| Learning objectives |
- Identify and explain the perspectives on technology and
organization presented in the course, including their underlying
assumptions and approaches
- Compare and contrast the perspectives with respect to the
analysis of technology and organization in a digital world.
- Apply the perspectives on real cases to analyze technologies in
their social and organizational context.
- Evaluate practical implications resulting from the interplay
between technology and organization and propose improvements at an
independent and reflected academic level
|
| Examination |
|
Technology and
Organization in a Digital World:
|
| Exam
ECTS |
7,5 |
| Examination form |
Home assignment - written product |
| Individual or group exam |
Individual exam |
| Size of written product |
Max. 15 pages |
| Assignment type |
Written assignment |
| Duration |
72 hours to prepare |
| Grading scale |
7-point grading scale |
| Examiner(s) |
One internal examiner |
| Exam period |
Summer |
| Make-up exam/re-exam |
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
|
Description of the exam
procedure
The final examination and assessment are based on an individual
written report (15 pages). The topic of the final examination is a
case study that is to be critically analyzed using the perspectives
discussed in the class. The instructors will provide the case study
material to the students after the final lecture. The case study
may also be supplemented with additional material provided to the
students in class. The re-take exam takes place in August. The
re-take exam is the same examination form as the regular
exam.
|
|
| Course content, structure and pedagogical
approach |
|
Developing and implementing information systems (IS) in and
across organizational contexts is a rather multifaceted challenge
that does not only involve their design, but also the development
of supportive social frameworks, institutional structures as well
as normative conventions that complement and reinforce their
adoption and diffusion at large. Therefore, investigating the
technological nature of IS without examining their prevalent social
aspects yields an incomplete and somewhat shortsighted
understanding of the underlying issues at stake.
Thus far, the prevailing discourse in IS has had a techno-centric
orientation in spite of the far-reaching social ramifications of
these systems. The aim of this course is to move beyond this focus
and to include additional ways of describing and analyzing the
interrelationship between technology and people in organizations.
The course will enable the students to unfold how organizational
life is constructed and managed by technology and how social
relations influence the technology's ability to contribute to a
company's success. We do so by exploring social,
organizational, and technological aspects of information systems by
building on various perspectives, such as technological
determinism, actor-networks, social construction of technology,
institutional structures, sensemaking processes, and other
approaches used in organization studies. In particular, the course
builds on perspectives that explain, apply, build on, and/or
compare social aspects of information systems.
The unifying themes that we wish to discuss in the course are: what
assumptions about the design, implementation, and use of
information systems are embedded in the perspectives? What are the
strengths and weaknesses of these perspectives in terms of
understanding the interplay between technology and organization,
including individual and collective practices with respect to the
design and use of technology? How can the different perspectives be
applied to real cases of technology use in organizations and what
are the practical implications? How do social relations influence
the technology's ability to contribute to a company's
success?
The course's development of personal
competences:
This course will develop the students' skills in analyzing
how information systems impact social relations and organizational
structures in organizations, and how social relations influence the
design, implementation and adoption of IS. In this respect, the
course will enhance the students' understanding of the
complexity of information systems.
|
| Description of the teaching methods |
| The main teaching methods will be lectures and
case discussions in class. |
| Feedback during the teaching period |
Feedback to students is designed into the course
through case discussions every second week. Students will work on
case analyses in groups, allowing for peer feedback. Students
present their case analyses results and also receive teacher
feedback.
The course also includes guest presentations by industry
executives, providing feedback and reflection opportunities on how
the perspectives covered during the course inform practice.
|
| Student workload |
| Lectures |
30 hours |
| Preparation for lectures |
80 hours |
| Preparation for case discussions |
12 hours |
| Exam |
72 hours |
| Preparation for exam |
12 hours |
| Total |
206 hours |
|
| Expected literature |
|
The literature can be changed before the semester starts.
Students are advised to find the final literature on
Canvas before they buy the books.
The course readings include academic peer-reviewed articles on
the perspectives covered during the course (such
as technological determinism, social construction of
technology, etc.).
For example:
- Orlikowski W. and Iacono S. 2001. Desperately Seeking the IT in
IT Research: a Call to Theorizing the IT Artefact. Information
Systems Research, 12(2), pp. 121-134
- Winner L., 1980. Do Artifacts Have Politics? Daedalus, 109(1),
pp. 121-136
- Bijker W. 1995. King of the Road: The Social Construction of
the Safety Bicycle. In “Of Bicycles, Bakelite and Bulbs: Toward a
Theory of Sociotechnical Change”, Bijker W., MIT Press,
pp.19-100
- Weick, K. E., K. M. Sutcliffe, et al. 2005. Organizing and the
Process of Sensemaking. Organization Science, 16(4), pp.
409-421
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