Organizational and Technological Implications of Cognitive Machines: Designing Future Information Management Systems

338 Pages·2008·5.522 MB·English

by  Farley Simon Nobre, Andrew M. Tobias, David S. Walker

Organizational and
Technological Implications
of Cognitive Machines:
Designing Future
Information Management
Systems
Farley Simon Nobre
Innovation Technology Enterprise, Brazil
Andrew M. Tobias
University of Birmingham, UK
David S. Walker
University of Birmingham, UK
InformatIon ScIence reference
Hershey • New York
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Nobre, Farley Simon, 1971-
Organizational and technological implications of cognitive machines : designing future information manage-
ment systems / by Farley Simon Nobre, Andrew M. Tobias and David S. Walker.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Summary: “This book addresses the possible implications of cognitive machines for current and future organi-
zations”--Provided by publisher.
ISBN 978-1-60566-302-9 (hardcover) -- ISBN 978-1-60566-303-6 (ebook)
1. Knowledge management. 2. Organizational learning. 3. Capability maturity model (Computer software) I.
Tobias, Andrew M. II. Walker, David S. (David Stanley), 1941- III. Title.
HD30.2.N63 2009
658.4’038011--dc22
2008040205
British Cataloguing in Publication Data
A Cataloguing in Publication record for this book is available from the British Library.
All work contributed to this book is original material. The views expressed in this book are those of the authors,
but not necessarily of the publisher.
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To our families and to all the people who encourage education in the world.
Table of Contents
Foreword...............................................................................................................x
Preface.................................................................................................................xii
Acknowledgment...............................................................................................xvi
Section.I:.
Introduction.to.the.Book.Context
Chapter.I
General.Introduction...........................................................................................1
Organizations ........................................................................................................1
Technology ............................................................................................................3
General Systems Theory .......................................................................................4
The Nature of Theory of Organizations ................................................................6
Rationale for a New Theory on Organizations .....................................................7
The Scope of the Book ...........................................................................................8
Motivations for this Research .............................................................................10
Summary .............................................................................................................15
References ...........................................................................................................15
Endnotes ..............................................................................................................21
Section.II:.
Organizational.Cognition
Chapter.II
Rationale.for.Organizational.Cognition..........................................................23
Introduction .........................................................................................................23
Preliminaries of Bounded Rationality and Contingency for Organizations:
Cognition vs. Uncertainty .............................................................................24
The Role of Organization Design in Organizational Cognition .........................26
Summary .............................................................................................................31
References ...........................................................................................................32
Endnotes ..............................................................................................................33
Chapter.III
A.Theory.of.Organizational.Cognition............................................................35
Introduction .........................................................................................................35
Background, Critical View and Advancements ...................................................35
Ten Principles of Organizational Cognition .......................................................37
Hierarchic Levels of Cognition in Organizational Systems ................................38
Attributes of the Organization and the Environment ..........................................39
Organizational Cognition and the Environment .................................................44
Definitions of the Organization ...........................................................................45
Cognitive Definition of the Environment ............................................................50
Cognitive Relations Between the Organization and the Environment ................51
Cognitive Networks of Organizations .................................................................53
Summary .............................................................................................................53
References ...........................................................................................................54
Endnotes ..............................................................................................................58
Section.III:.
Cognitive.Machines
Chapter.IV
Rationale.for.Cognitive.Machines....................................................................62
Introduction .........................................................................................................62
Unification of Organizational and Technological Theories ................................62
Summary .............................................................................................................65
References ...........................................................................................................65
Endnotes ..............................................................................................................67
Chapter.V
Principles.of.Cognitive.Machines.....................................................................68
Introduction .........................................................................................................68
Humans, Cognition and Machines ......................................................................68
Definitions of Machine Intelligence, Cognition, Autonomy and Complexity ......69
Definition of Cognitive Machines .......................................................................72
Contingency for Cognitive Machines ..................................................................72
Theories and Technologies Behind Cognitive Machines ....................................72
Summary .............................................................................................................77
References ...........................................................................................................77
Endnote ...............................................................................................................80
Chapter.VI
Design.of.Cognitive.Machines...........................................................................81
Introduction .........................................................................................................81
A General Structure of Information-Processing Machines .................................82
A Framework of Cognitive Machines .................................................................82
Levels of Symbolic-Processing ............................................................................83
Processes within the Cognitive Machine Framework .........................................84
Summary .............................................................................................................93
References ...........................................................................................................94
Endnotes ..............................................................................................................96
Section.IV:.
Cognitive.Machines.in.Organizations
Chapter.VII
Analysis.of.Cognitive.Machines.in.Organizations..........................................99
Introduction .........................................................................................................99
Capability Boundaries of Cognitive Machines ...................................................99
The Role of Cognitive Machines in Conflict Resolution ...................................103
Theorem for Cognitive Machines, Organizations and the Environment ...........106
Cognitive Machines, Designers and Organizations: Relationships .................106
Summary ...........................................................................................................108
References .........................................................................................................109
Endnotes .............................................................................................................110
Section.V:.
Industrial.Case.Study
Chapter.VIII
The.Organization.of.Study...............................................................................113
Introduction ........................................................................................................113
Approaches to the Study of the Organization.....................................................113
The Organization: NEC/NOB ............................................................................114
The Pursuit of Excellence in the Organization ..................................................117
Scope, Purpose and Motivations for the Study ..................................................117
Strategy and the Expected Findings ..................................................................118
Summary ............................................................................................................119
References .........................................................................................................120
Endnotes ............................................................................................................120
Chapter.IX
Organizational.Cognition.in.the.Industrial.Case.Study...............................122
Introduction .......................................................................................................122
The Capability Maturity Model: Overview .......................................................122
Organization Process Capability, Maturity and Performance .........................124
Mature vs. Immature Organizations .................................................................124
Organizational Cognition vs. Organization Process Maturity .........................125
Organizational Cognition vs. Organization Process Capability
and Performance ..........................................................................................126
Organizational Cognition vs. Organizational Learning ...................................127
The CMM in NEC/NOB ....................................................................................128
Summary ...........................................................................................................130
References .........................................................................................................131
Endnotes ............................................................................................................132
Chapter.X
A.Cognitive.Machine.in.the.Organization.of.Study......................................133
Introduction .......................................................................................................133
Objectives ..........................................................................................................133
Scope of the Application ...................................................................................134
The Pursuit of Innovation in the Organization .................................................134
Management Control in the Organization ........................................................135
Cognitive Machines in Management Control ...................................................136
The Management Control System .....................................................................138
Design of the Cognitive Machine ......................................................................140
Analysis of the Cognitive Machine ...................................................................146
Summary ...........................................................................................................149
References .........................................................................................................150
Endnotes ............................................................................................................152
Chapter.XI
Findings.for.the.Industrial.Case.Study..........................................................153
Introduction .......................................................................................................153
The Organization Process .................................................................................154
Data of the Organization Process .....................................................................156
Data Analysis ....................................................................................................157
Organizational Findings ...................................................................................159
Summary ...........................................................................................................161
References .........................................................................................................162
Endnote .............................................................................................................162
Section.VI:.
Implications.and.the.New.Organization
Chapter.XII
Implications.of.Cognitive.Machines.for.Organizations................................165
Introduction .......................................................................................................165
On Information Technology and Economic Growth of Organizations .............165
On Information Technology and Cognitive Machines ......................................166
On Cognitive Machines in Organizations .........................................................166
Summary ...........................................................................................................169
References .........................................................................................................170
Endnote .............................................................................................................171
Chapter.XIII
Beyond.the.Thresholds.of.Manufacturing.Organizations............................172
Introduction .......................................................................................................172
Motivations .......................................................................................................172
A Review of Manufacturing Organizations .......................................................173
Customer-Centric Systems ................................................................................175
Management Perspectives ................................................................................175
Socio-Technological Perspectives .....................................................................178
Organizational Systems Theory Perspectives ...................................................183
Summary ...........................................................................................................187
References .........................................................................................................188
Endnotes ............................................................................................................190
Chapter.XIV
The.New.Organization:.Towards.Computational.Organization.
Management.Networks....................................................................................191
Introduction .......................................................................................................191
The Scope of the New Organization ..................................................................192
Cognitive Information Systems (CIS) ................................................................192
Participation of CIS in the Organization ..........................................................192
Organization Functional Layers: The New Organization ................................193
Definition of Computational Organization Management Networks (COMN) .....199
Structure and Processes of Computational Organization Management
Networks (COMN) .......................................................................................200
Summary ...........................................................................................................200
References .........................................................................................................202
Section.VII:.
General.Conclusions
Chapter.XV
Contributions.and.Extensions ........................................................................205
Introduction .......................................................................................................205
On the Unification of Organizational and Techological Theories ....................205
On Organizational Cognition ...........................................................................206
On the Design of Cognitive Machines ..............................................................206
On Cognitive Machines and Organizational Cognition ...................................207
On Cognitive Machines in Conflict Resolution: Analysis .................................208
On Organizational Cognition and Environmental Complexity.........................208
On Cognitive Machines, Organizations and the Environment .........................209
On the Participation of Cognitive Machines in Organizations ........................209
On the Industrial Case ......................................................................................210
On the Implications of Cognitive Machines for Organizations ........................214
On the Thresholds of Manufacturing Organizations ........................................214
On the Computational Organization Management Networks ...........................214
Further Extensions ............................................................................................215
On the Future of Organizations ........................................................................217
Summary ...........................................................................................................217
References .........................................................................................................219
Endnote .............................................................................................................220
Appendix.Section.............................................................................................221
Glossary............................................................................................................312
About.the.Authors............................................................................................315
Index..................................................................................................................317