The Effect of Network Characteristics on Online Identity Management Practices

As online social networking permeates all aspects of personal and professional lives, users of social networking sites (SNSs) are more motivated than ever to manage their online identities to project a favorable impression of themselves to online audiences. This research builds on the boundary management perspective to gain a better understanding of online identity management practices by examining the relationship between characteristics of the online social network, including cognitive homogeneity and social tie variety and the use of identity management practices such as segmentation and self-enhancement. The proposed research model is tested using survey data. The findings suggest cognitive homogeneity is positively related to the use of both identity management practices, segmentation and self-enhancement, whereas social tie variety is positively related to segmentation, but not self-enhancement practices. We conclude with implications of the study results for research and practice, as well as a discussion of directions for future research.     

Impact of quality management practices on the knowledge creation process: The Chinese aviation firm perspective

Contemporary quality management studies describe a range of quality improvement strategies. However, these studies do not consider the impact of quality management practices on the knowledge creation process. Based on a comprehensive literature review and a field survey, this study investigates the impact of quality management practices on the knowledge creation process. A proposed model and hypotheses are presented and tested using survey data collected from aviation firms in China. The test of the structural model supports some proposed hypotheses. We find that employee training, employee involvement, product design, benchmarking, and vision statement have significant direct impacts on the knowledge creation process. We also find that some other quality management practices, such as top management support, customer focus, supplier quality management, quality information, and recognition and rewards, do not have a direct impact on knowledge creation. Suggestions for the improvement of quality management in aviation firms in China are provided. The implications of the findings for researchers and practitioners are discussed, and further research directions are offered.     

Unternehmensarchitektur – Literaturüberblick und Stand der Praxis

Organization and management of enterprise architecture have gained increasing significance in recent years. Enterprise architecture management is based on a consistent, aggregate model of the enterprise in order to support decisions such as the design of business areas and products, corresponding business processes and organizational structures as well as application systems and infrastructure operations. Stakeholders have heterogeneous requirements concerning the views on enterprise architecture. The resulting model itself has to be manageable and has to deliver benefits. This article provides an overview of the state-of-the-art of enterprise architecture / enterprise architecture management in the literature as well as current practices in companies. In addition to a literature overview, current practices are presented based on results of an empirical study.     

How to get mature global virtual teams: a framework to improve team process management in distributed software teams

Managing global software development teams is not an easy task because of the additional problems and complexities that have to be taken into account. This paper defines VTManager, a methodology that provides a set of efficient practices for global virtual team management in software development projects. These practices integrate software development techniques in global environments with others such as explicit practices for global virtual team management, definition of skills and abilities needed to work in these teams, availability of collaborative work environments and shared knowledge management practices. The results obtained and the lessons learned from implementing VTManager in a pilot project to develop software tools for collaborative work in rural environments are also presented. This project was carried out by geographically distributed teams involving people from seven countries with a high level of virtualness.     

Information and Expertise Sharing in Inter-Organizational Crisis Management

Emergency or crisis management, as is well-attested, is a complex management problem. A variety of agencies need to collaborate and coordinate in real-time and with an urgency that is not always present in other domains. It follows that accurate information of varying kinds (e.g. geographical and weather conditions; available skills and expertises; state-of-play; current dispositions and deployments) needs to be made available in a timely fashion to the organizations and individuals who need it. By definition, this information will come from a number of sources both within and across organizations. Large-scale events in particular necessitate collaboration with other organizations. Of course, plans and processes exist to deal with such events but the number of dynamically changing factors as well as the high number of heterogeneous organizations and the high degree of interdependency involved make it impossible to plan for all contingencies. A degree of ongoing improvisation, which typically occurs by means of a variety of information and expertise sharing practices, therefore becomes necessary. This, however, faces many challenges, such as different organizational cultures, distinct individual and coordinative work practices and discrete information systems. Our work entails an examination of the practices of information and expertise sharing, and the obstacles to it, in inter-organizational crisis management. We conceive of this as a design case study, such that we examine a problem area and its scope; conduct detailed enquiries into practice in that area, and provide design recommendations for implementation and evaluation. First, we will present the results of an empirical study of collaboration practices between organizations and public authorities with security responsibilities such as the police, fire departments, public administration and electricity network operators, mainly in scenarios of medium to large power outages in Germany. Based on these results, we will describe a concept, which was designed, implemented and evaluated as a system prototype, in two iterations. While the first iteration focuses on situation assessment, the second iteration also includes inter-organizational collaboration functionalities. Based on the findings of our evaluations with practitioners, we will discuss how to support collaboration with a particular focus on information and expertise sharing.     

Adaptive management of natural systems using fuzzy logic

Hypotheses about how management practices influence ecosystem services can be tested using a crisp, probability-based, or fuzzy decision rule. The correct decision rule depends on whether: (1) the observed state of an ecosystem service (x) is non-stochastic or stochastic; (2) the true state of the ecosystem service (y) is non-stochastic or stochastic; and (3) the relationship between x and y is deterministic, stochastic, or uncertain. Crisp and probability-based decision rules are not appropriate when the relationship between y and x is uncertain in the sense that the decision maker is unable or unwilling to specify conditional probabilities of y given x. Under these conditions, a fuzzy decision rule is appropriate. A hypothetical case study is used to illustrate how a fuzzy decision rule is used to test hypotheses about whether selective cutting of timber provides greater or less forest biodiversity than clearcutting of timber. The case study describes how to incorporate the decision rule in an active adaptive management framework to sequentially test the extent to which changes over time in other factors influencing ecosystem services, such as greater spread of invasive species due to global warming, alter the efficacy of timber management practices. The fuzzy adaptive management decision rule can be generalized to account for the effects of management practices on multiple ecosystem services.     

A management framework for systems users

Many business managers today are in need of practical guidance in determining which information systems management practices are appropriate for their particular organization. Of central importance is the management of the information systems development process. A field research study was conducted at five major U.S. corporations to determine those information systems development management practices that had proved successful. The research method consisted of in-depth interviews with managers and technical people at each company. In addition, the reputation of each company as a successful manager of the information systems function was validated using a set of organizational performance criteria developed by a panel of prominent information systems professionals. The results of the research are presented in the form of a planning and control framework of successful management practices. The framework describes and classifies those practices common to all companies and clearly differentiates those practices which varied significantly among the companies studied. The framework is designed to enable management to readily identify those information system development practices that have proved successful and to select from among them those most appropriate to the local situation. It can also serve as a guide for self-study on the part of the individual manager.     

Knowledge Sharing on Enterprise Social Media: Practices to Cope With Institutional Complexity

This study examines the use of enterprise social media (ESM) for organizational knowledge sharing and shows that professionals face ambiguities because their knowledge sharing behavior is informed by an institutional complexity that consists of 2 dissimilar institutional logics: logics of the profession, and logics of the corporation. Our qualitative case study of an ESM at an IT consultancy organization shows that professionals find ways to manage the ambiguities they experience by engaging the affordances of ESM in such a way as to develop coping practices: connection management, reputation management, and information management. By complementing the affordance perspective with an institutional logics perspective, we are able to advance scholarly understanding on how ESM can facilitate but also frustrate knowledge sharing.     

Measuring Data Management Practice Maturity: A Community's Self-Assessment

As increasing amounts of data flow within and between organizations, the problems that can result from poor data management practices are becoming more apparent. Studies have shown that such poor practices are widespread. All organizations have data architectures, whether explicitly documented or implicitly assumed. An important data management process is to document the architecture's capabilities, making it more useful to the organization. Increasing data management practice maturity levels can positively impact the coordination of data flow among organizations, individuals, and systems. Results from a self-assessment provide a roadmap for improving organizational data management practices     

Evaluating the impact of an agile transformation: a longitudinal case study in a distributed context

Many software-development organizations have recently started to adopt agile practices in order to benefit from the improvements they clearly bring, in terms of production speed and software quality, for example. However, in a large, distributed organization, such as Nokia Siemens Networks, an agile transformation may be a long-term, complex process, and therefore, evaluating the benefits achieved, and measuring the success of the change, can be difficult, especially in the early phases of the transformation. This paper is based on the results of a case study on the impact introducing agile practices actually had in a large, software-development organization, part of Nokia Siemens Networks. The impact of this agile transformation was evaluated in terms of how well it succeeded in achieving the goals set by the management before the transformation started. This longitudinal study included two separate analyses, made at 6 monthly intervals, which measured what agile practices were really in use in the organization, and what effects, if any, were visible in terms of the goals which had been set by the management The 6 monthly analyses included defect data metrics and opinion surveys of the personnel directly involved in the transformation. The study showed two things: firstly, that the introduction of agile practices does have the beneficial effects that one would expect, and secondly, that, using this kind of study, it is not only possible to evaluate the impact that the adoption of agile practices has in a large, established software-development company, but also that the effects are visible at a surprisingly early stage.     

Blogging privacy rule orientations,privacy management,and content deletion practices: The variability of online privacy management activity at different stages of social media use

The purpose of this study was to examine social media users’ blogging privacy rule orientations, privacy management regulation, and content deletion practices as distinct types of activity occurring at different stages of the blogging process (before, during, and after blogging) that may aid in understanding the functioning of blogging disclosure activity overall. The study was guided by a complementary application of both the uses and gratifications perspective and communication privacy management (CPM) theory. A central tenet of both theories suggests that people are variably active in their communication behavior. We identified five discrete blogger privacy rule orientations explaining different online choice-making practices: the self-centric, the utilitarian, the planner, the protector, and the unworried orientations toward blogging. We also identified six different motives for deleting previously-posted information: conflict management, protection of personal identity/safety, fear of retribution, employment security, impression management, emotional regulation, and relational cleansing. Path analysis revealed several direct and indirect paths among bloggers’ motives for deleting previously posted material and their level of disinhibition, blogging privacy rule orientations, amount of time blogging, and privacy management practices. As use of social media increases, exploring variations in privacy management regulation practices is critical.     

A neo-institutional perspective on the establishment of information security knowledge sharing practices

Information security knowledge sharing (ISKS) among an organization's employees is vital to the organization's ability to protect itself from any number of prevalent threats, yet for many organizations, their ability to establish ISKS practices is hampered by a lack of understanding of where and how the key drivers of these practices will emerge. Based on neoinstitutional theory and a multi-study field survey of 834 professional managers in the USA, we develop and test a model that explains the establishment of ISKS practices in an organization as a product of the institutional forces abut to the organization providing normative, mimetic, and coercive influences on top management beliefs and participations in ISKS. Our findings also emphasize the importance of establishing ISKS practices for ensuring employee compliance with information security policies and an effective culture of security. Prior research has shown the importance of institutional forces on organizational processes as well as the importance of ISKS to organizational security efforts. However, this study is one of the early studies to provide insight into the manner, in which institutional forces hold sway over the people responsible for establishing the ISKS practices of a firm; insight that it is essential for firms that have yet to establish such practices or have struggled in their attempts to do so.     

Does risk matter? Disengagement from risk management practices in information systems projects

Risk management and ‘routine-based reliability’ is considered fundamental to project performance. Existing theories of project risk management do not fully explain why project managers stop practicing risk management information systems (IS); however, constructs drawn from organisation theory offer insights into how and why such disengagement occurs. The study examines risk management practices in 21 IS projects within 10 organisations. By focusing on risks that resulted in significant events and mapping backwards over time the practices associated with those risks, we identify that in all but five projects the manager had disengaged from prescribed risk management before executing risk responses. In most projects, the majority of formally identified and assessed risks remained unallocated and untreated. A laddering technique was used to help explain why this transpired. We found five key underlying beliefs that governed project managers’ risk management attitudes and actions.     

Best practice fusion of CMMI-DEV v1.2 (PP,PMC, SAM) and PMBOK 2008

ContextThe establishment of effective and efficient project management practices still remains a challenge to software organizations. In striving to address these needs, “best practice” models, such as, CMMI or PMBOK, are being developed to assist organizations interested in improving project management. And, although, those models share overlapping content, there are still differences and, therefore, each of the models offers different advantages.ObjectiveThis paper proposes a set of unified project management best practices by integrating and harmonizing on a high-level perspective PMBOK (4th ed.) processes and CMMI-DEV v1.2 specific practices of the basic project management process areas PP, PMC and SAM.MethodBased on the analysis of both models, a unified set of best practices has been defined by a group of researchers with theoretical and practical expertise on the CMMI framework and software process improvement as well as project management and the PMBOK. The proposed set has been revised by different researchers from different institutions in several review rounds until consensus was achieved.ResultsAs a result, a set of unified best practices is defined and explicitly mapped to the correspondent PMBOK processes and CMMI specific practices of the current versions of both models.ConclusionWe can conclude that an integration and harmonization of both models is possible and may help to implement and assess project management processes more effectively and efficiently, optimizing software process improvement investments.     

Creative Management: A Predicted Development from Research into Creativity and Management

A proposal is made for the establishment of a conceptual domain of Creative Management by fusion of two related bodies of knowledge, that of management studies and creativity. Through an examination of examples from around the world, we show how Creative Management is appearing in embryonic form as a global possibility, emerging from and enriching the predominantly American contributions of earlier stages. We suggest that such a development will take management studies forward from its historical trajectory, through the global convergence of organizational theories and practices. The proposed synthesis of creativity and management indicates the possibilities of a new stage in management incorporating humanistic, socio‐technical and knowledge management components. Collectively, the conceptual shift is towards what we have labelled Toyotaoism, in acknowledgement of practices and theorizing developed from the integration of Western and Eastern belief systems and theories in action.     

Managing interorganizational technology development: Project management practices for market‐ and science‐based partnerships

Firms are increasingly relying on collaborating with external partners to drive technology development. Many firms struggle with managing the inherently uncertain and ambiguous technology development process, especially with external actors involved, because they may not have or share the same project management practices concerning coordination and control activities. To address this gap, this study examines appropriate project management practices for market‐based and science‐based partnerships in three large technology‐intensive firms. Our results suggest that interorganizational technology development is problematic because firms lack sufficient partner understanding and struggle with aligning their project management practices with those of their partners. To address these problems, we identify project management practices of coordination and control to fit the contingencies of each type of partner collaboration. Our results provide implications for theory and managerial practices related to managing interorganizational technology development.     

Can software risk management improve system development: an exploratory study

Software risk management can be defined as an attempt to formalise risk oriented correlates of development success into a readily applicable set of principles and practices. Earlier research suggests that it can reduce the likelihood of a system failure. Using a survey instrument we investigate this claim further. The investigation addresses the following questions: (1) which characteristics of risk management practices; and (2) which other environmental and process factors (such as development methods, manager's experience) relate to improved performance in managing software risks? Our findings support in general the claim that the use of risk management methods improves system development performance. Yet, little support was found for the claim that specific risk management methods are instrumental in attacking specific software risks. Overall, risks are better managed with combined measures of having experienced project managers, selecting a correct project size, and investing in and obtaining experience in risk management deliberations.     

Predicting open IOS adoption in SMEs: An integrated SEM-neural network approach

This research examines the predictors of open interorganizational systems (IOS) adoption by using RosettaNet as a case study. The model used in this research derived its theoretical supports from literature related to interorganizational relationships and knowledge management studies. A sequential, multi-method approach integrating both structural equation modeling (SEM) and neural network analysis was employed in this research. Data was collected from 136 small and medium sized enterprises (SME). Our result showed that interorganizational relationships such as communication, collaboration and information sharing play an important role in SMEs’ RosettaNet adoption decisions. Knowledge management practices such as knowledge application, knowledge acquisition and knowledge dissemination also influenced SMEs’ decision to adopt RosettaNet. The findings are useful for decision makers to understand how they can improve the adoption of RosettaNet in their organizations. Unlike previous studies, this research provided additional insights into what influence the adoption of RosettaNet by examining variables beyond the traditional technological attributes which have been studied quite extensively. By integrating SEM with artificial intelligence techniques such as neural network, this study also examined the non-linear and non-compensatory relationships involved in the adoption of RosettaNet.     

基于PHP的多功能域名销售管理系统设计

针对目前常用的域名销售系统存在的诸如在域名注册资料获取不便、域名闲置难以及时处理等问题,研究并实现了一套基于PHP语言的多功能域名销售管理系统。介绍了系统的体系结构与设计思路,对基于MySQL的数据库、各功能模块等进行了描述;通过使用Smarty的前台模板引擎,解决了对注册商的域名进行分类、多条件管理、编辑等问题。系统运行表明,该方法符合域名管理规范,能有效提高域名管理质量。     

A process-based framework of using social media to support innovation process

Although many organizations have deployed social media tools to support business activities such as marketing or customer relationship management in the past several years, academic research on using social media for supporting innovation process is very limited. Many organizations find it challenging to effectively integrate social media into organizational innovation practices because social media are primarily complex, informal and episodic. In this research, we would like to explore how various organizational factors can contribute to social media use for supporting innovation process. We conducted a case study of two particular cases, one with an e-learning service unit at a public university and another with a large hotel chain company. Based on the findings of this case study, we proposed a process-based framework that could help organizations use social media to support innovation process. This case study also identified situational factors that could affect the use of social media for closed innovation and open innovation respectively. In addition, some useful guidelines and proven practices are revealed from this case study.