As I catch up on my mail backlog from travelling I am coming across
various "gems" of which this is one...
The full discussion ICT-Jobs discussion is accessible on
<www.globalknowledge.org>
Mike Gurstein
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 1998 15:16:33 -0400 (EDT)
From: ICT-JOBS Moderator <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: (ICT-JOBS): ICT and New Conditions of Work
In this Working Group, we have discussed at length whether, and how, new
computing technologies, especially those that support communications,
change conditions of work. One widely shared conclusion is the impact of
ICT on work depends on the *way* in which it is introduced. There is a
body of literature that casts some light on this issue. Tom Finholt and
Lee Sproull found that electronic mail can actually give working groups
greater ability to develop their own culture. (Finholt, Tom and Lee
Sproull. 1990. "Electronic Groups at Work." Organization Science.
1(1):41-64) Other researchers have concluded that electronic mail reduces
the barriers to communication between people at different levels of
hierarchy in an organization. (Sproull, Lee and Sara Kiesler. 1991.
"Increasing Personal Connections." Connections: New Ways of Working in
the Networked Organization. Cambridge: MIT Press)
Yet, as members of this Working Group have emphasized, benefits like these
do not come automatically. Professor Robert Kling ("Computerization at
Work," cmc Magazine, August 1996;
<http://www.december.com/cmc/mag/1996/aug/kling.html>) points out that
simply installing new technology is not a sufficient condition for the
emergence of improved forms of work organization. He notes, "careful
studies of work with new competing technologies suggest that new
technologies alone are unlikely to be magic potions which can
automatically improve work by just appearing in a workplace." This is the
case whether "improve" means raising productivity or enhancing job
satisfaction.
One problem, Kling observes, is that "most people who use [powerful
programs such as word processors or database programs] seem to learn only
a small fraction of the available capabilities -- enough to do their most
immediate work." Furthermore, "many organizations expect workers to learn
to effectively use computer systems on their own, with little support
besides limited manuals and advice from co-workers."
Kling adds that some of these problems can be cured when companies invest
in relatively uncomplicated systems, train their staffs to use them, and
provide consulting for people who have questions. However, many managers
believe that supplementing computer use with training and consulting is
too expensive. Their concerns are understandable. Training costs often run
three times greater than the price of the software package that is being
taught, while the impact on productivity is hard to measure.
One solution could come from the software side. Poltrock and Grudin, who
studied software developers, found that they do not devote enough
attention to observing how the product is used by their customers.
(Poltrock, Steven E. and Jonathan Grudin. 1994. " Interface Development
in a Large Organization: An Observational Study." (adapted from) ACM
Transactions on Computer and Human Interaction.1(1)(March):52-80)
However, the real impact will come, Kling argues, when companies recognise
the value of using training, feedback from workers, and other means to
enhance integration of ICT in the workplace. Kling recommends, for
example, that companies begin thinking and talking about computerization
as the development of socio-technological configurations rather than as
simply installing and using a new technology. He writes "social design
encourages participants in a computerization project to review the web of
practices and policies relating to telecommuting [or other ICT adoption]
which can otherwise be unanticipated... Firms that do not attend to their
people's (sic) careers as well as their jobs might well have to replace
much of their workforce. Their human capital will be a depreciated
resource, one they may find harder to replenish than they thought."
These observations raise important questions for developing countries:
What opportunities could Southern companies seize to create
socio-technical approaches to ICT adoption, which will be appropriate for
Southern and/or Northern countries, and that are not yet being utilized?
If training is "too expensive" for companies in the North, how can
companies in the South even consider providing such training and becoming
competitive?
Will Southern companies be further disadvantaged because their staff are
even less likely than those in the North to be able to pick up ICT skills
on their own? Or do lower costs of training in the South provide new
opportunities for Southern companies to "outflank" companies in the North
by providing training and addressing social issues of ICT adoption?
Are there policy/legal reforms that Southern countries could use to
increase the chances that ICT adoption will have a positive impact on work
conditions (e.g., greater communication, information sharing, creativity,
flexibility to meet familial obligations, sense of shared vision and
commitment)?
Are there any factors you would add to the ones below, which Kling
suggests be addressed as part of a social design for ICT:
I.Social Organization of Work
1. The division of labor
2. Rewards/demands for learning new systems
3. Access to machines and data
II.Equipment Access
1. Shared vs. independent systems
2. Who has access, and with what privileges
3. Standardization of systems and capabilities
4. Extensiveness of use within a work group or organization
III.Infrastructure
1.Training programs
2.Availability of Adjunct Resources (e.g., space)
IV.Control Patterns
1.Implementation strategy and operations
2.Daily working conditions
3.Levels of monitoring
EDC Moderators
