How Innovative are Virtual Enterprises?

The virtual enterprise is usually cited as an innovative inter-organizational configuration. Is it possible to justify and to assert the innovativeness of virtual enterprises just by claiming that they are made up of innovative “elements”? Is a sum of innovative features making the resulting system innovative too? This contribution will investigate the conditions and the situations in which a virtual enterprise can be regarded as innovative from an organizational point of view. In addition, a comparison with other inter-firm cooperation configurations (e.g. extended enterprise, digital districts, inter-organizational projects) will point out the most innovative features characterizing the virtual enterprise

Organization in disaster / Organizzazione nei disastri

Disasters can be seen as magnifying glasses on the behavior of subjects and on their (preliminary and contextual) decision-making processes. In fact, the sudden and disruptive events connected with the disaster do not trigger “unusual” behaviors, instead they offer an accelerated and exaggerated representation of normal organizational behaviors and problems, allowing the observation of the whole process of actions and decisions involved. This contribution proposes a reflection on two case studies (the AZF disaster and the Indian Ocean tsunami) that deals with issues related to the identification and management of risks in an industrial setting and to the coordination of cooperative behavior during post-disaster relief activities

The organization of a unique event: the case of the Olympic Games of Torino 2006 / L’organizzazione di un evento unico: il caso dei Giochi Olimpici di Torino 2006

This contribution describes the decisions and actions taken by the Torino Organizing Committee for the XX Olympic Winter Games. The events presented in the case are analyzed in the light of different theoretical perspectives in order to reflect on the planning process of a unique event, one that could not be postponed or delayed, such as the Olympic Games. This work is aimed neither at identifying best practices leading to successful events, nor at implementing a checklist for future operators involved in the organization of next Olympic Games; instead, through developing different theoretical interpretations, this paper proposes an organizational discussion about relevant phenomena and fosters a reflection on wider issues related to organizational design and people management in unique events

Organizational choices and occupational health and safety risks prevention. An interpretation of Italian regulations

The social and economic costs of risks produced by organizations are becoming more and more evident and relevant. Enterprises are expected (and, sometimes, obliged) to become able to efficiently manage the risks they induce: industrial hazards, financial uncertainty, environmental risks, risk to safety and health in the workplace, etc. By adopting an organizational perspective, this contribution investigates the approaches to Occupational Health and Safety risks prevention that are promoted by the law (specifically, by Italian law). The goal of this paper is then to discuss the consistency of the norms with respect to the objectives of risks prevention and to understand their actual and potential impact on business practices

FROM IMPROVISATION TO STANDARDIZATION FOR ACHIEVING A BETTER QUALITY OF CARE: A COUNTERINTUITIVE INTERPRETATION OF DISEASE MANAGEMENT AND ITS IMPLICATION ON HELTHCARE INFORMATION SYSTEMS

In this paper the main assumption and components of the Disease Management approach and programmes are discussed and interpreted on the basis on the classical theory of J.D. Thompson. Such interpretation would allow to highlight a counter-intuitive aspect of the approach: in a sector usually considered as the prototype of the intensive technology, the DM promises to shift to mediating technologies introducing a tighter, standard regulation allowing not only cost-cuttings, but also higher quality perceived by patients. These considerations will be instrumental to discuss the implication of Disease Management strategies in action in respect with the functional aspects of Healthcare Information Systems. Adopting the classification of the core capabilities of an EHR-S provided by Tang, the specific features of DM-S, suitable to properly exploit the ICT to support DM programs, will be highlighted. Some consideration on the current stage of the IGEA project, i.e. the sole nationwide Disease Management program being conducting in Italy, will conclude the paper

Quale insegnamento dalla "epopea" dell'amianto?

What lessons can be drawn from the “epic history” of asbestos? How this emblematic case can help the reflection on prevention in the workplace? The subjects of primary prevention, risk management, laws and regulation protecting safety and health in the workplace are discussed from different points of view, such as history of medicine, epidemiology, occupational and preventive medicine, labour law, organization theory, science methodology. These collected papers are aimed at proposing prevention strategies allowing to avoid mistakes and pitfalls like the ones that characterized the history of asbestos

Storie di imprese

How do enterprises change? This volume tells the “stories” of the organizational transformations implemented in the first decade of the new millennium by five enterprises: Fiat Auto, Finmeccanica, Ciba Specialty Chemicals, Zurich, and Poste Italiane. Stories dealing with transformations of organizational configurations, changes in the policies of personnel management, implementation of mergers and acquisitions, reorganization of internal work processes, etc. These stories were collected during the workshops of the Research Program “L’Officina di Organizzazione”, in which managers and executives, protagonists of the organizational transformations, discuss about them with colleagues from other enterprises and university scholars. Each story is first told from “the inside", from the point of view of one or more of its protagonists, and then interpreted according to different theoretical perspectives

Développer le pouvoir d’apprendre : pour une critique de la transmission en éducation et en formation

Researchers of the TAO Research Programs and the Centre de Recherche sur le Travail et le Développement (Research Center on Work and Development) at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, Paris, illustrate critical reflections on education and training. These collected papers, stemming from different disciplinary frameworks and approaches, share the theoretical work and the epistemological orientation. With particular reference to the teachings of Weber, Vygotskij and Bakhtin, they focus on learning, conceived as social action, on the development of learning activity, and on the development of thought in professional dialogues. Along this line, the idea according to which education and training realize the “transmission” of knowledge, capacity, competence, values, practices, gestures, etc., is questioned and discussed

J.D. Thompson’s Organizations in Action 50th anniversary: a reflection

At the 50th anniversary of James D. Thompson’s fundamental book, Organizations in Action, TAO Digital Library proposes a reflection on this great master’s legacy and the evolution of organizational studies. Twelve researchers, from different disciplinary fields, analyze both the texts utilized for teaching and the contribution of several important journals, particularly in recent decades. The outcome is an overall picture that may stimulate different, divergent evaluations and, even more importantly, desirable, deeper reflections