Download or read book Essays on Information Technology and Information Worker Productivity written by and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: (Cont.) Essay 2: "Network Structure and Information Advantage: Structural Determinants of Access to Novel Information and their Performance Implications." I examine relationships between social network structure, information structure, and individual performance. I build and validate a Vector Space Model of information diversity, develop hypotheses linking two key aspects of network structure - size and diversity - to the distribution of novel information among actors, and test the theory using data on email communication patterns, message content and performance. Results indicate that access to diverse, novel information is related to network structure in non-linear ways, and that network diversity contributes to performance even when controlling for the positive performance effects of access to novel information, suggesting additional benefits to network diversity beyond those conferred through information advantage.

Download or read book Essays on Information Technology and Information Worker Productivity written by Sinan Aral and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: (cont.) Essay 2: "Network Structure and Information Advantage: Structural Determinants of Access to Novel Information and their Performance Implications." I examine relationships between social network structure, information structure, and individual performance. I build and validate a Vector Space Model of information diversity, develop hypotheses linking two key aspects of network structure - size and diversity - to the distribution of novel information among actors, and test the theory using data on email communication patterns, message content and performance. Results indicate that access to diverse, novel information is related to network structure in non-linear ways, and that network diversity contributes to performance even when controlling for the positive performance effects of access to novel information, suggesting additional benefits to network diversity beyond those conferred through information advantage.

Download or read book Essays on Social Networks and Information Worker Productivity written by Lynn Wu and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this thesis, I examine how information, information technology, and social networks affect information worker productivity. The work is divided into three essays based on tracking detailed communication patterns of information workers in the high-tech industry. Essay 1: "Social Network Effects on Performance and Layoffs: Evidence from the Adoption of a Social Networking Tool." By studying the changes in employees' networks and performance before and after the introduction of a social networking tool, I find that a structurally diverse network (low in cohesion and rich in structural holes) has a positive effect on work performance. The size of the effect is smaller than traditional estimates, suggesting that omitted individual characteristics may bias the estimated network effect. I consider two intermediate mechanisms by which a structurally diverse network is theorized to improve work performance, information diversity (instrumental) and social communication (expressive), and quantify their effects on two types of work outcomes: billable revenue and layoffs. Analysis shows that the information diversity derived from a structurally diverse network is more correlated with generating billable revenue than is social communication. However, the opposite is true for layoffs. Friendship, as approximated by social communication, is more correlated with reduced layoff risks than is information diversity. Field interviews suggest that friends can serve as advocates in critical situations, ensuring that favorable information is distributed to decision makers. This, in turn, suggests that having a structurally diverse network can drive both work performance and job security, but that there is a tradeoff between either mobilizing friendship or gathering diverse information. Essay 2: "Identification of Influence: An Experimental Platform for Understanding the Relationship between Social Networks and Performance." This study creates an experimental platform for identifying the relationship between social networks and performance. While a large body of literature has examined the correlations between certain network topologies and performance, little research has shown a definitive causal linkage. I address this problem through conducting three sets of randomized field experiments using an on-line experimental platform at a large information technology firm. The platform enables randomly selected employees to achieve certain network characteristics. By examining work performance before and after the experiment, I plan to show the causal relationship between networks and productivity. Essay 3: "Water Cooler Networks: Performance Implications of Informal Face-to-Face Interaction Structures in Information-Intensive Work." This study examines the performance characteristics of face-to-face interaction networks and finds that their structural properties are important for effective knowledge transfer and productivity. We argue that network theory should incorporate the implications of media choice, and particularly differences between face-to- face and electronic communication, when assessing how networks affect individual performance. We introduce a new methodology, using Sociometric badges, to record precise data on face-to-face interaction networks for a group of workers in a large IT manufacturing firm over a one-month period. Linking these data to detailed performance metrics, we find that 1) network cohesion is associated with higher worker productivity, in contrast to previous findings in email data; 2) cohesion in face-to-face networks is associated with even higher performance during complex tasks, suggesting that cohesion complements information-rich media for transferring the complex knowledge needed to complete such tasks; 3) while information-seeking from many colleagues creates disruptions, more interactions with a few key strong-tie informants speeds up work. Face-to-face networks have more explanatory power than physical-proximity networks, suggesting that information flows in actual conversations (rather than individuals' correlated exposure to common environmental factors through physical proximity) are driving our results. These results augment our understanding of how media choice and network structure interact, shedding light on the organizational effects of face-to-face interaction. The methods and techniques we introduce are replicable, creating opportunities for new lines of research into the consequences of face-to-face interaction in organizations.

Download or read book Essays on the Impact of Information Technology written by Sumit Bhansali and published by LAP Lambert Academic Publishing. This book was released on 2009-08-29 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The five essays in this thesis look at how specific information technologies (such as Electronic Document Management, Semantic Web and RuleML) and IT in general can be used to automate and standardize data and processes, enable faster and more accurate information flow, and improve individual as well as firm performance. The first essay is an analytical review-type study that provides a comprehensive survey of research literature about different complementary organizational assets that when coupled with IT can lead to higher firm performance. The second essay presents the causal effects of digitizing work on information workers' time-use and performance at a large insurance firm. The third essay examines the IT productivity relationship using a large primary source firm-level dataset about IT investments that spans the 2003- 2005 period. The fourth essay explores what high-performing firms specifically do to gain the greatest benefits from their IT investments. The fifth essay shows a detailed, realistic e- business application scenario that exploits capabilities of new Semantic Web technologies.

Download or read book Dissertation Abstracts International written by and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 732 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Personal Productivity with Information Technology written by Gordon Bitter Davis and published by McGraw-Hill/Irwin. This book was released on 1997 with total page 550 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Personal Productivity with Information Technology was developed to fit the specifications for course IS97.2 of the Information Systems Curriculum Model developed as a joint effort by the ACM and AITP (formerly DPMA). The text is designed to help students learn to work more effectively using computers and information technology. It is geared towards use in a variety of college or university courses and should be useful to students majoring in diverse subjects. The text combines a discussion of concepts and methods with practical exercises.

Download or read book Information Technology and the World of Work written by Daphne Gottlieb Taras and published by Transaction Pub. This book was released on 2004 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Information technologies have become both a means and an end, transforming the workplace and how work is performed. This ongoing evolution in the work process has received extensive coverage but relatively little attention has been given to how changing technologies and work practices affect the workers themselves. This volume specifically examines the institutional and social environment of the workplaces that information technologies have created. Compilations of scholarly essays are often written by members of a particular school of thought, whose purpose is to flesh out an area of theory or methodology. Information Technology and the World of Work takes a different approach: these essays are written by diverse voices, unified in their interest in the common theme of technology and the changing workplace. The authors' goals are to present perspectives that raise as many questions as they answer, and which are accessible to a broad audience of managers, union leaders, students, and academic readers. The chapters are organized into three specific topical areas that represent aspects of workers' social and political experiences of work that are affected by technology. Part 1 addresses how information technologies affect workers' unions. Part 2 examines how information technology affects individual employees, specifically in terms of employees' sense of power and identity. Chapters in this section examine the social and psychological reactions of workers within the system. Part 3 focuses on one of the most contentious outcomes of this changed workplace, reviewing emerging policy and privacy issues that new technologies have created. Written with the intent of beginning an important discussion of these issues, this volume should provide an impetus for others to make their own contribution to the emerging dialogue on technology in the modern workplace. Daphne G. Taras is professor of industrial relations and associate dean (research) in the Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary. James T. Bennett is professor of economics at George Mason University, and founder and editor of the Journal of Labor Research. Anthony M. Townsend is an associate professor of management information systems in the College of Business at Iowa State University, and on the faculty of Iowa State University Industrial Relations Center.

Download or read book Information Technology and Information Worker Productivity written by Sinan Aral and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In an effort to reveal the fine-grained relationships between IT use, patterns of information flows, and individual information-worker productivity, we study task level practices at a midsize executive recruiting firm. We analyze both project-level and individual-level performance using: (1) detailed accounting data on revenues, compensation, project completion rates, and team membership for over 1300 projects spanning 5 years, (2) direct observation of over 125,000 email messages over a period of 10 months by individual workers, and (3) data on a matched set of the same workers' self-reported IT skills, IT use and information sharing. These detailed data permit us to econometrically evaluate a multistage model of production and interaction activities at the firm, and to analyze the relationships among key technologies, work practices, and output. We find that (a) IT use is positively correlated with non-linear drivers of productivity; (b) the structure and size of workers' communication networks are highly correlated with performance; (c) an inverted-U shaped relationship exists between multitasking and productivity such that, beyond an optimum, more multitasking is associated with declining project completion rates and revenue generation; and (d) asynchronous information seeking such as email and database use promotes multitasking while synchronous information seeking over the phone shows a negative correlation. Overall, these data show statistically significant relationships among technology use, social networks, completed projects, and revenues for project-based information workers. Results are consistent with simple models of queuing and multitasking and these methods can be replicated in other settings, suggesting new frontiers for IT value and social network research.

Download or read book Collection Of Essays On Complexity And Management A Proceedings Of The Summer School On Managerial Complexity written by Walter Baets and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 1999-04-01 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A tendency exists in management theory and practice today to accept that our linear and deterministic ways of thinking about managerial problems create more problems than they solve. In the field of strategy studies, for instance, one can observe a growing interest in learning and organisational flexibility — IT gives importance to distributed cognition and adaptive systems. Management theorists are keenly observing developments surrounding complexity and chaos theory in science, and management researchers are attempting to apply emerging theories to managerial problems.Although there are still a limited number of applications in the managerial world, the Santa Fe Institute and the Los Alamos Center for Nonlinear Studies (both in the US) have been active for several years in closely related fields and, more important, adopt a multidisciplinary approach. Such applied research is seldom present in academic management journals. It seems, however, that the business community is interested in the implications of chaos and complexity for management as well as adopting a multidisciplinary approach to strategy and organisational change.This volume, constituting the proceedings of the Summer School on Managerial Complexity, held in Granada, Spain, on 11-25 July 1998, will benefit students and researchers in chaos and dynamical systems.

Download or read book Empirical Essays on Information Technology and Productivity Growth written by Thomas Strobel and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Information Technology and Sustainability written by Lorenz M. Hilty and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2008 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are contributing both to environmental problems and to their solution. Will ICT producers, users and recyclers be the major polluters of tomorrow, or will 'Green IT' and a dematerialized information society save the climate? This book provides an in-depth analysis of the relationship between ICT and sustainable development, culminating in 15 recommendations - to producers, users and political decision makers - which show the way to a sustainable information society. Keywords: Information Technology, Environment, Sustainable Development, Environmental Informatics, Green IT, Green Computing, Data Centers, Energy Efficiency, Resource Productivity, Dematerialization, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), E-waste, Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), Recycling, Technological Complexity, Critical Information Infrastructure, Open Standards, Rebound Effect.

Download or read book Three Essays on the Economic Impacts of Information Technology on Efficiency and Productivity written by Young Bong Chang and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Overall, this thesis helps develop a deeper understanding of the ways IT impacts efficiency and productivity and addresses unanswered questions on the economic impacts of IT.

Download or read book Essays on Information Technology Productivity Growth and Employment Structure written by Hyunbae Chun and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Information Payoff written by Paul A. Strassmann and published by Strassmann, Inc.. This book was released on 1985 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Guide to management aspects of information technology for office automation, partic. Social implications - examines the impact of computerization on work organization, work attitudes, labour productivity, work environment, overhead costs; considers computer investment profitability, the future of reading and printed paper, and organization development and occupational sociology in relation to the service sector; discusses e-mail and human relations; includes short case studies. Bibliography, flow charts, graphs.

Download or read book Productivity written by and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Three Essays in Information Systems written by Jayarajan Samuel and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This dissertation tackles three problems in information systems: In the first essay we investigate the value of a local showroom to online competition. An increasing number of online retailers are grappling with whether to expand their operations to offline local showrooms. In this study, we quantify the value of showrooms by investigating how the presence and absence of local showrooms may impact customers’ searching and purchasing behaviors with online competitors. By using an exogenous event of a large retailer’s offline market exit and a unique data set capturing customers’ online browsing and purchasing activities before and after the event, we empirically examine the changes in online search and sales made by customers who lived within neighborhoods where showrooms closed. We question the adequacy of conventional sales-based measures and devise several search-based measures in order to better quantify the value of a showroom from the perspective of customer experience online. Using a difference-in-difference approach, we find mixed results in terms of online competitors’ sales when a neighboring showroom closes. More importantly, we observe an increase in customers’ online search intensity in the absence of local showrooms. We discuss a wide range of implications both for online and offline retailers based on our results. The second problem we analyze is the effect of worker collaboration on productivity and costs to a company. Although collaboration in the workplace is promoted as a silver bullet for increasing productivity and decreasing costs, there is little empirical evidence to show the effects of collaboration. Using a unique dataset and a field experiment we develop a framework to measure the effects of collaboration in a service delivery industry. Our results show that when collaboration is forced on employees, although productivity increases, costs also increase. Based on our conclusions we recommend management to allow employees to choose when to collaborate and when not to. On further analysis of the implementation of our recommendations, we find that productivity levels increase along with reduction in costs if employees are allowed to choose when to collaborate on tasks. Finally, we investigate how to tackle the patching schedule of custom built enterprise systems. Keeping software systems safe from hackers is one of the most important goals for system operations managers. A system that has outstanding security patches is inherently risky and managers incur costs to keep the security of such systems at an acceptable level. Alternatively, they can choose to expend resources to apply outstanding patches and increase the security state of the system and thereby reducing the costs to maintain the system. In this research we study a motivating example from the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry and apply a control theoretic model to solve for optimal patching periods. The optimal patching policy is shown to have a bang-bang solution which explains common approaches practiced in the industry. The results in this research are valuable to operations and maintenance managers who strive to keep enterprise software systems safe while minimizing cost.

Download or read book Information Technology and the U S Workforce written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2017-04-18 with total page 199 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent years have yielded significant advances in computing and communication technologies, with profound impacts on society. Technology is transforming the way we work, play, and interact with others. From these technological capabilities, new industries, organizational forms, and business models are emerging. Technological advances can create enormous economic and other benefits, but can also lead to significant changes for workers. IT and automation can change the way work is conducted, by augmenting or replacing workers in specific tasks. This can shift the demand for some types of human labor, eliminating some jobs and creating new ones. Information Technology and the U.S. Workforce explores the interactions between technological, economic, and societal trends and identifies possible near-term developments for work. This report emphasizes the need to understand and track these trends and develop strategies to inform, prepare for, and respond to changes in the labor market. It offers evaluations of what is known, notes open questions to be addressed, and identifies promising research pathways moving forward.