The ideas and examples referenced below are notes compiled by Robert Keel from his reading of Volti, Rudi. 2014. Society and Technological Change. 7th edition. New York, NY: Worth Publishers. They are intended for classroom use.

Organizations and Technological Change

• Organizations — dominant part of modern life.
• How do organizational structures affect technology.

Technology as a Cause of Organizational Structure

• An organization’s structure is strongly influenced by the central technology the organization uses.
• Robert Blauner (page 367) studied relationship between technology used by industry and its effect on the workers.
  1. Printing — industry that required great skill from the worker.
  • Thus, worker had significant autonomy.
  2. Textile Mills — machines did all the work.
     • Workers merely cogs in the system. Had little autonomy.
  3. Automotive industry--assembly line.
     • Rigid scheduling--workers part of the "machine."
  4. Continuous production: chemical manufacturing and oil refining.
     • Need worker involvement and initiative--no precise scheduling or regulation--worker freedom
• Joan Woodward (page 369)—  how different technologies affect organizational structures.
  • Not concerned with individual technologies, but with general manufacturing processes: structural variables; hierarchy, ratio of managers to other workers, flexibility.
    1. Unit and small batch production — e.g. shipbuilding.
    2. Large-batch and mass production — e.g. automobile manufacturing.
    3. Process production — e.g. production of chemical/petroleum products.
  • Each category distinguished by differences in technological complexity and the extent to which uncertainty can be reduced through the application of routine procedures.
  • #1 and #3 required far less rigid planning — workers had more freedom.
  • #2 required very specific rules, routinization— workers had less freedom, hierarchical structure.
  • A successful organization is one that uses structures and procedures that are appropriate to the productive technology employed.
• Charles Perrow (page 369)—  considered the degree of variability of raw materials processed by organization  and the extent to which problem-solving procedures can be routinized.
  1. Perrow’s definition of technology— it is a way of doing things.
  2. Perrow not concerned with specific material stuff used in technology but rather, overall organizational effectiveness.
  3. Organizational structure is (should be) based on the particular qualities of the raw materials (iron ore or people) used and the technologies used to process these materials.
  4. Issue of "exceptional cases."
  5. Analyzability--how much routinization is possible or desirable?
     • Few exceptions and analyzable: mass-production, custodial institutions.
     • Few exceptions and unanalyzable: craft, custom-made, most schools.
     • Many exceptions and analyzable: engineering, heavy equipment manufacturing, medical practice.
     • Many exceptions and unanalyzable: scientific research, aerospace industry, the arts.
  6. Issue of organizational effectiveness--use of right organization based on inputs and outputs.

Technology as a Consequence of Organizational Structure

• Organizations can shape technological change through their ability to affect the supply and demand for a particular technology.

An organization responsible for a sizable portion of an industry can greatly influence the technological development of the industry as a whole when it creates (or refrains from creating) new products. (page 370) (The Browser Wars) (NY Times coverage of Microsoft's Anti-Trust Case)

• On what basis do organizations make technological choices?
• Little research done on this issue.
• Technologies are often seen as independent entities.

"A technology might be selected not because of its innate superiority, but because it meets the needs of the power holders within that organization." (Ibid.)

• Thus, the organization itself creates the technology or the need for it.
• There may be several technologies that could meet a particular need, but often one in particular is selected because it meets the goals of those in power.
  • "How the Refrigerator Got Its Hum."
  • Electrical power in the USA.
  • David Noble: "America by Design," numerically controlled machine tools. Reduced skilled labor and the decision-making power of machinists.
• The above questions will take on greater importance as computers and automated systems are used more in the production process.

Organizations and New Information Technology

• In the 19th century, organizations expanded and improved functioning through the use of the "new" technologies of communication (typewriters, telegraphs, telephones, carbon paper, etc.).
• In the late 20th and early 21st century, revolutionary changes in information technology have had dramatic effect on organizations.
  • Computers
  • Database systems
  • word processing
  • faxes
  • the Internet
  • email and texting
  • Mobile devices
  • Videoconferencing
• These innovations have speeded up operations, reduced costs, increased access to information, and intensified oversight. They have also altered internal and external communications.
• The impact on organizational structure is still being analyzed--other factors, beyond technology, exert influence.
  • Decentralization (or more centralization): issues of power and control.
  • Eroding of hierarchies via email and texting: variability of managerial response.
• New technologies do not necessarily supplant existing ones.

New Technology and Organizations: social networks, the internet, mobile computing. (Rainie, Lee and Barry Wellman. 2012. Networked: The New Social Operating System. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press)

• The globalization of work
• From "atom-work" to "bit-work": Shift from making things to selling, describing and analyzing (Richard Florida's "creative class": USA from 22% in 1960 to 43% in 2006)
• The internet and the mobile revolution have accelerated the shift to "networked work." Connections and collaboration.
• Distanciation. Sharing, communicating across vast distances: work form anywhere and at any time.
• Mobility: "road-warriors"
• The Networked Organization: reduction in hierarchies, formalization of informal processes, variety and sharing--breakdown of boundaries. "Switchboard" versus "Fish Bowl" operation, working on multiple projects an in multiple teams, blurring the home-work boundary.

Interorganizational Relations and Technological Development

• No business develops ALL of its technologies. It must rely on others for some of its supplies
• Thus, technological change is not solely the result of independent organizations, but rather the relationship between many organizations
• In these relationships, technological change can either grow or stagnate
  • The Automobile Industry:
    • Industry historically dependent on many sources for supplies
    • Suppliers called OEMs (original equipment manufacturers)
    • Traditionally, relationship between OEM and Auto was non-cooperative
    • OEMs were uncertain of how their products were being used
    • This relationship is one reason why American cars fared so poorly against Japanese
    • Japan relies on much more cooperation between auto and OEM
    • American Auto beginning to cooperate more with OEMs.

"...The creation of effective working relationships between separate organizations is an essential element of technological and economic vitality." (page 279)

Organizational Size and Technological Innovation

• Technological innovation requires commitment of personnel, money, and equipment
• As technology grows more complex, it is difficult to imagine that the "mom and pop" workshops of yesterday could produce the technology of today.
• Along the above reasoning, it would seem that only large firms would be the best source for technological output
• It is true that large scale factories will produce most technology BUT:
• Technological innovations will not necessarily emerge from these sources
• The individual will still be a source of innovation — but will probably rely on large firms to make his or her innovation a technical reality

Entrepreneurs and Organizations

• Organizations require the work of many people in order to function
• Organizations rely on three bureaucratic principles:
  1. Specialization
  2. Formalization (use of rules and regulations)
  3. Hierarchical authority
• Although bureaucracies are often viewed as inefficient there is no reason why they should be
• Bureaucracies have limitations — thrive best with routine, which can be an enemy to innovation
• Inventors need freedom, not regulation

"There is a basic incompatibility of the new inventor and the large corporation. Large companies have well-developed planning mechanisms which need to know at the beginning of a new project how much it will cost, how long it will take, and above all what it’s going to do. None of these answers may be apparent to the inventor." (pages 381-382) Jack Kilby, co-inventor of the integrated circuit

Questions? (page 383)

1. If you directed a research laboratory how would you structure work so as to allow for creativity, but inhibit the wasting of time on unproductive tangents?  How would you distinguish between productive and creative ideas and potentially unproductive ideas?
2. Many key industries are dominated by a handful of large firms.   This tendency has become common in light of consolidations and buy outs.  How might this trend impact technological innovation?  What may its impact be on overall economic development?
3. In 1986 Steve Jobs was eased out as the president of Apple. Why? About 2 years ago he was rehired. Why?
4. How might you design a research project that investigates the extent of managerial control over the selection of a firm's technologies? What sort of industries would be particularly suitable for such a project?
5. Why have many organizational analysts fastened on information as an organization's key resource? To what extent do your experiences with organizations reflect this idea? How does the ability to control the flow of information reflect and reinforce power relations within an organization?
6. Who comes to mind when you think of present-day entrepreneurs? To what extent are they similar to the classic entrepreneurs of the past who propelled industrial innovation? Does today's economic and political environment promote or retard entrepreneurial efforts?

• Back to Chapter 18

• Back to the Role of Experts

• On to the role of Government (Chapter 20)

URL: http://www.umsl.edu/~keelr/280/soctechchange/soctech19.htm
Owner: Robert O. Keel: rok@umsl.edu
Last Updated: Monday, March 7, 2016 11:34