INF5210 Information Infrastructure Class #4 Reflexive Modernisation Ben Eaton Dan Truong Le 11/09/2013
Discuss this weeks required reading Cha 3. From Control to Drift: Hanseth & Braa - Globalization and Risk Society
Towards a Theory of Information Infrastructures A Theories of Information Infrastructures (Evolution & Design) Process Strategies Architecture Governance Assemblage Theory Complexity Actor Network Reflexive Science Theory Modernisation
Aims • To provide you with a vocabulary to describe and explain: ▫ Unpredictable nature of changes in IIs ▫ Side effects caused by changes in IIs ▫ Increased risk that occurs with growth of II and integration of IIs
Key Concepts • Tension between flexibility & control ▫ designing IIs to be flexible ▫ designing IIs to be controlled and to control • Reflexivity ▫ Changes to a system feedback to the behaviour of the system in unpredictable ways
Overview • Models of the Organisation in the Modern Era • Theories of Modernity • Consequences of modernity on organisations & their IIs
Models of the Organisation in the Modern Era
“Old School” models of the organisation • What is the traditional view of the organisation (Weber)? ▫ The view of organisational structure & function as a machine ▫ Functions can be designed and engineered to be more effective & efficient => productive & profitable -> through a process of rationalisation ▫ The accompanying process by which organisations are structured to facilitate control is known as bureaucratisation. • What is the role of information technologies in this view (Beniger)? ▫ The general purpose for information technologies is to facilitate control (includes communication technologies)
“Old School” models of the organisation • What is the traditional view of the organisation (Weber)? ▫ The view of organisational structure & function as a machine ▫ Functions can be designed and engineered to be more effective & efficient => productive & profitable -> through a process of rationalisation ▫ The accompanying process by which organisations are structured to facilitate control is known as bureaucratisation. • What is the role of information technologies in this view (Beniger)? ▫ The general purpose for information technologies is to facilitate control (includes communication technologies)
More recent views of global ogs • What are more recent strategies (Bartlett & Ghoshal 1998) ▫ Multinational – autonomy / distributed resources / delegation ▫ International - more formal control & coms from centre ▫ Global – efficiencies through standardised products processes through centralised control ▫ Transnational – networked organisation & more exchange between centre and local operations • What forces are in tension behind these strategies? ▫ Control & integration verses flexibility & local autonomy
More recent views of global ogs • What are more recent strategies (Bartlett & Ghoshal 1998) ▫ Multinational – autonomy / distributed resources / delegation ▫ International - more formal control & coms from centre ▫ Global – efficiencies through standardised products processes through centralised control ▫ Transnational – networked organisation & more exchange between centre and local operations • What forces are in tension behind these strategies? ▫ Control & integration verses flexibility & local autonomy
Aligning global IT strategies with global management strategies Ives & Jarvenpaa (1991) 1. Independent global IT operation ▫ Subsdiaries pursue independent paths 2. Headquarters-driven global IT ▫ corporate wide IT solutions imposed by "group HQ" 3. Co-operation ▫ mutual assistance between head office and subsidiaries ▫ innovations emerge from the bottom and are propogated company wide 4. Integrated global IT ▫ to cater for transnational strategies - none found!! • Example Helly Hansen adoption of Microsoft Cloud Service – Office 365
Theories of Modernity Giddens (1991) – Consequences of Modernity Beck (1992) – Risk Society
What does Giddens mean by his essential dynamics of modernity? • Separation of Time & Space ▫ Technologies such as clock enabling coordination of activities across time & space ▫ A precondition for rationalisation and control technologies • Disembedding Mechanisms ▫ Lifting social activity out of localised contexts ▫ Reorganising social relations across time & space Mechanism #1 symbolic tokens Mechanism #2 expert systems • Reflexive appropriation of knowledge ▫ Knowledge generated through insights into social phenomenon ▫ Reflects back & changes that social phenomenon – e.g. smoking ▫ Possibility that knowledge is then invalidated
What does Giddens mean by his essential dynamics of modernity? • Separation of Time & Space ▫ Technologies such as clock enabling coordination of activities across time & space ▫ A precondition for rationalisation and control technologies • Disembedding Mechanisms ▫ Lifting social activity out of localised contexts ▫ Reorganising social relations across time & space Mechanism #1 symbolic tokens Mechanism #2 expert systems • Reflexive appropriation of knowledge ▫ Knowledge generated through insights into social phenomenon ▫ Reflects back & changes that social phenomenon – e.g. marriage ▫ Possibility that knowledge is then invalidated
What does Giddens mean by his essential dynamics of modernity? • Why does increased knowledge make things more unpredictable through the effects of: • DIFFERENTIAL POWER: ▫ The powerful have access to specialist knowledge, which can be used to serve their interests. • THE ROLE OF VALUES: ▫ Different groups with different cultural value systems, react in different ways to common problems, which can make problems more complex • THE IMPACT OF UNINTENTED CONSEQUENCES ▫ Knowledge (or lack of) of social life transcends the intentions of those who apply it to transformative ends. • THE CIRCULATING OF SOCIAL KNOWLEDGE IN THE DOUBLE HERMENEUTIC … aka reflexivity ▫ New knowledge feeds back to society, changing their behaviours- invalidating the knowledge created in the first place.
CONSEQUENCES OF GLOBALISATION AND MODERNISATION: RISK SOCIETY • Beck (1992) identifies the "risk society": ▫ The unpredictability of events ▫ The increased number of risks confronting us
CONSEQUENCES OF GLOBALISATION AND MODERNISATION: RISK SOCIETY • Giddens (1991) risk profile of modernity: • Globalisation increases contingent events ▫ Things are more connected ▫ Changes in the global division of labour • Globalisation increases the intensity of risk ▫ Things are more concentrated ▫ AWS server farm goes down – we are all affected • The influence of human knowledge on the material environment • Development of institutionalised risk environments ▫ Effect of derivatives in financial markets on global economy • Limitations of expertise ▫ Unknown consequences of applying expert knowledge • Giddens: the careering juggernaut of modernity
Consequences of modernity on organisations & their IIs
How have organisations and their systems been adapted to cater for globalisation and modernity & what are the consequences?
How have organisations and their systems been adapted to cater for globalisation and modernity & what are the consequences? • The response by many organisations to having global operations is to integrate their IT systems in an attempt to control their global operations ▫ integrated supply chains, strategic alliances, outsourcing etc ▫ => More complex and tightly integrated systems • This is an anology of the ideas put forward by Giddens & Beck – just replace the phrase “knowledge” by “systems” ▫ More knowledge => unpredictability & risk ▫ More (integrated) systems => unpredictability & risk • Information Infrastructures also have a reflexive nature ▫ Changes to IIs feedback on the IIs unpredictably
Describe the consequences of the reflexive nature of infrastructures
Describe the consequences of the reflexive nature of infrastructures • The number of actors shaping the infrastructure is so high – it is possible for any of them to overlook the actions of others – which makes changes in the network unpredictable • Impossible for individuals “to understand” the whole system, it is quite possible for changes that are implemented to have unintended consequences • The side effects of known and unknown actions make the network change in unpredictable ways • One change, including the side effects of other changes, trigger new changes => increased risk • Two extreme perspectives on flexibility of IT as a tool ▫ Malleable to users' changing needs – accommodating & flexible ▫ Autonomous of users & designer (Winner 1977) – independent & controlling of them ▫ Where do you stand?
Next Weeks Reading 1. Hanseth and Aanestad. 2003. Design as bootstrapping 2. Hanseth et al. 2012. Standardization Strategies and Service Innovation 3. Braa et al. 2007. Flexible Standardization 4. Hanseth 2002. Gateways
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