Problem-Solving in Complex Settings: Techniques for Crossing Organizational Boundaries

Solving problems in complex organizations requires managers to successfully navigate organizational boundaries. Yet, crossing boundaries can be an extremely difficult endeavor that requires sophisticated and multifaceted skills and behaviors. In this paper, we introduce boundary permeability to expand on the available boundary crossing techniques identified by Carlile (2004). Acknowledging the messiness in organizational life, we propose a set of techniques requiring that managers consider the multiplicity of boundary conditions and, in many cases, use multiple techniques simultaneously. We describe an innovative, real-world, problem-solving program within the U.S. Department of Defense to demonstrate the practical application of the proposed techniques and to recommend a three-step strategy that managers can use to apply the techniques to various problems

An Interactive Graph Theory System

The medium of computer graphics provides a capability for dealing with pictures in man-machine communication. Graph Theory is used to model relationships which are represented by pictures and is therefore an appropriate discipline for the application of an interactive computer graphics system. Previous efforts to solve Graph Theoretic problems by computer have usually involved specialized programs written in a symbolic assembly language or algebraic compiler language. In recent years, graphics equipment with processing power has been commercially available for use as a remote terminal to a large central computer. Although these terminals typically include a small general purpose computer, the potential of using one as programmable subsystem has received little attention. These motivations have led to the design and implementation of an interactive graphics system for solving Graph Theoretic problems. The system operates on an IBM 7040 with a DEC-338 graphics terminal connected by voice-grade telephone line. To provide effective response times, computing power is appropriately divided between the two machines. The remote computer graphics terminal is controlled by a special-purpose executive program. This executive includes an interpreter of a command language oriented towards the control of existence and display of graphs. Several interactive functions such as graph drawing and editing are available to a user through light button and pushbutton selection. These functions which are local to the terminal are programmed in a mixture of the terminal computer\u27s machine language and the interpreted command language. For more significant computational requirements the central computer is used, but response time for interactive operation is then diminished. In order to overcome the speed of the telephone link, the central computer may call upon a program at the terminal as a subroutine. Based on the mathematical terminology used to define graphs, a high level language was developed for the specification of interactive algorithms. A growing library of these algorithms provides routines to aid in the construction and recognition of various types of graphs. Other routines are used for computing certain properties of graphs. Graphs may be transformed by some routines with respect to both connectivity and layout. Any number of graphs my be saved and later restored. A programmer using the terminal as an alphanumeric console may call upon the programming features of the system to develop new interactive algorithms and add them to the library. Programs may also be created for the display terminal, using the central computer for assembly. Examples of system use which are presented include finding a shortest path between any pair of vertices in a weighted directed graph, determining the maximally complete subgraphs of an arbitrary graph, interpreting a graph as a Mealy model of a finite state machine, and laying out a tree for aesthetic presentation

Narrowing the Dissemination Gap: Genres for Practitioner Scholarship

Practitioners with a minimum of ten years of management experience increasingly enroll in doctoral-level management education programs. When entering these programs, their view of the world shifts as they augment practitioner perspectives with scholarly perspectives. They acquire distinct competencies in framing, inquiring, and addressing managerial problems as practitioner-scholars who act as boundary spanners between academia and management practice. Unfortunately, current management outlets for knowledge dissemination do not explicitly support boundary-spanning strategies and writing genres. At one end of the spectrum are academically focused journals, where concerns of theory and method dominate. The target audience of these outlets is academic scholars—the same group of scholars who produce the knowledge. At the other end of the spectrum are practitioner-focused journals with genres that focus on communicating practical insights for practice. Here, concerns of practitioner problems dominate, and the genres emphasize practical experience and good stories. The articles are authored either by scholars or practitioners, and they convey knowledge that the editors and authors believe to be salient for the targeted audience. In this paper, we formulate an alternative dissemination strategy for a new practitioner scholarship journal titled Engaged Management ReView (EMR). The journal gives high priority to boundary spanning in content, audience, and forms of knowledge and seeks to narrow the dissemination gap between the two worlds by integrating the traditionally separate genres into new genres. In this inaugural editorial essay, we reveal the logic that guided us in creating the journal and in innovating and imagining its genres. In particular, we discuss select practitioner scholarship genres promoted by EMR that balance academic rigor with practical relevance. By promoting these forms of writing, we aim to create for practitioner-scholars a space in which they can better reinforce, interweave, and experiment with the bifurcated intellectual foundations that inform their scholarship, and in doing so, to build a repository of such works to allow for awareness, ongoing debate, and expansion of this new perspective on knowledge production

Learning through Dialogue during Intelligence Assessments: A Translation of Theory into Practice

We translate a theory into the practice of intelligence assessments. Following Karl Weick’s (1993) retrospective approach, the translation relies on previously published evaluations of intelligence assessment practices. Intelligence assessments are used in organizations to inform leaders of threats and opportunities. The theory we apply describes how an intelligence analyst learns through dialogue during the practice of conducting an intelligence assessment, and it consists of four learning archetypes: cooperative, focused, survival, and reflective. The theory is based on the differential effects on learning caused by the interaction between information overload and equivocality. We use the role of dialogue in the theory as a way to compare two different practice contexts: national security and law enforcement. We offer three contributions: First, we find that the final stage of the practice—the review process—should occur organizationally where authoring analysts and their senior analyst reviewers reside. Second, we find that equivocality has differential effects on dialogue: In low equivocality conditions (cooperative and focused learning), hierarchical structures affect dialogue; and in high equivocality conditions (survival and reflective learning), organizational politics affect dialogue. Third, we identify a benefit of and a challenge in retrospective translation studies

Hearing loss in mucopolysaccharidoses: Current knowledge and future directions

Mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS) are a group of lysosomal storage disorders caused by a deficiency of one of the enzymes involved in the degradation of glycosaminoglycans. Hearing loss is a common clinical presentation in MPS. This paper reviews the literature on hearing loss for each of the seven recognized subtypes of MPS. Hearing loss was found to be common in MPS I, II, III, IVA, VI, and VII, and absent from MPS IVB and MPS IX. MPS VI presents primarily with conductive hearing loss, while the other subtypes (MPS I, MPS II, MPS III, MPS IVA, and MPS VII) can present with any type of hearing loss (conductive, sensorineural, or mixed hearing loss). The sensorineural component develops as the disease progresses, but there is no consensus on the etiology of the sensorineural component. Enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) is the most common therapy utilized for MPS, but the effects of ERT on hearing function have been inconclusive. This review highlights a need for more comprehensive and multidisciplinary research on hearing function that includes behavioral testing, objective testing, and temporal bone imaging. This information would allow for better understanding of the progression and etiology of hearing loss. Owing to the prevalence of hearing loss in MPS, early diagnosis of hearing loss and annual comprehensive audiological evaluations are recommended