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Designing Non-Routine Knowledge Work

Designing Non-Routine Knowledge Work. Carolyn Ordowich and Douglas Austrom, Ph.D. Five Forces Shifting the Nature of Work Gratton. TECHNOLOGY. Technological capability increases exponentially Five billion become connected The cloud becomes ubiquitous Continuous productivity gains

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Designing Non-Routine Knowledge Work

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  1. Designing Non-Routine Knowledge Work Carolyn Ordowich and Douglas Austrom, Ph.D.

  2. Five Forces Shifting the Nature of WorkGratton TECHNOLOGY • Technological capability increases exponentially • Five billion become connected • The cloud becomes ubiquitous • Continuous productivity gains • Social participation increases • The world’s knowledge becomes digitalized • Mega-companies & micro-entrepreneurs emerge • Ever-present avatars and virtual worlds • Rise of cognitive assistants • Technology replaces jobs ENERGY RESOURCES SOCIETY • Families become rearranged • The rise of reflexivity • The role of powerful women • The balanced man • Growing distrust of institutions • The decline of happiness • Passive leisure increases • Energy prices increase • Environmental catastrophes displace people • A culture of sustainability begins to emerge CONTEXT OF WORK • 24/7 global world • Emerging economies • Ascendance of Gen Y • Increasing longevity • Some Baby Boomers grow old poor • Global migration increases • China & India decades of growth • Frugal innovation • Global educational powerhouses • World becomes urban • Continued financial bubbles and crashes DEMOGRAPHY and LONGEVITY • Regional underclass emerge GLOBALIZATION

  3. Shifting Nature of Work Change in nature of work TaskUncertainty / Ambiguity Effectiveness Innovation Quality Flexibility Service Sustainability Efficiency • Degree/nature of interdependence • Volatility • Virtuality - time zones, ICT, language, geography • X-boundaries - functional/ discipline, organizational, sector, national, cultural Mixed Models H Knowledge Work Complexity Mixed Models “Manual” Work L Efficiency Non-routine Routine

  4. What is Non-Routine Knowledge Work? • The primary task of knowledge work is non-routine problem solving that requires a combination of convergent, divergent, and creative thinking (Reinhardt, Schmidt, Sloep, &Drachsler 2011). Knowledge work is typically non-repeated, unpredictable, and emergent. • Knowledge work primarily involves the management of unstructured or semi-structured problems (Keen & Morton, 1978) characterized by imprecise information inputs, varying degrees of detail, extended or unfixed time horizons, dispersed information formats, and diffuse or general scope (Pava, 1983).

  5. Evolution of Sociotechnical SystemsThree Waves Wave One: 1950’s-1970’s Wave Two: 1970’s-1990’s Wave Three: 1990’s-Present

  6. Evolution of Sociotechnical SystemsWave One: 1950’s-1970’s * Albert Cherns, 1976

  7. Evolution of Sociotechnical SystemsWave Two: 1970’s-1990’s * Cal Pava, 1983

  8. Evolution of Sociotechnical SystemsWave Three: 1990’s- Present ***Interconnected, Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous

  9. STS Designing for Non-linear Knowledge Work • Design By Principles • With new technologies, design is increasingly becoming the product itself created through a complex network of entities. It is the ideas behind the products (now made more and more by machines) that make the difference between success and failure. • Ideas can’t be organized the way physical objects can; people must be inspired to create and innovate. • Competitive advantage is becoming an issue of not just actions, but beliefs. People are most likely to coalesce into groups of avid participants (high-performing employees, buyers, consumers, cause-backers, etc.) if the organization taps their strongest interests, talents and temperament through principles. • Design By Context • Contexts are simple maps or frames that help us deal with complexity. They help to describe and handle certain parts of reality, but are not the reality itself. You can never fully understand complexity, but you can frame it within a certain context to solve a particular problem. The paradox is that by keeping the design frame simple, we can tackle complexity at every level.

  10. Critical Design Elements for Designing Non-Routine Knowledge Work By Principles Informed Decisions and Action New Insights Pool of Shared Knowledge Deliberations* Coordinating System* * Based on STS values and principles.

  11. Three Contexts For Design Vertically Integrated Decentralized Organization Value Realization Network Issue-based Ecosystem vs. Large institutional programs vs. Vertically integrated centralized organization vs.. Traditional Supply Chains

  12. Key Unit of Analysis -> Deliberations • Deliberations are patterns of exchange and communication in which people engage with themselves or others to reduce the equivocality of a problematic issue. • The salient elements of a deliberation include the … • Topics or problematic issues facing the social entity about which people reflect and communicate • Forums in which they occur which may structured, semi-structured, or unstructured or ad hoc • Participants both those who are currently involved and those who ideally should be involved in the deliberation. • Coalitions whose purpose is to obtain the best outcomes from the inputs of multiple perspectives, a novel organizing principle, which pushes the static positions of the organization chart into the background. Pava, 1983

  13. Knowledge Work - the R&D Continuum R 1 R 2 D 1 D 2 D 3 D 4 Pure Research Work DON’T KNOW WHAT we are looking for DON’T KNOW HOW to carry out the research Applied Research Work DON’T KNOW WHAT (i.e. end state or objective) KNOW HOW to carry out the research Exploratory Development Work KNOW WHAT DON’T KNOW HOW to achieve it Advanced Development Work KNOW WHAT DON’T KNOW HOW IN DETAIL to achieve it Start-Up (pilot plants, beta testing) Development Work KNOW WHAT KNOW HOW CONCEPTUALLY to achieve it Scale-Up (volume & costs) Development Work KNOW WHAT KNOW HOWOPERATIONALLY to achieve it

  14. Deliberations Across the Knowledge Generation Continuum MYSTERIES HEURISTICS ALGORITHMS R1-R2 Breakthroughs D1-D2 Enhancements and Extensions D3-D4 Optimization of Execution • Sense Making • Solution Generation • High Uncertainty • Exploratory • Focus on effectiveness • Don’t know WHAT, don’t know HOW • Informal mutual adjustment • Value Realization • Solution Delivery • Low Uncertainty • Prescriptive • Focus on efficiency • Know WHAT, know HOW • Negotiated plans, SOPs, results

  15. Coordination Complexity Across the Breakthrough-Optimization Continuum Mystery Heuristic Algorithm

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