Allen, T.J. (1977). Managing the flow of technology. Cambridge, MA, MIT. Allen studied nineteen engineers who evaluated their use of several information channels including literature, vendors, customers, technical staff, and so on in terms of their accessibility and quality. He found that quality of the content correlated closely to frequency of use while accessibility did not. However, he found that the emotional cost of asking someone for help was considered to be high then the source was not used regardless of the quality.
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Belobaba, Peter P. (2002). The airline industry since 9/11: overview ofrecovery and challenges ahead. A presentation of the MIT global airline industry program. Washington, DC on March 26, 2002.
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This report outlines the pre-and post-9/11 airline industry and forecasts the coming decade.
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Brown, J.S., and P. Duguid. (1998). Organizing knowledge. California Management Review 3: 90–111.
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The authors make a case for the value of social networks, rather than information technology, as effective and productive transporters of organizational knowledge.
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Davenport, T.H., D.W. DeLong, and M.C. Beers. (1998). “Successful knowledge management projects.” Sloan Management Review 39(2): 43–57.
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Eight key factors can help a company create, share, and use knowledge effectively. Davenport, De Long, and Beers hypothesize that eight factors lead to successful knowledge management. They are: link to economic performance or industry value, technical and organizational infrastructure, standard yet flexible knowledge structure, a knowledge-friendly culture, clear purpose and language, change in motivational practices, multiple channels for knowledge transfer, and senior management support. They selected thirt-one knowledge management projects in twenty-four companies.
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Handy, C. (1993). Understanding organizations. New York, Oxford University Press.
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Handy has written a broad survey of the various aspects of organizations, including motivation, roles and interactions, leadership, power and influence, the workings of groups, and culture. The first third of the book describes the dominant concepts of each topic. The second part of the book addresses each topic with respect to its application in the organizational setting. The final part of the book offers further readings on each topic. The book is a good overview and orientation of the literature of organizations. It does not offer much original.
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Hofstede, G. (1997). Culture and organizations, software of the mind. New York, McGraw Hill.
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Although subsequent research has challenged many of his findings (see Punnett and Withane below), Hofstede’s work has been the underlying foundation for many MBA courses and professional seminars on international culture. Perhaps this is an example of a theory that resonates with how we choose to interpret the world, but not with the available research findings.
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Punnett, B.J., and S. Withane. (1990). Hofstede’s value survey module: to embrace or abandon? Advances in International Comparative Management 5: 69–89.
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Hofstede’s cultural value research has been both highly praised and severely criticized. Researchers face a dilemma regarding continued use of the indices and instrument (the VSM). This paper examined Hofstede’s framework in three diverse samples to address this issue.
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Hypotheses were proposed for two groups within each sample on the basis of Hofstede’s original results and organizational characteristics. Twenty-one of twenty-four hypotheses were supported, providing support for the Hofstede dimensions. The actual level of scores was, however, quite different from the scores obtained by Hofstede, and this suggests a strong organizational influence on scores. The results of this research suggest that the cultural values measured by the VSM may be useful both in cultural and organizational research but that there is a need for additional rigorous assessment of the VSM framework.
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Schein, E.H. (1996). Three cultures of management: the key to organizational learning. Sloan Management Review (Fall): 9–20.
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Schein suggests the alignment of the three cultures (executives, engineers, and operators) is key to effective organizational learning. He argues that the ability to create new organizational forms and processes is crucial to competitiveness and that learning across the three cultures is essential to understanding and implementing those changes. Although Schein’s description of the three cultures is oversimplified and does not apply well to all organizations, he does shed light on the need to manage such cultural differences in any organization.
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Vaughan, D. (1996). The Challenger launch decision; risk, technology, culture and deviance at NASA. Chicago, University of Chicago Press.
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Vaughn offers an in-depth yet interesting view of the NASA Culture and its influence on the Challenger Space Shuttle tragedy.
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