Dmitrijs Kravcenko

24: Learning by Knowledge-Intensive Firms — Bill Starbuck

February 21, 2017 Dmitrijs Kravcenko 0:10:48
We discuss another of the classics from the Journal of Management Studies, a paper from 1992 by William Starbuck, entitled “Learning by knowledge-intensive firms”. This time, we are very happy to be joined by the author of the work, Professor William Starbuck, one of the leading experts in Organization Theory, whose research covers an incredible number of areas of expertise, as shown in his biography. This paper is the first to discuss knowledge intensive firms, concept based on the economists’ notions of capital and labour intensive firms, and which are defined as those firms where “knowledge has more importance than other inputs” (p.715).Read More

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23: Influence of Institutions and Factor Markets — Mike Wright

February 7, 2017 Dmitrijs Kravcenko 0:10:02
This is an episode in our special series of Classics in the Journal of Management Studies. Mike Wright co-authored "Emerging multinationals from mid-range economies: the influence of institutions and factor markets" in 2013 that looked at the variety in the development of emerging economies and, through institution theory, increased understanding of competition between multinational economies and the respective national ones.Read More

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22: Human-Machine Reconfigurations – Lucy Suchman

January 17, 2017 Dmitrijs Kravcenko
We discuss Lucy Suchman’s book “Human-Machine Reconfigurations: Plans and Situated Action” that studied the interaction of humans with a state-of-art photocopier designed to be more user friendly and more helpful in solving user problems. Yet videos showed that people found it complicated and difficult. Suchman shows that these interaction problems are greatly due to the underpinning assumptions about users’ behavior, more specifically, due to the idea that humans’ actions are based on the following of plans, which she refutes.Read More

21: Small Research, Big Issues with Brian Pentland and Katharina Dittrich LIVE

December 17, 2016 Dmitrijs Kravcenko
What a treat! Joining us for this Special Episode from the fascinating 'Connections in Action' workshop at the University of Warwick are Katharina Dittrich and Brian Pentland (aka Doctor Decade)! To our great delight, Doctor Decade provided the live intro music for this episode and even performed one of his songs! Read More

20: High Reliability in Practice – USN Rear Admiral Tom Mercer

December 17, 2016 Dmitrijs Kravcenko 0:15:54
Based around a classic work by Weick and Roberts (1993) on Collective Mind in Organizations - where the authors observed and analyzed the way people on the deck of an aircraft carrier function in a collective manner - this episode brings you a discussion of how concepts of High Reliability (see also Episode 11) flesh out in real life!Read More

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19: Carnegie Mellon Series #2 – Exploration and Exploitation of Knowledge

November 8, 2016 Dmitrijs Kravcenko 0:11:35
In this episode, we read James March's widely cited article, “Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning,” published in 1991 in the journal Organization Science. In the paper, March considered the relationships between exploration of new ways of doing things and the exploitation of accepted, standard practices for organizational learning.Read More

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18: Gig Economy, Labor Relations and Algorithmic Management

October 18, 2016 Dmitrijs Kravcenko 0:20:07
We discuss an article by Sarah O'Connor exploring the impact of gig economy and algorithmic management on the employees - what their experience is like, how their work is structured, and whether being a gig economy employee is everything it panned out to be. Gig economy, as well as its benefits and limitations, has been subject to much debate in social policy and labour relations. Read More

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17: Tokenism – Rosabeth Moss Kanter

September 20, 2016 Dmitrijs Kravcenko 0:19:36
In this episode, we read Rosabeth Moss Kanter’s paper “Some Effects of Proportions on Group Life: Skewed Sex Ratios and Responses to Token Women” (1977) which features as a chapter in her classic book, "Men and Women of the Corporation." In this article, Kanter explores how interactions within a group or an organization are affected by the different numbers of people from distinct social types. In particular, she focuses on groups with skewed gender ratios: a high proportion of men and a small number of women – the tokens. The study is based on observations and interviews with sales team which had recently started to incorporate women in its workforce and shows how structural factors stifled their potential.Read More

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16: Contingency Theory – Lawrence and Lorsch

August 30, 2016 Dmitrijs Kravcenko 0:10:02
We discuss Paul Lawrence and Jay Lorsch's book “Organization and Environment: Managing Differentiation and Integration” and a series of papers which advance an open systems perspective on organizations. The contingency school postulates that there is not one best way to structure work or an organization. An optimum course of action depends – is contingent – on the external and local conditions in which an organization is inserted. Read More

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15: Doing Interesting Research with Jorgen Sandberg LIVE

August 9, 2016 Dmitrijs Kravcenko
What is it about research that makes it interesting? Or, rather, at which point does a study become interesting? We invited Mats Alvesson to discuss his 2013 book - Constructing Research Questions: Doing interesting research (co-authored with Jorgen Sandberg) who proposes that the focal point of what contributes to something being interesting is found way before any results or implications. The focal point of what makes a research interesting has to do with the assumptions that go into the design of that research. Read More