Decision factors for remote work adoption: Advantages, disadvantages, driving forces and challenges

Facing one of the most challenging pandemics for organizational modus operandi (COVID-19), organizations are struggling for operational and strategic support. The adoption of remote work (RW) is increasing. For economic reasons, competitive advantage, or even as a pandemic response (business continuity plan), RW is a domain worth further investigation. However, the literature lacks insight regarding RW adoption. A design science research methodology was adopted, including a systematic literature review to elicit RW advantages, disadvantages, challenges and driving forces, as well as their relation. To evaluate and demonstrate findings, 129 qualitative interviews were performed with RW professionals. In the end, 57 decision factors were elicited, and 16 relations were validated. The authors concluded that cost-reduction and flexibility to promote work–life balance is the most positive outputs, while communication and technical problems, as well as management issues, are what most concerns professionals. Moreover, positive relations are more recognized among professionals over negative ones.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Distributed Knowledge Coordination across Virtual Organizational Boundaries

This paper examines boundary-spanning knowledge-coordination in the definition of information systems by the e-Commerce systems group for a global service consultancy. We report on the findings of an eighteen-month field study to investigate distributed and virtual knowledge coordination across organizational boundaries. Our study reveals multiple ways in which knowledge is coordinated by means of a web of functional and domain-expert roles, distributed knowledge-resources, and imposed or negotiated procedures. We identify a “problem- coordination distance” that relates to the organizational-span of coordination and the type of problems to be resolved. We observe that different forms of group memory are used to manage boundary-spanning collaboration according to three degrees of problem-coordination-distance. These findings are related to the potential use of knowledge management systems to support boundary-spanning coordination for enterprise managers in virtual organizations

Distributed knowledge coordination across virtual organization boundaries

Paper presented at The International Conference of Information Systems (ICIS), in Milwaukee, WI.This paper examines boundary-spanning knowledge-coordination in the definition of information systems by the e-Commerce systems group for a global service consultancy. We report on the findings of an eighteen-month field study to investigate distributed and virtual knowledge coordination across organizational boundaries. Our study reveals multiple ways in which knowledge is coordinated by means of a web of functional and domain-expert roles, distributed knowledge-resources, and imposed or negotiated procedures. We identify a “problemcoordination distance” that relates to the organizational-span of coordination and the type of problems to be resolved. We observe that different forms of group memory are used to manage boundary-spanning collaboration according to three degrees of problem-coordination-distance. These findings are related to the potential use of knowledge management systems to support boundary-spanning coordination for enterprise managers in virtual organizations

Leadership in Groups: Social Networks and Perceptions of Formal and Informal Leaders

The labors of organizational and behavioral science researchers have resulted in a literature robust in the study of leadership and social networks. Empirical examination of both topics has shown significant organizational outcomes, but breadth is lacking both within and between the disciplines. Studies of leadership have seen the preponderance of the effort focused on formal leaders, while most social network studies examine only one informal structure. Moreover, there exists a paucity of studies, which have sought to examine the interrelationships between leadership and social networks. In an effort to address these voids, this thesis investigated: 1) The concurrent existence of multiple social networks, 2) How leaders, both formal and informal, are positioned within the networks, 3) How leader positions in the network change over time, 4) How network positioning affects group members\u27 perceptions of formal leader performance, and 5) How a member\u27s position in the network relates to peer selection as an informal leader. The Expressive-Instrumental Leadership Model, based on behavioral science theory and past empirical studies, was proposed as a means of investigation. A population of 431 military students and instructors was surveyed seven times over a period of eight weeks to gather longitudinally-based social networks data. Additionally, both instructors and students were peer-rated on their leadership performance. The results were statistically analyzed and compared to outcomes predicted by the model. The results showed partial support for the proposed model as three of six hypotheses were supported. Partial support was found for remaining hypotheses, with unique environmental factors possible impacting study results. The author proposed further study of the model to gain additional insight

The migration process of mobile agents: implementation, classification, and optimization

Mobile Agenten stellen ein neues faszinierendes Design-Paradigma für den Aufbau und die Programmierung von verteilten Systemen dar. Ein mobiler Agent ist eine Software-Entität, die von ihrem Besitzer mit einem Auftrag auf einem Knoten eines verteilten Systems gestartet wird und dann zur Laufzeit auf andere Knoten des Netzwerkes migriert. Diese Arbeit konzentriert sich auf den Migrationsprozess für mobile Agenten, dem in der Literatur bisher wenig Aufmerksamkeit geschenkt wurde, obwohl er die Ausführungsgeschwindigkeit eines Agenten entscheidend beeinflusst. Eine detaillierte Analyse der Netzbelastung von mobilen Agenten im Vergleich zum traditionellen Client-Server Ansatz in mehreren typischen Anwendungsszenarien zeigt das Potential von mobilen Agenten zur Verringerung von Verarbeitungszeiten. Allerdings zeigt die Analyse ebenso die Nachteile der in heutigen Agentensystemen verwendenten sehr einfachen Migrationstechniken. Es wird ein neues Migrationsmodell mit Namen Kalong vorgestellt, das den Nachteil der fehlenden Anpassbarkeit heutiger Agentensysteme beseitigt und dem Programmierer eines mobilen Agenten eine sehr flexible Technik für die Migration zur Verfügung stellt

Evaluation and development models for business processes

Most organisations are working hard to improve their performance and to achieve competitive advantage over their rivals. They may accomplish these ambitions through carrying out their business processes more effectively. Hence it is important to consider such processes and look for ways in which they can be improved. Any organisational business process encompasses several elements that interact and collaborate with each other to achieve the required objectives. These elements can be classified into hard aspects, which deal with tangible issues related to the software system or the technology in general, and soft aspects, which deal with issues related to the human part of the business process. If the business process needs to be analysed and redesigned to improve its performance, it is important to use a suitable approach or intervention that takes into account all of these elements. This thesis proposes an approach to investigate organisational business processes by considering both soft and hard aspects. The approach, Soft Workflow Modelling (SWfM), is developed as a result of reviewing several workflow products and models using a developed workflow perspectives framework which involves several perspectives covering the soft and hard aspects of the workflow system. The SWfM approach models the organisational business process as a workflow system by handling the various perspectives of the workflow perspectives framework. This approach combines the Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) with the Unified Modelling Language (UML), as a standard modelling language of the object-oriented paradigm. The basic framework adopted is that of SSM with the inclusion of UML diagrams and techniques to deal with the aspects that SSM cannot handle. The approach also supports SSM by providing a developed tool to assist in constructing a conceptual model which is considered as the basis to model the workflow system. A case study is developed for illustrative purposes.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Dynamic Application Integration Using Peer to Peer Technology

Today's business imperatives are clearer than ever. Businesses are trying to beat competitors by introducing new products to the market, deliver personalised services, increase customer loyalty and evolve at electronic speeds. These imperatives demand a technology infrastructure that is more flexible, more dynamic and more intelligent than ever. Java Web services based on Universal Description, Discovery and Integration (UDDI) are an evolution in e-business applications that will help businesses reach these goals and take Business-to-Business (B2B) to the next level. In the last couple of years, the concept of a Web Service (WS) has emerged as an important paradigm for general application integration in the internet environment. More particularly, WS is viewed as an important vehicle for the creation of dynamic e business applications and as a means for the Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) and Microsoft .NET platforms to come together. This will be achieved through WS standards and several companies have been collaborating in such standardisation activities. This Thesis describes research aiming to allow the dynamic integration of different software applications and information sources, including legacy systems, using the latest state of the art Internet technology called “Peer-to-Peer (P2P)”. The term “dynamic” is used in order to indicate that different software applications, in different geographical locations, that need to be integrated are able to establish a communication link and interchange data without manual intervention or without any intermediate integration server. To achieve this goal, several technologies have been combined, including Java Web Services and the Extensible Stylesheet Language (XML), in order to design, develop and implement an innovative architecture that will satisfy such requirements. Amongst others, the main programming language used is the widely accepted Java language, which acts catalytically in the creation of the system architecture described in this Thesis