From: Critical Perspectives on Work, Management and Organization
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Vladimir Diatlov
Sent: 21 October 2004 02:12
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: CFP (Abstracts): IT, Organizations and Postmodernity at the
Critical Management Studies Conference 2005, University of Cambridge


4th International Critical Management Studies Conference
Cambridge University, UK
4th-6th July 2005, www.cms4.org

Call for Papers/Abstracts

Stream Title:  IT AND POSTMODERNITY FOR ORGANISATIONs AND SYSTEMs

Our aim is to provide space for scholars of technology, information systems
and the organisation who would like to build upon the advance of today's
organisational studies, consider which advantages we can claim specifically,
and make our work more commensurable for research colleagues and
approachable for practitioners.


We are now enjoying a collection of contributions of innovative
future-generative research from all around the globe, academic circles, and
industry.  The diversity joins around the matter of human understanding of
technological complexity.

The papers consider embeddedness of systems into organisational context and
new work practices, the other papers offer methodology advance as well as
name-generate definitions of technology through considering "what virtuality
is", "emotional digitisation" as well as what "events" and "history" are in
IS research.  Work of IT professionals and postmodernity in systems
design-e.g., information architecture, mind scripts, and views on users by
designers-comprise yet another layer of issues covered.  On top, there are
few examples of technological realisation of postmodernity in social life.

Seeing that socio-technical systems (and their analysis) are getting
fragmented and multi-layered under postmodern conditions, the stream remains
open to what helps to grasp what "postmodernity" is and how it can be
useful.  With contributions we have now we look forward to motivating
exchange.  If you got an idea, draft, or thought about interactive panel,
then the final submission date of November 15th is a chance for you to focus
those thoughts and then discuss your work with right people and atmosphere.

Original Stream Description:

Purposive use of IT demands evermore knowledge, cognitive abilities, work
relations and effort.  "Gains from technology are proportional to quality
and exploitation of human capital" is management maxim nowadays.  But is
information technology helpful as expected?  Postmodernity appears real
through problems with new complexity levels and work fragmentation, but are
the benefits of mobility, service agility and globality real as well?  How
much time did you spend in a queue or on the phone waiting for a bank
associate browsing systems?  He might as well take another call, you do not
know.  And their supporting technology traces queue waiting, so they need to
appear good at that.

Ideas about postmodernity are developed in sociology and organisation
studies, but postmodernity is realised through and by high technologies.
Postmodern perspective of organisation theory emphasises phenomena of high
degree of reflexivity, deconstruction and reframing as well as fragmentation
of actual cultures.  Naturally, observations of organisational change and
ideas of postmodern perspective shall be brought back to studies of
technology and information systems.  Understandings of what "postmodernity"
is come from critical studies, phenomenology, the breed of socio-technical
approaches such as actor-network one, and even complexity science-all
approaches are welcome.

We invite empirically grounded as well as conceptual papers that develop
frameworks, go down to technological nuance and reveal fresh insight from
business-as-usual practice.  We are open and innovative, at the same time we
adhere to academic customs and apply double blind peer review for the stream
to be fully refereed.  The following issue areas are indications, not
limits:-

1. IS fundamentals and methodological advances. Postmodern theory
applications: how organisational/professional discourses affect use of
technology and how technological discourses (e.g., semantic web, information
architecture, or e-science) affect the organisation. Content/textual
analyses and their application in IS design/notations;
decomposition/deconstruction analyses. "Rules of truth" for knowledge
formation; metaphors in scientific methods (e.g., complexity); autopoiesis.

2. Technology-driven critical issues: change of business models and even
industry structures with its OB implications.  Practices of dealing with
ubiquity, agility, ambience and pervasiveness of technology and their
outcomes for (a) organisational design, for example, multiple levels of
end-user support depending upon complexity of an issue  or ownership of
software development by business, and (b) the workplace, for example,
activity fragmentation, distributed and mediated participation, use of new
media/virtual artefacts.  Procedurisation of innovation and utility of
management standards and modelling using formal methods, such as  ISO
quality, UML, soft systems or system dynamics; sophistication of managerial
control and automation of physical control upon time, space and information
access/communication.

3. Empowerment stands out as an important but slowed down discussion about
politics of technological change and power redistribution if any. Why
capabilities and opportunities enabled with technology do and do not
empower?  What kinds of power will make the postmodern organisation most
productive, be it a network, federation or guild?  How the substance of
"what the organisation is" is affected by high technologies?

We aim to provide reviews of value to authors who are welcome from all
stages of their research and industry careers and aim to develop a journal
special issue. We welcome alternatives, panel discussion proposals and
innovative use of time.

Convenors (by last name, *corresponding convenors):
Pratyush Bharati, College of Management, University of Massachusetts, Boston
*Vladimir Diatlov, School of Management, University of Southampton
*Anita Greenhill, Manchester School of Management, UMIST
John Haynes, College of Business Administration, University of Central
Florida
Lynette Kvasny, School of Information Sciences and Technology, Penn State
University
Damian O'Doherty, Manchester School of Management, UMIST
Duane Truex, J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University

Timeline (extended only once!):
Abstracts/proposals to the convenors            15 November 2004
Feedback to authors                                     1 December 2004
Full papers to the convenors                            1 April 2005

Submissions are to be sent by e-mail to [log in to unmask] with a copy
to [log in to unmask]

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