Resurrecting organization without renouncing society: A response to Ahrne,Brunsson and Seidl

In a recent article in this journal, Ahrne, Brunsson, and Seidl (2016) suggest a definition of organization as a ‘decided social order’ composed of five elements (membership, rules, hierarchies, monitoring, and sanctions) which rest on decisions. ‘Partial organization’ uses only one or a few of these decidable elements while ‘complete organization’ uses them all. Such decided orders may also occur outside formal organizations, as the authors observe. Although we appreciate the idea of improving our understanding of organization(s) in modern society, we believe that Ahrne, Brunsson, and Seidl's suggestion jeopardizes the concept of organization by blurring its specific meaning. As the authors already draw on the work of Niklas Luhmann, we propose taking this exploration a step further and the potential of systems theory more seriously. Organizational analysis would then be able to retain a distinctive notion of formal organization on the one hand while benefiting from an encompassing theory of modern society on the other. With this extended conceptual framework, we would expect to gain a deeper understanding of how organizations implement and shape different societal realms as well as mediate between their particular logics, and, not least, how they are related to non-organizational social forms (e.g. families).     

Management and the social environment

Most social change in the past 50 years in the U.K. has been associated with the relatively slow maturing of a highly industrialized society. There are now clear signs that Britain is entering an ‘age of discontinuity’ and that, increasingly, social change will reflect transition from an industrialized to a post-industrial stage of development. This transition will inevitably involve a transfer of power in society, away from the industrial organization and on to other institutions—the state itself, organized labour, consumer organizations and various pressure groups. In the context of such changes it becomes more and more imperative that business organizations should take social factors into account in decision making and that managers should acquire new knowledge and techniques to enable them to contribute to this process. The role of the management educator should be to heighten social awareness among managers, to stimulate a need for knowledge of the social environment and of social change, to indicate where and how such knowledge can be acquired, and to help managers develop skills and techniques of analysis and decision-making appropriate to social data.     

复杂交互行为影响下的网络舆情演化分析

如今网民参与网络舆情的现象愈加普遍,但国内网络舆情治理体制不完善,网络舆情事件易造成严重的负面影响,研究网络舆情的重要性日渐显著。基于演化博弈研究复杂网络中的网络舆情能够反映网络舆情形成和演化的实际情况,可以为引导相关主体参与网络舆情的行为和控制网络舆情的演化提供科学依据。本文在网络舆情的复制动态模型中引入两个可以反映网民复杂交互行为的因素:创建新博弈连接的行为偏好以及维持博弈连接的时间长短,在此基础上构建网络舆情演化博弈模型。根据演化博弈均衡解,分析、解释个体复杂交互行为因素以及网民初始得益对网络舆情演化的影响并针对不同情境提出相应的舆情治理建议。研究表明在交互连接达到稳态时,网络舆情博弈的得益矩阵会发生改变,新的得益矩阵由原来得益矩阵中的元素乘以其相应的博弈连接类型的活跃连接占比而构成。本文定量地解释相关主体间复杂的交互行为,研究结果对网络舆情危机处理以及疏导,减少网络舆情事件对社会的危害等都有参考价值。     

The Development of Risk Analysis: A Personal Perspective

This article reflects on my experiences observing and participating in the development of risk analysis for environmental and health hazards since the 1970s with emphasis on its critical role in informing decisions with potentially high consequences, even for very low probability events once ignored or simply viewed as “acts of God.” I discuss how modern society wants to protect itself from hazards with limited or no immediate historical precedent such that prediction and protective actions must depend on models that offer varying degrees of reliability. I believe that we must invest in understanding risks and risk models to ensure health in the future and protect ourselves from large challenges, including climate change, whether anthropogenic or otherwise, terrorism, and perhaps even cosmic change.     

The future of American health care in the "post-reform" era

"As the debate over health care reform rages in Washington, the market is reforming itself. For any given market, it's a question of 'How soon will it hit?', not 'Will it hit?'" Health care reform and market restructuring are ushering in a new era of integrated health care. Although the future is not fully clear, there are at least three competing models for the creation of regional and statewide health systems that will integrate the financing and delivery of services to large enrolled populations of consumers: Payer-driven networks. Provider-sponsored systems. Partnership models. Whatever the future scenario, physician executives will play a larger, more dominant role. Research on integrated health systems has identified three critical success factors for future success: physician-hospital integration, clinical integration and information integration. For managed care to be successful, there must be clinical leadership. The essence of managing care is clinical efficiency, based on "critical-path" treatment protocols and real-time patient care management, supported by integrated information systems.     

售电侧改革、市场主体变化与电价红利:基于讨价还价博弈

本文通过构建“一对多”和“多对多”讨价还价博弈模型,研究了售电侧改革前后,发电商和售电公司之间关于消费者剩余分配的博弈过程。具体来说,文章从售电侧改革带来的博弈主体与博弈机制变化角度,揭示了售电侧改革对用户电价红利的影响。研究发现:售电侧放开后,电力市场交易机制由“一对多”竞价上网变为“多对多”讨价还价匹配,造成了售电侧博弈主体的议价能力下降,发电侧博弈主体相对议价能力上升。发电商群体将索取更多的消费者剩余,从而推动发电侧整体报价的上涨,挤压了售电侧的利润空间,导致售电公司被迫抬高市场电价,最终剥夺了用户的电价红利。研究揭示了售电侧改革未能带来电价下降的根本原因。     

基于心智模型的恐怖主义袭击扩展式演化博弈分析

政府反恐措施与恐怖分子袭击手段存在着相互观察、适应性演化的过程。本文首先构建了政府作为先行动者、恐怖分子作为后行动者的斯塔克伯格博弈模型,进一步建立了恐怖袭击问题的扩展式演化博弈模型。由于扩展式演化博弈的均衡分析需要考虑代际内和代际间不同层次的信念学习,造成了演化分析的复杂性。本文将"心智模型"概念引入到演化博弈,采取了心智模型演化解的分析方法,得出了简化后的演化均衡解。最后,结合新疆墨玉县6.28暴恐事件进行算例分析,比较怀特流形演化解和心智模型演化解的差异。心智模型演化解的结果表明,根据恐怖分子群体中选择袭击比例是否高于临界值,政府策略收敛到防御或者不防御。该求解方法通过将普遍接受的社会规范引入到演化过程分析,不仅简化了怀特流形的分析过程,而且均衡解展示了更为丰富的、更为切合实际管理问题的演化特征。     

From Knowledge Engineering to Knowledge Management

Knowledge management is seen by many to be a prerequisite for the successful organization, and one that relies heavily, though not exclusively, on a sound technological infrastructure. A major drawback, though, with current technology (e.g. Lotus Notes and www) is its focus on information management and communication rather than on knowledge itself. What knowledge management needs is tools and techniques that are more oriented towards knowledge – its creation, mapping, transfer and use. We show how many of the methods and tools used in the branch of artificial intelligence known as knowledge engineering can be adapted to provide such a knowledge-oriented technology, and lead to significant benefits for organizations. A number of case studies are presented which illustrate our points, including decision-making at Andersen Consulting and best practice at Rolls-Royce. A more elaborated use is shown in the context of business process re-engineering, where a new software tool kit called SPEDE is being applied and validated within the aerospace and automotive industries.     

Re-Focusing the Business School Agenda

This commentary agrees with Starkey and Madan (2001) that business schools must incorporate Mode 2 production methods if they are to be significant knowledge producers in the future. We reinforce their specific suggestions about how that might be accomplished by focusing on learning from early Mode 2 attempts, promoting practitioner research, seeking business co-sponsorship and sheltering some Mode 1 practices and values, including longitudinal reflective research and information storage. We also argue, however, that business schools must go beyond such tasks, difficult and expensive though they are. The way business and business schools currently operate, and are being encouraged to operate, does not address the broader issues of human relevance that concern James March (1998) and others. The gap here is a risk for business and society, and appears to require new, Mode 3, methods of knowledge production.     

Protecting hospital records from discovery

One of the more burdensome tasks confronting hospital administrators and defense counsel in hospital liability cases is attempting to protect sensitive or confidential information contained in hospital records. Plaintiffs' counsel continue to refine and broaden document requests as they become more sophisticated and experienced, learning about additional categories of documents that may be helpful to their cause. There are conditions that protect documents from discovery, but the rules of privilege are complicated and are frequently misunderstood.     

基于灰信息变元的泛函博弈模型研究

现实社会生活中存在局中人的博弈策略或收益值是变元（如时间、环境、空间、制度或相关其它变元）映射的一类博弈问题。本文从灰信息变元的角度给出了的泛函区间灰数的概念,设计了泛函区间灰数的表征形式,提供了泛函区间灰数之间的大小比较与运算法则。分析基于不确定信息的泛函博弈问题,并描述其形式与框架,可以展示不确定信息下博弈的特征、性质、战略表达形式。运用优化理论及其相关技术方法,设计基于不确定信息优化的求解算法,即通过研究和构造泛函博弈收益值的广义满秩扩充方阵求解最优博弈策略和博弈收益值问题,不仅为现实生活中的不确定信息问题提供新的解题思路,更为实际问题的解决提供新的方法参考。最后结合案例“盗版与打击盗版”问题通过计算机仿真对其博弈均衡结果进行详细的对比分析,说明了本文提出基于信息变元泛函博弈模型的科学性和计算结果的精确性。     

Can good leadership be learned through business games?

This article explores the use of business games to question whether they can be used to learn good leadership. The answer comes in three parts: yes, no and maybe. By studying the use of a game to teach change management in the light of adult learning theory, the article discusses how different kinds of learning processes emerge and contribute. On the basis of qualitative interviews and observation, a case study is used to explore how the particular, didactic orchestration of a game-based learning process, together with emergent, informal learning processes, contributes to leadership learning. As participants are immersed in formal, non-formal and informal learning processes, these processes contribute to improving leadership in practice in a variety of different ways. The article concludes that (1) yes, game-based learning does contribute to teaching operational leadership in a formal manner; (2) no, in and of itself, the formal learning of games has a limited impact on leadership learning, but in combination with other didactic activities, its contribution is profound and (3) maybe, since by tapping into the extensive knowledge of other participants, games inspire informal discussions on leadership topics that are not directly relevant to the game, but are in other ways beneficial.     

Coming out

Self-knowledge is the beginning of integrity, of coming out of the closet, and is a prerequisite for dealing well with change. Integrity is not just about not lying. Integrity means as on the inside, so on the outside. The Latin roots of integrity refer to touch. To have integrity is to be untouched, undivided, whole, integrated, integral. There is a tight relationship between integrity and the ability to change, because integrity is about knowing yourself, about being transparent. Integrity allows you to move with tremendous speed when the time comes to move. An organization that wants to learn to dance with change must come to know itself and its environment thoroughly. To do this, it must make use of all the knowledge of every member--and all of their learning capability. It must be built into the culture that new information and different points of view are powerful, are welcomed.     

The Social Responsibility of Managers: Reassessing and Integrating Diverse Perspectives

The social responsibility of business has been a prominent issue in the academic and practitioner literatures, as well as in the curricula of business schools, for many years. While Friedman's iconic defense of profit maximization as the responsibility of management has been widely and extensively assailed, emerging positions on the role of business in society offer little clear and practical guidance to current managers, as well as Masters of Business Administration students. I argue in this article that the focus of the debate should shift to considering how the rules of the game surrounding business' behavior should be formulated and what the role of socially responsible managers should be in helping to establish those rules. My contention is that the goal of society should be to strengthen the linkage between the achievement of social objectives and profit maximization by business through “bright line” regulations and laws. Socially responsible managers will participate in setting the rules of the game by advising policymakers on how specific regulations and laws can be structured so that they most effectively condition the linkage between social objectives and profit maximization. If there is a unique social responsibility of managers beyond profit maximization, it is to participate in the policymaking process “honestly,” that is, without attempting to game the system through guile and opportunism.     

中介机构参与下联盟企业知识转移的三方利益博弈分析

知识转移是企业保存知识、提升创新能力的重要途径,中介机构在转移过程中发挥了重要作用。本文以联盟企业间知识转移为研究对象,考虑了企业的不同心理压力,首先建立了联盟企业双方的讨价还价博弈模型;其次构建了考虑中介机构参与知识转移的博弈模型,分析和讨论三方收益变化的影响因素及策略选择。结果表明,在直接知识转移博弈中,转移主体的收益大小与自身的心理压力呈负相关,而与对方的心理压力呈正相关,同等心理压力下知识转出方占优;中介机构参与博弈情形下,中介机构作为协作角色的博弈收益仅受博弈双方心理压力影响,且与知识接收方协作可获得更大收益,而主导角色博弈情形下收益受到三方主体心理压力的综合影响,并在主导知识接收博弈时获得收益更大;中介机构的角色选择与知识转出方心理压力变化相关性不明显,主要受到知识接收方及自身心理压力影响。     

POM Forum: Transfer of Changing Production Know‐How

Even with the rich literature on knowledge management, we still don't know enough about how the rate of change in production‐know‐how affects the choice of mechanisms for its transfer. Codifying tacit know‐how helps, but codification becomes more challenging as the know‐how changes more frequently. Transfer of tacit know‐how becomes much more complicated when it changes often. We need more research in this area, particularly to help production and operations managers who must ultimately use the new know‐how and change their companies' production processes. The paper suggests a framework as a step in that direction. The framework focuses on the interplay between the level of codification and the rate of change of production know‐how, and identifies four zones for classifying production know‐how: “slow and codified,” “slow and tacit,” “fast and codified,” and “fast and tacit.” Examples from McDonald̂s, Club Med, Intel, and AOL are used to illustrate primary transfer mechanisms for each zone (manuals and systems, people, joint‐development, and projects, respectively). Appropriate absorptive capacities in the production units for each zone are also identified. Since the ultimate responsibility of operations managers is to improve (i.e., change) their production know‐how as fast as possible, they would be wise to adopt policies that are closer to those suited for the “fast and codified” zone. Intel and Toyota show good models.     

Managing the new technical employee

We live in an age of information. Almost every element of society is dominated by information and the need for information. No person can expect to thrive in the future unless he or she knows and understands information processing, particularly computerized information processing. The growth of medical informatics in the health care field is a further indication of the pervasiveness of the information age. With this technology, however, comes a new and very different cadre of employees. Physician executives who desire to succeed in this new and changing world will have to understand how these employees are different and how management must change to accommodate them. Marilyn Kennedy begins the understanding process in this column.     

Replication of Routines in Organizations: Existing Literature and New Perspectives

Replication of existing routines in new contexts is an important value‐creating strategy for organizations. This paper synthesizes the state of research on replication and organizes the literature around two broad themes: forward knowledge flows (i.e. from a replicator to a replicatee) and reverse knowledge flows. The authors show that the theoretical assumptions of existing research leave important questions around the replication of routines unaddressed. More specifically, they identify research gaps in regard to micro‐level processes of replication. Little is understood about the performance of routines in practice and, related to that, the processes through which routines change during replication. Drawing on recent theorizing on organizational routines, in particular the relationship between the ostensive and performative aspects, helps the authors to unpack the micro‐level processes of forward and reverse knowledge flows. This paper opens two new trajectories for research on replication: (1) a focus on the actions of individual actors in the enactment of organizational routines provides new possibilities for understanding how replication is an inherently political process; (2) conceptualizing change as endogenous within the performance of routines offers a route to a more nuanced understanding of change and deviation in the process of replication. The paper closes with a summary of major theoretical arguments, questions for further research and implications for practitioners.     

企业价值链上协同知识创新的动态决策模型

针对企业价值链上协同知识创新的决策问题,以制造企业为价值链上主导企业,考虑由价值链上主导企业(大方型、小气型)与价值链上合作企业(目光长远型、目光短浅型)所交叉形成的四种不同情况,运用微分博弈分析了它们进行价值链协同知识创新的动态决策过程.通过对比四种不同情况下价值链上协同知识创新的决策结果,得出了一种帕累托最优的价值链上协同知识创新的情况,并分析了其成立的相应条件,同时提出了促成这种帕累托最优价值链协同知识创新情况实现的建议.最后,通过算例分析验证了理论推导的结果.