Organizational Informatics

From SandeepPurao

Organizational Informatics (Doctoral Seminar) at Penn State

Module 1: Research Foundations

This module is designed to answer four basic questions: (a) what is an organization?, (b) what are the different perspectives to understand organiztaions?, (c) what epistemologies can we use to investigate (ICT in) organizations?, and (d) how are these translated into specific research methodologies?

• Ingredient 1: Organizations as a domain of inquiry
  
  • The complex phenomenon of human-built organizations, the importance of choosing a lens (Daft, Weick, Morgan, Malone)
• Ingredient 2: Epistemologies for investigation
  
  • Sociological and organizational analyses: functionalist, interpretive, radical humanist and radical structuralist paradigms (Burrell and Morgan)
• Ingredient 3: Research methodologies
  
  • Positivist IS research, case studies, field studies, action research and design research (Straub, Lee, Eisenhardt, Klein and Myers, and Hevner)
    

Module 2: Conceptualizations of Information Technology

This module is designed to present a number of conceptualizations of information technology such as technological determinism, social construction of technology and the intermediate position of social shaping of technology, as well as the notion of duality of technology in organizations and technological frames/metaphors.

• Conceptualization 1: Technological determinism
  
  • Theories related to technological determinism and deep structure of information technology (Bimber, Wand)
• Conceptualization 2: Social construction of technology
  
  • Social constructivism and social shaping as it relates to IT (Pinch, Bijker, McKenzie)
• Conceptualization 3: The duality of technology
  
  • duality of technology and organizations based on ideas contained in structuration theory (Giddens, Orlikowski)
• Conceptualization 4: The multiplicity of frames
  
  • Alternative frames of stakeholders and researchers about information technology (Orlikowski, Iacono)
    

Module 3: Organizational Metaphors

This module is designed to present a number of metaphors that may be used to understand the organizational domain. For each, key theoretical perspectives are visited and examples of research are seen that use these metaphors/theories to investigate ICT in organizations. This module draws on and expands Morgan's metaphors for organizations. See also overviews of organizational theory at http://ot.cavarretta.com/; Endnote bibliography http://ot.cavarretta.com/db/biblio.enl, and Encyclopedia of organizational theory: http://faculty.babson.edu/krollag/org_site/encyclop/encyclo.html

• Metaphor 1: Organizations as economic entities
  
  • Transaction cost theory, agency theory, markets (Coase, Williamson, Ouchi)
• Metaphor 2: Organizations as machines
  
  • Bureaucracy and scientific management (Taylorism and early industrial psychology)
• Metaphor 3: Organizations as organisms
  
  • Open systems, contingency theory and population ecology view on organizations (Checkland)
• Metaphor 4: Organizations as learning entities
  
  • Knowledge creating entities and sensemaking in organizations (Nonaka, Weick)
• Metaphor 5: Organizations as political arenas
  
  • Theories of power in organizational settings (Blau, March, Mintzberg)
• Metaphor 6: Organizations as culture
  
  • Rule-following, enactment, signs of culture (Schein)
• Metaphor 7: Organizations as flux
  
  • Structuration, Institutionalization, Emergence (Giddens)
• Metaphor 8: Organizations as prison
  
  • Institutional theory (Dimaggio and Powell, Zucker)
• Metaphor 9: Organizations as work
  
  • Social actors, routine work, over/under-socialized conceptions of action (Lamb and Kling, Barley and Kunda, Granovetter)

Module 4: Disciplines and Publishing

This module is designed to understand publishing strategies and challenges that you, as a researcher, is likely to face when publishing research - related to ICT in organizations - within a chosen discipline or when crossing disciplinary boundaries.

• Strategy 2: Publishing in a discipline
  
  • Disciplinary journal prestige, manuscript review processes (Lee)
• Strategy 2: Boundary spanning
  
  • Influences on MIS, boundary spanning (Applegate, Lyytinen)