Managing Knowledge in a Distributed Decision Making Context

This paper considers the role of electronic communication in the creation and distribution of knowledge, and in particular, the creation and sharing of personalised knowledge. Personalised knowledge or "intellectual capital" is perhaps a least understood but most important asset of modern organisations. This paper reveals the creation and sharing of personalised knowledge in a network organisation. The network organisation investigated in this paper relies on electronic communication in a distributed decision making context to leverage the skills and intellect of its key professionals. This paper investigates electronic group meetings that take place on this electronic social space to analyse key processes of knowledge creation. Implications for managing distributed personalised knowledge are discussed and conclusions drawn with respect to the key decision support systems functionalities required for managing knowledge in situations where decision making is distributed and takes place on an electronic social space

Collaborative Infrastructures for Mobilizing Intellectual Resources: assessing intellectual bandwidth in a knowledge intensive organization

The use of intellectual assets of key professionals to provide customized goods and services is seen to be a key characteristic of knowledge intensive organizations. While knowledge management efforts have become popular in organizations that depend on the knowledge and skills of their employees, it is unclear what the benefits of such efforts are and how these intellectual resources may actually create value for the organization. At the same time, vast information and communication technology infrastructures are being implemented to tap into the diverse intellectual resources to little effect. This paper uses the Intellectual Bandwidth Model originally developed by Nunamaker et al. (2001) to investigate the extent to which do collaborative technologies support the mobilization of intellectual resources to create value for an organization. Following a investigation of the intellectual bandwidth of a large multinational consulting company, this paper provides insight into the role of technology for mobilizing intellectual resources and offers implications for developing infrastructure to support core business processes

Activating Knowledge Through Electronic Collaboration: Vanquishing The Knowledge Paradox

Electronic collaboration has become a driver for productivity as organizations develop linkages for the planning, sourcing and execution of goods and services. These organizations require mechanisms to harness the diverse and personalized intellectual resources that are distributed across the world. While electronic collaboration technologies have made it possible to harness intellectual resources across space and time, knowledge management is locked in a paradox of perception – the more valuable a knowledge resource is seen to be the less it is shared. This paper develops framework for the activation of knowledge that relies on a view of knowledge-as-identity. The analysis of a case study reveals “activation effects” that delineate processes in which electronic collaboration technologies can be most effective. This has implications for the creation of collaborative work environments that enhance activation in organizations

Satisfaction Attainment Theory as a Model for Value Creation

Organizations exist to create value for their stakeholders that stakeholders cannot create through individual effort. Information systems exist to increase an organization’s ability to create value using intellectual capital. A theoretical explanation of value might therefore be useful to increase the likelihood that IS/IT professionals would design and deploy systems in ways that increase value for stakeholders. This paper proposes Satisfaction Attainment Theory (SAT) as causal model of value creation. An organizational stakeholder is a person whose wellbeing might be advanced by an organization. Perceptions of value have reference to some object-of-value. The term, object, in the context of this paper, means anything to which one could ascribe value – e.g. goods, services, states, or outcomes. SAT assumes that people hold multiple, conflicting goals, and so must sacrifice the yield of some goal to attain others. It posits that an individual automatically and subconsciously sets an expectation for some level of utility from attaining a goal and assesses the likelihood that a goal will be attained. It also posits that individuals automatically and subconsciously assess yield the yield of a Set of Salient Goals (SSG). Any perceived Shift in the Yield Assessment (SYA) for the salient set of goals is automatically accompanied by an affective arousal proportional to and with a valence in the direction of the perceived SYA. SAT proposes that the value of an object is a positive function of the SYA that occurs when an individual contemplates sacrificing the yield of other goals to obtain the yield that could be derived from the object. Value is therefore created by making an individual aware of an opportunity to attain a positive SYA by sacrificing the yield of one set of goals to attain the yield of another set

A Phenomenological Exploration of Adaptation in a Polycontextual Work Environment

The rise of new ways of working through the use of information and communication technology brings about new phenomena that are powerful in the effects that they have on people. The potency of phenomenology lies in its philosophical simplicity and it provides the researcher with the ability to study the essence of an observable but scarcely understood phenomena: How do people perform effectively and efficiently in a geographically and temporally dispersed work environment? Collective action across multiple time zones continues to challenge both academics and practioners. This study provides a unique view of how globally dispersed participants achieve collective action. It throws light into how the creation of shared understanding is tempered by differences in time zones and how participants adapt through their choice of media, work practices and communication. Following an analysis of a case studied using phenomenology, this paper concludes with a model of adaptation in polycontextual work environments

Adaptivenes in Virtual Teams

Computer supported teams are capturing the attention of academics and practitioners as organisations increasingly put them into practice as virtual teams. The practical relevance of current research into computer supported teams could be increased if greater attention is paid to organisational challenges as they form the context within which virtual teamwork takes place. A model of organisational challenges mapped against processes of adaptation is developed to highlight principle factors affecting virtual teams. A sample of current research groups studying computer-supported teams is plotted onto this map to reveal the extent to which current research addresses these contextual factors. From this map insights are distilled with respect to what is known and is not known about virtual teams. This paper concludes with specific research needs in the study of virtual teams

Hindringer langtidssykmeldte opplever for å komme tilbake i jobb. En intervjustudie fra «RTW Barriers Project?»

Master's thesis in Health and social sciencesSammendrag Bakgrunn: Personer som er i arbeid representerer nesten halvparten av verdens befolkning. De er de viktigste bidragsyterne til både økonomisk og sosial utvikling. Utviklingen i sykefraværet har ført til at sykmeldte er ett av de prioriterte satsingsområdene til regjeringen. Det er stort fokus på å få ned sykefraværet og legge til rette for at flest mulig skal kunne delta i arbeidslivet. Oftes retter forskning oppmerksomheten mot nye metoder og tiltak for å få sykemeldte tilbake i jobb. Færre studier har som mål å kartlegge, forstå og differensiere hindringene som skaper deltagelsesproblemet og bruke dette individuelt som inngang til hvilke tiltak som bør ytes. For å lage en god tiltaksplan som fungerer, er det viktig å kartlegge hindringene som gjør det vanskelig og utfordrende å komme tilbake i jobb, for så å lage nye gode tiltak og verktøy. Mål: Målet med denne studien var å identifisere langtidssykemeldte sine erfaringer om hva de opplever som hindringer for å komme tilbake i jobb. Metode som ble benyttet var kvalitativ deskriptivt design og kvalitativ innholdsanalyse. Informantene (n=30) ble rekruttert via NAV innenfor ett geografisk fylke. Informantene representerer ett heterogent utvalg og var sykemeldte fra 7 måneder til 2 år og 2 måneder. Det ble gjennomført semi-strukturerte intervjuer per telefon som varte fra 9 til 21 minutter. Resultater: Totalt ble det identifisert 297 meningsbærende enheter. Disse ble videre sortert i type hindringer. Totalt ble det identifisert 43 type hindringer. Disse ble videre sortert ut i fem hovedhindringer: Hindringer knyttet til kroppsfunksjon (n=100); Hindringer knyttet til kroppsstrukturer (n=32); Hindringer knyttet til sosiale og fysiske miljøfaktorer (n=86); Hindringer knyttet til aktivitetsutførelse og deltakelse (n=67) og Hindringer knyttet til personlige faktorer (n=11). Konklusjon: Denne studien viser at det er et bredt spekter av hindringer langtidssykemeldte opplever for å komme tilbake i arbeid. Dette kan ses i sammenheng med at det var 43 type hindringer som ble identifisert. Av disse type hindringer var det disse som dominerte og som hindrer tilbakeføring til arbeid: familieforhold, trøtthet og utmattelse, smerter, psykiske lidelser, organisering av NAV systemet, mangel på sosial støtte fra leder og kollegaer og arbeidsoppgaver

A Grounded Theory Analysis of E-Collaboration Effects for Distributed Project Management

The emergence and widespread use of collaborative technologies for distributed project management has brought opened up a myriad of opportunities for business. While the opportunities for off-shore outsourcing and collaborative development are enticing, most tools and techniques for project management focus on on-site, long term relationships and sourcing strategies at a time when inter-organizational relationships are becoming dynamic and temporary. This paper uses grounded theory to analyze data on virtual teams. The analysis uncovers “effects” in the way distributed projects are managed. These effects relate to coordination, communication and adaptation to distributed electronic work environments. Following an analysis of these eCollaboration “effects”, a model for distributed project management is presented

Harnessing Intellectual Resources in a Collaborative Context to Create Value

The value of electronic collaboration has arisen as successful organisations recognize that they need to convert their intellectual resources into customized services. The shift from personal computing to interpersonal or collaborative computing has given rise to ways of working that may bring about better and more effective use of intellectual resources. Current efforts in managing knowledge have concentrated on producing; sharing and storing knowledge while business problems require the combined use of these intellectual resources to enable organisations to provide innovative and customized services. In this chapter the collaborative context is developed using a model for electronic collaboration through the use of which organisations may mobilse collaborative technologies and intellectual resources towards achieving joint effect

O cuidado de enfermagem em situações de alteração da imagem facial

A pesquisa analisou a percepção de pacientes, acadêmicas de enfermagem e docentes, quanto ao cuidado frente àalteração da imagem facial, suas implicações no processo formativo. Caracterizou-se pela abordagem qualitativaexploratória, realizada em um hospital universitário em Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, entre julho de 2008 eabril de 2009. Participaram seis pacientes com alteração da imagem facial, sete acadêmicas de Enfermagem e cincodocentes. Utilizou-se entrevistas semi-estruturadas e grupo focal. As informações organizadas e submetidas àtécnica de análise de conteúdo. Evidenciou-se duas categorias: significado da imagem facial alterada e formação doenfermeiro e o cuidado. O cuidado a esses pacientes é percebido como uma vivência complexa, difícil e impactanteconstituindo-se oportunidades ímpares para o desenvolvimento das competências necessárias para a formação daenfermeira. Constatou-se a necessidade de inserção de temáticas durante a formação que abordem temas pertinentesàs necessidades dos acadêmicos, possibilitando aos mesmos refletirem sobre o vivido no curso