Raffi Duymedjian

Towards a Foundation of Bricolage in Organization and Management Theory

This article provides a conceptual underpinning for the study of bricolage in organizations. Based on a review of Claude Lévi-Strauss’s original writing, we propose that bricolage involves an ideal-typical configuration of acting (practice), knowing (epistemology) and an underlying world view (metaphysics) and develop the opposed ideal-types of the bricoleur and the engineer. We then explore and propose to distinguish two forms of collective bricolage—familiar and convention-based—depending on the type of interaction and the nature of the conventions employed. Finally, we highlight the tension between ideal-typical bricolage and general organizational norms and standards, and discuss both the bricoleur’s legitimacy and how a bricolage-based arrangement might be embedded into an organizational context.

Validation of a French version of the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory - short version: relationships between mindfulness and stress in an adult population.

BackgroundWhereas interest in incorporating mindfulness into interventions in medicine is growing, data on the relationships of mindfulness to stress and coping in management is still scarce. This report first presents a French validation of the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory-short form (FMI) in a middle-aged working population. Secondly, it investigates the relationship between psychological adjustment and mindfulness.MethodsFive hundred and six non-clinical middle-aged working individuals rated themselves on the self-report French version FMI and completed measures of psychological constructs potentially related to mindfulness levels.ResultsResults were comparable to results of the original short version. Internal consistency of the scale based on the one-factor solution was .74, and test-retest reliability was good. The one-dimensional solution as the alternative to the two-factor structure solution yielded suboptimal fit indices. Correlations also indicated that individuals scoring high on mindfulness are prone to stress tolerance, positive affects and higher self-efficacy. Furthermore, subjects with no reports of stressful events were higher on mindfulness.ConclusionThese data showed that mindfulness can be measured validly and reliably with the proposed French version of the FMI. The data also highlighted the relationship between mindfulness and stress in an adult population. Mindfulness appears to reduce negative appraisals of challenging or threatening events.

Societal Responsibility of Business and Information Systems

In this chapter, we present the development of the (CSR) corporate social responsibility as a factor of development of the use of the IS. First, we examine in detail how companies can seek to optimize the (positive or negative) externalities associated with ICTs in their lifecycle. Then we insist on the fact that businesses appear increasingly forced to act in order to communicate. Finally, we discuss the potential offered by ICT and SID in terms of preserving the environment and social progress. The IS are then used in a resolutely proactive approach towards CSR.

Co-production of the car as a 'service': involving customers in the value chain

This article is dealing with a possible scenario for the future of the automobile thanks to the shift from an artefact vision to a services vision by which the customer might be involved as a true partner in the design of cars. This paper is therefore quite speculative but is challenging the supposedly stabilised relationship between the OEMs and their ultimate clients.

What relationship does the French car industry have with its clients? The customer-experience concept applied to the websites of two manufacturers

The automotive industry, like many other manufacturing industries, moves progressively from product-based to service-based processes. Some industries have operated this shift through the concept of customer experience to fully understand and give value to the whole producer-customer interaction. This exploratory study aims to apply such a concept to the car industry. It will focus on the websites of two large French OEMs, insofar as websites represent new ways to improve the producer-customer relationship. The purpose is to assess whether the concept of customer experience can be efficient for evaluating the maturity of the OEMs and for managing the service throughout the whole interaction process with their customers.

Can “Learning by Teaching” Contribute to E-Learning?

Learning is a complex process, and this complexity probably explains and justifies the diversity of learning methods and theories. Among the different ways of learning – by doing, observing, imitating, and so forth, – one is called “Learning by Teaching” (LbT). The first way to define LbT would be based on the statement that teaching requires structure and the ability to understand the audience. It helps to clarify theoretical as well as practical ideas, which are essential when considering the increasing complexity of the world we are to understand and improve. Teaching is, therefore, a located activity, which challenges one’s knowledge and thus can be seen as a learning process. There are many circumstances in which non–teaching professionals happen to teach. In business schools when experts are called to share their experience, in firms for training purposes, in some class experiments when students coach younger pupils. This last situation has been defined and instrumented as Learning by Teaching and has been used with success, for instance in language courses (Skinner, 2002). LbT has been designed and implemented in order to improve the student’s learning process. However, we realized that in business schools students have a valuable knowledge to share, and that Learning by Teaching