The power and vulnerability of the ‘new professional’: Web management in UK universities

Research paper Purpose: To explore the character of an emergent occupational role, that of university web manager. Design/methodology/approach: The primary data used were 15 semi-structured interviews conducted in 2004. These were analysed partly for factual and attitudinal data, but also for the discursive interpretative repertoires in use. Findings: The paper examines the diverse backgrounds, occupational trajectories, organisational positions, job roles and status of practitioners working in ‘web management’ in UK Higher Education. The discursive divide between the marketing and IT approaches to the web is investigated. Two case studies explore further the complexity and creativity involved in individuals’ construction of coherent and successful occupational identities. Research implications / limitations: The paper examines the position of web managers within the framework of the notions of the marginal but powerful ‘new professional’ or ‘broker’ technician. It gives a vivid insight into how the web as a dynamic and open technology opens up opportunities for new forms of expertise; but also explores the potential vulnerabilities of such new roles. In order to examine personal experience in depth, data was gathered for only a relatively small number of individuals. The research was also limited to the UK university sector and to those with a broad responsibility for the web site of the whole institution, i.e. not library web managers and other web authors who work primarily to produce a departmental web presence. These limits imply obvious ways in which the research could be extended. Practical implications: There are implications for how institutions support people in such roles, and for how they can support each other. Originality: There is a vast literature about the web, little about the new work roles that have grown up around it

Emergent Forms of IT Governance to Support Global eBusiness Models

A critical aspect of global e-business information technology (IT) governance is ensuring that it is integrated and that it generates economic viability of a company. Poorly thought through purposes will result in poor IT governance, the aim is to improve IT governance and business efficiency and effectiveness. A normative framework for global e-business IT governance is developed in this paper drawing on research evidence from information systems development and organization study. It proposes fundamental re-directions in global e-business IT governance thinking and it applies to companies that seek to integrate Internet, Intranet and Web technologies into their business activities in some form of an e-business model. Such integration is termed the fusion of IT and business to develop an e-business. The framework explains and elaborates ebusiness strategies for coping with emergent organizations and planned aspects of IT. The basic premise of the proposed framework is that organization, especially virtual organization, is both planned and emergent, diverging from the dominant premise of central control in IT governance

New Communication Technologies, Organizational Culture, and the Creation of Innovative Learning Environments

Today\u27s organizations face an economic climate that is globalizing, increasing customer demands for products and services that meet their unique needs and the fast pace of technological developments. Organizations require the effective use of new communication technologies as a means of sharing information and expanding capacity for innovation. The main question for this research is: When new communication technologies are introduced into organizations, how do they work together with existing cultural assumptions to produce an innovative, learning environment within the organization? The research design involves conducting moderately structured interviews with organizational leaders in four diverse organizations: Ingram Book Company, Service Merchandise Company, Inc., Life Way Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, and Dollar General Corporation. Results include an introduction to each company, a report on their implemented new communication technologies and innovative learning environment, and a description of their core corporate culture

Impact of corporate orientation of information technology adoption in the United States forest products industry

This study aims to contribute to addressing the gap that exists in determining the role an organization’s internal operations play in information technology (IT) adoption in organizations. In particular, this research stems from investigating the relationship between company success at adopting information technology systems (the Internet) in the United States forest products industry (specifically, the lumber sector) and the extent to which organizational orientation within the industry supports the development. Following an extensive literature review, a conceptual model that represents the synthesis of information technology adoption-marketing orientation influences is developed. (This study does not infer that a company can acquire only one orientation at any one time). The United States forest products industry has traditionally been perceived as being production-oriented by many researchers. Marketing orientation, however, is a relatively new phenomenon that is gradually seeping into the way the industry does business as a result of competition, technology advancement, and the changing needs of consumers. Consequently, a number of propositions are tested and managerial and research recommendations are put forward. Overall, this research finds that email and the World Wide Web are the two most popular internet-based applications used by companies in the lumber industry. A positive relationship exists between factors of Internet adoption (extent of Internet application, user participation, perceived ease of use by user, perceived usefulness by user, and adoption diffusion by company) and “perceived company effectiveness of Internet adoption” under high and low marketing orientation, with a higher rate of increase in high marketing orientation than low marketing orientation

Multilingual communication at Albany International

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Comunicação e Expressão, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Estudos da Tradução, Florianópolis, 2014.Línguas estrangeiras e tradução estão presentes em Corporações Multinacionais (MNCs). Este estudo de caso investiga o tratamento dado às línguas e à tradução na subsidiária da Albany International no Brasil. Esta MNC iniciou suas operações em 1895 em Albany, Nova Iorque  EUA para fornecer feltros para máquinas de papel e expandiu-se mundialmente. A primeira parte do estudo visa descobrir como aconteceu/vem acontecendo a expansão global da empresa, datas de acontecimentos relevantes, o quanto ela é multilíngue e multicultural e qual o papel das línguas e da tradução neste processo. Estas questões iniciais levaram a detalhes de como a subsidiária brasileira trata o problema das línguas em seus atuais processos e interações. Foram consideradas as perspectivas e regras da empresa, as percepções dos funcionários, a análise professional das práticas de traduções e línguas, além de fatores históricos e o papel da internet na comunicação multilíngue. A pesquisa utilizou-se de materiais fornecidos pela empresa, entrevistas com líderes de Marketing, Recursos Humanos e Tecnologias da Informação e entrevistas com vinte funcionários (as) envolvidos com a comunicação internacional de todas as áreas funcionais. O estudo revelou uma equipe multilíngue em uma MNC que exige falantes de Inglês (lingua franca) e Espanhol em múltiplas áreas e encontros frequentes. A tradução é necessária com frequência e abrange vários documentos que impactam na qualidade do trabalho. Não há política de línguas documentada, mas há uma série de práticas como aulas de Inglês e tradutor na empresa, além de recursos externos para resolver o problema.Abstract : Foreign languages and translation are present in Multinational Corporations (MNCs). This case study investigates how languages and translation are handled at Albany International´s subsidiary in Brazil. This MNC started its operations in 1895 in Albany, New York  USA to provide felts for paper machines and expanded globally. The first part of the study was intended to figure out how the company´s global expansion took/has taken place, when relevant events happened, the extent of its multilingual and multicultural status and the role of languages and translation in this process. These initial broad questions were narrowed down to how the Brazilian subsidiary has been dealing with the problem of languages in its contemporary processes and interactions. The latter considered the company´s perspectives and rules, the employees´ perceptions, and the professional analyses of translation and language practices, in addition to historical factors and the role of the internet in the multilingual communication. The research used company-provided materials, interviews with Marketing, Human Resources and Information Technologies leaders and interviews with twenty employees involved in cross-border communication in all functional areas. The study revealed a multilingual staff in a MNC that requires employees to speak English (lingua franca) and Spanish in multiple areas and frequent encounters. Translation is frequently needed and entails a wide range of documents that impacts on work quality. The company does not have a documented language policy, but a set of practices including in-company language classes and translation, in addition to external resources to respond to the problem

Strategic role of internet-related technologies in supply chain networks

PhD ThesisOrganisations are operating in increasingly competitive market places. To enhance competitiveness, organisations are shifting their focus from individual supply chains to improving the responsiveness of the whole Supply Chain Network (SCN) that serves and impacts the level of final product or service provided to customers. Consequently, there has been a major upsurge of interest in the role of Internet-related technologies (IRT) in advancing SCNs. This area was examined by conducting case studies with large organisations from a range of industries that focused on the function of IRT in inter-organisational supply chain processes. A number of major themes emerged. Firstly, it is clear that IRT will be at the heart of future SCN communication surrounding enabling, operational and strategic supply chain processes. IRT provide a mechanism for integrating different supply chainrelated systems thus leading to improved information sharing and visibility. Furthermore, it widens the scope and flexibility of intra-organisational and interorganisational linkages and pathways that are available between different network members. In addition, IRT is being used to broaden and deepen relationships with key partners and within teams formed around supply chain processes. IRT can also be personalised to suit different organisations and people in the SCN and to provide appropriate access to web links, information and applications. However, it is important to understand that IRT cannot be equally applied throughout the supply chain. A number of factors will influence its suitability including the type and stage of supply chain processes, the nature of activities, the content of communication and the people communicating. The thesis will provide guidance to academics and practitioners on the strategic role of IRT. Finally, future research is recommended to investigate the additional impact that smart tags and mobile technologies will have and the long term effects of technological linkages on social relations between different network members.Division of Business Information Management and the Department of Computing, of Glasgow Caledonian University

Social Knowledge Environments

Knowledge management represents a key issue for both information systems’ academics and practitioners, including those who have become disillusioned by actual results that fail to deliver on exaggerated promises and idealistic visions. Social software, a tremendous global success story, has prompted similarly high expectations regarding the ways in which organizations can improve their knowledge handling. But can these expectations be met, whether in academic research or the real world? This article seeks to identify current research trends and gaps, with a focus on social knowledge environments. The proposed research agenda features four focal challenges: semi-permeable organizations, social software in professional work settings, crowd knowledge, and crossborder knowledge management. Three solutions emerge as likely methods to address these challenges: designoriented solutions, analytical solutions, and interdisciplinary dialogue

An ontology-based expert locator system in a Web 2.0-oriented personal learning environment

The Artificial Intelligence Workshops (AIW) 2011 are held in conjunction the 3rd Malaysian Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (MJCAI 2011), and the 3rd Semantic Technology And Knowledge Engineering Conference (STAKE 2011) at UNITEN Putrajaya Campus, Malaysia.2011-2012 > Academic research: refereed > Refereed conference paperVersion of RecordPublishe

Teaching MBA Students the Use of Web2.0: The Knowledge Management Perspective

The new concepts and technologies of Web 2.0 attract researches in a variety of fields including education, business and knowledge management. However, while the Web 2.0 potential in the education discipline has been widely studied, in the management discipline the Web 2.0 business value has not been fully acknowledged. This research suggests an approach for teaching Web 2.0 concepts in a Knowledge Management (KM) course for MBA students, introducing the Web 2.0 potential within business context. The paper describes MBA students’ perceptions and attitudes regarding Web 2.0 concepts and how they evolved while being engaged in Web 2.0 practices. The findings indicate that most of the students were only partly aware of the Web 2.0 environments benefits at first, especially within organizational context. Moreover, for some of them, participating in the course’s social website required overcoming personal barriers. During the course, students gained new perspectives of the Web 2.0 phenomenon beyond its technological merits. Most of them acknowledged the potential of Web 2.0 within organizational context and embedded Web 2.0 principles in their KM final projects