From techno-scientific grammar to organizational syntax. New production insights on the nature of the firm

The paper aims at providing the conceptual building blocks of a theory of the firm which addresses its "ontological questions" (existence,boundaries and organization) by placing production at its core. We draw on engineering for a more accurate description of the production process itself, highlighting its inner complexity and potentially chaotic nature, and on computational linguistics for a production-based account of the nature of economic agents and of the mechanisms through which they build ordered production sets. In so doing, we give a "more appropriate" production basis to the crucial issues of how firm's boundaries are set, how its organisational structure is defined, and how it changes over time. In particular, we show how economic agents select some tasks to be performed internally, while leaving some other to external suppliers, on the basis of criteria based on both the different degrees of internal congruence of the tasks to be performed (i.e. the internal environment), and on the outer relationships carried out with other agents (i.e. the external environment)

Conceptualisation of intellectual capital in analysts’ narratives: a performative view

Purpose: This study tests the performativity of Intellectual Capital (IC) from the perspective of sell-side analysts, a type of actor who consumes and creates IC information and in whose practice IC information plays a significant role. Design/methodology/approach: The empirical component of the study comprises a narrative analysis of the text of a large corpus of sell-side analysts’ initiation coverage reports. We adopt Mouritsen’s (2006) performative and ostensive conceptualisations of IC as our theoretical framework. Findings: We find that the identities and properties of IC elements are variable, dynamic and transformative. The relevance of IC elements in the eyes of analysts is conditional on the context, temporally contingent and bestowed indirectly. IC elements are attributed to firm value both directly, in a linear manner, and indirectly, via various non-linear interrelationships established with other IC elements, tangible capital and financial capital. Research limitations/implications: This study challenges the conventional IC research paradigm and contributes towards a performativity-inspired conceptualisation of IC and a resultant situated model of IC in place of a predictive model. Originality/value: This is the first study to apply a performative lens to study IC identities, roles and relationships from the perspective of a field of practice that is external to the organisation where IC is hosted. Examining IC from analysts’ perspective is important because not only can it provide an alternative perspective of IC, it also enables an understanding of analysts’ field of practice

Distilling lessons from across different types of e-learning interventions

Most Higher Education institutions are now embracing e learning to some extent. Some have instigated institution-wide e-learning initiatives, whilst others are engaging in the use of e-learning to expand their portfolio of course provision and the development of new niche markets. But the successful deployment of e-learning, whether large-scale or more localised, is complex and multi-faceted. This paper considers these complexities by drawing on the findings across four disparate e-learning evaluations, arguing that these provide a valuable means of extrapolating key lessons to ensure better use of e-learning and avoidance of large-scale, spectacular and public disasters, such as the UK e-University

Space, conversations and place: lessons and questions from organisational development

Physical workspace is distinguished from workplace. The latter embodies culture and should become the greater concern of FM. In the field of individual and group development spaces can add an extra gear to stimulate cognitive processes. We provide various examples and suggest modern workplaces, with their emphasis on interaction need to also focus on environments and spaces for individual and collective reflection

Civil society roles in transition: towards sustainable food?

Civil society organisations (CSOs) are often conspicuously absent in policy discussions and strategic planning about food security and the environmental sustainability of food systems. However, findings from a recent study of UK-based CSOs indicate that these groups make a variety of important contributions towards innovation in both policy and practice. This briefing paper draws attention to the disconnection between the narrowly constrained treatment of CSOs within policy circles, and the broad range of different ways that they actually engage with and influence policy and market conditions. Its purpose is to provoke new ways of thinking about civil society and provide CSOs with a new logic (and evidence) to underpin their efforts to leverage resources. Key messages are as follows: - UK-based CSOs have historically made significant contributions to the innovation trajectories of our food and agriculture systems - In contrast to markets, which tend towards homogeneity and are fuelled by competition, characteristics of civil society that crucially underpin these contributions are diversity and collaboration - Policy ignorance of civil society – its purposes, how it operates and its contributions to the development of agro-food systems – must be addressed, e.g. by incentivising and creating spaces for exchange of ideas and practices between CSOs, policy-makers and academics - Established ways of engaging CSOs in the governance of agro-food systems must be re-thought and more appropriate modes and levels of intervention in and support for civil society must be sough

Exploring knowledge management integration through EAI in local government domain

Information Technology (IT) infrastructure integration and knowledge management share communal objectives e.g. to make organisations more effective and efficient, agile and innovative, and more responsive to market changes. Such association when assimilates bona fide knowledge management philosophy, it offers the IT departments a headship opportunity for organisational transformation in affiliation with the rest of the establishment. Notwithstanding, in the context of Local Government Authorities (LGAs), the non-integrated nature of the IT infrastructure is associated with inefficient data and knowledge exchange and reduction in LGA services’ quality. Therefore, numerous data inconsistencies and redundancies occur that impact LGA services to their citizenry. LGAs have deployed Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) technological solutions to integrate their legacy with new developed Information Systems (IS). Literature indicates that EAI achieves integration at five layers namely: (a) connectivity, (b) transportation, (c) transformation, (d) process integration and (e) knowledge integration. This research adapts a Revised Model for Integration Layers (REAL) and tests through a case study in a local authority. The results indicate that cases leading to data inconsistencies and replication can be prevented by integrating knowledge through EAI

An Ontological Basis for Design Methods

This paper presents a view of design methods as process artefacts that can be represented using the function-behaviour-structure (FBS) ontology. This view allows identifying five fundamental approaches to methods: black-box, procedural, artefact-centric, formal and managerial approaches. They all describe method structure but emphasise different aspects of it. Capturing these differences addresses common terminological confusions relating to methods. The paper provides an overview of the use of the fundamental method approaches for different purposes in designing. In addition, the FBS ontology is used for developing a notion of prescriptiveness of design methods as an aggregate construct defined along four dimensions: certainty, granularity, flexibility and authority. The work presented in this paper provides an ontological basis for describing, understanding and managing design methods throughout their life cycle. Keywords: Design Methods; Function-Behaviour-Structure (FBS) Ontology; Prescriptive Design Knowledge</p

Adaptive development and maintenance of user-centric software systems

A software system cannot be developed without considering the various facets of its environment. Stakeholders – including the users that play a central role – have their needs, expectations, and perceptions of a system. Organisational and technical aspects of the environment are constantly changing. The ability to adapt a software system and its requirements to its environment throughout its full lifecycle is of paramount importance in a constantly changing environment. The continuous involvement of users is as important as the constant evaluation of the system and the observation of evolving environments. We present a methodology for adaptive software systems development and maintenance. We draw upon a diverse range of accepted methods including participatory design, software architecture, and evolutionary design. Our focus is on user-centred software systems