Paolo Piciocchi

Exploiting Semantic Models and Techniques to Evaluate Relevance of Human Resources in Knowledge Intensive Organizations

This paper reports the results of the ARISTOTELE methodology for decision support on Human Resource Management and, in particular, of one of the most important tool of the methodology, i.e. the Relevance Analysis. The Relevance Analysis is devoted at providing a systemic way to map human resources on the basis of their relevance in an organization, and take informed decisions. We have defined a model and a methodology to quantify relevance of the human resources with respect to key processes of an organization. Relevance is a combination of two factors: i) Criticality, an attribute to establish the attention degree that the organization must pay to assess the importance of human resource, ii) Influence, an attribute to establish the degree of influence the human resource can exert in placing limits, indicating rules and regulations in the organization and with other human resources. We will show how exploiting the ARISTOTELE results on the semantic models and semantic Social Network Analysis is possible to quantify the Criticality and Influence of human resources in a knowledge intensive organization.

Evaluation of the human resources relevance in organisations via knowledge technologies and semantic social network analysis

This paper reports the results of the ARISTOTELE methodology for decision support on human resource management (HRM) implemented in the Relevance Analysis tool. The Relevance Analysis is devoted to provide a systemic way to map human resources on the basis of their relevance in an organisation, and for taking informed decisions. Relevance is a combination of two factors: i) Criticality, an attribute to establish the attention degree that the organisation must pay to assess the importance of the human resource; ii) Influence, an attribute to establish the degree of influence the human resource can exert in placing limits, indicating rules and regulations in the organisation and with other human resources. We show how exploiting the ARISTOTELEs semantic models and semantic social network analysis (SNA) capabilities it is possible to quantify the Criticality and Influence of human resources in a knowledge intensive organisation. We present the software solution and experimental results.

What Makes a System Smart? Wise?

The human-side of service engineering community has an opportunity to participate in an emerging trend to connect sociotechnical system research and engineering with the DIKIW (data-information-knowledge-intelligence-wisdom) hierarchy. The digital economy is grounded in big data and information systems. The knowledge economy is being redefined in the cognitive era by artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing capabilities, and as a result our systems are getting more intelligent or smarter. However, beyond smarter, what are wiser systems? Can these terms be made more rigorous and operational? The goal of this paper is to provide a jumping off point for the AHFE HSSE community on this topic, and to explore the concept of smart versus wise from three related socio-technical systems perspectives: polycentric systems, viable systems, and service systems.

The Viable Systems Approach (VSA) for Re-interpreting Network Business Dynamics

The variety of network-district businesses has in strategic terms, resulted in less efficiency within local systems and reflected negatively on the competitiveness of district production. The paper seeks to re-interpret the dynamics of network-districts from the Viable Systems Approach (VSA) perspective. In such a scenario, the limited or non-use of information and communication technology (ICT) tools risks affecting competitive capacity both in an individual and network-district perspective. The paper highlights how the creativity of the Italian network-district system gains momentum i.e. greater competitiveness by using ICT tools in a systems approach to facilitate cultural and management change and to integrate communication within and outside the network-district system.

Managing Change in Fractal Enterprises and IS Architectures from a Viable Systems Perspective

The paper aims to analyze the concept of viability in fractal enterprises and IS architectures from a holistic and viable systems perspective. The methodology is based on the conceptual framework of the Viable Systems Approach (VSA) whereby the monitoring of fractal enterprise viability is put in place thanks to the “abilities” of government to manage the operative structure efficiently and to govern the system strategically. In particular, by means of systems viability monitoring, fractal enterprises are governed in terms of structure (i.e. component and relational consonance) and system (interaction and performance resonance).

Digital Workers in Service Systems: Challenges and Opportunities

Early forms of AI systems (digital workers), from cognitive assistants to driverless vehicles, are beginning to appear in service systems, creating challenges and opportunities. Meanwhile, people (smarter workers) with an affinity for using advanced technologies are getting things done in new ways. Working scenarios today are guided by high resonant collaboration and wide spread knowledge communication among professionals. To analyze this scenario, we combine both a traditional analytical approach (focus on the parts) and a holistic approach (focus on the whole), privileging a transdisciplinary perspective based on the three frameworks: SSME+DAPP, VSA and IAD. This chapter aims to analyze the challenges and opportunities of digital workers coming to service systems, and provide recommendations for individuals, managers, policymaker, and academics. To mitigate the challenges and seize the opportunities, a wide range of professionals are transforming themselves into T-shaped adaptive innovators in Smart Working environments.

Chapter 12 The Use of Smart Tourism Systems to Improve the Destination’s Appeal: A Case Study from Caserta in Italy

Abstract This chapter aims to qualify Local Area as Smart Tourism Local Service Systems (S-TLSS), whose competitiveness and reputation depend on sharing strategies and processes of cohesion based on equifinality among/for stakeholder. The methodology envisages the integration of Service Science Management Engineering and Design (SSME+D) and the Viable Systems Approach (VSA). Thus it describes a S-TLSS in terms of local service system, whose viability requires a ‘smart governmentality’, able to guarantee the management of equity, sustainability and resilience. Referring to human resources coherent with value co-creation processes, S-TLSS implies T-shaped professionals: new kind of individuals who have proficiency in a specific field/discipline (deep professionality) and, at the same time, show capacity to understand and participate in complex projects/systems (broad professionality). Finally, the authors will show a practical application of the system attempting to enhance an Italian territory that is not very attractive to tourists and local residents.

Re-defining the Role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Wiser Service Systems

Advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) are raising important questions for companies, employees, consumers and policy makers. Researchers predict that intelligent machine will outperform humans in a wide range of tasks in the coming decade. Our purpose is to re-define the role of AI technologies and their relationship with people by re-thinking the concept of Intelligence Augmentation (IA), an interaction between AI technologies and people that, more than amplifying human capacities, produce a cognitive transformation. This transformation modifies the structure of humans thought, changing people’s cognitive processes and providing new tools to optimize interpretative schemas, useful to analyze the real world. In line with the need to define new directions in Service Science, new rules should be formulated to create a synergic and collaborative processes between humans (people) and machines. In order to design a wiser service system, this paper proposes T-shaped professionals as especially well-adapted for augmented and collaborative intelligence.

Learning the Models of Customer Behavior: From Television Advertising to Online Marketing

ABSTRACT Marketing, advertising, and communications processes have changed to strategically capitalize on an increasingly digitally transformed, technologically empowered, globally interconnected consumer, or what service-dominant logic refers to as actors that are resource integrators. Customers are co-creators of value in the collaborative or sharing economy, and seek to actively reap the benefits of new knowledge growing at an exponential rate. However, developing models of customer behavior, especially the influence of a new kind of advertising based on the integrated use of television, web, and social networks, is a challenge. Our study starts from a preliminary empirical observation of the impact of television cooking shows on the variations of potential demand (queries on Google) and the purchase of branded/unbranded culinary products used on the show. Neural networks were used to determine significant correlations, which resulted in an operative Marketing 3.0 model. This model clearly explicates this impact factor on the consumer-purchasing process generated by a new mode of creating information and communications technology–based communication. As a result, by using these types of models businesses can more strategically plan the presence of products of interest on television programs designed according to M@SECI and M@BA (a pervasive smart-space model for online marketing).

T-Shape Professionals Co-working in Smart Contexts: VEGA(ST) – Venice Gateway for Science and Technology

The places where people routinely gather to interact and work can be thought of as territories with boundaries that provide a smart context to achieve personal and professional goals. For example, the Venice Gateway for Science and Technology of VEGA(ST) is such a smart context, in the form of a co-working space. In this paper, smart contexts are explored using the integrated framework of Service Science, Management Engineering, Design Arts Public Policy (SSME+DAPP) and the Viable Systems Approach (VSA) research methods, which encourage the development of T-shaped professionals with depth and breadth. We explore the importance of: (1) adopting a win-win logic between the external environment and the resource holders of the wider enterprise-territory system, (2) the creation of smart contexts, as a symbol of sharing, where interaction and actor involvement facilitate the co-creation of value for the collective welfare, and (3) co-working spaces as a way to encourage T-shape professionals to develop their broad dynamic capabilities and their in depth competencies.