Managing the Rough Landscape of the Flat World:

The Role of Information Technology in the Time of Unreason

By Bob Travica, Ph.D.

University of ManitobaCanada

Managing the Rough Landscape of the Flat World:

The Role of Information Technology in the Time of Unreason

By Bob Travica, Ph.D.

University of ManitobaCanada

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MANAGING INFORMATION IN THE DIGITAL ERA

UNIVERSITY OF BOTSWANAGABORONE

OCTOBER 14-16, 2009

OutlineOutline

• Presentation and conference topics• Theoretical framework• Globalization concept• Globalization 20 years after• IT is globalization force• What to do?• Shaping globalization with IT• Summary

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Mapping Presentation to Conference TopicsMapping Presentation to Conference Topics

• Touching on these conference topics:– Knowledge Management– ICT and Information Literacy in the changing environment– Digital Divide– Information Management– Digital Library– E-commerce– E-government– Information & IT Policy

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Theoretical FrameworkTheoretical Framework

• “Flat world” (zealous proponents of globalization) – globalization literature

• “Rough Landscape” (globalization critics & alternative globalizers) – globalization literature

• “Time of Unreason” (Handy, 1989, 1995)• Information Technology (IT, ICT), Information systems (IS)• Information/Informing View of Organization (Travica, 2003, 2005)• Informing Science (Cohen, 1999; 2009)

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Globalization ConceptGlobalization Concept

• Definition: Reducing boundaries between countries and regions.

• Economic – Reducing trade barriers, allowing for free movement of goods, services, money, and labor.

• Political – Freer flow of political information across borders; insertion of supra-national organizations in states (watchdogs, alliances, NGOs)

• Cultural – Freer exchange of artistic content and communication or transfer of lifestyles, entertainment, dress codes, cuisines...

• Regulatory – Creation of international organizations, legislation, and enforcement.

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Globalization 20 Years AfterGlobalization 20 Years After

• Some economic progress in economies in transition (East Europe, China, India), but 50% of world lives below $2/day

• Global access to consumer goods including luxury products, but the middle class is shrinking – everywhere

• Knowledge can reach far via Internet (schools, digital libraries), but education funds drop with widespread cuts in public spending

• Hopes of growing democracy ended with new, ineffective multi-party establishments in East, old political machines in West intact, and democracy’s nemesis* in East and South

* Trans-National Corporations, International Monetary Fund, World Bank…

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Globalization 20 Years AfterGlobalization 20 Years After

• Salsa dancing, Bollywood film, and Afro-pop head North and West, but Western pop culture still crosses borders most easily

• Spreading various cultural imagery and lifestyles enabled by global media, but Internet is 50% Anglophone, and dominating cultural values are unison in media (consumerism, egotism, competition…)

• Digital divide is alive and well

http://globaladvances.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/africa2008top.jpg

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IT is Globalization ForceIT is Globalization Force

• Economic impacts of IT:– Provide the engine and network environment for trans-national

corporations (TNCs)– Weave global electronic networks engendering global supply

chains (“informational capitalism,” Castells 1996, 2000)– Power “techno-economy” (Jones, 2003) rich in IT, knowledge

and capital vs. “grunge-economy” (temps, routine, less lucrative)– Deskilling & unemployment (white collar sector)

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IT is Globalization ForceIT is Globalization Force

• Cultural impacts of IT: – Western thing (language-exclusive, values of time, control, organizing)

– channels for disseminating culture of the Center)

• Political impacts of IT:– Control via communication technology Beniger (1986)

– Information pool & push by employers, sellers, governments, scammers

• IT challenges management: – Productivity paradox & strategic dilemma

– User conundrum

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* (http://a2.vox.com/6a00c225239a5e8fdb00f48cf08d7a0003-500pi)

(Source*)

What to Do? (I’d like to change the world…)What to Do? (I’d like to change the world…)

Impact Opportunity to Reason & Act

Provides foundations to overpowering TNCs

Claim your stake in global supply chains respecting conditions needed for B2B e-commerce (Travica, 2002)

- Drives “techno-capitalism” and “informational capitalism” creating Center and Periphery

- Impart local needs and capabilities on globalization – globo-localization (cases by Lal, 2007; D’Costa, ed., 2006). Practical variants of free market concept.

- Don’t dismantle state and local institutions (Roy, 2005).

Causes deskilling and unemployment

Use IT for re-skilling & job enrichment;Take advantage of new jobs/job enrichment (Internet, data analysts, knowledge worker)

Embodies the Center’s logic, values, ideology

- Be pragmatic & use IT for learning, education, your own needs. Domesticate IT via adoption process.

- Influence development of Internet by participating in international forums (Cogburn, 2006).

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Continues…

What to Do?What to Do?

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Impact Opportunity to Reason & Act

Disseminates the Center’s culture

Communicate local culture via open Internet forums (digital video Websites, blogs, social nets)

Serves Big Brother to limit freedoms

-Engage in information governance in firms and push for e-government (Mayer-Schonbergrr & Lazer, 2007);

- Use Internet for informing from your perspective; Seek/organize for alternative globalizing paths.

Challenges management New organizational forms and analytical frameworks (Informing Science, Information View of Organization)

• Informing Science (Cohen 1999; Cohen & Gill, eds., 2009): Focus on improving informing processes.

DeliverySystem Client Informer

Context Context

Information View of OrganizationInformation View of Organization

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Infostructure

Infoculture

Infoprocesses

Infopolitics

Homo Informaticus

Groupomatics

IS ManagementInfoeconomics

IS Adoption

IS Design/Development

IS Use

IS Evaluation

Org. Goals & Issues

Individuals

WorkGroups

Org. Processes

Org. Economics

Org.Politics

Org.Culture

Org.Structure INFORMATION

TECHNOLOGY

DATA, MEANING KNOWLEDGE, WISDOM

• Travica (2003, 2005). Focus on optimizing relationship between traditional views of organization intersected with information, IT and IS aspects.

Shaping Globalization with IT (I-globalize)Shaping Globalization with IT (I-globalize)• Journal of Information, Information Technology, and Organizations (JIITO) ,

which I edit – a way of shaping global information space by using IT

• Global coverage of JIITO (a part; see http://jiito.org) - examples:

Maureen Tanner, Mauritius & South Africa,

“Communication and Culture in Global Software Development: The Case of Mauritius and South Africa”

Ada W. W. MA, Hong Kong,

“Computer Supported Collaborative Learning and Social Creativity: A Case Study of Fashion Design”

Ravi Sharma, SR Apoorva, Venkata M. & Varun J., India, Singapore, New Zealand, U.K., U.S.A.,

“Best Practices for Communication between Client and Vendor in IT Outsourcing Projects”

Alf Steinar Sætre, Jan-Oddvar Sørnes, Larry D. Browning, and Keri K. Stephens, Norway & U.S.A,

“Enacting Media Use in Organisations”

Katia P. Thomaz, Brasil,

“Critical Factors for Digital Records Preservation”

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SummarySummary

• Globalization process is not uniform (convergence & divergence, etc.)• IT delivers antipode effects in economy, culture, politics,

organizations • There is no predetermination in either globalization or the role of IT • Plenty of opportunities to reason in the flat/rugged world of unreason,

and to enact globalization processes via managing IT • This conference may be one step in that direction

• I’d like to continue this conversation throughout the conference…

• Please plan to publish in JIITO – visit http://jiito.org !

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