Paul C. van Fenema | Netherlands Defence Academy (original) (raw)
Uploads
Papers by Paul C. van Fenema
Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks, 2008
Coordination can be defined as the process of achieving concerted action (Thompson, 1967) in situ... more Coordination can be defined as the process of achieving concerted action (Thompson, 1967) in situations of task dependence (Crowston, 1997). Electronic coordination (further referred to as e-coordination) refers to the situations when a coordination process relies on electronic media and Information Technology (IT). Electronic media and IT play an indispensable role in advanced societies as (partial) substitutes for human coordination practices and thereby they enable the global knowledge-based workplace (Majchrzak et al., 2000; Argyres, 1999; Ciborra et al., 1996b). Knowledge workers depend on advanced technologies for coordinating work processes with colleagues, clients, and vendors. Advanced technologies for collaboration (e.g. web-based project management software and Groupware), coordination (e.g. CATIA product development software), simulation, and visualization (collaborative CAD/CAM software products) reinforce multiple categories of knowledge processes (see Chapter 4). However, these new technologies — designed and used for coordination processes — usually result in a complex mixture of positive and negative impacts on individual lives, organizations, and society (Zuboff, 1988).
Routledge eBooks, May 13, 2016
This chapter discusses ways to assess the performance of agents that according to one observer ar... more This chapter discusses ways to assess the performance of agents that according to one observer are 'strange bedfellows'(Winslow 2002), to another are 'working apart together'(Bollen 2002), and to four other observers are entangled in 'a marriage of reason'(Bollen et al. 2002). This 'marriage of reason'is usually referred to as civil-military cooperation (Rietjens 2006). The services that agents from both categories traditionally provide 'are described as “non productive” and a drain on the “wealth-producing” part of ...
Organization Science, Mar 1, 2016
Fast-response organizations are under increased scrutiny as to their ability to mount a timely an... more Fast-response organizations are under increased scrutiny as to their ability to mount a timely and coordinated response to unexpected events. Our inductive study focuses on a high profile murder that occurred in Amsterdam in 2011 where a large multidisciplinary police team faced major coordination challenges and was unsuccessful in switching from the practice of surveillance to that of apprehension when their target was suddenly gunned down. Our analysis suggests that challenges related to relational ambiguity, knowledge flows, communications technology, team composition, and field obstructions, hindered the switching between practices under conditions of surprise and fast response. The paper offers a theoretical framework toward a greater understanding of the persistent coordination challenges that arise when a sudden switch from one practice to another becomes necessary. Our study contributes toward a greater understanding of practice performance and the social and material challenges related to switching between practices.
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Aug 6, 2004
As multinational firms and major offshore outsourcing companies develop experience with global wo... more As multinational firms and major offshore outsourcing companies develop experience with global work, their globally distributed teams face the challenge of collaborating intensely without the common interaction advantages associated with collocated work. This chapter analyzes the sources of intense collaboration. It then introduces strategies that organizations have developed to reduce the intensity of collaboration (sequentializing work, using mediating artifacts, modularity), or to enable intense teamwork (real time contact, boundary spanners). Strategy properties and deployment opportunities and constraints are indicated in order to equip managers and researchers with a framework for handling or analyzing globally distributed teamwork.
Shots fired! Why is switching between organisational practices so difficult? blogs.lse.ac.uk /bus... more Shots fired! Why is switching between organisational practices so difficult? blogs.lse.ac.uk /businessreview/2016/06/29/shots-fired-why-is-switching-between-organisational-practices-sodifficult/ 3/4 Samer Faraj holds the Canada Research Chair in Technology, Management, and Healthcare at the Desautels Faculty of Management, at McGill University. He is the head of the research group on complex collaboration and directs the Desautels Ph.D. program. His current research focuses on complex collaboration in settings as diverse as healthcare organizations, knowledge teams, and online communities.
Amsterdam University Press eBooks, Dec 31, 2012
The authors concentrate on the cooperation of organisations - from government and the market sect... more The authors concentrate on the cooperation of organisations - from government and the market sector - to address cyber threats. They discern three network action models that respectively deal with organisations' routine wrestling to fight every day's attacks on digital systems, a possible disruption of critical infrastructure and a major security threat such as the destruction or stealing of military technology. The military plays its role in all of these action modes but its role in the last action mode is most articulated. The network's response can be too passive or - quite the opposite - too ambitious, authoritarian and symplifying.
Intelligence and national security, Apr 22, 2022
Amsterdam University Press eBooks, Jul 15, 2012
Social Science Research Network, Mar 26, 2015
Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks, 2008
Coordination can be defined as the process of achieving concerted action (Thompson, 1967) in situ... more Coordination can be defined as the process of achieving concerted action (Thompson, 1967) in situations of task dependence (Crowston, 1997). Electronic coordination (further referred to as e-coordination) refers to the situations when a coordination process relies on electronic media and Information Technology (IT). Electronic media and IT play an indispensable role in advanced societies as (partial) substitutes for human coordination practices and thereby they enable the global knowledge-based workplace (Majchrzak et al., 2000; Argyres, 1999; Ciborra et al., 1996b). Knowledge workers depend on advanced technologies for coordinating work processes with colleagues, clients, and vendors. Advanced technologies for collaboration (e.g. web-based project management software and Groupware), coordination (e.g. CATIA product development software), simulation, and visualization (collaborative CAD/CAM software products) reinforce multiple categories of knowledge processes (see Chapter 4). However, these new technologies — designed and used for coordination processes — usually result in a complex mixture of positive and negative impacts on individual lives, organizations, and society (Zuboff, 1988).
Routledge eBooks, May 13, 2016
This chapter discusses ways to assess the performance of agents that according to one observer ar... more This chapter discusses ways to assess the performance of agents that according to one observer are 'strange bedfellows'(Winslow 2002), to another are 'working apart together'(Bollen 2002), and to four other observers are entangled in 'a marriage of reason'(Bollen et al. 2002). This 'marriage of reason'is usually referred to as civil-military cooperation (Rietjens 2006). The services that agents from both categories traditionally provide 'are described as “non productive” and a drain on the “wealth-producing” part of ...
Organization Science, Mar 1, 2016
Fast-response organizations are under increased scrutiny as to their ability to mount a timely an... more Fast-response organizations are under increased scrutiny as to their ability to mount a timely and coordinated response to unexpected events. Our inductive study focuses on a high profile murder that occurred in Amsterdam in 2011 where a large multidisciplinary police team faced major coordination challenges and was unsuccessful in switching from the practice of surveillance to that of apprehension when their target was suddenly gunned down. Our analysis suggests that challenges related to relational ambiguity, knowledge flows, communications technology, team composition, and field obstructions, hindered the switching between practices under conditions of surprise and fast response. The paper offers a theoretical framework toward a greater understanding of the persistent coordination challenges that arise when a sudden switch from one practice to another becomes necessary. Our study contributes toward a greater understanding of practice performance and the social and material challenges related to switching between practices.
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Aug 6, 2004
As multinational firms and major offshore outsourcing companies develop experience with global wo... more As multinational firms and major offshore outsourcing companies develop experience with global work, their globally distributed teams face the challenge of collaborating intensely without the common interaction advantages associated with collocated work. This chapter analyzes the sources of intense collaboration. It then introduces strategies that organizations have developed to reduce the intensity of collaboration (sequentializing work, using mediating artifacts, modularity), or to enable intense teamwork (real time contact, boundary spanners). Strategy properties and deployment opportunities and constraints are indicated in order to equip managers and researchers with a framework for handling or analyzing globally distributed teamwork.
Shots fired! Why is switching between organisational practices so difficult? blogs.lse.ac.uk /bus... more Shots fired! Why is switching between organisational practices so difficult? blogs.lse.ac.uk /businessreview/2016/06/29/shots-fired-why-is-switching-between-organisational-practices-sodifficult/ 3/4 Samer Faraj holds the Canada Research Chair in Technology, Management, and Healthcare at the Desautels Faculty of Management, at McGill University. He is the head of the research group on complex collaboration and directs the Desautels Ph.D. program. His current research focuses on complex collaboration in settings as diverse as healthcare organizations, knowledge teams, and online communities.
Amsterdam University Press eBooks, Dec 31, 2012
The authors concentrate on the cooperation of organisations - from government and the market sect... more The authors concentrate on the cooperation of organisations - from government and the market sector - to address cyber threats. They discern three network action models that respectively deal with organisations' routine wrestling to fight every day's attacks on digital systems, a possible disruption of critical infrastructure and a major security threat such as the destruction or stealing of military technology. The military plays its role in all of these action modes but its role in the last action mode is most articulated. The network's response can be too passive or - quite the opposite - too ambitious, authoritarian and symplifying.
Intelligence and national security, Apr 22, 2022
Amsterdam University Press eBooks, Jul 15, 2012
Social Science Research Network, Mar 26, 2015
Netherlands Annual Review of Military Studies, 2017
Understanding the nature of the war, and the broader strategic and operational environment is of ... more Understanding the nature of the war, and the broader strategic and operational environment is of great importance for effective decision-making. However, most of today’s military missions are multidimensional having military, political, economic, and judicial aims. As a result, military organizations need comprehensive intelligence on a broad range of issues, including but not limited to security, governance, socio-economic and criminal challenges. Drawing upon situational awareness literature, this chapter analyses the efforts of the United Nations mission MINUSMA in Mali to acquire such comprehensive intelligence and effectively use it to inform decision-making. The main findings of the chapter include that (1) a comprehensive scope jeopardizes the effectiveness of the intelligence operations
in terms of overloading scarce resources—both sensors and analytical capabilities, (2) aligning the intelligence capabilities with the operational capabilities proves crucial for mission success, (3) organizing intelligence in a mission network is challenging (in the case of MINUSMA due to e.g. complex command and control structure, incompatible technical systems, as well as the changing security situation) and (4)
the combination of high and low tech resources and working methods is of great importance.