Search results

For various reasons many organisations are currently introducing the new ways of working (NWW). By now, this occurs on such a large scale, that it becomes relevant to investigate whether the new way of working leads to the best way of working: are the measurements taken by NWW really resulting in pursued outcomes? NWW claims to make working more effective, efficient but also more enjoyable for the organisation as well as the employee (Bijl, 2007). In practice, it seems that more pragmatically reasons lead to changes in the way of working. In many cases this concerns the elimination of fixed workplaces, combined with the possibility to work from home or elsewhere, facilitation of working with new ICT, and establishing an organisational culture which aims at employee autonomy and goal attainment.

To answer the question whether the NWW approach offers sufficient tools to provide effective solutions for occurring objectives, we compare NWW with a scientifically established construct regarding work design: Sociotechnical systems (STS) (Kuipers et al., 2010). We chose STS not only because it is a comprehensive approach to work design (all aspects of managing and organising are addressed), but also because the ambition is similar to NWW. STS considers, next to the ‘quality of the organisation’ (which is central to most work design approaches), also the ‘quality of work’ and ‘quality of employment relationships’ as outcome criteria. With incorporating the latter two, STS distinguishes itself from many other work design approaches and fits to the philosophy of NWW as mentioned above. Important foundations for the NWW approach are the quality of work as well as the willingness to organise teamwork.

The comparison of NWW and STS reveals as most important finding that the NWW approach misses a coherent theoretical foundation for the design of organisations. NWW focuses on loose aspects of organisations, like workspace, work design, management, organisational culture and competences. This is also evident in the scientific research focused on NWW: many studies examine the impact of a specific measure (e.g. introduction of flexible workspaces) on specific aspects of the organisation (e.g. social cohesion). Due to the lack of a work design approach no framework exists to test whether the introduction of NWW fits to the organisation and how work is organised and divided. It is our statement that NWW can only be effective once a good theoretical foundation is provided for NWW and once a clear work design approach is deducted.

Simultaneously, the NWW practices provide so many relevant practical experiences on skills and information underlining the potential of STS. Currently, STS mostly is focused on work in industrial organisations. STS and NWW have the potential to mutually extend each other, while tools may be developed with which new ways of working lead to the best way of working for organisations.

The digital transformation calls for new thinking about sociotechnical systems design (STSD) because it has enabled new kinds of work systems to proliferate. We identify a new class of sociotechnical system, called the Platform-STS (P-STS), which complements the existing Industrial- and Knowledge-STSs. The P-STS has distinctive characteristics compared to the other classes because it reaches directly into ecosystems and is, therefore, “distributed,” and because it is governed through market mechanisms rather than hierarchy or clan mechanisms. We introduce a new design principle, redundancy of connectivity, to ground design thinking about the P-STS. We demonstrate why fundamental STSD principles need to be reconfigured, suggest how they might do so, and conclude that socioecological designs and interventions may need to supplant sociotechnical ones.

The decades‐old paradox of great software promise and its disappointing practice in organizations has been recently increased by the appearance of “enterprise‐wide” systems (often called “enterprise resource planning” or ERP). Obtaining effective user involvement has been problematic in the past and it promises to become worse in the future with larger, more comprehensive software applications. Business process re‐engineering (BPR) adds to this significant problem by exhorting managers to undertake massive change ‐ including new information systems ‐ using autocratic methods. The confluence of management interest in organization change and in new technology has excited the global industrial community, but it has also disappointed in delivering on its promise. Sociotechnical systems (STS) design combines user‐involvement in design with structural change and the effective use of technology. The present paper explores the successful application of STS, with its local participation in organization design, to a centralized and autocratic application of BPR and SAP enterprise‐wide software.

The purpose of the study is to describe the characteristics of the team designs in a call centre in the United Kingdom (UK) and The Philippines (RP). As the design of teams is influenced mainly by sociotechnical system theory and lean production, these are used as landmarks in the comparison.

The primary sources of information were recorded interviews with team members and their supervisors and observation of team operations. Outgoing personnel were also interviewed. Actual day‐to‐day operation of the teams was observed over a period of three months.

The case studies exhibit the characteristics of diverse production models in service firms. The UK case study was approaching the STS model whereas the RP case study was approaching the LP model but veering more to the mass production model of service firms.

The mass production model is similar to the LP model in the following dimensions: type of coordination, workplace, leadership style, job enrichment, work pace, work method, grouping of tasks, degree of seclusion and cycle time. It differed from the LP model as there are dimensions which are non‐existent in the mass production model. These are interdependence, job enrichment, job enlargement and motivation.

Although the mass production team design is acceptable in the manufacturing sector, it is doubtful whether it will work effectively in the service sector. Practising managers of service entities have the responsibility of devising appropriate human resource programs to mitigate the negative effects of the mass production model. Similarly, in adopting the STS model, management has to ensure that the autonomy which is the selling feature of STS is not being abused at the expense of quality service.

The study presents the differences between the STS, LP and mass production team models of service firms with respect to four sociotechnical principles, i.e. minimal critical specification, boundaries, multifunctionality and human values. The practical dimensions of these differences are presented and discussed.

The field of organization design is changing rapidly, reflecting contributions from managers and diverse organizational consultants. One of the most recent developments is in the design of non‐routine systems. Explores non‐routine systems design from a socio‐technical systems (STS) perspective. Includes a brief discussion of non‐routine systems and an examination of alternative methods for diagnosing and redesigning organizations composed of knowledge workers. The results of two STS case studies provide new learnings and point to special design principles for non‐routine systems. Concludes with implications for both managers and STS consultants interested in management of knowledge workers.

This article presents the design and application of a Modified Sociotechnical Systems (MoSTS) methodology for holistic analysis of complex technical processes. Successes and failures of process redesign initiatives have demonstrated the strong influence of human elements on outcomes. (Sociotechnical Systems) STS provides a foundation for structured analysis and redesign of complex processes which emphasizes human aspects in process redesign. The MoSTS methodology is developed from STS research and practice and applied to analyze a complex technical process in the research and development sector. MoSTS is shown to be an effective methodology to facilitate analysis for process redesign, particularly where human influences may have a significant impact on success. The article concludes with limitations and implications for process analysis based on the MoSTS methodology application.

This paper explores the added value of chaordic systems Thinking for organizational renewal, which is defined as transformation instead of reformation. The exploration is presented in the form of an antagonistic dialogue between two “voices,” which develop commentaries from distinct theoretical inspirations, namely chaordic systems thinking (CST) and socio‐technical systems design (STS). This paper contains part I of the conversation. In the course of the dialogue it becomes obvious that CST both includes and transcends STS, and that it is firmly based in democratic values.

This study aims to obtain the speed and angle during safe and comfortable standing of elderly people. With the advancement of society, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the elderly to sit-to-stand (STS) independently and comfortably in a safe and comfortable manner. Safety is essentially a prerequisite for the elderly to achieve a comfortable STS. The speed, angle and power of the STS process can all affect safe STS. From the standpoint of health-care delivery and administration, comfortable STS can be realized easily by addressing the safety issues during STS.

This paper summarizes the research progress on speed and angle during safe and comfortable standing of older people. The authors analyzed the speed and angle of the STS using the Vicon optical gait acquisition system and plantar pressure sensor to find the appropriate angle and speed thresholds.

The center of gravity movement is a prerequisite for the elderly to achieve a comfortable STS. The authors found that the standing speed during the STS process should not be higher than 103.8 mm/s so that the elderly can stand comfortably and safely (safe and dangerous speeds are 72.8 mm/s and 125.2 mm/s). The limitations of waist angle, waist angle speed and the acceleration are also obtained.

This paper analyzes and summarizes the research status of speed and angle during safe and comfortable standing of elderly people, which is essentially a prerequisite for the elderly to achieve a comfortable STS. These results can lay the foundation for the development of assistive devices and related technologies that meet the needs of older adults.

Integrating organizational development (OD) and technological intervention into a total system is one of the more difficult tasks for an executive or consultant to execute. Organizations are profoundly affected by technological advancements and require a flexible customized change model to fit the social network of the specific organization into which technology is being introduced. Examines sociotechnical systems (STS) theory and presents classical organization theories of Burns and Stalker, Woodward, Perrow, Thompson and Trist to develop a contemporary OD intervention in terms of self‐regulating work groups (self‐leading or self‐managing teams) performing interrelated technological tasks. Finally, presents some pointers for executives and consultants in assessing STS interventions via 31 diagnostic questions intended to identify interactions among elements of the system.

The purpose of this paper is to : first, examine information systems (IS) infusion from a user commitment perspective, and second, examine the formation of user commitment toward the use of IS in terms of job design.

This study adopts a survey approach with structural equation modeling to test the developed research model and hypotheses.

A survey of 236 enterprise system users shows that user commitment has a positive effect on IS infusion. User commitment, in turn, is influenced by task technology fit, technology self-efficacy, and task autonomy. Further mediation and direct effects to IS infusion are explored.

This study offers implications for research, such as explaining a driver of IS infusion; and extending commitment theory by finding antecedents of user commitment.

The results of this study offer suggestions to management on how to improve IS infusion in terms of user commitment and, consequently, how to develop user commitment based on the socio-technical system (STS) design.

The study highlights the critical impact of technology autonomy on IS infusion. An individual user’s authority in using and regulating the system is required for IS infusion.

This study has proposed a theoretical model of IS infusion based on commitment and socio-technical job design factors.