Proceedings of FSWKS_06 conference abstracts

Presentation

This conference is organised by IET, the Research Centre on Enterprise and Work Innovation, at the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of "Universidade Nova de Lisboa" (FCT-UNL), with the support of the project CodeWork@VO (financed by FCT-MCTES, and co-ordinated by INESC Porto), and related with the European project WORKS-Work Organisation Re-structuring in the Knowledge Society (financed by the European Commission, and co-ordinated by HIVA Leuven).
It has also the support from the APDSI (the National Association for the Promotion and Development if Information Society), that is a member of IFIP-International Federation of Information Processing. The CodeWork@VO project has also the involvement of UNINOVA (Institute for the Development of New Technologies, at FCT-UNL).
The main objective is to analyse and discuss research findings on the trends of work structures in the information and knowledge society, and to debate concepts on new work organisation models and forms supported by ICT. Is a conferences that involves researchers from different teams of the WORKS consortium, and in that aspect, tries to develop a collaboration process with different projects (one European, and another Portuguese), using different approaches and methodologies, where IET is a common link in the field of innovation systems and foresight analyses.

Meeting the knowledge-based society - Facts, expectations and visions

Title:

Meeting the knowledge-based society - Facts, expectations and visions

Author:

Bettina-Johanna Krings
(ITAS, FZK, Karlsruhe, Germany)



The paper will present the central discourse of the knowledge-based society. Already in the 1960s the debate of the industrial society already raised the question whether there can be considered a paradigm shift towards a knowledge-based society. By some prominent authors ‘knowledge’ already was foreseen as the main indicator in order to displace ‘labour’ and ‘capital’ as the main driving forces of the capitalistic development.
Today on the political level and also in many scientific disciplines the assumption that we are already living in a knowledge-based society seems obvious. Although we still do not have a theory of the knowledge-based society and there still exist a methodological gap about the empirical indicators, the vision of a knowledge-based society determines at least the perception of the Western societies.
In a first step the author will pinpoint the assumptions about the knowledge-based society on three levels: on the societal, on the organisational and on the individual level. These assumptions are relied on the following topics:
1.    The role of the information and communication technologies;
2.    The dynamic development of globalisation as an ‘evolutionary’ process;
3.    The increasing importance of knowledge management within organisations;
4.    The changing role of the state within the economic processes.

Not only the differentiation between the levels but also the revision of the assumptions of a knowledge-based society will show that the ‘topics raised in the debates’ cannot be considered as the results of a profound societal paradigm shift. However what seems very impressive is the normative and virtual shift towards a concept of modernity, which strongly focuses on the role of technology as a driving force as well as on the global economic markets, which has to be accepted. Therefore – according to the official debate - the successful adaptation of these processes seems the only way to meet the knowledge-based society.
Analysing the societal changes on the three levels, the label ‘knowledge-based society’ can be seen critically. Therefore the main question of Theodor W. Adorno during the 16th German Congress of Sociology in 1968 did not loose its actuality. Facing the societal changes he asked whether we are still living in the industrial society or in a late capitalistic state. Thinking about the knowledge-based society according to the differences of these two options, this exercise would enrich the whole debate in terms of social inequality, political, economic exclusion processes and at least the power relationship between social groups.


Key-words:

Industrial society, knowledge-based society, ICT, globalisation, knowledge management.

Towards an effective integration of collaboration and information management

Title:
"Towards an effective integration of collaboration and information management"


Author:
António Lucas Soares
(INESC Porto, FEUP, Porto, Portugal)



Technical and organizational innovation processes e.g., business process reengineering and work redesign are normally loosely coupled leading to a sub-optimal socio-technical system. Closer interaction between these design processes is needed which calls for multi-disciplinary development teams sharing knowledge and competencies. A new category of methodological tools supported by modern knowledge management technologies is needed in order to make feasible such complex development processes.
In this presentation we will summarise the results of three projects dealing with multi-disciplinary approaches to the design of information systems for collaborative work focused on information and knowledge management.
The first project present a new way for organizational analysis to improve the quality of the requirements of systems that support information management and where collaboration is an important aspect. This is achieved through the application of the social network analysis approach, applied to refine, classify and prioritize the requirements for collaboration and information management in an organization.
The second case is the development of a knowledge community support system in the context of an industrial association group in the construction sector. This system is a result of the Know-Construct project which aims at providing association sponsored SME communities of the construction sector with a sophisticated information management platform and community building tools for knowledge sharing.
The third project regards to the development of a tool for the collaborative design of business processes and work organization. This tool is intended to support a multi-disciplinary team of employees and consultants in large technological and organizational development processes.


Key-words:

Innovation processes, work design, business process, collaborative design, knowledge management, socio-technical system.

Case Study 1 - Roca (Leiria)

"Integration of Human Work with Advanced Technology in the Sanitaryware Industry"

Sérgio Paulo
(Roca, Leiria)

Foresight methodologies to understand changes in the labour process. Experience from Portugal

Title:

"Foresight methodologies to understand changes in the labour process. Experience from Portugal"


Author:

António Brandão Moniz
(IET, FCTUNL, Monte de Caparica, Portugal)




The foresight and scenario building methods can be an interesting reference for social sciences, specially in terms of innovative methods for labour process analysis. A scenario – as a central concept for the prospective analysis – can be considered as a rich and detailed portrait of a plausible future world. It can be an useful tool for policy-makers to grasp problems clearly and comprehensively, and to better pin-point challenges as well as opportunities in an overall framework.
The features of the foresight methods are being used in some labour policy making experiences. Case studies developed in Portugal will be presented, specially focused on the fisheries sector, on information society and employment, on tele-working, or the automotive sector (most of them with the support of the Ministry of Labour).
Also some reflexions will be drawn in order to organise a set of principles for foresight analysis applied to the European project WORKS on the work organisation re-structuring in the knowledge society and the futures of work configurations, and on the work design methods for new  management structures of virtual organisations.


Key-words:

Foresight methods, labour process analysis, scenarios, Portugal, knowledge society, virtual organisations.

Foresight Perspectives of Professional Competence in Complex Working Systems

Title
"Foresight Perspectives of Professional Competence in Complex Working Systems: The Portuguese Air Traffic Control Case"


Author

José João Martins Sampaio
(IET, FCTUNL, Monte de Caparica, Portugal)




Information society aggressive and turbulent environment, promotes the development of complex work systems with a flexible and adaptive nature which, in turn,  requires the development of personal and professional valences extending beyond the restricted frame of an autonomous, discrete and specialized workplace, as a set of skills that must be submitted to the resolution of concrete problems. A concept of professional competence appears thus, which does not emerge from the approval of a formal academic curricula, but as the application of the necessary knowledge to the resolution of complex problems.
It is in this context that we propose, in complex work systems, the development of a systemic and integrative model of professional (general and cross) competencies, either at the human subsystem level or at the technical one. 
The operation of such a model requires the introduction of a new concept of Technological Factors which, in a complementary perspective of the traditional concept of Human Factors will be grounded on the knowledge and understanding of technology  "nature", in a perspective of valuation of the Human element and in a dynamics of balance between the human and technological dimensions. Empirical validation of the model is supported by the research on the Air Traffic Control Services, developed at NAV Portugal - EPE, between 2003 and 2005, through the observation of the operational reality as well as the application of interviews, questionnaire inquiry, case studies and the simulation of operational reality.
The results show there is a way to be followed from operational qualification to professional competence, in areas such as technologic system design and implementation, professional skill development and training or cognitive dimensioning. Foresight analysis exercises play than an important role, trough the involvement of operational people in the identification of critical uncertainties and strategies to be developed, according to the foreseeable environment and operational context evolution.
The research showed also that professional training may be foreseen as a catalytic integrative element of the Human and Technologic subsystems in a complex work environment.


Key-words:

Air traffic control, automation, complex work systems, operational decision, professional competencies, technological factor.

Case Study 2 - AutoEuropa VW (Palmela)

António Chora
(Workers Committee AutoEuropa VW, Palmela)

Change processes and future perspectives in the knowledge society. Results from European surveys

Title

"Change processes and future perspectives in the knowledge society. Results from European surveys"

Author

Tobias Woll
(IET, FCTUNL, Monte de Caparica, Portugal)

Main focus of the presentation is the relevance of existing European organisation surveys and future studies for the analysis of changes in work in the knowledge society. To understand future trends in the fields of work structures and work organisation it is important to identify at first the current trends of change processes. For this reason, the presentation will concentrate on both present and future trends of change. The talk will outline major trends, drivers of change and future prospects in textile industry, automotive industry and investment goods industry.

In a first step, the presentation will give an overview on existing organisation surveys conducted in different European countries and at the European level. These surveys can be used as a basis for secondary analysis of changes in work. To exemplify, findings of one survey will be presented, which has focused on innovations in production and manufacturing. In a second step, the presentation will illustrate results from foresight and future studies conducted by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Dublin), which have surveyed the future development of different industrial sectors. 

Key-words:

Knowledge society, work organisation, organisation surveys, foresight.

Work Organization Ontology - Development and Representation

Title:

"Work Organization Ontology - Development and Representation"


Author:

Cristóvão Sousa
(INESC Porto, Porto, Portugal)



Flexibility, efficiency, innovation in enterprises are key factors for productivity improvement achieved trough new effective business process management and new forms of work organization. Afterwards the “Green paper” on “Partnership for a new organization of work”, a lot of studies emerged; discussing the process of change in the way and work is performed, critical aspects, methods and methodologies. However there is no standardized model.
Beyond the human resources, market and technology, new drives such as trust, commitment and multi-functional teams emerge in this context where business processes are not only inside the organizations but it crosses organizations. An example is the study from Sinha and Van de Ven (2005) regarding de work design within and between organizations shows the main scenarios about work design organizations and its dimensions.
Technical and organizational innovation processes e.g., business process reengineering and work redesign are normally loosely coupled leading to a sub-optimal socio-technical system. Closer interaction between these design processes is needed which calls for multi-disciplinary development teams sharing knowledge and competencies. A new category of methodological tools supported by modern knowledge management technologies is needed in order to make feasible such complex development processes.
Such a tool relies on situational agreements regarding the terminology and semantics of the involved scientific and practice fields. These agreements need to be formalized in "ontologies" that serve both the purposes of human and machine understanding the domain of discourse. An ontology can present in a simple way the action fields in the work organization domain and group the main formal concepts and it’s correlation without the constraints of pre-defined reorganization models.
The presentation will give an overview of a work organization ontology and the way it was developed in terms of concepts and knowledge representation and knowledge sources analyzed for that goal.


Key-words:

Productivity, business process, new forms of work organization, work design, knowledge management

Endangered degrees of freedom. IT-workers as knowledge workers

Title:

"Endangered degrees of freedom. IT-workers as knowledge workers"


Author:

Martin Bechmann
(ITAS, FZK, Karlsruhe, Germany)



"Knowledge Work" is becoming a widely used term to describe the work of the knowledge society. It is mainly related to question of work organisation. However, the term implies some methodological problems: Because of the variety of definitions, it remains unclear who exactly is doing knowledge work and how attributes commonly linked to knowlegde work apply to knowledge workers. Also, it's analytical potential is unclear. The author presents some findings from an empirical study on knowledge work in the IT-sector.
A systematical approach to varying forms of knowledge work is proposed. Based on that theoretical framework, empirical results will be presented, in which IT-workers have been interviewed on their perception of their work, their position within their firm and work-live balance.


Key-words:

Knowledge work, Knowledge society, ICT, work organisation

New shop floor control approaches for virtual enterprises

Title:

"New shop floor control approaches for virtual enterprises"


Authors:

Luis Ribeiro
(UNINOVA, Monte de Caparica, Portugal)
José Barata
(FCTUNL, Monte de Caparica, Portugal)



The virtual enterprise paradigm seems a fit response to face market instability and the volatile nature of business opportunities increasing enterprise’s interest in similar forms of networked organisations.
The dynamic environment of a virtual enterprise requires that partners in the consortium own reconfigurable shop floors. This paper presents new approaches to shop floor control that meet the requirements of the new industrial paradigms and argues on work re-organization at shop floor level.


Key-words:

Virtual enterprise, networked organisations, shopfloor control.

Ergonomics and Usability – key factors in Knowledge Society

Title:

"Ergonomics and Usability – key factors in Knowledge Society"


Author:

Isabel Lopes Nunes
(FCTUNL, Monte de Caparica, Portugal)



During the recent years human society evolved from the “industrial society age” and transitioned into the “knowledge society age”. This means that knowledge media support migrated from “pen and paper” to computer-based Information Systems (IS).
This evolution introduced some technological, organizational, and methodological changes affecting the demand, work-load and stress over the workers, many times in a negative way. Due to this fact Ergonomics has assumed an increasing importance, as a science/technology that deals with the problem of adapting the work to the man, namely in terms of Usability.
The main Ergonomics domains are Physical Ergonomics (related with physical and physiological loads), Cognitive Ergonomics (related with mental processes) and Organizational Ergonomics (optimization of sociotechnical systems). All of them aim to contribute to the design and evaluation of tasks, jobs, products and systems in order to make them compatible with the needs, abilities and limitations of people.
Usability is then a key issue on ergonomic interventions regarding IS. Usability can be defined as a quality or characteristic of a product, denoting whether it is efficient, effective and satisfying for those who use it. However, Usability is also an ergonomic approach and a group of techniques aimed at creating such products, based on a user-centered design.


Key-word:

Ergonomics; Usability; User-centered design

Event photos

Exhibition on "Censorship of Memory" at the Library
   



During a break:
   

Outside raining:


Preparation for the next presentation: