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Dialectics of Collective Minding: Contradictory Appropriations of Information Technology in a High-Risk Project
Abstract and Figures
In unpredictable and unforgiving environments, organizations need to act with care and reliability, often referred to as collective mindfulness. We present a theory-generating, interpretative field study of a highly complex and successful building project by architect Frank O. Gehry. We argue that what has been labeled collective mindfulness is only possible through a dialectic process of collective minding, in which organizational actors simultaneously exhibit elements of being mindful and mindless. Our analysis reveals that collective minding emerges from struggling with contradictions in the five elements of mindfulness. We argue that when actors struggle with these dialectic tensions, the same information technology capabilities are enacted as multiple, contradictory technologies-in-practice. Implications for the further study of collective minding and the appropriation of IT capabilities are discussed.
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... Thus, the elements constituting the duality are inter-related and connected in a pushpull relationship (Bledow et al., 2009) with movement in one having a corresponding effect on the other. Dialectics therefore emphasizes the dynamic interplay of opposing poles (the 'thesis' and 'antithesis'; Carlo et al., 2012) which sees "tensions emerge and evolve, dissolve or reproduce themselves in the context of ongoing social interaction within and among social systems" (Langley & Sloan, 2011, p. 262). Integration, or synthesis, attempts to merge the elements constituting the duality into a combined element, thus stressing similarities. ...
... The introduction of partnering has energised and made salient various paradoxical tensions between HR, HRBPs and LMPs (Research Questions One and Two), confirming many of the inherent tensions and conflicts previously identified (Gubbins & Garavan, 2016;Keegan et al., 2018;Pohler & Willness, 2014;Roche & Teague, 2012), and that -despite intentions otherwise -HRBPs are often seen as the first point of contact for all HR issues (Keegan et al., 2018). From the perspective of paradox theory, the two relationships of interest are operating as a duality, each is implicating the other in a dynamic fashion (Bledow et al., 2009;Carlo et al., 2012), and there is interdependence and contradiction between each (Smith & Lewis, 2011; Research Question Three). ...
... Conversely, a withdrawal from this operational focus on the part of HRBPs may help restore HR-HRBP relationships, but at the expense of HRBP-LMP relationship quality. Specifically, the two relationships are operating dialectically (Bledow et al., 2009;Smith & Lewis, 2011) and are connected in a push-pull relationship within an operationally focused frame of reference where movement in one has a corresponding effect on the other (Carlo et al., 2012). ...
Human resource business partnering is an established mechanism for the advancement of strategic HR. While much research has reported on relationships between partners (HRBPs) and line managers, relationships between partners and other aspects of the HR function are less well understood, as is the interplay between HRBP‐LMP and HRBP‐HR relationships. Through the use of paradox theory and case study methodology centred on a large public sector health care authority, we found these two sets of relationships to be operating paradoxically within an operational frame of reference, thereby constraining the establishment of strategic partnering.
... De acuerdo con Acosta-Ortiz et al. (2022), esta puede precisarse de manera general como "el conjunto de cambios que se dan en una sociedad a través del uso de las tecnologías digitales" (párr. 5), no obstante, estas últimas no corresponden del todo a la transformación, sino también conlleva a cambios en la estructura y la cultura institucional (Carlo et al., 2012;Karimi & Walter, 2015;Mohamed Hashim et al., 2022) e implica, en el ámbito escolar, el compromiso de sus actores educativos, ya que las herramientas digitales por sí mismas no determinan la trayectoria de los cambios de una organización, además, cada institución avanza a su propio tiempo y con sus retos particulares (Díaz et al., 2021a;Acosta-Ortiz et al., 2022). ...
... 139). Asimismo, conlleva a considerar cambios en la estructura y la cultura institucional (Carlo et al., 2012;Karimi & Walter, 2015;Mohamed Hashim et al., 2022) e implica, el compromiso de sus actores educativos (Díaz et al., 2021a;Acosta-Ortiz et al., 2022). ...
La gamificación, al incorporar elementos del diseño de juegos en con-
textos educativos, busca mejorar el compromiso y la motivación del es-
tudiante. En Educación, la gamificación puede hacer que el aprendizaje
sea más placentero mejorando la experiencia, el compromiso, la moti-
vación y los resultados del alumno.
Las actuales investigaciones en el ámbito educativo se focalizan en ex-
plorar el potencial de diversas tecnologías emergentes, entre las que
destacan la Inteligencia Artificial (IA), la Realidad Virtual (RV) y la
Realidad Aumentada (RA). Estas tecnologías ofrecen oportunidades in-
novadoras que tienen el potencial de transformar las prácticas formati-
vas, estimular la participación estudiantil y gestar nuevos paradigmas.
En el ámbito de la Inteligencia Artificial (IA) orientada a la Educación,
la personalización del aprendizaje se erige como un pilar fundamental.
La IA posibilita la adaptación de los contenidos de aprendizaje a las
necesidades individuales de los estudiantes, proporcionando rutas per-
sonalizadas y recursos específicos para cada uno. Además, los asistentes
virtuales basados en IA desempeñan un papel crucial al brindar apoyo
instantáneo, responder preguntas comunes, ofrecer retroalimentación y
contribuir a la resolución de problemas. El análisis predictivo, por su
parte, permite a la Inteligencia Artificial examinar datos educativos para
anticipar el rendimiento estudiantil, identificar patrones de aprendizaje
y suministrar información valiosa para ajustar las estrategias de ense-
ñanza.
En el terreno de la Realidad Virtual (RV), las experiencias inmersivas
constituyen un componente esencial. La RV permite que los estudiantes
se sumerjan en entornos virtuales realistas, tales como visitar lugares
históricos, llevar a cabo experimentos científicos o perfeccionar habili-
dades prácticas en un entorno simulado. Facilitando el aprendizaje co-
laborativo, la Realidad Virtual posibilita la cooperación entre
estudiantes, incluso si se encuentran en distintos lugares geográficos, al
proporcionar entornos virtuales compartidos. Asimismo, las simulacio-
nes detalladas de la RV, especialmente en campos como la medicina o
la ingeniería, permiten a los estudiantes practicar procedimientos y ha-
bilidades de manera segura antes de enfrentarse a situaciones reales.
Por su parte, la Realidad Aumentada (RA) aplicada a la Educación
aporta una capa adicional de información contextual. Al superponer da-
tos digitales en el mundo real, la RA enriquece la experiencia de apren-
dizaje al proporcionar a los estudiantes información adicional sobre
objetos, lugares o conceptos. La interactividad es otro aspecto destacado
de la Realidad Aumentada, ya que permite la participación directa con
el contenido educativo a través de dispositivos como tabletas o teléfonos
inteligentes, lo que hace que el proceso de aprendizaje sea más dinámico
y atractivo. Además, fomenta la exploración creativa al posibilitar que
los estudiantes creen proyectos educativos utilizando sus herramientas,
estimulando así la creatividad y la expresión artística.
Las líneas de investigación abiertas incluyen la eficacia de la Tecnolo-
gía Educativa, la inclusión digital y accesibilidad, modelos de forma-
ción docente y desarrollo profesional, influencia de las TIC en enfoques
pedagógicos, consideraciones éticas y privacidad en el uso de datos edu-
cativos, gamificación y efectividad de modelos de aprendizaje en línea,
Alfabetización Digital y habilidades necesarias en el siglo XXI, papel
de las redes sociales y plataformas en línea de aprendizaje, e impacto a
largo plazo de las TIC en Educación para la inserción del estudiante en
el mercado laboral. Indagaciones necesarias para el desarrollo de estra-
tegias pedagógicas efectivas y mejora continua del sistema educativo.
En resumen, Las Tecnologías de la Información y Comunicación (TIC)
en la Educación: Innovaciones, Desafíos y Perspectivas conforma por
un mosaico de capítulos que analizan certezas e incertezas en un aspecto
estratégico para la política de cualquier país como es la Educación. El
libro representa una foto fija que no solo documenta el estado actual,
sino que también proporciona un sólido punto de partida para avanzar
en este fascinante viaje de formar en la Era Digital.
... De acuerdo con Acosta-Ortiz et al. (2022), esta puede precisarse de manera general como "el conjunto de cambios que se dan en una sociedad a través del uso de las tecnologías digitales" (párr. 5), no obstante, estas últimas no corresponden del todo a la transformación, sino también conlleva a cambios en la estructura y la cultura institucional (Carlo et al., 2012;Karimi & Walter, 2015;Mohamed Hashim et al., 2022) e implica, en el ámbito escolar, el compromiso de sus actores educativos, ya que las herramientas digitales por sí mismas no determinan la trayectoria de los cambios de una organización, además, cada institución avanza a su propio tiempo y con sus retos particulares (Díaz et al., 2021a;Acosta-Ortiz et al., 2022). ...
... 139). Asimismo, conlleva a considerar cambios en la estructura y la cultura institucional (Carlo et al., 2012;Karimi & Walter, 2015;Mohamed Hashim et al., 2022) e implica, el compromiso de sus actores educativos (Díaz et al., 2021a;Acosta-Ortiz et al., 2022). ...
A partir del cierre de escuelas en 2020, los cambios educativos dados a través del uso de las tecnologías digitales han propiciado el interés global por encaminarse a la transformación digital; sin embargo, es necesario que se acompañe desde una cultura digital en las instituciones educativas y en el caso de Latinoamérica se presenta con rezago. El objetivo de esta investigación es analizar los contenidos de estudios científicos del periodo 2020-2023 relacionados con la gestión de la cultura digital enfocada hacia la transformación digital en las Instituciones de Educación Superior (IES) públicas en América Latina. El diseño metodológico es de enfoque cualitativo con una base epistemológica del paradigma interpretativo y de alcance descriptivo. La técnica corresponde a una revisión documental de 18 publicaciones de investigación en acceso abierto. Se realizó un rastreo bibliográfico en las bases de datos de Scopus y Google Académico. Para la estrategia analítica de los datos se empleó el análisis cualitativo con apoyo del software de Atlas.ti. Entre los hallazgos, se identificó que la gestión se presenta como un desafío con implicaciones de repensar las responsabilidades de las universidades para responder a los cambios de interacción, comunicación académica y aprendizaje, así como el rol de sus actores educativos y diseñar estrategias para reducir la brecha digital. Este estudio permite mostrar un panorama del entorno institucional sobre lo que representa la era de la transformación y sus implicaciones para la cultura digital en las IES públicas de contexto latinoamericano.
... The extraction of knowledge from competing narratives is typically performed through a "dialectic" analysis which seeks to identify and reconcile competing versions of events (Benson, 1973;Myers, 1995). Under such polarisation, G. W. F. Hegel (1977) proposed that "true" knowledge is obtained using a triadic relationship later summarised as thesis, antithesis, and synthesis (Carlo et al., 2012;Wijnhoven, 2012). This process begins with a proposed acceptable description of reality (the thesis). ...
... The synthesis of contrasting perspectives is the essential mechanism by which new "truths" can be not only identified but also realised (Carlo et al., 2012;De Rond & Bouchikhi, 2004;Wijnhoven, 2012). G.W. F Hegel (1975) described synthesis as a means of transformation, based on the discovery of new potentialities and the actualisation of new assemblages of things from existing components. ...
Crowdfunding projects have been the subject of contrasting narratives. To many, they are the antithesis of predatory bottom-line business ventures. To others, they are an under-regulated vehicle for immature or unscrupulous project owners to exploit inexperienced and vulnerable investors. These differences are significant because many use crowdfunding to build public awareness and project a positive image. We use the myth of Prometheus—the Greek god associated with “defiant progress” and technological advancement—as a sensitising lens to build a set of competing dialectic archetypes. We then apply these archetypes through a Hegelian dialectic analysis of three high-profile crowdfunding campaigns. The study provides a foundation for discussion of the positive and negative narratives surrounding crowdfunded project owners and explicates the limitations of crowdfunding as an enabler of positive systemic change. The dialectic approach provides a systematic means of identifying the essence of disagreement between narratives. The use of myth offers a sophisticated means to look for “rhyming” phenomena, where the phenomena at play resemble the grand frailties of humankind throughout history.
... DT should be conceived as a priority for dental clinics and their personnel (Harnagea et al., 2022), given that, in times of change, clinics need strategic responses that drive positive feedback on operational performance (Hess et al., 2016;Mithas et al., 2013). The challenge is not only a matter of technological investment in clinics, it also requires the development of new skills by managers, doctors, assistants, and receptionists (Yoo et al., 2010), as well as innovative planning in the clinic structure (Selander & Jarvenpaa, 2016), re-organization of processes (Carlo et al., 2012), and company culture (Karimi & Walter, 2015). DT requires establishing modernization routes that will safeguard the benefits of digitalization by increasing the differential value (Svahn et al., 2017) and clinic competitiveness (Sebastian et al., 2020). ...
The profound transformation of business and society as a whole, brought about by digitalization, calls for the development of business strategies to meet the challenges associated with digital disruption and to manage its marked impact on the competitiveness of organizations. To achieve this goal, it is essential to assess the extent of digital transformation (DT) within businesses, as a crucial initial step in charting the most effective path towards digitalization. Nevertheless, a limitation in the existing literature on digitalization in the healthcare sector is evident in the absence of quantifiable indicators that comprehensively measure and track the progress of DT across all facets of dental clinics. The objective of this paper is the construction of a digitalization indicator, the Dental Data Synthetic Index (DDSI), which allows the accurate measurement of progress in digital development levels within all areas of a dental organization. This instrument can be a useful tool for both diagnosis and digital planning in dental clinics. In this paper, the proposed indicator is supported by its application to a representative sample of dental clinics in Spain, obtained from a survey developed for this purpose.
... Uno de los principales hallazgos de la investigación sobre las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TIC) que habilitan la TD, es que la tecnología sólo es una de las variables por manipular para mantener a las organizaciones competitivas en un contexto digital. Otras variables identificadas son las estrategias (Bharadwaj et al., 2013;Matt et al., 2015), las cuales llevan hacia cambios en la organización, en la estructura (Selander et al., 2010), los procesos (Carlo et al., 2012), y la cultura (Karimi y Walter, 2015). Dichos cambios son requeridos para producir o aumentar la capacidad de generar nuevas formas para la creación de valor (Svahn et al., 2017). ...
... In unpredictable environments, organizations need to act with care and reliability, often referred to as collective mindfulness (Carlo et al., 2012), which is the ability of a group or organization to collectively sense and respond to changes and threats in its environment. This is studied in high-reliability organizations, such as the military, aviation, and healthcare, where errors or failures can have catastrophic consequences. ...
Justice requires society to protect its children and young adults and ensure they grow up to live productive and fulfilling lives. However, institutions in charge of delivering social justice, also called Human Service Organizations (HSOs), work independently and generally do not collaborate, thus making it difficult for the public to assess their effectiveness. Gathering, analyzing, and disseminating information can help society assess whether HSOs deliver justice. We describe two constructs in delivering justice: reflection and transparency. Our subsequent case study further highlights the emergence of concepts such as incentive alignment, information aggregation, and domain knowledge assimilation. Together, these insights form our Theory of Accountable Justice (TAJ), which elucidates the relationship between these constructs and the delivery of justice.
... Other studies have examined the impact of mindfulness on Information Systems (IS) performance through top management support (Khan et al., 2013) as well as on ERP usage (Nwankpa and Roumani, 2014) and job performance in a mobile work environment (Dernbecher et al., 2014). Moreover, studies have combined mindfulness with dialectics in order to examine organizational reliability and IT capabilities (Carlo et al., 2012). Furthermore, studies have used mindfulness as a theoretical lens in order to investigate Agile Software Development (ASD; Mcavoy et al., 2013;Cram and Newell, 2016). ...
Information Technology (IT) has been vastly characterized as a double-edged sword, offering significant benefits to individuals but at the same time bringing certain negative consequences, such as technostress. Technostress can severely affect individuals in the workplace, causing fatigue, loss of motivation, inability to concentrate, dissatisfaction at work and reduced productivity among others; thus significantly affecting individual well-being work as well as increasing costs for organisations. Recently, studies have shown the beneficial role of mindfulness in reducing technostress experiences of individuals; however, the evidence that exists until today is very limited, and mostly focused on evaluating the impact of mindfulness on technostress and its negative consequences. As the current research stands, at the moment it is relatively unknown how mindfulness affects the underlying mechanisms of technostress experiences of individuals. Through semi-structured interviews with 10 knowledge workers, the current study explores how mindfulness alleviates technostress within the workplace, by investigating the experiences of more mindful employees and learning from their practices. Findings offer a deeper insight into the relationship of mindfulness and technostress, revealing a toolkit of the underlying strategies that more mindful and IT mindful individuals deploy as well as their perceptions during technostress experiences at work thus shedding light on the path between mindfulness and technostress. The study contributes both to academia and practice, offering important implications to managers and practitioners that strive to improve employee well-being within organisations.
Purpose
World Health Organizations (WHO) (2023) states that governments and employers have a responsibility to uphold that right by providing work that simultaneously prevents workers from experiencing excessive stress and mental health risks. The business environment continues to produce a lot of stress on workers, which includes internal pressures to achieve results and employees suffer the consequences. Some companies have turned to mindfulness as a technique that helps mitigate these consequences and have joined Kaizen as a process improvement technique in the work environment. Therefore, this study has a research purpose: “to comprehend the possible linkage between Kaizen philosophy from an individual perspective, with Mindfulness ZEN Buddhism technique to understand the individual benefit (well-being) of each employee in organizations.” The answer to this represents the research gap in this article. The research questions governing this study are as follows: RQ1: Does Mindfulness is used as Kaizen technique of personal-individual improvement in 21st-century organizations? RQ2: What elements and characteristics of Kaizen and mindfulness can be found working together? And RQ3: Which qualitative impact of mindfulness and Kaizen in the workplace outcome (well-being, performance of the job (process)) and relationships with other employees)?
Design/methodology/approach
This research used a qualitative approach due to the recent phenomenon studied. In a certain way, it was used a mixed-method (combination of qualitative data – web search secondary data analysis and qualitative research-Convergence Model). First, it was done an intensive web search with the aim to identify companies' corporate mindfulness programs, along with companies which have applied mindfulness and Kaizen programs. It was identified a group of big companies with global and international presence (“famous” for their products and services) in diverse industrial and service sectors, country of origin and business locations; with the purpose of getting a holistic vision of all organizations which have practice Kaizen and mindfulness. Therefore, this study explored secondary data related to both practices, analyzing reports or briefings published in management magazines and official WEB pages and/or business magazines.
Findings
As a result of the triangulation of the data with its secondary data convergence model and qualitative research, a theoretical framework was reached that shows the benefits of the two combined twin techniques of Kaizen and mindfulness. The worker experiences a path that goes from concentrating on the execution of their processes, following their operating standards (Standardize, Do, Check, Act [SDCA] cycle), going through the evolution to continuous improvement or Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle, experiencing work with concentration-awareness and reducing your daily stress, maintaining high sensitivity to the work process and your environment and finally, discovering an essential life purpose. Finally, worker experiences benefit when there is wide application of both with the SDCA and PDCA cycles such as high motivation, constant learning from your mistakes, day-to-day learning and the Munen Musso (not using the mind).
Research limitations/implications
The main limitation is the qualitative methodological bias and secondary data research. In addition, to have a theoretical sample. However, the richness of the data helps to overcome this limitation. On the other hand, the qualitative research interviews are for a certain geographical area, therefore, the results cannot be generalized.
Practical implications
The results of this research can shed light on operations managers in the use of techniques for continuous improvement and improvement of people's quality of life, such as mindfulness. In Mexico, they are beginning to be used jointly (twin techniques) to comply with Regulation 035 of psychosocial risk, the researchers are sure that in other countries it will be used in the same way to comply with regulations. However, the research findings show the benefits that can be provided to workers in organizations by applying Kaizen and Mindfulness together.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, according to the literature review, this is the first article that explores the relationship between Kaizen and Mindfulness as twin techniques that help improve the individual quality of life of employees in organizations.
Based on a sample of 169 subsidiaries of MNCs operating in USA, Russia, and Finland, this paper investigates the relationship between MNC subsidiary HRM practices, absorptive capacity and knowledge transfer. The paper makes two key contributions. First, the paper examines the relationship between the application of specific HRM practices and the level of the absorptive capacity. Second, the paper suggests that absorptive capacity should be conceptualized as being comprised of two dimensions--ability and motivation. Further, results indicate that the interaction of ability and motivation (absorptive capacity) significantly facilitate transfer of knowledge from other parts of the MNC.
The statistical tests used in the analysis of structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error are examined. A drawback of the commonly applied chi square test, in addition to the known problems related to sample size and power, is that it may indicate an increasing correspondence between the hypothesized model and the observed data as both the measurement properties and the relationship between constructs decline. Further, and contrary to common assertion, the risk of making a Type II error can be substantial even when the sample size is large. Moreover, the present testing methods are unable to assess a model's explanatory power. To overcome these problems, the authors develop and apply a testing system based on measures of shared variance within the structural model, measurement model, and overall model.
Diverse applications of the concept of loose coupling are embodied in five recurring voices that focus separately on causation, typology, effects, compensations, and outcomes. Each has a tendency to drift away from a dialectical interpretation of loose coupling toward a unidimensional interpretation of loose coupling, thereby weakening the explanatory value of the concept. The authors first use the five voices to review the loose coupling literature and then to suggest more precise and more productive uses of the concept.
Pursuing a nodal (i.e., subsidiary) level of analysis, this paper advances and tests art overarching theoretical framework pertaining to intracorporate knowledge transfers within multinational corporations (MNCs). We predicted that (i) knowledge outflows from a subsidiary would be positively associated with value of the subsidiary's knowledge stock, its motivational disposition to share knowledge, and the richness of transmission channels; and (ii) knowledge inflows into a subsidiary would be positively associated with richness of transmission channels, motivational disposition to acquire knowledge, and the capacity to absorb the incoming knowledge. These predictions were tested empirically with data from 374 subsidiaries within 75 MNCs headquartered in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. Except for our predictions regarding the impact of source unit's motivational disposition on knowledge outflows, the data provide either full or partial support to an of the other elements of our theoretical framework. Copyright (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
High Reliability Organizations (HROs) have been treated as exotic outliers in mainstream organizational theory because of their unique potentials for catastrophic consequences and interactively complex technology. We argue that HROs are more central to the mainstream because they provide a unique window into organizational effectiveness under trying conditions. HROs enact a distinctive though not unique set of cognitive processes directed at proxies for failure, tendencies to simplify, sensitivity to operations, capabilities for resilience, and temptations to overstructure the system. Taken together these processes induce a state of collective mindfulness that creates a rich awareness of discriminatory detail and facilitates the discovery and correction of errors capable of escalation into catastrophe. Though distinctive, these processes are not unique since they are a dormant infrastructure for process improvement in all organizations. Analysis of HROs suggests that inertia is not indigenous to organizing, that routines are effective because of their variation, that learning may be a byproduct of mindfulness, and that garbage cans may be safer than hierarchies.
Perrow defined as ‘high risk’ those organizations that combine complexity and tight coupling with the potential for catastrophic failure. He concluded that accidents are ‘normal’ for such organizations because their managers face irreconcilable structural paradoxes. Centralization, the method of dealing with the tight coupling, must be combined with delegation, the method of dealing with the complexity. Weick, researching the complex and tightly coupled systems found in air traffic control and carrier flight-deck operations, saw these problems differently. He argued that strong organizational cultures provide a centralized and focused cognitive system within which delegated and loosely coupled systems can function effectively. High risk organizations thereby become transformed into high reliability organizations (HROs).