Communication Patterns and Strategies in Software Development Communities of Practice

Some of the greatest challenges in the relatively new field of software development lie in the decidedly old technology of communication between humans. Software projects require sophisticated and varied communication skills because software developers work in a world of incomplete, imperfect information where teams evolve rapidly in response to evolving requirements and changing collaborators. While prescriptive models for software process such as Agile suggest ways of doing, in reality these codified practices must adapt to the complexities of a real workplace. Patterns, rather than rules of behavior within software process are more suitable to the varied and mutable nature of software development. Software development communities are also learning communities, attempting to sustain themselves through internal ambiguity and external changes. We study different types of software development communities to fulfill our goal of understanding how these communities implement and evolve different communication strategies to sustain themselves through change. We observe student software development projects, open source software development, and a professional, rigorously Agile software development community. We employ Wenger\u27s concept of Community of Practice to frame our understanding, especially focusing on the notions of identity, participation, reification, negotiation of meaning and trajectory of the participants of the software development communities. From these different sources, we identify the emergent themes of mentoring and knowledge management as critical for sustainable communities. Through our long running, immersive, participant observer, ethnographic study of the Agile software development community, we contribute both a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the their communication practices and depict the evolving nature of their onboarding and mentoring strategies. We share our experience of implementing such an immersive industry ethnographic study. We employ a pattern language approach to capturing, analyzing and representing our results, thereby contributing and relating to the larger bodies of work in Scrum and Organizational Patterns. This work also informs our concurrent efforts to enhance our undergraduate computer science and software engineering curriculum, exposing students to the communication challenges of real software development and help them to develop skills to meet these challenges through practice in inquiry, critique and reflection

Understanding Relational Agility: Exploring Constructs of Relational Leadership Through Story

Organizational storytelling was used within Tri Fit, a Canadian health promotion and fitness company, to explore relational leadership practices. Through 27 confidential one-on-one interviews and an interview of the four-person leadership team, the research attempted to examine how relational agility, a new leadership construct, exists, how it is defined, and to describe its organizational impacts. Two hundred and forty unique stories were shared through this process, out of which nine storylines emerged. The distillation of these revealed three cultural themes: a culture of relational connection; a culture of nice and a culture that values positivity. Demonstrations of transformational leadership, authentic leadership, aesthetic leadership, emotional and social intelligence, servant leadership and stewardship were frequent amongst many of its members. Four leaders were described by their colleagues as being relationally agile, as demonstrated through the application of a unique collection of relational qualities. This research has also established evidence that relational agility can be learned, and when present, confers positive benefits to the organization including enhanced loyalty, commitment and productivity. Developing relationally agile leaders will therefore likely serve organizations as they navigate change. Furthermore, this may be the first empirical description of relational leadership as a triadic experience where the relationship is personified as a unique product of leader and follower co-development that ultimately serves the higher purposes of the organization. The electronic version of this dissertation is at OhioLink ETD Center, www.ohiolink.edu/etd This dissertation is accompanied by two mp4 video file

UNRAVELING CAREER DEVELOPMENT PRACTICES AND EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT IN SOUTH AFRICAN LOGISTICS COMPANIES

This study delves into the dynamics of career development practices and employee engagement within logistics companies in Durban City, South Africa. Employing a descriptive-correlational research design, the investigation sought answers to key questions regarding the extent of career development practices, the levels of employee engagement, and the relationship between these two critical aspects. The study focused on a sample of 215 employees from five logistics companies in Durban City, South Africa, employing a stratified random sampling approach tailored to the unique characteristics of each company. Primary data collection was conducted through a structured questionnaire, validated for content relevance and reliability, ensuring the instrument's consistency. Ethical principles, including informed consent, anonymity, voluntarism, and confidentiality, were rigorously upheld throughout the study. Data analysis utilized weighted mean and Pearson correlation as statistical tools. The main findings reveal a significant gap in the implementation of career development practices, particularly in essential areas such as career planning, succession planning, and career training. These deficiencies, reflected in low average weighted means, call for strategic interventions to address critical aspects of employee growth and development. Additionally, the study identifies suboptimal levels of cognitive, behavioral, and emotional engagement among employees in logistics companies, emphasizing the need for comprehensive enhancement. A noteworthy discovery is the strong positive correlation between career development practices and employee engagement, highlighted by a robust Pearson Correlation of .887. This statistically significant relationship underscores the interconnectedness of these factors, suggesting that addressing identified gaps in career development practices could catalyze improvements in overall employee engagement within logistics companies. In conclusion, these findings collectively advocate for the enhancement of career development practices as a catalyst for improving employee engagement, fostering a more dynamic and productive workforce. The study's recommendations include the implementation of comprehensive career development programs, prioritization of engagement initiatives, and the integration of technological solutions for career training. These strategies, tailored to the evolving business landscape, hold the potential to contribute to the overall success and sustainability of logistics companies in South Africa.  Article visualizations

Ignorance Management - an alternative perspective on Knowledge Management

Managing organisational knowledge is crucial to increase business performance and competitiveness. However, given the complexity and dynamic nature of knowledge management practices, multinational organisations experience difficulties in identifying business opportunities and often fail to make necessary investments. This thesis develops an alternative perspective on knowledge management through the creation of a model based on socio-technical characteristics and organisational ignorance, and argues that managing nescience, i.e. knowing what needs to be known and also acknowledging the power of understanding the unknown, could facilitate employees' knowledge sharing behaviour and could improve both short-term opportunistic value capture and longer term business sustainability. It also creates a novel technique for managing dysfunctional knowledge management scenarios and improving knowledge management practices in the workplace by definition of the concept of KM anti-patterns, while discussing practices that reduce the risk of making the wrong decision when using uncertain information. The philosophy of this study is based on an interpretative approach with inductive reasoning. Both qualitative and quantitative methods, based mainly on workshop style discussions, questionnaires and semi-structured interview data, were implemented using various departments of one multinational organisation within the Aerospace and Defence industry as units of the analysis. Managing organisational ignorance is seldom and insufficiently discussed by the current KM literature and no previous attempt has been made to detect, analyse and categorise KM dysfunctional situations using a systematic KM anti-pattern template. It is argued that the issues addressed in this study could lead to inefficient or otherwise inappropriate KM practices; therefore it is important, particularly for managers and senior executives, to acknowledge, verify and act upon such matters in order to increase performance within their business, and optimise the level of knowledge for an individual employee or group in knowledge intensive settings

A Transcendental Phenomenological Study of the Lived Experiences of Middle Managers: Self-determined Lifelong Learning in the Banking Industry

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the experiences of middle managers in the banking industry practicing heutagogy to develop lifelong learning skills. The theory guiding this study is Deci and Ryan’s self-determination theory and its relationship with lifelong learning. This study aimed to answer the central research question: What are the lived experiences of middle managers in the banking industry practicing heutagogy to develop lifelong learning skills? Data collected from individual interviews, focus groups, and journal prompts were synthesized using open and axial coding to identify patterns and connections in the resulting data. Data analysis followed the Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen method described by Moustakas. Following an in-depth analysis of the collected data, five major themes emerged. Learning and employment growth, lifelong learning and adaptation, organizational implementation of learning, referrals and career advancement, and personal growth through experience and accomplishment offer a valuable perspective into middle managers\u27 experiences in the banking industry practicing heutagogy to develop lifelong learning skills. These themes provide insight into the various aspects of their personal and professional growth journey. The study concludes by discussing the implications and findings for future research

Embedding Career Competencies in Learning and Talent Development: Career Management and Professional Development Modules.

The chapter researches the theoretical positions and practical applications that enable educators to equip students with the knowledge and skills to self-manage their careers and develop professionally, thus facilitating the successful transition of undergraduates and postgraduates from the academic environment to the workplace. It locates the discussion within a context that recognises the different models that business schools can adopt when providing learning and talent development generally, and career and professional development specifically. The main focus of the chapter relates to three inter-related themes that underpin career management and professional development. First, situating career management and professional development within a contextualising discourse. Second, exploring the contemporary career concepts that influence career management and professional development. Third, considering career management and professional development from three varying perspectives (institutional, individual and organisational). To address these three inter-linked themes, issues and solutions are offered to educators through the integration of theory and practice, which complements and supplements the theoretical discussion with practical toolkits. This involves examining the approaches to teaching career management and professional development and identifying appropriate methodologies for teaching these modules to enable transfer of career competencies from the classroom to the workplace. The chapter closes with concluding remarks about designing career management and professional development modules that are appropriate to the particular models that business schools may pursue

How will leadership agility be affected by the organization-s work digitalization and dynamic workforce engagement, in the future of work? Case applied in the insurance sector

This consulting research develops an assessment of the impact of leadership agility in the Future of Work, as well as the company’s positioning within this future, using the concept of Strategic Foresight and Scenario Planning. Predictive scenarios of the future were designed within the insurance sector with the aim of helping the organization to collect insights about how it should adapt its strategy through leadership. The recommendations were developed considering the future drivers of Workforce Engagement and Pace of Work Technology Adoption and built upon specific leadership competencies that must be tackled