New games, new rules: big data and the changing context of strategy

Big data and the mechanisms by which it is produced and disseminated introduce important changes in the ways information is generated and made relevant for organizations. Big data often represents miscellaneous records of the whereabouts of large and shifting online crowds. It is frequently agnostic, in the sense of being produced for generic purposes or purposes different from those sought by big data crunching. It is based on varying formats and modes of communication (e.g., texts, image and sound), raising severe problems of semiotic translation and meaning compatibility. Crucially, the usefulness of big data rests on their steady updatability, a condition that reduces the time span within which this data is useful or relevant. Jointly, these attributes challenge established rules of strategy making as these are manifested in the canons of procuring structured information of lasting value that addresses specific and long-term organizational objectives. The developments underlying big data thus seem to carry important implications for strategy making, and the data and information practices with which strategy has been associated. We conclude by placing the understanding of these changes within the wider social and institutional context of longstanding data practices and the significance they carry for management and organizations

Correlation of switching volume with magnetic properties, microstructure, and media noise in CoCr(Pt)Ta thin films

The technique of field sweep-rate dependence of coercivity together with the delta-M curves, transmission electron microscopy, and media noise measurement have been employed to reveal the correlation among the magnetic switching volume, physical grain size, intergrain interaction, and noise properties. The switching volume for both CoCrTa and CoCrPtTa films was found to be ~ 15 nm in diameter, and weakly dependent on grain size and coercivity for the systems studied. In films with physical grain size larger than the switching volume, strong intergrain interaction and high media noise is observed. In films with the physical grain size close to the switching volume, smaller interactions and lower media noise is found. It is argued that a change of the grain size results in a change in the nature of the magnetic interactions