Understanding the effect of IS change: A social capital perspective

This paper argues that by adopting a social capital perspective of the effects of Information Systems (IS) implementation we are able to provide insights into both human and technological aspects of change interventions. This theoretical paper is firmly embedded within socio-technical approaches and aims to conceptualise and address concerns relating to organisational issues of systems and technology management. IS implementation inevitably impacts upon the existing work and social relationships within organisations where there is the potential experience of reduced system effectiveness through a periodic lack of coordination and control. It is evident, in this respect, that the adoption of IS produces challenges to human collaboration which clearly add a social dimension to systems management. The paper broadly outlines how a social capital perspective may determine the areas of focus from IS-driven organisational change and provide indications about potential ways to improve system and technology adoption. This may support more appropriate designs for change interventions that enable organisations to accrue more value from IS

Project knowledge into project practice: generational issues in the knowledge management process

This paper considers Learning and Knowledge Transfer within the project domain. Knowledge can be a tenuous and elusive concept, and is challenging to transfer within organizations and projects. This challenge is compounded when we consider generational differences in the project and the workplace. This paper looks at learning, and the transfer of that generated knowledge. A number of tools and frameworks have been considered, together with accumulated extant literature. These issues have been deliberated through the lens of different generational types, focusing on the issues and differences in knowledge engagement and absorption between Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y/Millennials. Generation Z/Centennials have also been included where appropriate. This is a significant issue in modern project and organizational structures. Some recommendations are offered to assist in effective knowledge transfer across generational types.Accepted manuscrip

Organizational knowledge transfer through creation, mobilization and diffusion: A case analysis of InTouch within Schlumberger

There is a paucity of theory for the effective management of knowledge transfer within large organisations. Practitioners continue to rely upon ‘experimental’ approaches to address the problem. This research attempts to reduce the gap between theory and application, thereby improving conceptual clarity for the transfer of knowledge. The paper, through an in-depth case analysis conducted within Schlumberger, studies the adoption of an intranet-based knowledge management (KM) system (called InTouch) to support, strategically align and transfer knowledge resources. The investigation was undertaken through the adoption of a robust methodological approach (abductive strategy) incorporating the role of technology as an enabler of knowledge management application. Consequently, the study addressed the important question of translating theoretical benefits of KM into practical reality. The research formulates a set of theoretical propositions which are seen as key to the development of an effective knowledge based infrastructure. The findings identify 30 generic attributes that are essential to the creation, mobilisation and diffusion of organisational knowledge. The research makes a significant contribution to identifying a theoretical and empirically based agenda for successful intranet-based KM which will be of benefit to both the academic and practitioner communities. The paper also highlights and proposes important areas for further research

Selective Intervention and Internal HybridsInterpreting and Learning from the Rise and Decline of the Oticon Spaghetti Organization

Infusing hierarchies with elements of market control has become a much-used way of simultaneously increasing entrepreneurialism and motivation in firms. However, this paper argues that such “internal hybrids,” particularly in their radical forms, are inherently hard to successfully design and implement, because of fundamental credibility problems related to managerial promises to not intervene in delegated decision-making ¾ an incentive problem that is often referred to as the “problem of selective intervention.” This theoretical theme is developed and illustrated, using the case of the world-leading Danish hearing aids producer, Oticon. In the beginning of the 1990s, Oticon became famous for its radical internal hybrid, the ”spaghetti organization.” Recent work has interpreted the spaghetti organization as a radical attempt to foster dynamic capabilities by imposing loose coupling on the organization, neglecting, however, that about a decade later, the spaghetti organization has given way to a more traditional matrix organization. This paper presents an organizational economics interpretation of organizational changes in Oticon, and argues that a strong liability of the spaghetti organization was the above incentive problem. Motivation in Oticon was strongly harmed by selective intervention on the part of top-management Changing the organizational structure was one means of repairing these motivational problems. Refutable implications are developed, both for the understanding of efficient design of internal hybrids, and for the more general issue of the distinction between firms and markets, as well as the choice between internal and external hybrids.Internal hybrids, organizational change, delegation, managerial commitment problems, new organizational forms

Co-management: A Synthesis of the Lessons Learned from the DFID Fisheries Management Science Programme

For the last eleven years, the UK Department for International Development (DfID) have been funding research projects to support the sustainable management of fisheries resources (both inland and marine) in developing countries through the Fisheries Management Science Programme (FMSP). A number of these projects that have been commissioned in this time have examined fisheries co-management. While these projects have, for the most part, been implemented separately, the FMSP has provided an opportunity to synthesise and draw together some of the information generated by these projects. We feel that there is value in distilling some of the important lessons and describing some of the useful tools and examples and making these available through a single, accessible resource. The wealth of information generated means that it is impossible to cover everything in detail but it is hoped that this synthesis will at least provide an overview of the co-management process together with some useful information relating to implementing co-management in a developing country context and links to the more detailed re-sources available, in particular on information systems for co-managed fisheries, participatory fish stock assessment (ParFish) and adaptive learning that have, in particular, been drawn upon for this synthesis. This synthesis is aimed at anyone interested in fisheries management in a developing country context

Knowledge management : a learning mix perspective

How can an organization define policy for managing its knowledge ? In this article, an integrative model is proposed : the Learning Mix. It consists of 4 interacting facets: Information Technology, Learning Structure, Knowledge Portfolio and Learning Identity.knowledge management; learning; learning model

Project management : learning by breaking the rules

The paper explores project management in action in a large public research organisation – NLAT which decided to change its internal organisation from team-based to project-based organisation a few years ago. A systematic and comparative analysis of 8 projects reveals that adherence to the ISO 9000’s standardized rules of project management - specific staffing and project leaders, definition of milestones ex ante, procedure manuals, and formalized learning accumulation mechanisms - had little to do with the organisations success over recent years: Looking for explanations for this success, the paper focuses on the process of transferring from one project to another, enhancing organisational learning through rules breaking. We identify three elements which encourage the accumulation of knowledge and competencies, as organisational learning: low project core staffing levels which stimulates the circulation of engineers and researchers between projects and blurs project boundaries, implementing and managing thematic projects which build on specific competencies developed in dedicated projects and encouraging ‘bricolage’ to hybridise project management with traditional hierarchical management practices.PROJECT MANAGEMENT;R&D;HIGH TECH;MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

Knowledge management and communities of practice in the private sector: lessons for modernising the National Health Service in England and Wales

The National Health Service (NHS) in England and Wales has embarked upon a radical and farreaching programme of change and reform. However, to date the results of organizational quality and service improvement initiatives in the public sector have been mixed, if not to say disappointing, with anticipated gains often failing to materialize or to be sustained in the longer term. This paper draws on the authors' recent extensive research into one of the principal methodologies for bringing about the sought after step change in the quality of health care in England and Wales. It explores how private sector knowledge management (KM) concepts and practices might contribute to the further development of public sector quality improvement initiatives in general and to the reform of the NHS in particular. Our analysis suggests there have been a number of problems and challenges in practice, not least a considerable naïvety around the issue of knowledge transfer and 'knowledge into practice' within health care organizations. We suggest four broad areas for possible development which also have important implications for other public sector organizations