-based travel, long distance land-based travel, short haul plane-based journeys and long haul plane-based journeys. To illustrate the type of journeys undertaken at each spatial scale, empirical data is drawn from a study of UK business travellers involving journeys undertaken by car, plane, and train A number of illustrative vignettes are presented which give rich insights into the various types of workers who regularly travel for work, the type of journeys they undertake, and some of the key impacts that their work and travel patterns have on their non-work lives