Introduction Topic and Client I have been asked to create an annotated bibliography on Information in the Workplace for my classmates attending a hypothetical seminar. Since information undergirds all of business (accounting and marketing are information systems), I am taking my cue from the movie Desk Set and limiting this topic to aspects of informal communication networks, as opposed to the formal managerial structure often shown on organizational charts. Recent advances in technology, such as networked communications, are producing revolutionary changes in the way businesses operate and, thus, the roles of literally everyone in the workplace. This bibliography does not seek to compare and contrast electronic communication products like Lotus Notes, nor is it an introduction to MIS. Rather, I wish to explore the web of informal interpersonal relationships and unofficial power structures through which much organizational information flows. These informal structures, or corporate cultures, affect decision making and, ultimately, the way things get done in the workplace. Research increasingly shows that an understanding of these relationships is vital to initiating change or installing workable communication technology in any organization. Our cohort is varied and dynamic. Although most of us are not business majors, our workplace experiences range from volunteerism to careers of twenty years' duration. Some of us have a great deal of technological expertise, while others are just becoming comfortable with e-mail. Our interests, career plans, and learning styles also cover a wide range. We will all, however, be taking LI815, or the new curriculum equivalent course on library management. Many of us will eventually become agency or system managers, but we will all be working with or for different kinds of organizations, either designing or implementing information systems or providing customized information service to groups or individuals within an organization. An understanding of the social and political behaviors of people in organizations will help us to become better, more effective information professionals, since it is people in various organizational cultures who will be the end users of the services we provide. Purpose and Scope The purpose of this bibliography is to provide our class a rich variety of materials that they will find enjoyable, thought provoking, informative, and useful in their academic and professional lives. I have tried to make listings relevant, timely, authoritative, and reflective of current (emergent paradigm) issues in organizational behavior and management. Since our class includes visual learners, as well as those who learn through fiction, I have included two novels and a video. A book on body language in the workplace would be helpful for class members who showed an interest in this topic during LI801. Because the majority of our class is female, and because women and minorities make up an increasing proportion of the workforce, several works specifically target the female perspective. Although much of the material focuses on managerial communication, many readings explore networking at every organizational level. Unless otherwise noted, readings discuss organizations in general, as opposed to specific industries or libraries, and use business case histories to illustrate points. The authors believe their ideas have practical applications; however, this bibliography is not intended to be a "how to" list. Readings vary in length from short articles to books. Aside from the video, reading depth ranges from two popular novels to articles in scholarly journals. The cartoon is gratis. Omitted as overly narrow in focus are theses and dissertations. I have instead searched for materials that are intellectually intriguing but not overly technical for the lay reader. All works are also current. With the exception of the fiction and Shoshana Zuboff's pioneering work, In the Age of the Smart Machine, listings date no earlier than 1990. With the vast amounts of literature available, this bibliography could not, within the given time frame, be entirely comprehensive, much less exhaustive. I have tried to hit the high points, and I believe I've found good materials. I hope that diverse users find this bibliography worthwhile and encourage them to add to it as needs and interests dictate. Structure For ease of use, I have divided this bibliography into several clusters as follows: I. A Literary Introduction II. Power and Politics- Organizational Behavior III. Networking and Communication- From the Water Cooler to the Board Room IV. Adding Technology to the Culture Afterward 1. Probably Good- Unavailable by due date 2. Addenda- Other materials to explore (including an MIS text for the interested) Within clusters, items are listed alphabetically by author, books first, followed by magazine or other articles. In one instance I've listed a book first, out of alphabetical order, because users will gain a greater appreciation of other materials in that section by reading that book first. I have also noted in the annotations which works might usefully be read together, which are of greatest value, and which are quick reads for those in a hurry. Since socio-political behavior is complex, however, readers are urged to view the above categories as arbitrary. A user might, for example, wish to compare and contrast The Godfather with Barbarians at the Gate or note the interrelationships between power and the use of e- mail. Search Information The following describes my primary search sources, keywords, and search techniques. I point out those areas which were most fruitful, as well as disappointing time wasters. I. Primary Sources 1. Databases: CARL (Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries)- a group of databases, including: Denver Public Library Auraria Library Colorado State University Magazine Index Business Index & ASAP NoveList InfoTrac First Search: including, WorldCat Article 1st University of Colorado at Boulder (a separate library database accessible through a CARL gateway) 2. Book Review Index 3. The Internet Search engines: Infoseek- http://www2.infoseek.com/ Magellan-http://www.mckinley.com Yahoo-http://www.yahoo.com/ Websites: Harvard Business School- http://www.hbs.edu Wired- http://www.hotwired.com International Workplace Studies Program at Cornell- http://iwsp.human.cornell.edu 4. Other: I browsed Tattered Cover and Barnes & Noble, asked help from librarians and business professors accessed through the Deans' Offices at UCD, UCBoulder, and the University of Denver. I also e-mailed some sources. Finally my search included checking through bibliographies and references in available sources. II. Keywords used in searching: I used the following general terms in keyword searches:Informal communication, small group interaction, learning organization, psychology-industrial, information politics, networking, work anthropology, communication in organizations, communication- psychological aspects, work groups, and information technology-social aspects. All of these words were only somewhat helpful, since my topic is interdisciplinary. I used the title or author with or without the word "review" when searching for book reviews. III. Search Techniques- listed in order of greatest success: 1. The Internet: I found some quasi-tantalizing material here, but my greatest hit was Harvard Business School. This excellent website fully describes research areas, lists faculty (including research interests, publications, e-mail address, phone number, and picture). There is also a searchable gopher for the HBS Press and Harvard Business Review. Not even the Sloan School at MIT or the School of Management at Yale can match this site for amount of information or ease of use.Wired magazine also has back issues on line. Searching, however, requires logon as a member (membership is free), as I discovered after fruitlessly searching past leadarticles for an item I wanted on Xerox PARC. 2. Searching bibliographies and references provided my greatest source of usefulmaterials, after perusal of HBS works. 3. Database searches, especially CARL and Magazine Index, also became far more productive after reviewing sources found at Harvard Business School. 4. Helpful librarians aided my search. The library at Mountain States EmployersCouncil (where Tiina Brown and her boss Mar Scully were most helpful) keeps afile of magazine articles on topics including communication in management. Librarians at Denver Public Library were also very kind. 5. Several business professors pointed me to MIS journals and texts, but Charles Beck of UCDenver is publishing a book on this bibliography topic and generously gave me a draft copy of applicable chapters, the table of contents, and references. 6. Other- Chatting with classmates and Pam Sandlian, my supervisor and a SLIM PhD candidate, proved reassuring. Serendipity helped. I once picked up a volume by mistake and opened it to a good book review. Simply browsing the stacks at bookstores and libraries was not helpful. There were too many books, and I had no way to evaluate what I wanted. Annotation Information Annotations contain the following information: 1. Citation of the document in MLA style. 2. Brief evaluation, describing: a. Information content and why the work was chosen, usually because it adds substantially to understanding of the topic. Where applicable, I suggest works to be read with the given item. b. Authority- In most cases, I have selected works because of renowned authorship, currency, reputable publishers, good reviews, publication by reputable trade or business school journal, good references or reviews, or any combination of the above. For collections of articles, I evaluate the contributors as well as the editors. c. Nature and description of the document. Unless otherwise noted, all books (except fiction) have a table of contents and useful index. Most contain bibliographies. d. Where applicable, I cite critical reviews or other evidence of quality, such as a reference in another work, or recommendation by another recognized authority. e. ** If you can only read one article or book, read this. Bold Italics- Warning! Dense reading ahead. Graphs, statistics. (Mckinnon, Sharon, _The Information Mosaic_: Nohria, Nitin, _Networks and Organizations: Structure, Form, and Action_: Ibarra, Herminia, "Personal Networks of Women and Minorities in Management: A Conceptual Framework": Galegher, Jolene, _Intellectual Teamwork: Social and Technological Foundations of Cooperative Work_) Bibliography I. A Literary Introduction Books Auchincloss, Louis. The Partners. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1974. The author, a graduate of Groton, Yale, and the University of Virginia Law School, is a practicing Wall Street lawyer, who, according to reviewers, writes about the "declines and cushioned falls of good-family New Yorkers. He is a lucid, confident and tidy observer of this small community." Favorably reviewed by, among others, The Atlantic and Library Journal, this book tells the ongoing story of a small but distinguished New York law firm, as seen by a senior partner. It is included in this bibliography because it describes the network of social relationships and unwritten rules through which these firms operate, wielding considerable wealth and prestige. These relationships and attitudes infiltrate private as well as workplace lives and create a narrowly defined, insular, very close knit society wary of any change or intrusion. This is an example of corporate culture at one end of the social spectrum. Quoting the blurb: "Time and change; these are the forces with which the man of morals must strike a bargain in an amoral world. Every day his bargaining position is slightly different. In this sense the story of one profession today becomes timeless." Puzo, Mario. The Godfather. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969. This popular, favorably reviewed best seller tells of networking at the other end of the social spectrum. According to Newsweek, "Puzo proves to be a genuine social historian. The Godfather is fiction, but it is still a valid and fascinating portrait of America's most powerful and least understood subculture, the Mafia." Several classmates approved the inclusion of this book in a bibliography about informal workplace networks, because it has become almost a metaphor for wielding (criminal) power through organization. Whatever its illegal intent, the Mafia network is structured and patriarchal, though unofficial. Although the "workplace" may be a front, bonding, teamwork, shifting loyalties, and negotiated deals form a "corporate" web through which information flows and things get done. The Corleone family sees itself as a business that protects its members and advances its interests through entrepreneurship. Video **Desk Set . Dir. Walter Lang. With Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. Twentieth Century Fox. 1990. This is a classic Hepburn-Tracy romance, about the head of the research department at a TV network and an absent- minded computer genius who, information workers fear, will replace their jobs with a machine. Although the computer technology reflects the original 1957 release date, the video (shown in class) portrays an intricate web of unofficial grapevine and water cooler communication. Information travels and is interpreted, or misinterpreted, through this network faster than through official conduits. Information sharing helps build the relationships and teamwork which enables the workers to do their jobs efficiently. II. Power and Politics- Organizational Behavior Books Burrough, Bryan, and John Helyar. Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco. New York: Harper & Row, 1990. The authors, both Wall Street Journal reporters, won UCLA's Gerald Loeb award for their work on this story of the largest takeover ever in America: the $25 billion leveraged buyout by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts of RJR Nabisco in December 1988. Reviewed favorably in The Economist, "the book also contains enough individual examples of greed, egoism, conniving and sheer incompetence to stun even more jaundiced observers of the Wall Street madhouse." This book is also referenced in "Information Politics" (see below), and is included in this bibliography because of its careful description of unofficial strategy meetings, power politics, and social relationships that determined how financial operations at the highest level were conducted. Readers might want to peruse Managing with Power (see below) along with this work. Cohen, Allan R., and David L. Bradford. Influence Without Authority. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1990. Allan R. Cohen is Walter H. Carpenter Professor of Management at Babson College. David L. Bradford teaches at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business. Referenced in Linda Hill's course note (below), this book provides an in depth discussion of how political relationships, often governed by the law of reciprocity, work in organizations. The authors are corporate trainers who take a practical approach to their subject, offering advice on how to get things done. This is a readable, useful book aimed at managers. Nirenberg, John. The Living Organization: Transforming Teams into Workplace Communities. San Diego: Pfeiffer & Company, 1993. John Nirenberg, PhD., is an adjunct course facilitator for Interpersonal Dynamics at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business and an adjunct professor of organizational behavior at San Francisco State University, as well as the founder of the Center for Workplace Community. This book won praise from, among others, Hazel Henderson, author of Paradigms in Progress and one of the required readings for LI803. According to the author, "the major contribution of The Living Organization is to pull together the various aspects of the new paradigm now piercing our organizational consciousness and to construct a system that accommodates the many societal and technological changes now taking place." Although it tends to be a "how to" book, this work is listed here because it specifically discusses the new paradigm and social change in relation to organizational politics. In addition, the preface describes the book's content chapter by chapter, a useful feature for readers in a hurry. **Pfeffer, Jeffrey. Managing with Power: Politics and Influence in Organizations. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1992. This is the thoroughly revised and updated version of Power in Organizations, the text originally created by the author for use in his course, Power and Politics in Organizations, which he developed and taught at Stanford's Graduate School of Business, where he is Thomas D. Dee II Professor of Organizational Behavior. Referenced in "Information Politics" (see below), this book is thorough and comprehensive, yet readable for the lay person. At 345 pages, it would be very useful for a neophyte needing a relatively quick but solid conceptual overview of the subject. Readers may want to select specific chapters as need or interest dictate. Representative section headings include: Sources of Power; Strategies and Tactics for Employing Power Effectively; and, Power Dynamics: How Power is Lost and How Organizations Change. The author also includes numerous notes, a lengthy bibliography, and an excellent index. Schwartz, Peter. The Art of the Long View. New York: Doubleday, 1991. This book is listed in the program bibliography distributed to us in LI801. A leading futurist, the author uses a scenario approach to help businesses and individuals develop strategic vision. Of particular interest for this bibliography is the chapter, "Information-Hunting and -Gathering," especially pages 95-104, which discuss networking and its effects within organizations and as a way of designing a business. Also interesting is a quotation on page 81, attributed to Peter Drucker: "The market is really about relationships...It's about people coming together, getting to know and trust one another." Although not as comprehensive as Pfeffer's book, this work received praise from Stewart Brand, founder of the Whole Earth Catalog, and Michael Porter of Harvard Business School. It might usefully be read in conjunction with The Living Organization (above) or The Fifth Discipline (below). Senge, Peter E. The Fifth Discipline. New York: Doubleday, 1990. The author is Director of the Systems Thinking and Organizational Learning Program at MIT's Sloan School of Management. According to Art Kleiner in The Whole Earth Review, "organizations that want to learn...must follow five disciplines... The fifth and all-embracing discipline, Systems Thinking, is a technique for modeling, predicting, and generalizing about the behavior of complex systems." Of special interest for this bibliography is Chapter 13, which provides a conceptual framework for creating an open environment where learning can take place; however, the book as a whole, though not a light read, is worthwhile for those who have time. Senge notes, for example, that systems thinking requires seeing interrelationships rather than linear cause-effect chains and seeing processes of change rather than snapshots. The key to seeing reality systemically is seeing circles of influence rather than straight lines. By tracing the flows of influence, we can see repeating patterns. Articles Bartolome, Fernando. "Nobody Trusts the Boss Completely--Now what?." Harvard Business Review March-April 1989, n.2, pp. 135-142. This article is included despite its 1989 publication date because the subject matter, as noted below, deals with developing and using networks for information transfer. As stated in the abstract, "catching problems early is important to managers, and the best way to find out about developing headaches is to have subordinates tell you. This depends on candor and trust, but both have strict natural limits. Managers must carefully nurture trust and be aware of the six areas critical to its development: communication, support, respect, fairness, predictability, and competence. But managers must also watch for telltale signs of trouble. Managers must develop a communication network based on properly using, spreading, and creating information." This could usefully be read with "Information Politics" (below). Charan, Ram. "How Networks Reshape Organizations-For Results," Harvard Business Review September-October 1991, pp.104-115. Ram Charan is a Dallas-based management consultant who advises companies on implementing global strategies. The author discusses the concepts developed as a result of four years' observation and participation in the creation of networks in ten companies. The social architecture of networks and the role of information are reviewed. Although these were formal networks, designed by managers, they began to make a significant difference in organizations when they affected patterns of relationships. Over time, the members of the network influenced values and behavior both above and below them in the larger organization. **Davenport, Thomas H., Robert G. Eccles, and Laurence Prusak. "Information Politics." Sloan Management Review Fall 1992, pp.53-65. Thomas H. Davenport is a partner and director of research at Ernst & Young's Center for Information Technology and Strategy in Boston. Robert G. Eccles is professor of business administration at the Harvard Business School. Laurence Prusak is a principal, also at the Center for Information Technology and Strategy. Quoting the abstract: "Information technology was supposed to stimulate information flow and eliminate hierarchy. It has had just the opposite effect, argue the authors. As information has become the key organizational 'currency,' it has become too valuable for most managers to just give away. In order to make information-based organizations successful, companies need to harness the power of politics--that is, allow people to negotiate the use and definition of information, just as we negotiate the exchange of other currencies. The authors describe five models of information politics and discuss how companies can move from the less effective models, like feudalism and technocratic utopianism, and toward the more effective ones, like monarchy and federalism." This is a key article which might usefully be read in conjunction with Managing with Power (above). Hequet, Marc. "E-Mail Spins a Web at Work." Training August 1995, vol.32, n.8, pp.53-60. The author is associate editor of Training, a standard trade journal. This article describes the effects e-mail can have on interpersonal and corporate behaviors. At its best, e-mail enables an environment in which teams organize, do a job and dissolve to re-form in different incarnations elsewhere in the company. Problems, however, can include privacy issues and abuse, as well as misinterpretation of messages. This is a short readable article, a good choice for the reader who wants a quick overview of several e-mail issues. Hill, Linda A. Power Dynamics in Organizations. Harvard Business School. 9-494-083 (rev. March 22, 1995, 15 pages). Professor Linda Hill prepared this note to be used in the second-year MBA elective course Power and Influence and generously provided a copy for use in this bibliography. The note contains a bibliography and exhibits and is aimed at developing students' diagnostic skills in assessing the power dynamics in their particular situation. The document considers a definition of power, why political conflict is inevitable in organizations, where power comes from, and how the student can make sense of the power dynamics in a given organization. This short overview might usefully be read in conjunction with "Information Politics" (above). Kleiner, Art. "The Battle for the Soul of Corporate America." Wired 3.08, http://www.hotwired.com/wired/3.08/features/reengineering.html Art Kleiner is a writer, teacher, and consultant of topics involving culture and business. He works with MIT's Center for Organizational Learning and NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program. Two major theories, one based on the work of W. Edwards Deming, and the other on the work of Michael Hammer, are competing for how the corporation should be governed in the information age. This article describes both models and considers their implications for corporations. "Ultimately, the question lingers: What should a large institution be? Specifically, what do we want of corporations? Demingism promises that the individual worker will have more power to answer that question; Hammerism, that corporations will fit much more effectively and responsively into a fast-changing world." How organizations align themselves will determine, to a great extent, their corporate culture. Larson, Erik, and Jonathan King. "The Systemic Distortion of Information: An Ongoing Challenge to Management." Organizational Dynamics Winter 1996, pp. 49-61. Erik Larson is an associate professor of management at the College of Business, Oregon State University. Jonathan King is a professor of business at the University of Washington. This article discusses information distortion in organizations, why it happens, and how to guard against it. The study is essentially an examination of the dynamics of information politics within organizations. A bibliography at the end of the article references The Fifth Discipline (above). This is a short but very informative read. Zuboff, Shoshana. "The Emperor's New Workplace." Scientific American September 1995, pp. 203-204. Shoshana Zuboff is Benjamin and Lillian Hertzberg Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and author of the pioneering work In the Age of the Smart Machine (below).This essay succinctly describes the core issue facing business: information technology evolves more quickly than behavior. Old paradigm industrial hierarchy rested on the premise that complexity could constantly be removed from lower level jobs and passed up to the management ranks. Exploiting information technology (the informated environment) means opening the information base of the organization to members at every level, redefining the social contract of the workplace. -------"Informate the Enterprise: An Agenda for the Twenty First Century" National Forum Summer 1991, v.71, n.3, pp. 3-7. Zuboff uses the example of a pulp mill to expand upon the ideas discussed in the previous article. She describes the post-hierarchical organization, including changed roles and relationships as the front lines become empowered with information and intellective skills. The issues are systemic. It might be useful to read this article in conjunction with The Fifth Discipline (above). III. Networking and Communication- From the Water Cooler to the Board Room Books Beck, Charles E. Managerial Communication: The Lifeline of Organizations. Upcoming The author, Associate Professor of Communication at the University of Colorado at Denver, graciously provided draft copies of applicable chapters of this soon to be published book. Meant to be used as a text in a course on communication for business and industry, it is a comprehensive, thorough, but readable overview of the subject. Representative chapters of interest for this bibliography include: Organizational Culture, Models of Communication, Organizations as Systems, and Networks and Lifelines in Organizations. Also included is a lengthy (43 page) list of references. Readers will probably want to augment this work with other materials; however, it is a good starting point for someone needing an introduction to the topic. Fast, Julius. Subtext: Making Body Language Work in the Workplace. New York: Viking, 1991. This update to the bestselling Body Language is essentially a "how to" book, included here because several classmates in previous classes wanted to discuss the effects of body language in communications with library customers. Julius Fast is the guru of this genre, who believes that body language is a subtext in all our communications. Chapter headings include: Supertalk, The Job Interview, The Magic Behind the Sale, and, interestingly, Aspects of Power, and Subtext and the Global Workplace. Favorably reviewed in Library Journal and Working Woman, this book also discusses speech habits and cultural issues. Although not scholarly, it is, nonetheless, an interesting read on this aspect of interpersonal communication. Helgesen, Sally. The Female Advantage: Women's Ways of Leadership. New York: Doubleday, 1990. This book was referenced in both Tom Peters' Liberation Management (below), and also in Herminia Ibarra's article, "Personal Networks of Women and Minorities in Management A Conceptual Framework" (below). A former contributing editor of Harper's, Helgesen is a journalist whose work has appeared in national publications and The New York Times. In this book, the author describes her research on the strategies and organization theories of four successful women leaders. Through what Helgesen calls "diary studies," she explores how women leaders make decisions, gather and disperse information, and structure their organizations. These women picture themselves at the center of an inclusive spiderweb. Their workplaces emphasize community and information sharing. Although there are notes at the end, this book unfortunately lacks an index. Otherwise, it is a pleasant read. Hill, Linda A. Becoming a Manager: Mastery of a New Identity. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1992. Linda Hill is Associate Professor of Organizational Development/ Human Resource Management at Harvard Business School, where one of the courses she teaches is Power and Influence. This book provides insight into the challenges that new managers face. Their most important task, and the most difficult to master, is managing relationships with subordinates and others, and developing information and resources networks. Hill based her work on the experiences of nineteen new managers at two Fortune 500 companies; however, this is not a "how to" book. Instead, the author leads readers through a procession of anecdotes and narratives, as she describes the young managers' transformation from specialists to generalists. The book is aimed at new managers or potential managers and has some shortcomings. Its boundaries are narrow; the final chapter relies on traditional tools for managerial development; and it could have given greater discussion to the traits, behaviors or situations that led to managerial failure. It is, however, an interesting study of the learning process. This book was favorably reviewed in the journal Academy of Management Executive. McKinnon, Sharon M. and William J. Bruns, Jr. The Information Mosaic. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1992. Sharon M. McKinnon is Associate Professor of Business Administration at Northeastern University and William J. Bruns, Jr. is Professor of Accounting and Control at Harvard Business School. This book explores how managers actually obtain and use the information they need. The authors were surprised to learn that the managers they interviewed rely on accounting information primarily to corroborate impressions of organizational performance. To gather the information they require and to communicate it quickly, managers develop their own personal information systems, which rely to significant extent on direct observation and interpersonal contacts inside and outside their firms. This book is aimed primarily at accounting and MIS professionals and describes, for example, research methodology and interview protocols. Users of this bibliography, however, should be interested in chapters describing where managers find information and what gives information value to managers. **Peters, Tom. Liberation Management. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1992 Tom Peters is the author of Thriving on Chaos and co-author of both In Search of Excellence and A Passion for Excellence. This, his latest much- praised book was selected at a Book of the Month Club main selection. Peters is known as the management guru who first enunciated the concept of Management by Walking Around, gathering needed information by informal means. At over 830 pages, including notes and index, this is not a quick read. Of special interest for this bibliography are the several chapters on networking as a way of doing business. Firms can have a very small core staff and yet handle complex projects by networking with appropriate resources as necessary. Work is done in semipermanent networks of small project-oriented teams, each one an autonomous, entrepreneurial center of opportunity. Hierarchical management structures cannot respond to the speed and flexibility needed for these projects. Peters believes that this kind of economy is liberating both for society and for the individual. Readers might want to consider The Female Advantage (above) with this book. The Doonesbury comic is added below because is so aptly illustrates some of the above ideas. (Doonesbury, _Rocky Mountain News_, May 8, 1996. Mike is wondering how his girlfriend Kim, who has just left his Seattle computer firm, has found another job so quickly. "I don't get it, Kim- How did you get picked up by that French Company so quickly?" "Good coders are hot, Mike. Word of the firings this morning spread through the campus like a virus. Everyone stopped working. A systems operator for Chien Fou in Paris noticed the lack of company activity on the net. Within minutes, he e-mailed us all contracts" Mike: "Whoa.. Who _thinks_like that?" Kim: "Successful companies. Think Bernie'll be back from Maui?") Nohria, Nitin, and Robert G. Eccles, eds. Networks and Organizations: Structure, Form, and Action. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1992. Both editors are professors at Harvard Business School. This book is a collection of articles by professors in the fields of sociology, cultural anthropology, and business. All articles contain notes and references. The editors suggest that several basic premises underlie a network perspective on organizations. All organizations are in important respects social networks and need to be addressed and analyzed as such. An organization's environment is properly seen as a network of other organizations. The actions (attitudes and behaviors) of actors in organizations can be best explained in terms of their position in networks of relationships. Networks constrain actions, and in turn are shaped by them. The comparative analysis of organizations must take into account their network characteristics. These are scholarly articles, many of which contain charts, graphs, and statistical analysis, but most are worth the effort. Readers might want to start with Herminia Ibarra's contribution: "Structural Alignments, Individual Strategies, and Managerial Action: Elements toward a Network Theory of Getting Things Done." Reardon, Kathleen Kelley. They Don't Get It, Do They? Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1995. Kathleen Reardon is Associate Professor of Management and Organization at the University of Southern California. This is a handbook on the different perceptions, objectives, statements, and body language that open up the chasm between the sexes at work. Women don't have to become men, the author believes, but they must learn how to respond to the hidden subtext of professional interactions to advance their careers. This book has won favorable comment from Betty Friedan and Warren Bennis, a colleague of Reardon's at the University of Southern California. Even though it tends to be a "how to" book, They Don't Get It, Do They? is included in this bibliography as an adjunct to the Julius Fast book on body language and Helgesen's work on female leadership style. Articles Hirschhorn, Larry, and Thomas Gilmore. "The New Boundaries of the 'Boundaryless' Company." Harvard Business Review May-June 1992, pp. 108-115. The authors are principal and vice president, respectively, at the Center for Applied Research in Philadelphia. They discuss in this article the emotional boundaries necessary for interpersonal relationships in the workplace. Included are the authority boundary, task boundary, political boundary and identity boundary. Because these boundaries are different from the traditional kind, they tend to be invisible to many managers. Knowing how to recognize these new boundaries and use them productively is the essence of management in the flexible organization where team work is of major importance. The authors suggest managers use their own feelings as tools in thinking and managing. Ibarra, Herminia M. "Personal Networks of Women and Minorities in Management: A Conceptual Framework." Academy of Management Review 18, no. 1 (1993), pp. 56-87. Professor of Management at Harvard Business School, Herminia Ibarra has done considerable research on how managers develop and use informal networks of relationships. Quoting the abstract: "The central thesis of this article is that the organizational context in which interaction networks are embedded produces unique constraints on women and racial minorities, causing their networks to differ from those of their white male counterparts in composition and characteristics of their relationships with network members. Organizational context is hypothesized to affect personal networks directly, as well as through its impact on individuals' strategies for managing constraints. A theoretical perspective that views women and minorities as active agents who make strategic choices among structurally limited alternatives is offered." This is a scholarly article with extensive references, included here because of its research emphasis. **Krackhardt, David, and Jeffrey R. Hanson. "Informal Networks: The Company Behind the Chart." Harvard Business Review July-August 1993, pp. 104-111. David Krackhardt is Associate Professor of Organizations and Public Policy at the H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon University. Jeffrey R. Hanson is president of his own management consulting firm in New York. According to the abstract: "A formal organizational chart won't reveal which people confer on technical matters or discuss office politics over lunch. Much of the real work in any company gets done through an informal organization, with complex networks of relationships that cross functions and divisions. According to the authors, managers can harness the power in their companies by diagramming the advice network, which reveals the people to whom others turn to get work done; the trust network, which uncovers who shares delicate information; and the communication network, which shows who talks about work-related matters." This is a fascinating read, complete with sample diagrams. Mishra, Jitendra. "Managing the Grapevine." Public Personnel Management vol. 19, no 2 (Summer 1990), pp. 213-228. Jitendra Mishra is a professor at Weidman College of Business Administration, Grand Valley State Colleges. According to the author, nearly all of the information within the grapevine is undocumented and is thereby open to change and interpretation as it moves through the network. It often travels faster than formal channels. The grapevine is very useful in supplementing formal channels, since it provides people with an outlet for their imaginations and apprehensions as well. It also helps satisfy a natural desire to know what is really going on. This articles develops a conceptual model of the grapevine, discusses reasons for the grapevine, as well as types, roles, and accuracy of information. The author believes that those who are able to understand the power of the grapevine will be better prepared to utilize it to provide stability and credibility in the work environment. IV. Adding Technology to the Culture Books **Zuboff, Shoshana. In the Age of the Smart Machine. New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1988. This is the pioneering study aimed at understanding the implications of the massive diffusion of information technology for the nature of work, organization, and management. It has won critical acclaim and has become the definitive work on this subject. Readers in a hurry might want to start with Chapter 10, "Panoptic Power and the Social Text," which deals with issues of interpersonal communication in a computerized organization, followed by the concluding chapter, "Managing the Informated Organization." Zuboff covers the root dilemmas of change from old paradigm hierarchies to new paradigm heterarchical organizations. This book should be read first in this section. Galegher, Jolene, Robert Kraut, and Carmen Egido, eds. Intellectual Teamwork: Social and Technological Foundations of Cooperative Work. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1990. This is a collection of scholarly articles contributed by experts in the areas of electrical engineering, social sciences, psychology, and business management. It is referenced in Connections: New Ways of Working in the Networked Organization (below). Since some of the technologies described are somewhat exotic, readers will probably want to focus on the first section, which deals with basic social processes and group interaction. Two chapters, The Development of Working Relationships, and Mutual Knowledge and Communicative Effectiveness are of special interest for this bibliography. All contributor chapters end with references, and most contain abstracts. This book would be particularly worthwhile for those who want more in depth material after reading Shared Minds (below). Jolene Galegher is a professor at the University of Arizona, Department of Management and Policy. Schrage, Michael. Shared Minds. New York: Random House, 1990. Michael Schrage completed this book while a visiting scholar at MIT's Media Lab. It has gained favorable comment from, among others, Tom Peters (above) and Mitchell Kapor, founder of Lotus Development Corporation. According to reviewer Howard Rheingold (author of Virtual Communities), "human communication in all its emotional volatility, its unpredictable creativity, and especially its fuzzy, rich, invisible networks of context...constitutes the real information revolution that is just beginning to take place. Schrage starts by considering the hypothesis that the most powerful revolutions triggered by communication technologies are revolutions in human working relationships. Shared Minds is about what collaborative technologies are likely to mean to us, at best and worst, and provides a framework for thinking about the social changes likely to erupt, blossom, diffuse, and emerge if computer supported cooperative work turns out to be as important as PCs and work processors." This is a clear, very readable work on what could be a highly technical subject. Sproull, Lee and Sara Kiesler. Connections: New Ways of Working in the Networked Organization. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1991. Lee Sproull is Professor of Management at Boston University and Sara Kiesler is Professor of Social and Decision Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University. According to Howard Webber's review in the Sloan Management Review, "Lee Sproull and Sara Kiesler examine change with an unusually discerning eye and a critical intelligence that tolerates ambiguity and conditions its claims. In their balanced and insightful analysis, the authors urge us to understand that technologies may deliberately be used to reinforce a clear chain of command, to structure and even block pathways of information exchange, to suppress extracurricular use of the system, and to improve security through surveillance. Sproull and Kiesler raise crucial questions about our technical and particularly our human strategies as a producing society." This book was referenced in "Information Politics" (above), and is worth reading in conjunction with "Working it Out" (below) and Shared Minds (above). Although it contains some charts and tables, it is not overly technical for the lay reader. Articles **Brown, John Seely. "Research that Reinvents the Corporation." Harvard Business Review January-February 1991, pp. 102-111. John Seely Brown is a corporate vice president at Xerox and director of the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). Research today must do more than simply innovate new products. It must design the new technological and organizational "architectures" that make possible a continuously innovating company. In working with its corporate customers, Xerox PARC has found that innovation takes place at all levels of the company- not just in the research department. Some of PARC's most important research has been done by anthropologists, who often find that people don't follow formal procedures as outlined in company manuals. Instead, they rely on a rich variety of informal practices that aren't in any manual but are crucial to getting the job done. In another example, a researcher found that the stories tech-reps tell each other around the coffee pot are crucial to continuous learning. Rather than impose a new technology on a corporate structure, PARC tries to design new uses of technology that leverage the incremental innovation coming from within the entire company. This article is a fascinating application of new paradigm thinking to technology research. Davenport, Thomas H. "Saving IT's Soul: Human-Centered Information Management." Harvard Business Review March-April 1994, pp. 119-131. Thomas H. Davenport is a partner and director of research at Ernst & Young's Center for Information Technology and Strategy in Boston and an adjunct professor at Boston University's School of Management. The proponents of information technology, notes the author, usually concentrate on management information systems and hardware, and ignore the human element. A more logical approach, he argues, would be to start with a determination of how people use information, rather than how people use machines. Davenport adds that, in making such a determination, it is well to remember that information can take on many meanings, that changing an information system will not in itself transform a company, and that information is not easily shared. The author discusses corporate examples of human-centered information management. Hallmark, for example, has established "information guides"- translators between information users and the IT staff. This is a good follow-up to the John Seely Brown article (above). Hays, Laurie. "Working it Out." The Wall Street Journal pR22 (W) pR22 (E), Nov. 14, 1994. Computer networks are enhancing communications at some companies, but are also causing problems in communications. Some employees use networks to spy on other workers, or to leave thoughtless messages that would be difficult to convey in a more direct manner. While networks and groupware help some employees stay in touch with coworkers, other staffers dislike the impersonal communications represented by computer networks. Some managers have noticed morale problems associated with the lack of socialization workers are experiencing because their work with computers isolates them from other humans. Other employees have used computer technology to become more efficient at removing confidential company information and bringing it with them to new jobs. This article might be read in conjunction with the article on e-mail (above) and is a good choice for someone wanting a very quick overview of some often unanticipated problems with groupware. Rheingold, Howard. "PARC is Back!" Wired 2.02. http://hotwired.com/wired/2.02/features/parc.html Howard Rheingold is the author of Virtual Communities. This article has much in common with the John Seely Brown piece in Harvard Business Review (above). Rheingold, however, describes in detail how one researcher is looking at MUDs as the water coolers of the Internet and a way to bring informal, playful communication back into organizations. This researcher envisioned a multimedia MOO to include a suite of tools for creating collaborative environments quickly. Users would modify their virtual collaboration space, creating a unique arena for each project. This is a good alternative to the Brown article for those who prefer a more computer oriented (as opposed to business school) slant. Schrage, Michael. "Groupware Requires Much More Than Bandwidth." Business Communications Review Nov. 1995, vol.25, n.11, p.35-39. Client- server groupware implementations on the enterprise network depend as much on organizational culture and politics as on technical expertise, argues Schrage. Groupware products like Lotus Notes restructure relationships as readily as they restructure data. The goal becomes to create value through better human interaction, not just better information. Consequently, information technology leaders should stress that incentives to share information are needed whenever groupware is installed. Schrage believes that issues regarding information access will likely lead to intelligent agents that will manage information dissemination and interpersonal interactions. The author states that managers cannot talk of building a brain or nervous system while glibly insisting that the mind isn't their responsibility. This article is drawn from Schrage's latest book, No More Teams: Mastering the Dynamics of Creative Collaboration (below). Afterward 1. Probably Good- Unavailable by Due Date Information Technology for Workplace Communication. Report by the International Workplace Studies Program at Cornell, 1995. The report discusses, among other things, how the use of electronic communication technologies affects face-to-face communication. Manning, George, Kent Curtis, and Steve McMillen. Building Community: the Human Side of Work. Cincinnati: Thomson Executive Press, 1996. People, Managing Your Most Important Asset. Boston: Harvard Business Review, 1990. This is a collection of articles previously published in HBR, including an article by Abraham Zaleznik, "Management Communication and the Grapevine." Sproull, Lee, and Sara Kiesler. "Computers, Networks and Work." Scientific American Sept. 1991 v.265, n.3 pp. 116-124. (Includes related article on how people work via electronic mail. Special Issue: Communications, Computers and Networks.) Schrage, Michael. No More Teams: Mastering the Dynamics of Creative Collaboration. New York: Doubleday, 1995. Whetten, David A. and K.S. Cameron. Developing Management Skills: Gaining Power and Influence. New York: HarperCollins College Publishers, 1993. Referenced in the note by Linda A. Hill (above). 2. Addenda- Other Materials to Explore Management Information Systems. An excellent, comprehensive text, recommended by Professor Thompson at the University of Denver Business School, is: Laudon, Kenneth C., and Jane P. Laudon. Management Information Systems: A Contemporary Perspective. New York: Macmillan, 1995. Office relationships between the sexes- friendships and romance to sexual harassment. Consider starting with news coverage of current harassment problems at Mitsubishi. Organizational learning. Both Chris Argyris and David Garvin of Harvard Business School have written extensively in this area. Chaos theory. Thriving on Chaos, by Tom Peters, and Chaos: Making a New Science, by James Gleick. Telecommuting and how it affects workplace relationships. Start with Cornell's International Workplace Studies Program. Work and the family- tensions and overlap. (_Real Life Adventures_ cartoon from _Rocky Mountain News_, April 15, 1996, shows two workers holding coffee mugs and chatting. He: "He did? Then What?" She: "Then she checked the file." He: "Wow. Then What?" Caption: It's not the money that keeps us going to work. It's the fear that we might miss something.)