Contact:cdent@burningchrome.com
Brown, J.S. & Duguid, P. (2000). Chapter 3: Home alone. In _The social
life of information_ (p. 63-89). Boston: Harvard University
Press.
Diagnosis of why efforts to migrate workers away from standard office
work situations have not proven as effective as has been predicted by
futurists and technologists. Sample cases of the efforts as well as the
predictions are described to illuminate the social networks in which
workers are engaged. These social networks shape work in intangible but
beneficial ways as well as provide problem solving support workers. The
cases include the removal of office spaces in exchange for a more
communal gathering arena in an advertising firm, the experiences of a
new employee when migrating from a position of isolation to a position
with co-workers in earshot, plus others which demonstrate the presence of
a social context. For alternative work situations to succeed continued
work with advancing and improving technology that reinforces access to
social networks must be done. -cjd
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Passini, R. (1999). Sign-posting information design. In R. Jacobson
(Ed.), _Information design_ (p. 83-98). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Exploration of information design as, in general, an important and new
field. Information design, the term, is not new but has recently become
associated with the design of effective communication. This is the result
of information becoming a very important commodity in business, social
and personal circles. Information design, as described by Passini, is
distinguished from graphic design by its greater attention to content
and its research underpinnings in information theory and cognitive
sciences. Effective design comes from understanding the function of the
information. One common function is problem solving. Passini relates the
specific problem solving act of wayfinding to illustrate the issues in
information design. Wayfinding deals with the cognitive and behavioral
aspects of purposefully finding a physical destination. In that context
good information design places helpful information at decision points
along the route but also attempts to minimize potentially confusing
clutter which may also upset the physical art and architecture of the
building. With this final point Passini is able to suggest a pathway by
which information design can legitmize itself as a profession: architects
and graphics designers must work together to create effective signage
for wayfinding. For that combination to work well both disciplines need
additional training in the other discipline. This is not practical given
already crowded training schedules. Passini suggests the information
designer, with training from both areas alongside background education
in behavioral research, can bridge the gap between the architect and
the graphic designer, creating new and rewarding careers. -cjd
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Lesser, E. L. & Prusak, L. (2000). Communities of practice, social
capital and organizational knowledge. In E.L. Lesser, M.A.
Fontaine & J.A. Slusher, _Knowledge and communities_ (p.
123-131). Boston: Butterworth Heinemann.
Communities of practice are collections of individuals who associate
to more effectively face similar issues. In the workplace these are
often informal clusters of workers who share organizational knowledge
(both formal descriptive knowledge of how things should be done as
well as representations of practice: how things _are_ done) that allows
them to get their work done. Lesser and Prusak distinguish their
discussion by placing communities of practice within the context of a
larger economic and sociological principle: social capital. Social
capital is defined as "the sum of the actual and potential resources
embedded within, available through, and derived from the network of
[inter-personal] relationships possessed by an individual or social
unit." From an economic standpoint social capital is the intangible
currency by which members of a community of practice share and gain
value. This is done through shared language and values, concrete
personal relationships and the sharing of stories. All of these help to
create knowledge. Knowledge creation in the workplace can be valuable for
organizations. In order for managers to capitalize on the ability of
communities of practice to manage knowledge they should: identify
existing or potential communities of practice, provide those
communities with a means to meet face to face, provide tools that
facilitate the growth and function of the community, identify experts
within the community and enable their leadership, and remember that
the social capital in communities of practice need investment to grow.
By flexibly following these guidelines organizations should be able to
further their ability to manage knowledge. -cjd
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Hammond, T.H. (1993). Toward a general theory of hierarchy: books,
bureaucrats, basketball tournaments and the administrative
structure of the nation-state. _Journal of Public Administration
Research and Theory 3_(1), 120-145.
Hammond describes how the hierarchical structure of institutions
affects how information in the hierarchy is transformed and used. This
happens because hierarchies inform how information is categorized and
thus how comparisons are made. Hierarchies control how information is
aggregated and transmitted, thus controlling how problems and solutions
are discovered and defined. Some examples are given, including: in
different library classification schema adjacency is defined differently
because of different categorical relationships--meaning the results
of serendipitous browsing in the shelves or catalog will be different
from one scheme to another; in an intelligence organization how people
filter information, determining relevancy, controls what information
the final decision maker at the top of the hierarchy will see and act
upon. Hammond's conclusion is that since hierarchies are present, as in
any politicized institution, in the nation-state the organization of
the nation-state impacts the sort of problems that can be identified,
shared and worked upon by the state. Knowledge of this will help in
the understanding of the behavior of nation-states.
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Wheatley, M. J. (1999). Chapter 6: The creative energy of the
universe--information. In _Leadership and the new science: Discovering
order in a chaotic world_, 2nd ed. (p. 93-112). San Francisco CA:
Berrett-Koehler.
Wheatley shows information as dynamic and central to life; this is
very different from the traditional view of information as "thing".
Instead of being thing, information is a process which is used to
organize systems on the fly. This view points to new directions for
organizational management. Information theory has cast information as
a thing which is transmitted. With this view the goal of an information
processor is to maintain and control transmission. Wheatley says, "that
has gotten us into trouble." Information, instead, is an integral part of
the formation of life. Therefore, in order for systems to remain alive
information must be generated and let to flow. This has implications
in organizations: information should be viewed as the nourishment
of an organization--"Everybody needs information to do their work";
organizations should be resilient in their responses to information;
organizations should be prepared to accept and adapt to ambiguity and step
back to see systems as a whole; organizations should encourage open access
to information to foster sharing and collaboration. Organizations which
are able to implement these strategies will more effectively adapt to
changing environments. -cjd
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