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ORGANIZATIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF
TELEWORK:
The central thesis of this paper
is that the emergence of
telework necessitates the
development of alternative
methodologies for evaluating
organizational effectiveness.
Specifically, as communications
technology allow work to be
separated in time and space, the
traditional methods of analyzing
organizations (i.e., complexity,
centralization, size) do not
facilitate the management of
these new organizational forms.
This paper proposes the
development of an alternative
framework of organizational
functioning based on analysis of
the pattern of information flows
among members of the
organization. This theoretical
formulation is based on a series
of field studies of teleworkers
in the United States. These
studies cover both public and
private sectors with over 700
participants. In conclusion this
paper presents a theoretical
model of organizational
functioning based on information
flows which can be used to
analyze organizational
effectiveness in enterprises
using teleworkers.
THE EMERGENCE OF
TELEWORK
Telework
is emerging as a global
phenomenon. It is estimated that
38 million people in the United
States now work from their home
on a regular basis, with 5.5
million of these actively and
routinely using telework as an
option to traveling to a central
office [1].
Telework is certainly emerging
as a viable work option and is
being given impetus by
environmental and traffic
congestion concerns in the
United States.
Introduction of technologies
into large, complex
organizations creates a change
in the process of communicating
among people; a change in the
routinized systems which support
work; and finally a change in
the persistent patterns of
interaction among workers,
especially in information
intensive industries. The key
driving technology of this
change is software which
controls the pattern of
communication flow ñ and in turn
this pattern of information flow
becomes the dominant pattern of
organizational functioning.
Currently,
telecommuting is an example of
extending the office into the
home. The technology has been
available for some time [2-4],
but the barriers have been
sociological. Telecommuting is
the present incarnation of 'telework'
[5]
which is a manifestation of the
emerging electronically
distributed workplace [6]
we are interested in analyzing.
Telecommunting has been
vigorously investigated and
several key research issues
identified. Olson [7],
referring to telecommuting as
remote work, examined some
behavioral, organizational, and
social issues of remote work.
Hesse & Grantham[4] have
investigated telework in the
context of the electronically
distributed work community and
present suggestions for research
on telework in the areas of
privacy regulation, emergency
preparedness, self- efficacy,
temporal aspects of employee
behavior, communication patterns,
and organizational effectiveness.
The results reported in this
paper narrow that focus to
development of a analytical
framework for investigating
organizational effectiveness in
enterprises engaged in telework.
TRADITIONAL
METHODS OF ORGANIZATIONAL
ANALYSIS
Distinct variables have been
used to describe organizations.
Most organization theories
employ these same variables, but
vary as to the nature, direction
and strength of the predicted
variable relationships. The
major variables used in
traditional organizational
analysis are: (1) Authority and
Power, (2) Size and Complexity,
(3) Efficiency and Effectiveness,
(4) Technology and (5)
Environment.
The
pairing of variables like
authority and power stems from
previous research [8,9]
that has consistently found
associations among variables.
Individuals who have more
authority in an organization,
are likely to have more power.
As organizations increase in
size, complexity also tends to
increase. Efficient
organizations are often
effective organizations,
although the strength of this
relationship varies from one
organization to the next [10].
However, when telework becomes a
persistent pattern in an
organization the impact of
computer mediated communications
acts as a intervening variable
in these organizational
relationships [11].
The robustness of these
independent variables begins to
decline as organizations, and
their members, are increasingly
separated in time and space. A
new analytic paradigm is needed
to provide predictive validity
in organizational analysis.
VISUAL ANALYSIS
AS A NEW PARADIGM
Visual
analysis of information flows in
organizations will become a
standard accepted business
practice within 10 years for
successful business firms [12,13].
Recent advances in technology (mostly
integration of technologies) has
brought us to the point of being
able to use computers to
simulate business decisions, in
real time, as a new technique of
management. The core idea is to
move the manager from a
traditionally static model of
the business to a dynamic one.
Central to this is the idea of
simulation using computers.
Computer
based visual simulation
techniques can be a valuable
part of a methodology to design
information environments which
characterize organizational
functioning. In a recent article
in BYTE magazine we see that "research
from many fields is being
synthesized to create a design
philosophy of information
environments." [14].
These information environments
represent a place for the
increased use of modeling
environments.
This paper is intended to push
organizational analysis into
this new realm of dynamic
computer based models of
functioning. Organizations can
be characterized in many ways.
Traditionally, we have done this
with financial models. However,
these haven't always worked well
in information intensive
environments. Further, there is
some evidence to indicate that 'groupthink'
has emerged as a tendency in
large organizations, making it
difficult for a manager in a
system to 'wake up' and perceive
what is actually going on. New
models of organizational
functioning are needed as a
thinking tool to do this.
Many
contemporary management
consultants are trying to do
this. Peter Senge with
organizational learning; Michael
Hammer with 'business
re-engineering' and David Nadler
and 'organizational architecture.'
are only a few. In our studies
of telework based organizations
we keep finding that the pattern
of communication among workers,
and workers and managers is
becoming the 'the reality' of
how an organization functions;
not more traditional measures of
money flows and hierarchical
measures of power and status. We
believe that as organized work
becomes extended in time and
space a new model of analysis is
required. We have extended an
organizational analysis model
developed by Bennett [15]
by turning his theory into
measurable information flow
patterns. These flows are then
transferred to the modeling
environment by constructing a
complete equation simulation
model using commercially
available software.
Figure 1:
Bennett's Model of
Organizational Functioning
THE FIELD STUDIES
The data used to develop this
new framework of organizational
analysis comes from a series of
integrated field studies on
teleworker behavior conducted in
the past two years in California.
Study 1:
A large public agency in
California embarked on a pilot
test program of telecommuting
and use of remote telework
centers. 100 participants were
involved in the six month study.
As part of the evaluation all
participants were required to
complete extensive survey
questionnaires in a pre-post
test research design. The
questionnaires gathered
attitudinal and behavioral data
relevant to measuring
productivity, communication
pattern changes and travel
patterns. Data concerning
communication pattern changes
were used for this analysis.
Study 2:
A large telecommunications
service company in California
conducted an attitudinal study
of 640 managers involved in a
telecommuting program. The
principal aim of the study was
to identify barriers to managing
teleworkers. In addition, this
study employed additional data
collection to develop design
guidelines for home office
telework technology. Both the
communications pattern data and
the technology design guideline
information were used in this
analysis.
Study 3:
A public sector government
agency conducted a pilot program
evaluation of teleworkers. The
primary focus of the study was
on impacts upon family and
community life of a group of 35
volunteer teleworkers. both
qualitative and quantitative
data were collected and used for
analysis in this paper.
FINDINGS
In all of
the field studies we have
conducted we have discovered
that managers, in particular,
indicate that they need news
ways of looking at their work
groups to understand patterns in
work flow and allocation of
human and technological
resources. Many approaches have
been developed to do this, such
as the socio-technical method [16].
However, all these have
difficulty in capturing a
complete, systemic 'picture' or
'image' of the organization [17].
What is the rationale, then, of
developing advanced ways of
thinking about how the firm
functions. Dur and Bots [18]
offer three cogent reasons:
1). Organizations develop over
long time spans and much
knowledge about functioning is
tacit knowledge, not reflected
in past financial records.
2). Organizations allow for many
vantage points of view, which
are continually negotiated.
3). Organizations often grow
rapidly so that no one
individual can have a reliable
picture of the entire
organization at any one time.
This means that our current
business environment is moving
quicker, with a larger span of
control and changing so rapidly
that old ways of analyzing them
have reached their limits of
utility. Therefore modeling of
organizational process can
overcome these problems by
making the tacit knowledge
explicit, can relate various
vantage points and provide a
cognitive bridge between
complexity and local rationality.
From a psychological perspective
modeling helps managers surface
assumptions about behavior and
do that in a way that makes
these assumptions visible.
We have consistently isolated
differences in views of
productivity, technology use,
attitudes towards telework and
predicted impact on worker's
social life in our studies.
These differences in views
between workers and their
managers are the basic data
which we believe indicates the
utility of using a information
flow to develop a unified
picture of organizational
functioning ñ especially one
which can be visible.
DISCUSSION
As we said
earlier our approach to
organizational analysis bears a
strong resemblance to
Forrester's view of COMFLOW's
within organizations. However,
we would like to extend that
approach by using an even more
complex model of organizations.
Organizations process
information to manage
uncertainty and puzzling
situations [19,20].
The way in which they manage the
flow of information can indicate
the relative health of large,
formal complex organizations. We
are proposing that a
organizational design model
based on information flows can
be used as a diagnostic tool--as
well as a design template for
organizational development
practitioner. In common practice
physicians use a similar
approach in medical diagnosis
and prescription.
Bennett [15]
sees a multi-term system
composed of six elements as a
model which describes a concrete
'event'. That is, something
which has come into existence
and is complete. A six term
system becomes the basis for
describing a work organization -
because it does exist and is
complete. In systems theory
terms the organization has a
boundary, requisite variety and
has its' constituent parts are
connected to one another.
Bennett's
[15]
work provides the basis of this
model by relying on structural
aspects of organizations. Figure
1 is a diagram which identifies
these elements of organizational
health. This figure is meant to
indicate the interconnectedness
of the six elements. The dark
lines which form the outer
border signify that all elements
must be viewed as a complete
whole. The dotted lines inside
the Figure form two triangles
which are two subsets of the
entire process. Freedom, Network
and Focus unite to build
potential for action. Identity,
Order and Growth are the
manifestations of that
potential. So elements can be
examined as unique things, in
sets of three or as a whole.
Each of these structural
elements has an analog of
information system flow which is
outlined in Table 1.
Table 1:
Information Flow Analogs
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