Acting on Work Designs: Providing Support for Validation and Implementation of Envisioned Changes

This paper examines the role of mobile communication, mobile tools and work practices in the context of organizations, especially knowledge-based organizations. Today, organizations are highly complex and diverse. Not surprisingly, various solutions to incorporating mobile tools and mobile communication in organizations have been devised. Challenges to technological development and research on mobile communication are presented.

Knowledge management (KM) is a range of strategies and practices in organizations to identify, create, represent, distribute, and enable the adoption of insights and experiences. Knowledge is present in organizations in two forms: explicit (well- structured and unambiguously captured) and tacit (vague or informal, based on experience and beliefs stored in human brains). These two types split knowledge management into its and soft components. Each of them can contribute to an organization's development and prosperity but must be controlled in different ways. In hard knowledge management, the elements of knowledge, insight and experience are embedded in organizational processes and practice. To control them, traditional (rational) managerial approaches can be applied. However, people do not always act rationally. To benefit from knowledge embodied in individuals, more sophisticated strategies should be used. First we show examples of lower rationality studied by earlier researchers. Then, we use the SECI model to disclose situations deserving managers' special care. We demonstrate the presence of non-rationality in all SECI stages and exemplify its manifestations. Our conclusions can help managers concentrate on the core problems of knowledge management and apply it more efficiently.

As spaces for learning about Computer-Supported Collaborative Work (CSCW) research and practice (e.g., university classes, academic and industry labs, conferences) become more diverse, there is a pressing need to revise the universal collaborative and pedagogical structures supporting them. Specifically, it has become urgent to explore how to 'de-center' dominant assumptions about who learns in these environments. The goal of this workshop is to explore collectively how to craft learning spaces that resist universality by recognizing and valuing other perspectives and realities. We build on the scholarship of decolonial thinkers, which provides useful theoretical scaffolding on how to start working towards inclusivity and 'pluriversality'. That is, learning spaces where all views can co-exist as equally valid, albeit contradicting. Our workshop will be led by researchers and designers who have both guided and participated in academic and industry-based CSCW learning spaces across domains like Social Computing, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICTD), Critical Data Studies, and Participatory Design (PD). We invite a broad range of participants from research and practice interested in learning about or deepening their understanding of how to make of CSCW a more 'pluriversal' site for learning and practicing.

Virtual Reality (VR) appears a natural medium for three-dimensional computer supported collaborative work (CSCW). However the current trend in CSCW is to adapt the computer interface to work with the user's traditional tools, rather than separating the user from the real world as does immersive VR. One solution is through Augmented Reality, the overlaying of virtual objects on the real world. In this paper we describe the Shared Space concept--the application of Augmented Reality for three-dimensional CSCW. This combines the advantages of Virtual Reality with current CSCW approaches. We describe a collaborative experiment based on this concept and present preliminary results which show that this approach may be better for some applications.

The aim of this Paper is to present our model for a generic and flexible negotiation Service and its implementation in Computer Supported Collaborative Work (CSCW) environments. Within a cooperative work environment, users naturally need negotiation support mechanisms to study possible alternatives in group decision making. The objective of our work is to build a negotiation model independent of any particular application field. Contrary to studied models, our model focuses on formalizing the negotiation from three Points of view: exchanged information between the agents to negotiate (the language), the way this information is exchanged (the protocol) , and the internal behavior of an agent (the tactics). In addition to a Separation of the Problems involved in each one of these three facets of the negotiation, this approach allows also a greater flexibility than traditional Systems dedicated to one kind of Problems. We Chose to use a transactional approach based on Speech acts to develop our axiom based negotiation model which has been implemented as a negotiation Service in our CSCW environment DisCOO [l, 2]. After the tackled Problem presentation, we will expose the state of the art, then the proposed negotiation formal model, and, finally, the implementation.

In this paper we review two application areas in the field of IT concerning advanced manufacturing technology and office automation. We argue that new systems in both these areas have been predominantly technology-led in their development and implementation, excluding adequate attention to their human and organizational aspects. We describe two case studies as illustrations of these points and argue that the reasons for this technology-led approach lie in a complex interacting set of social systems that work effectively to marginalize the human and organizational aspects of the new technologies.The applicability of these findings to the domain of Computer Supported Collaborative Working (CSCW) is examined. There are two main sets of lessons that can be learned: those that apply generally to the field of IT, and thereby have relevance also to the special case of CSCW; and those that are particular to the conduct and content of research and development into CSCW. These lessons are outlined in the form of sets of suggestions.

Computer supported collaborative work (CSCW) becomes important for the architectural practice and design education in recent years. Design guidance on design operations facilitates design studios to achieve their educational and research purposes. This study depicts the experience of computer-supported collaborative design learned from three collaborative design studios. Design guidance can advise participants to understand the purpose of communication in CSCW, anticipate design collaboration, and formulate design operations by the process model. Based on the observations of CDS, the discussion focuses on how to develop guidance on design operations according to the following factors: (1) structured framework, (2) the kind of technology, (3) the level of communication, and (4) the process model of CSCW.

Wikis were originally intended for knowledge work in the open Internet environment, and there seems to be an inherent tension between wikis’ affordances and the nature knowledge work in organizations. The objective of this paper is to investigate how tailoring wikis to corporate settings would impact users’ wiki activity. We begin by synthesizing prior works on wikis’ design principles; identifying several areas where we anticipate high tension between wikis’ affordances and organizational work practices. We put forward five propositions regarding how changes in corporate wikis deployment procedures may impact users’ wiki activity. An empirical study in one multi-national organization tested users’ perceptions towards these propositions, revealing that in some cases there may be a need for modifying wiki’s design, while in other cases corporations may wish to change their knowledge work practices to align with wikis’ affordances.KeywordsWikiAffordancesKnowledge Management

This study aims to examine the impact of ethics in the knowledge management in organizational development in Botswana. Importance of ethics in knowledge management is growing at a faster pace of late; still some employees tend to be unethical. As organization consists of different people with different ethical cultures, it is essential that organizations should make their employees follow ethical principles while creating, sharing and using both explicit and tacit knowledge to have optimum organizational development. Respecting ethics by human resources helps to improve implementation of knowledge management. The chapter main focus is on Management of ethics in an organization which influences knowledge management processes and subsequently influence organizations development. To locate ethics impact on knowledge management for organizational development, the scholars employed a survey strategy where respondents indicated that there is a significant impact of ethics in knowledge management for organizational development.

Computer-based tools supporting collaborative work are becoming crucial elements to organize the activities of groups of people. Nevertheless, current tools do not enable users to incorporate social regulation aspects. In particular, it is not possible to set-up social rules (and the conditions to execute them) to control the interactions among the members of a workgroup. We explore the main issues on introducing social regulation in computer-supported collaborative work. Based on our regulation model, we propose an infrastructure enabling users to ease the development of regulated collaborative applications. The proposed infrastructure is composed by a framework of regulation components and a component management service.

This paper presents the findings from a study into the current exploitation of computer-supported collaborative working (CSCW) in design for the built environment in the UK. The research is based on responses to a web-based questionnaire. Members of various professions, including civil engineers, architects, building services engineers, and quantity surveyors, were invited to complete the questionnaire. The responses reveal important trends in the breadth and size of project teams at the same time as new pressures are emerging regarding team integration and efficiency. The findings suggest that while CSCW systems may improve project management (e.g., via project documentation) and the exchange of information between team members, it has yet to significantly support those activities that characterize integrated collaborative working between disparate specialists. The authors conclude by combining the findings with a wider discussion of the application of CSCW to design activity—appealing for CSCW to go beyond multidisciplinary working to achieve interdisciplinary working.

A knowledge management approach to capture organizational learning networks

This article contributes to understanding transformational change towards gender equality by examining the transformational change potential of a mentoring programme for women, a type of gender equality intervention both criticized and praised for its ability to bring about change. Drawing upon an empirical case study of a mentoring programme for women academics in a Dutch university, we explore three dimensions of transformational change: organizational members (i) discussing and reflecting upon gendered organizational norms and work practices; (ii) creating new narratives; and (iii) experimenting with new work practices. Our findings indicate five specific conditions that enable transformational change: cross‐mentoring, questioning what is taken for granted, repeating participation and individual stories, facilitating peer support networks and addressing and equipping all participants as change agents. We suggest that these conditions should be taken into account when (re)designing effective organizational gender equality interventions.

Knowledge Management Research & Practice (2009) 7, 192–195. doi:10.1057/kmrp.2009.20 This special issue on Knowledge Management and e-Research Technologies aims to provide a distinctive perspective on the role of technology in knowledge work. We begin with the assumption that today’s knowledge work and research practice is increasingly mediated by a diversity of tools which may not traditionally be labelled as knowledge management technologies (Hendriks, 2001; Butler, 2002), but which are embedded within knowledge work practices. Although many have criticised the idea of formal knowledge management technology (Swan et al., 1999; Galliers & Newell, 2001; Hislop, 2002), it is highly apparent that contemporary knowledge work is facilitated using information and communications technologies (ICTs) of various types from the ‘macro’ knowledge management systems that have been heavily criticised to the more ‘micro’ emerging technologies that we may not traditionally associate with the term knowledge management technology. This special issue, therefore, returns to the debate on the role of technology within knowledge creation, dissemination and use, but explores this with a specific focus on the how new, flexible ICTs are emerging, which blur the boundary between technology and social knowledge practices. Within knowledge management theory, it is possible to observe two broad and enduring perspectives towards technology (elaborated persuasively and famously by Hansen et al. (1999) but also by Alavi & Leidner (2001); Schultze & Stabell (2004)) between those who seek to catalogue and capture knowledge within computer systems, believing knowledge as capable of objective representation and is therefore capable of codification (Schultze, 1998), and those who believe knowledge to be inherently tacit and social, and who argue technology’s role is to support collaboration (Schultze, 1998). Both perspectives seem much evident in literature on Knowledge Management Systems, which frequently adopts a view of ‘knowledge management’ through the management of either catalogued, codified, data or of collaborative, social relationships. These two perspectives of codification or collaboration have, however, created, in our opinion, an unhelpful dichotomy and instrumentalisation of ‘knowledge management technology’ (Mitev & Venters, 2009) leading to polarised literature of either codification technology or collaborative systems. This special issue thus seeks to present articles that will stimulate the debate on the interrelationship and connection between technology aiming to codify knowledge and that aimed at collaboration. Our argument is founded on the observation that human action is mediated by tools, in a myriad of forms, which have a materiality to us and form part of our ongoing practice (Orlikowski, 2007; Orlikowski & Scott, 2008). That knowledge is socially constructed through social interaction is Knowledge Management Research & Practice (2009) 7, 192–195 & 2009 Operational Research Society. All rights reserved 1477–8238/09

Indigenous knowledge is held locally in the memories and practices of the communities. The communities have their own processes of storage, leverage, practice, share, and developing indigenous knowledge. The form of knowledge management (KM) employed however distinctly differs from the current practices in organizations. The paper focuses on this less studied, but potentially invaluable, indigenous knowledge management (IKM) practices within these indigenous communities. The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is a strategic planning and performance measurement system that has already a documented history of successful implementation in several industries and enterprises knowledge management initiatives. In this paper we explore a process-oriented knowledge management model for indigenous communities. We then propose a third-generation BSC approach in the design of a holistic approach for knowledge management systems of these communities. This work serves as an extension to the past experiences of the authors in mod...