Framing Work Through a Socio-technical Ensemble: The Case of Butler Co.

The paper argues for conceptualizing technology as a socio-technical ensemble which emerges from the socio-political context of the organization. This perspective is used to inform a case study carried out within a consumer goods company, where the focus is upon the configuration of work and technology associated with the job of sales representative. It is argued that the acquiescence and compliance of the sales representatives are to be understood primarily on the basis of senior management's effective deployment of its power resource through 'enacting the environment', the configuration and utilization of the ensemble, and its employment strategy. 'Closure' and 'stabilization' had occurred, and the ensemble was operating on a number of levels.     

Constructing and using a company Intranet: 'it's a very cultural thing'

Organisational Intranets provide a testing ground where certain theories of technology and organisations meet with emerging innovative practice. This paper develops a theoretical framework that is used to analyse a case study of the adoption, introduction and use of a company Intranet focusing on the competing representations of the Intranet presented by the staff involved.     

Rio reconstruction and flood prevention in Brazil

Until the Rio Flood Reconstruction and Prevention Project, disaster-related projects funded by the World Bank focused primarily on reconstruction, especially immediate, short-term recovery. The Rio de Janeiro project was notable as a targeted effort to reduce disaster vulnerability by promoting long-term multisectoral development strategies. It taught that reconstruction projects must address specific disaster vulnerabilities as well as cross-sectoral needs in Improving urban environmental management. The project represents a significant step towards developing a strategy for long-term prevention and mitigation of natural disasters and environmental degradation. It is also a good example of an effort to develop support for long-term environmental policies by strengthening indigenous managerial and planning capabilities—something that was not possible in short-term recovery projects.     

Asking ‘Why’ in AI: Explainability of intelligent systems – perspectives and challenges

Recent rapid progress in machine learning (ML), particularly so‐called ‘deep learning’, has led to a resurgence in interest in explainability of artificial intelligence (AI) systems, reviving an area of research dating back to the 1970s. The aim of this article is to view current issues concerning ML‐based AI systems from the perspective of classical AI, showing that the fundamental problems are far from new, and arguing that elements of that earlier work offer routes to making progress towards explainable AI today.     

Supporting virtual organizations through constraint fusion

The formation and operation of dynamic and open virtual organizations is a central concern in business‐to‐business e‐commerce. Virtual organizations enable partner companies to develop and manufacture customized products with low costs and rapid delivery. Agent‐based architectures are an effective platform for such virtual organizations because they provide mechanisms to allow organizations to advertise their capabilities, exchange rich information, and synchronize workflows at a high level of abstraction. In this paper, we examine the KRAFT architecture and its features for supporting virtual organizations. In particular, we focus upon KRAFT's agent‐based architecture, and its use of constraints as a knowledge‐exchange medium. We show how constraint fusion supports the design of customized products. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of firm owenership structure on hiring of M&A advisors

This study tests the hypothesis that certification is an important service performed by M&A (merger and acquisition) advisors. It conducts an empirical investigation of the relationship between corporate ownership and the decision to hire an advisor. It demonstrates that ownership by institutional investors increases the propensity of firms to hire advisors in merger and acquisition transactions. The effect is (1) nonlinear in institutional investor percentage ownership, (2) greater for the selling firm than for the buyer, and (3) stronger where control is changing than where significant assets are being bought and sold. Confirmation of the certification hypothesis is also found in the decision to hire a prestigious advisor given that an advisor is to be hired.     

Agricultural land protection in China: a case study of local governance in Zhejiang Province

China's rapid economic development following the 1978 reforms has resulted in significant economic, social and environmental change. One consequence of this change has been the accentuation of an existing trend of agricultural land loss and degradation. Although the 1978 reforms and their impacts have been subjected to considerable scrutiny, relatively little research has been directed towards the relationship between the evolution of local government structures and practices and the implementation of agricultural land protection policies. This paper presents an analysis of this relationship in Huzhou Municipality, Zhejiang Province. Zhejiang Province is situated on the eastern seaboard and exhibited the highest average annual per capita growth in China between 1978 and 1995. Huzhou Municipality is a growth centre in the northern part of the province. A synthesis of the factual knowledge and perceptions of 40 key-informants suggests that despite the development of a comprehensive legal framework for agricultural land protection, the interpretation of policy at local levels continues to permit the loss of agricultural land (and attendant environmental costs) to be traded-off against increased economic growth. This suggests a need to re-evaluate the role of local levels of government in China with respect to agricultural land protection issues; to look as much at the ways policies are implemented as at policies themselves. The devolution of administrative responsibility in China and the increasing influence of powerful local economic interests will provide an impetus for such a re-focussing of research at local levels.     

Framing Work Through a Socio-technical Ensemble: The Case of Butler Co.

The paper argues for conceptualizing technology as a socio-technical ensemble which emerges from the socio-political context of the organization. This perspective is used to inform a case study carried out within a consumer goods company, where the focus is upon the configuration of work and technology associated with the job of sales representative. It is argued that the acquiescence and compliance of the sales representatives are to be understood primarily on the basis of senior management's effective deployment of its power resource through 'enacting the environment', the configuration and utilization of the ensemble, and its employment strategy. 'Closure' and 'stabilization' had occurred, and the ensemble was operating on a number of levels.     

Change and continuity in UK public house retailing

This paper outlines and reviews four major changes that have occurred in the UK public house retailing (PHR) sector since 1989, that is the 1989 ‘Beer Orders’, the changing socio-economic context, public house estate investment, and financialisation. While these changes have been taking place, it is argued that a degree of continuity (discussed in terms of people, the regional brewer/retailers, and control and business development) is to be found underpinning this period of turbulence in the sector, which is typically not foregrounded to the same extent. The paper illustrates the change and continuity argument with primary data gathered by the author through a longitudinal study of the industry, and concludes with a discussion linking UK PHR change and continuity.