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1. Work and Society in the Information Age
2. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 2
3. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 3 Objectives At the end of this lecture you will be able to:
Describe different perspectives of how technology and society interact.
Describe how technology has affected different aspects of society.
Understand the positive and negative effects of technology in some areas of society.
Explain how telecommuting can be introduced successfully into an organisation.
Describe different models of job design and understand the distinctions between them.
4. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 4 Technology and society Technology and society
What is the relationship?
A problem in causality
5. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 5 Technology and society Causality:
Post Hoc ergo Propter Hoc (after this, therefore because of this)
Rooster and the rising sun
Michaelangelo (1475-1564) Galileo (1564-1642) Isaac Newton (1642-1727)
In 1400 there were approximately 100,000 books in Europe - In 1500 there were 10 million.
6. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 6 Technology and society Is technology the agent of change?
Computing terms are used in everyday language. For example
We use machine metaphors to identify our very humanity and culture.
Have we been coded to think in machine terms?
7. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 7 Technology and society
8. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 8 Technology and society Hard vs soft determinism stance (Smith and Marx, 1994)
Hard: Technology drives social change
Soft: Technology is influential but society has a choice in which tools to develop.
Non-determinism stance (McDermott, 1993, 1991)
Cf: free will in last weeks lecture.
Social forces shape technology, not causally determined.
Technologies reflect different degrees of social, political and economic power possessed by the sponsors and the opponents of particular technologies.
Examples of each?
9. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 9 Technology and society Technological momentum (Hughes)
Hughes developed the Technological Momentum theory which has two ideologies that appear to conflict but adds time as the unifying factor.
Social determinism
Technologies themselves are reliable and sufficient basis for progress.
Technology determines social change.
The mass of people follow the momentum and direction given by technology the velocity controls the mass of people.
Social constructivism (functionalism)
The mass of people define the use of inventions.
Society controls technology the velocity and direction of momentum.
10. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 10 Technology and society Technological momentum (Hughes)
Early stages of technology development:
Technology shaped by society
Influence of social factors at its greatest, e.g. design choice, geographical location, significance attached to a particular technology, perceived needs of the community or state, etc.
Later stages of technology development:
Technology shapes society
The investment in the technology encourages those who support it financially to maintain and reproduce it. People who work in the new technology have a vested interest in seeing it grow and prosper.
Example: QWERTY keyboard
11. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 11 Technology and society Some theorists argue that by the time a particular technological system is developed, it is often too late to significantly challenge its control over society.
But
If there are no clear goals for society, social determinism takes precedence.
Alternatively if there are clear goals, social constructivism takes precedence
12. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 12 Technology and society Society has a choice between activity or passivity.
Even not choosing is a choice.
13. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 13 Technology and society New technologies do dramatically influence aspects of society:
government
international relations
employment
population movement
and others
14. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 14 Government Negative aspects of IT in government
Orwells 1984, described a stark society dominated in a ruthless way by the dictator Big Brother through electronic surveillance means.
15. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 15 Government George Orwell described a totalitarian society in which the government, referred to as the Party, had almost complete control over the people.
Set in London, beginning April 1984.
The supreme ruler of the Party was Big Brother. Posters announced that "Big Brother is Watching You".
Telescreens, which could not be turned off, droned endlessly with brainwashing propaganda about wondrous government programs.
The government agents most feared by the people were the Thought Police.
The telescreens not only transmitted governmental policies, they also transmitted back to the Thought Police both sounds and pictures from inside homes.
16. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 16 Government Country: Oceania, political system: Ingsoc (English Socialism).
The Party is divided into two: Inner Party (~1% of population) and Outer Party (~18% of population.
The Proles (Proletariat) are the poor - considered to be like animals (rest of population).
Winston Smith is the protagonist (a member of the Outer Party, working for the Ministry of Truth).
17. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 17 Government The Party controls the past, present and future.
Big Brother promised that the 30g/week chocolate ration would not change in 1984 but it did change to 25g/week so the article had to be rewritten.
Winston re-writes the past.
18. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 18 Government Negative aspects of IT in government
Features described by Orwell:
monitor/control activities of citizens
ID codes assigned to people at birth
all major events recorded (medical, sport, education)
reading material stored in electronic databases and censored
deviation from the norm (criticising government) detected and punished
Do we have these features today?
19. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 19 Government
20. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 20
21. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 21 Government Carnivore/DCS1000
The FBI has been using surveillance technology since 2001. The Carnivore system, which is installed at Internet service providers, captures "packets" of Internet traffic as they travel through ISP networks. The program monitors millions of mail messages, searching for notes sent by people under investigation.
Now known as the DCS1000 surveillance system, it was approved by a large majority of the US Senate in October 2001 to monitor e-mail and other text messages delivered through wireless devices, such as cell phones.
Also voted to ease limits on wiretapping.
22. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 22 Government Magic Lantern
Internet eavesdropping software (virus) that can record every keystroke on a person's computer.
Magic Lantern could be used with a court order against suspected terrorists or criminals.
Anti-virus companies have been co-opted by the government to weaken their anti-virus software so that it will not detect Magic Lantern.
Such powerful surveillance tools raise privacy issues, and there is still some debate about the legality of using Magic Lantern without a search warrant.
Because the software can be covertly installed over the Internet without the need for actual physical entry into a person's home or office, some argue that a search warrant should not be required.
23. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 23 Government ADVISE
ADVISE (Analysis, Dissemination, Visualization, Insight and Semantic Enhancement) is a super-snoop computer system that sifts through personal information on U.S. citizens to detect possible terrorist attacks.
Data can include credit-card purchases, telephone or Internet details, medical records, travel and banking information.
The technology is expected to analyze more than 3 million "relationships" or connections per hour, says the report, which included an example of how friends, family members, locations and workplaces can be linked by pinging the data.
(March 2007, http://www.dojgov.net/Surveillance-01.htm)
24. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 24 Government Closer to home Echelon
Echelon is designed and coordinated by America's National Security Agency, which in turn "shares" the information gathered with Australia, Britain, Canada and New Zealand.
Echelon works by positioning receiving stations all over the world to pickup all satellite, microwave, mobile telephone and optic-fibre traffic of anyone on earth. The system is said to be capable of "listening" to billions of messages a day.
Computers then process the information looking for "key words". Anyone using one of these keywords in a telephone call, email or any other form of electronic communication, invites scrutiny by the system.
Where is the Australian satellite dish?
25. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 25
26. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 26 Government Webcams
Can be used to monitor people
Coast Cams supposedly provided for citizens to have live, regularly updated visual images of the Perth metropolitan coastline, as well as an archive of beach and ocean conditions.
Webcams at Cottesloe, Trigg, Scarborough, Swanbourne.
27. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 27 Murdochs Webcam
http://webcam.murdoch.edu.au/
28. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 28 Government Do cameras at traffic lights, on beaches, on campus, in shopping malls, in toilets, signify the arrival of Big Brother?
Lucky Shag Bar, Barrack Square, June 2003
The bar manager installed a spy camera in the women's toilets.
The camera was found by cleaners, hidden in an air vent above a cubicle in the women's public toilets.
Nathan Hodder, 28, of Thornlie, pleaded guilty to unlawful use of an optical surveillance device to record a private activity to which he was not a party.
Why did he do it?
29. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 29 Government An estimated 5 million closed-circuit television cameras observe as people in Britain go about their business, from getting on a bus to lining up at the bank to driving around London.
In London, train stations have 1,800 cameras, the biggest such system in Europe. There are more than 6,000 cameras in the London Underground and 260 around Parliament.
It's estimated that the average Briton is scrutinised by 300 cameras a day.
But surveillance cameras were instrumental in identifying terrorists responsible for coordinated bomb attacks in London underground trains and a bus in July 2005.
30. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 30 Government Why would we use the tools of Big Brother such as speed cameras?
To gain more revenue with more traffic tickets?
To make the general public more aware of societys rules and regulations?
To save lives?
31. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 31 Government Is it necessary to hide them in wheelie bins?
32. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 32 Government Positive aspects of IT in government
Internet electoral voting
Practised in some countries, e.g. Spain, USA
Internet voting increased turnout by 622% in Arizona
Taxation returns submitted electronically
33. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 33 International relations Governments no longer only disseminator of international information and controller of mass media.
Students and freedom fighters in Tiananmen Sq (1989) used email to let the world know that the Chinese governments version of events not quite true.
President Bush watched the bombs he ordered on Baghdad (1991) on CNN and got the TV report on the damage before reports from his generals.
34. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 34 Employment Traditionally, technology has replaced manual labour.
But new technologies now replacing lower-level management and entire job categories.
Intelligent milking machines
Even surgery
35. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 35 Employment Robotic Surgery
36. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 36 Population movement Industrial revolution
Technologies associated with the industrial revolution influenced a major population movement from rural areas to urban areas as people searched for jobs.
Growth in urban areas
Congestion, crime, slums
Correlation between density and crime rates
Experiment on behavioural sink (Calhoun, 1962)
32 rats, limited space, population explosion
Food and water supplied
Effects: pathological behaviour, infant mortality of 96%, changes in sexual behaviour, aggression, cannibalism
But was the behaviour due to density or crowding?
37. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 37 Population movement Density refers to the actual state of physical conditions.
Crowding refers to a psychological state - discomfort associated with having more people around than one would prefer.
Density doesnt always produce crowding:
e.g. football game, rock concerts, discos, celebrations
38. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 38 Population movement Proxemics (Hall, 1966)
Personal space, portable psychological bubble, uncomfortable when intruded or violated.
Hall classified distances maintained during interpersonal encounters - boundaries depend on the relationship between two people, setting and ethnicity.
4 zones of personal space
Intimate zone
Personal zone
Social zone
Public zone
39. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 39 Population movement Cultural differences (Freedman, 1975)
Europeans converse at a closer range than Australians
Arabs and South Americans converse almost toe to toe
Englishman and Mexican execute a complex dance
English thinks the Mexican is pushy, aggressive, overly enthusiastic, familiar
Mexican thinks the Englishman is cold, distant, unfriendly, defensive
Elevator - where do look when other people are in elevator?
Parking (study of 400 drivers) - territorial behaviour
Restaurants: which tables are occupied first?
40. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 40 Population movement Is there a relationship between crowding and our preference for communicating with people online? (Post Hoc ergo Propter Hoc)
Growth in cities and problems of crowding led to the development of large suburban areas surrounding cities.
Workers moved to suburbs and commuted.
IT is facilitating a potential migration back to rural areas.
People are making the choice of where to live on quality of life criteria rather than proximity to a company office building.
These people are telecommuting rather than commuting.
41. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 41 Population movement Parable of the Pizza Parlour
City
Highway
Shopping malls
Phone order
Online order
Commerce follows social and organisational trends towards telecommuting ..
42. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 42 Telecommuting Definition of telecommuting
Employees working at home or in other locations geographically separate from their companys main location.
What are the advantages/disadvantages?
43. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 43 Telecommuting Advantages
Avoid stressful peak-hour traffic
Less wear and tear on family car
Can be at work within minutes of waking up
Worker availability
Parents with young children
Physically disabled
Tax benefits of equipment and use of home
Energy conservation
Less lighting/heating/cooling in homes than large office buildings
44. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 44 Telecommuting Cheaper real estate for employers and employees
Employers: Decentralised head office
Employees: Outer suburbia or rural
Greater productivity
Study: 15% more productive
Greater responsibility when working at home
Flexible schedule - can work when raining, play when sunny
Reduction in petrol consumption/pollution
Estimated that if 1/7th of commuters in US were replaced by telecommuters, the country would not have to import any oil
Air pollution decrease
45. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 45 Telecommuting Disadvantages
Tax benefits of equipment and use of home
Security and insurance of equipment in home an added cost
Worker availability
Keeping disabled people at home to work may encourage society to forget their special needs (out of sight, out of mind)
Lack of space in the home
Young families, especially, dont have space for a separate office in the home
46. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 46 Telecommuting Workaholism
Closeness of work encourages compulsiveness
Isolation
Lack of social interaction with colleagues
Introversion - focus away from larger group towards self.
Antisocial - losing link with society and development of team spirit.
Technophobia
Difficulty in keeping up with advanced technology
Example: new applications, uploading files, smart phones
47. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 47 Telecommuting Reduction in status
Loss of secretarial assistance, prestigious office
Reduction in company loyalty
Home vs corporate building in CBD
More difficult to identify with company
Encourages sweat shops, cottage industries
Absence of enforced periodic rest
Piecework payment systems
Production costs forced on workers
Break in tradition
Daily life routine centres around at least one person in the household leaving home to go to work
48. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 48 Telecommuting Study on social consequences of Internet use (Stanford Institute for the Quantitative Study of Society, 2000).
(Also read Kraut et al. paper about Internet paradox).
4,113 adults in 2,689 households.
Findings:
People who use the Internet regularly feel that it has reduced their time with real human beings.
The Internet has increased the time people spend working at home without cutting back at the office.
The Internet has reduced TV viewing and newspaper reading.
The least educated and the oldest are least likely to have Internet access.
49. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 49 Telecommuting
50. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 50 Telecommuting How many telecommuters in Australia?
2003: ~250,000
Predicted that the number of mobile workers will be 3.4 million by 2008.
51. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 51 Telecommuting Survey of New South Wales businesses (May 2005) showed that
23% have employees that regularly telework work from home or on the road via remote links
24% said staff did this occasionally
16% of non-metropolitan businesses say main telework impediment is insufficient access to IT infrastructure.
52. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 52 Telecommuting Main benefits of regular telework
32% say higher productivity
21% say better customer service
15% say better staff retention
7% say lower office, travel & parking costs
27% say reintegration following injury, illness or were returning from parental leave.
Downsides
40% - telework away from the office was in addition to standard hours (day extenders)
51% - lack of interpersonal contact
13% - higher IT and communication costs
7% - poorer customer service
6% - lower productivity
53. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 53 Telecommuting What factors make telecommuting more productive?
54. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 54 Telecommuting Why telecommute?
55. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 55 Telecommuting What kind of jobs are suitable?
Those for which output is relatively self-contained, autonomous, e.g. sales representatives, software developers
56. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 56 Telecommuting Who is best suited?
Workers who are able to produce results independently, people who can balance home and work life.
57. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 57 Telecommuting How do you implement the program?
Establish clear expectation policies and decide up front who pays for what.
58. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 58 Job design What is important to you?
Job security
Full appreciation of work done
Promotion and growth in the organisation
Good wages
Interesting work
Good working conditions
Tactful discipline
Sympathetic help with personal problems
Personal loyalty to employees
A feeling of being in on things
59. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 59 Job design Answer the following on a scale of 1 (very little) to 7 (very much):
How much variety is there in your job? To what extent does the job require you to do many different things at work, using a variety of skills and talents?
To what extent does your job involve doing a whole and identifiable piece of work? Is the job a complete piece of work that has an obvious beginning and end? Or is it a small part of the overall piece of work, which is finished by other people or by automatic machines?
How significant or important is your job? Are the results of your work likely to affect significantly the lives or well-being of other people?
How much autonomy is there in your job? To what extent does the job permit you to decide on how to go about doing the work?
To what extent does the job itself provide you with feedback about your performance? Does the actual work itself provide clues about how well you are doing?
60. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 60 Job design MPS (motivating potential score):
[Q1 + Q2 + Q3]/3 x Q4 x Q5 = _______
[skill variety + task identity + task significance] / 3
x autonomy x feedback
200-343 high in motivating potential 120-199 moderate in motivating potential 0-119 low in motivating potential
61. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 61 Job design Job Characteristics Model Job Characteristics Model
A framework for understanding person-job fit through the interaction of core job dimensions with critical psychological states within a person.
A Job Diagnostic Survey was administered to 658 employees working on 62 different jobs in 7 different organisations (Hackman and Oldham, 1974).
Diagnostic Survey is a tool for measuring 5 core job characteristics and 3 critical psychological states.
Skill variety, task identity, and task significance give a sense of "meaningfulness.
Autonomy gives a sense of responsibility,
Feedback satisfies the need for knowledge.
62. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 62 Job design Job Characteristics Model Skill variety - the degree to which a job includes different activities and involves the use of multiple skills and talents of employee.
Task identity - the degree to which the job requires completion of a whole and identifiable piece of work.
Task significance - the degree to which the job has a substantial impact on the lives or work of other people.
Autonomy - the degree to which the job provides substantial freedom, independence and discretion of the employee in scheduling the work and in determining the procedures to be used in carrying it out.
Feedback from the job - the degree to which carrying out the work activities results in the employees obtaining direct and clear information about the effectiveness of his/her performance.
63. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 63 Job design Job Characteristics Model
64. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 64 Job design Needs hierarchy
65. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 65 Job design Needs hierarchy Progression hypothesis
Only ungratified needs motivate behaviour
The lowest level of ungratified needs in the hierarchy motivate behaviour
As a lower level of need is met, a person progresses to the next high level of need as a source of motivation
Problem:
Only one direction, no room for moving down the hierarchy.
66. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 66 Job design Theory X and Theory Y
67. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 67 Job design Theory X and Theory Y Two types of workers:
Those motivated by lower order needs
Those motivated by higher order needs
Employees should be treated according to whether they are motivated by lower order or higher order needs.
McGregor believed that the majority of American workers had satisfied lower order needs and were therefore motivated by higher order needs.
68. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 68 Job design Theory X and Theory Y Theory X
People are by nature indolent, they work as little as possible.
People lack ambition, dislike responsibility, prefer to be led.
People are inherently self-centred and indifferent to organisational needs.
People are by nature resistant to change.
People are gullible, not very bright.
Theory Y
Motivation and the capacity for assuming responsibility are within people, management needs to develop these characteristics.
Management needs to encourage people to achieve their own goals through organisational objectives.
69. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 69 Job design Two-factor theory Two-Factor Theory (Herzberg, 1982)
People have two sets of factors of needs
To avoid pain (Hygiene)
To grow psychologically (Motivation)
Management strategies need to be tailored to address each set of needs.
70. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 70 Job design Two-factor theory Hygiene factors: related to avoidance of pain
Factors that relate to context of the job
Improving working conditions, increasing salary and security, may not increase job satisfaction but could decrease dissatisfaction (making employees more neutral).
Motivation factors: related to desire for psychological growth
Factors that contribute to content of job
More responsibility, recognition, opportunities for advancement, changing the design of the work to make it more rewarding increases job satisfaction but may have no effect on dissatisfaction.
71. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 71 Job design Two-factor theory To motivate worker performance, managers need to maintain a clear distinction between the two sets of needs because changes in hygiene factors are not likely to affect productivity or morale.
72. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 72 Job design Scientific Management Modern Times (1936)
A story of individual enterprise, of humanity crusading in the pursuit of happiness.
73. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 73 Job design Scientific Management The film is a commentary on capitalist economy (a la Braverman, Labour and Monopoly Capital)
It focuses on the plight of the working man while showing the factory owner as unconcerned about the workers, big brother mentality, driven by the desire for profit (cf Orwells 1984).
In the opening frames, we see sheep herded into a run then workers emerging from a subway exit
Metaphor: industrial mechanisation is reducing humans to bestial anonymity.
74. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 74 Job design Scientific Management Charlies specialised task in the factory is to tighten gears.
Not only are the workers coerced into repetitious, soulless tasks, but the boss even tries to automate their food consumption.
The boss inspects a mechanical feeding machine, which is meant to leave their hands free to work and eliminate the lunch hour.
75. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 75 Job design Scientific Management The feeding machine goes wrong.
The message conveyed is that mechanisation is far from infallible and, what is more, utterly absurd when inflicted on human beings.
76. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 76 Job design Scientific Management That doesnt happen today???
The message in the film is even more relevant than it was more than 60 years ago.
It warns against standardisation, mechanisation and other facets of life which are counter to individuality.
77. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 77 Job design Scientific Management Electronic Banking Systems Inc (EBS) (Horowitz, 1996)
Processes donations to charitable groups such as the Doris Day Animal League, Greenpeace, National Organization for Women.
Manager Mr Edens
78. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 78 Job design Scientific Management Employees are monitored:
Women slit open envelopes and sort contents, they must process 3 envelopes/minute.
Women at keyboards must maintain 8500 strokes/hour.
Talking is forbidden, windows covered, adornments banned.
Mr Edens sits before a TV monitor that flashes images from 8 cameras.
Desks point toward the front of an enormous room, a manager keeps watch from a raised platform.
Supervisors watch from the back of the room.
79. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 79 Job design Scientific Management Its not a Big Brother attitude its more of a calming attitude cameras help deter would-be thieves.
We dont ask these people to think the machines think for them they dont have to make any decisions.
80. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 80 Job design Scientific Management Have we progressed from Taylorism???
The phone, computer and camera can monitor workers more closely than a foreman with a stop watch ever could.
Modern tools are being used to bring 19th century working conditions into the white-collar world the office of the future can look a lot like the factory of the past. (Garson, cited in Horowitz)
81. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 81 Job design Scientific Management Scientific Management is it all bad?
Work simplification allows workers of diverse ethnic and skill backgrounds to work together systematically.
Avoids linguistic problems as workers do not engage in problem solving or decision making activities
Popular in high immigration areas
Production efficiency
82. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 82 Summary How does technology affect society - describe some benefits and pitfalls.
What is the Technological Momentum Theory?
Describe the advantages/disadvantages of telecommuting. How should telecommuting be introduced into an organisation?
Explain the Job Characteristics Model.
What is the distinction between Maslows Needs Hierarchy, McGregors Theory X/Y and Herzbergs Two-Factor Theory? Which theory would you apply in an organisation?
What are the advantages/disadvantages of job specialisation (as in scientific management)?
83. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 83 References Baum A. and Greenberg C.: 1975, Waiting for a crowd: the behavioral and perceptual effects of anticipated crowding, Social Behavior and Personality, 32(4). 671-9.
Calhoun, J. B.: 1962, Population density and social pathology, Scientific American, 206, 139-148.
Cats-Baril, W. and Thompson, R.: 1997, Information Technology and Management, Irwin, Chicago.
Desor, J. A.: 1972, Toward a Psychological Theory of Crowding, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 21(1), 79-83.
England, G. W. and Harpaz, I.: 1990, How working is defined: National contexts and demographic and organizational role influences, Journal of Organizational Behavior, 11.
Gibson, J. L., Ivancevich, J. M. and Donnelly, J. H.: 2000, Organizations: Behavior, Structure, Processes, 10th edn, McGraw-Hill, Boston.
Haag, S., Cummings, M. and Dawkins, J.: 2000, Management Information Systems for the Information Age, 2nd edn, McGraw-Hill.
Hackman, J. R. and Oldham, G. R.: 1975, Development of the Job Diagnostic Survey, Journal of Applied Psychology, 159-70.
Hackman, J. R. and Oldham, G.: 1980, Work Redesign, Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA.
84. Fay Sudweeks ICT329 - Work and Society in Information Age - Semester 2, 2007 84 References Hall, E.: 1966, The Hidden Dimension, Doubleday, Garden City, NY.
Herzberg, F., Mausner, B. and Synderman, B.: 1959, The Motivation to Work, John Wiley, New York.
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