Chris W. Clegg

Sociotechnical principles for system design.

This paper offers a set of sociotechnical principles to guide system design, and some consideration of the role of principles of this kind. The principles extend earlier formulations by Cherns (1976, Human Relations, 29, 783-792; 1987, Human Relations, 40, 153-162). They are intended to apply to the design of new systems, including those incorporating new information technologies and a range of modern management practices and ways of working. They attempt to provide a more integrated perspective than is apparent in existing formulations. The principles are of three broad types: meta, content and process, though they are highly interrelated. They are for use by system managers, users and designers, and by technologists and social scientists. They offer ideas for debate and provide devices through which detailed design discussions can be elaborated. The principles are most likely to be effective if they are relatively freestanding, but supported by relevant methods and tools. The principles are necessary but not sufficient to make a substantial contribution to design practice.

Information technology: a study of performance and the role of human and organizational factors

The aim of this study was to gather and collate information from the major researchers and consultancies in the UK regarding the performance of Information Technology (IT) and the role of human and organizational factors. The findings are based on the experience of 45 of the leading experts in the UK, drawing on a collective sample of approximately 14,000 organizations, covering all major sectors of economic activity and a comprehensive range of information technologies. The main findings are that 80–90% of IT investments do not meet their performance objectives and the reasons for this are rarely purely technical in origin. The context of technical change, the ways in which IT is developed and implemented, a range of human and organizational factors, and the roles of managers and end-users, are identified as critical areas affecting performance. A major implication is that the poor performance of IT systems is the result of a complex set of interacting forces that will be difficult to change. The study r...

Explaining intranet use with the technology acceptance model

This paper considers the application of the technology acceptance model (TAM) in explaining intranet usage in two organizations. The TAM was originally developed for explaining technology acceptance and has since been successfully applied to a number of technologies. Its suitability for modelling intranet use is considered here. The model is tested in two UK companies from the banking and engineering sectors. Study 1 finds that the TAM may be valuable as a tool for helping with analysing and understanding intranet usage. The second study indicates that its applicability may be variable between intranets and demonstrates that self-report and actual measures of usage are not interchangeable when applying such a model. The findings have implications for previous and current research employing the TAM and for intranet research in general.

Exploring human resource management practices in small and medium sized enterprises

This paper reports on empirical work recently conducted about the use and effectiveness of HRM practices in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). A telephone survey was conducted with 100 senior managers of SMEs to ascertain their use of a range of human resource practices and the extent to which they had found those practices successful in aiding the achievement of company objectives. Additionally in‐depth interviews were conducted with senior managers from a further 22 SMEs. Findings suggest that there is considerable diversity amongst SMEs in relation to their use of HR practices. A model is provided that identifies the key criteria that underlie the adoption of HRM practices, and the implications of the model are discussed.

Implicating trust in the innovation process

In this paper we describe the development of two new measures of innovation trust, ‘trust that heard’ and ‘trust that benefit’. We report the findings from their use in a survey of design engineers in two large aerospace companies. We test a range of hypotheses covering different plausible roles for trust and confirm a ‘main effects’ model, whereby the variables predict the number of ideas suggested and the number of ideas implemented. In addition, we replicate earlier findings by Axtell et al. (2000), namely that personal and job variables predict idea suggestion, whilst organisational variables predict implementation.

Empowerment, Performance, and Operational Uncertainty: A Theoretical Integration

L’accession au pouvoir est presentee comme une recette universelle pour ameliorer la performance au travail. On defend ici l’idee qu’il existe deja des arguments forts pour penser que cette conviction est des plus discutables, et que l’impact de la participation dependra du degre de l’incertitude operationnelle qui prevaut. Notre point de vue s’appuie sur une analyse des idees qui emergent conjointement de cinq domaines, a savoir les theories des organisations, la structuration du travail, le management “zero defaut”, le management des facteurs humains et celui des ressources humaines. On met en evidence les consequences theoriques et pratiques de nos investigations et certaines des pistes a suivre pour approfondir la reflexion. Empowerment is being promoted as a general recipe for enhancing work performance. We argue that there are already strong grounds for suggesting that this universalistic assumption is flawed, and that the effectiveness of empowerment practices will be contingent on the degree of operational uncertainty that prevails. This argument is supported by an analysis of ideas in common emerging from five different areas of inquiry, namely those concerned with organisational theory, work design, total quality management, human factors, and human resource management. We identify the theoretical and practical implications of our analysis, and some of the lines of investigation required to develop the ideas further.

Change management: Time for a change!

We discuss some core issues in the field of change management. We use these topics to identify some mindsets that dominate the practice of change management, and argue that these should be replaced by some alternatives. The alternatives are drawn largely from operations management and sociotechnical thinking. We characterize existing approaches as partial, and speculate that this may be one of the reasons why so many change initiatives are ineffective at meeting their goals. We identify some of the reasons why existing mindsets are sustained. We also point to some ways forward, focusing on changes in the mindsets and language we use. We speculate that these would improve the effectiveness of change initiatives.

Familiarity breeds content: The impact of exposure to change on employee openness and well-being

This article describes a longitudinal study of how openness to change, job satisfaction, anxiety and depression are affected by exposure to a change situation - in this case, the implementation of new technology and work practices. Measures were taken before the change was fully implemented and again several months later. Employees fell into two groups: those with high exposure to the change and those with low exposure. Longitudinal analysis revealed that greater exposure was directly related to subsequent improvements in openness to change for operational employees, but not for managers and engineers. Exposure was associated with improvements in job satisfaction and depression, irrespective of job type. The effect on job satisfaction, however, could be accounted for by the increased job complexity experienced on the new technology rather than exposure to change per se. Although the impact of exposure on depression became non-significant after controlling for job complexity, the result was marginal. Implications of the role of exposure in the management of change are discussed.

Why Do Employees Undertake Creative Action

There is much research identifying factors that lead to a creative outcome, but little on what leads employees to begin the creative process in the first place. This research used semi-structured interviews with 65 engineers to explore the factors and processes involved in this phenomenon. We found that general work motivation, creativity requirements, cultural support for creativity, time resources, and autonomy were all used as cues in deciding whether undertaking creative action would be worthwhile via judgmental processes of expectancy and instrumentality. We also discovered overlaps with the cognate literatures of organizational citizenship and proactivity and explore these in discussing new areas for research.

A circular and dynamic model of the process of job design

We present a model of the process of job design that attempts to develop theory in five ways. First, critical variables in the model include performance, perceived competence, trust, knowledge and self-efficacy. Second, job design is proposed to be a dynamic and circular process, with the variables acting as both predictors and outcomes. Third, the process is seen, at least in part, as a social one, involving job-holders, supervisors and peers. Fourth, we identify some of the contingencies affecting the model. Finally, we specify the causal ordering of events and speculate on the nature of the time lags involved in the process. We make a number of model-based predictions and consider the implications of the model for theory, research and practice.