For Tyronprimez

For Tyronprimez

Are organizations likely to find better solutions to information overload through changes to their
technical systems
or their
social systems
— or both? Why?

Abstract

This paper argues for the relevance and utility of socio-technical theory for designing solutions to the challenges we face from managing the impact of information overload. A consequence of information overload can cause serious damage to an organization performance.

Socio-technical systems theory defines systems as a collection of messy, complex, problem-solving components. This approach suggests a balance between the social and technical systems which together make up an organization. The paper suggests that socio-technical approach, purport that in order for organizations to create and store their knowledge they must consider the balance between the social and technical systems which make up an organization. Effective knowledge management is a combination of the appropriate use of technology in each stage with the humanistic use of people within the organizations. A socio-technical framework for knowledge management is therefore an appropriate way of dealing with the problem of information overload.

Social-Technical Perspective: A solution for Managing Information Overload

We live in the information age. And we work in it, too. Our work environment today, has access to more tools than ever before to help facilitate communication. It is true that all these new tools provide numerous arrays of options for keeping employees informed, connected, productive and engaged. Hence the explosive development of the Internet and related information and communication technologies has brought into focus the problems of information overload, and the growing speed and complexity of developments in society. People find it ever more difficult to cope with all the new information they receive, constant changes in the organizations and technologies they use, and increasingly complex and unpredictable side-effects of their actions. This leads to growing stress and anxiety (Blair, 2010). In terms of business stand point, the information clutter that is associated with these new technological advancements is making it difficult for many employees to understand organizational priorities and focus on the work that is most critical to achieving business objectives.

As suggested in the module introduction, socio-technical design can be very helpful in diagnosing Information overload that can typically exists in some pockets of an organization, while other pockets may not receive enough information. It’s critical to identify precisely where and to what extent this challenge exists in an organization.

It is important to understand that nothing is possible without knowledge. Knowledge can be defined as a mix of framed experience, values, contextual information, and expert insight that provides a framework for evaluating and incorporating new experiences and information. It originates and is applied in the minds of an individual. Knowledge as “a state of mind” focuses on enabling individuals to extend their personal knowledge and apply it to the organization’s needs. In organizations, it often becomes embedded not only in documents or repositories but also in organizational routines, process, practices, and norms. In this sense, social interactions among organization members play a vital role in the search of the knowledge.

Knowledge management is the act of supporting processes for creating, transferring, sharing, and renewing organizational knowledge to gain economic wealth, create values, or increase performance. Moreover, it is the process through which organizations generate value from their intellectual and knowledge-based assets (Levinson, 2010).

Knowledge management therefore refers to describing and leveraging knowledge from within an organization in order to provide competitive advantage. Since it serves to realize organizational goals, it is then important for any organization to continue to acquire more knowledge about its operation in order to stay viable. The management of knowledge can be people focused, technology focused or social-technical focused (Wikipedia). The people approach stressed that people are of primary importance to the organization and the creation of value occurs through the development and implementation of strategies to motive people to create, store and share knowledge. There is nothing wrong with that approach, but alone it is not enough to solve the problem in hand. Technology approach of knowledge management focuses on the collection, modification, storage, and manipulation of knowledge with the use of a technical system such as computers and other machines. Again by itself I don’t see it solving the existing problem. Simply thinking that by putting in a new piece of technology will solve the observed performance problems is always wrong approach. Performance is much more complicated than that. Although the people approach and the technology approach maybe effective and useful within their focused area of concentration, a more effective approach of knowledge management would be one that would take advantage of the strengths of each of these approaches (Grant & Shahsavarani).

The Socio-technical systems approach provides significant insights into the complex dynamic of performance in an organization. The interrelationships between people and technology mean that it is not a matter of simply installing new technology to solve apparent performance problems. It is a diagnostic tool to uncover the causal chain of events that drives performance so that investment in technology is supported by changes in the surrounding organizational processes and people. This supports the alignment of people and technology and needs to be used in conjunction with user interface design and the IT Blueprint to ensure the right technology is put in place (Liu & Errey, 2006).

The word socio-technical is a combination of two words: the social and the technical. It is a balance between the social and technical systems which made up an organization. The concept of the socio-technical system is established to emphasize the two-way relationship between people and technology. Therefore the goal of socio-technical design is to provide a system capable of self modification, adaptive to change, and which makes the most of the creative capacities of the individual for the benefit of the organization. According to socio-technical perspective, knowledge is the capability of an organization and its employees to act effectively.

In this perspective, organizational knowledge and the management of this knowledge is not simply seen as the storage of more data and information. It suggests that people with the ability to make high quality decision will be the main factor in determining the success of the knowledge management initiative.

This paper has considered the most fundamental ways to tackle the problems caused by information overload and its complexity it brings to knowledge management. Increasing capacity by advancing individual knowledge and intelligence (people approach) is the most straightforward approach, but cannot be sufficient because of the intrinsic limitations of the human brain. Collective capacity can be increased by more efficiently allocating decision-making among individuals. Information processing capacity can be further advanced by complementing human decision-making with computer support (technology). Computers alone cannot make important real-world decisions, and that human attention must remain in the loop. In that case I will conclude by advocating the socio-technical approach, as it clearly shows that in order for organizations to create and store their knowledge they must consider: the role of the organizational culture and the role of the organizational structure in order to ensure the easy creation, storage and sharing of the knowledge, aligning the organizational reward system to motivate employees to create knowledge. The role of technology must also be taken into account since it is also essential to the success of the knowledge management initiative.

References

Blair, A. (2010). Information Overload, Then and Now. The Chronicle of Higher Education Review. November 28. (Retrieved August 24, 2011 from http://chronicle.com/article/Information-Overload-Then-and/125479/?sid=cr&utm_source=cr&utm_medium=en)

Grant, G. and Shahsavarani, N. A Socio-Technical View of Knowledge Creation and Storage in Organizations. Published in 4th International Management Conference. (Retrieved August 24, 2011 from http://www.civilica.com/EnPaper-IRIMC04-IRIMC04_084.html)

Knowledge Management. (n.d). In Wikipedia. (Retrieved August 24, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management)

Levinson, M. (2010). Knowledge Management Definition and Solutions.  CIO.com.  (Retrieved August 24, 2011 from http://www.cio.com/article/40343/Knowledge_Management_Definition_and_Solutions)

Liu, X. and Errey, C. (2006). Socio-technical systems – there’s more to performance than new technology.  PTG Global.  (Retrieved August 24, 2011, from http://www.ptg-global.com/PDFArticles/Socio%20technical%20systems%20-%20There’s%20more%20to%20performance%20than%20new%20technology%20v1.0