Vincent Norcia | University of Sudbury (original) (raw)

Papers by Vincent Norcia

Ctheory, 1984

Leslie Armour, The Idea of Canada and the Crisis of Community . Steel Rail Press, Ottawa: 1981.

Canadian Journal of Communication, 2001

Business Strategy and the Environment, 1993

1. STANCE A n m enriironiiicntnl perforirinnce niodcl is developed, explained and sribseq~iently ... more 1. STANCE A n m enriironiiicntnl perforirinnce niodcl is developed, explained and sribseq~iently npplied to a strrdy of the Cnnadinn recycled pnper indristry. The strntegic position of the industry is explored ns it takes the progressioe steps needed to iiiiprove its enz~ironriicntal perforiiiance and coiiipetitive ndvantage in response to this rising regirlntory ngcnda. Three polinj options fncing the Cnnndinn p i i l p and pnper indiistry nre examined: the stntiis quo, process teclinology innovntion and product dmelopmcnt. The strategic position of the industry is also cxaiiiined rising iiiensiircriient of stance, attitude, gowrnriienf response, values, planning horizon and environiiientd intcgrntion. The sir~p~ier-consrri?ler relationship, cnpita/-tcchno/ogy and locational factors arc also rised to frirtlzer discuss the links betuieen coiiipetitive advantnge and environniental perfbrinance. From this discussion, conclrrsions nre drarun on coiiipefilioe environiiientalisiii: ethics and profit ore coinpatibk; nmusprint mills iirirst iniprove their locntional, technology and ninrkef actions; the indirstry iiirist pronctirdy scck out environiircntnl iiinrket and stnkelioldcr opportirnities and; further rtinnagciiient rescorch is needed to dciironstrnte the links betrc~cen cnz~ironiiientnl perfbriiiance, innozJation and coriipetit ivencss. RESIST COMPLY ACCOMMODATE PREEMPT Hostile Legalistic Cooperative Leading Denial Ignorance Familiarity Expertise After presenting a model of environmental performance, the strategic implications of the recycled paper regulatory agenda for the Canadian pulp and paper industry are discussed. Finally, conclusions relating to industry competitive strategy are set out. The belief in the incompatibility of business goals and environmental values is common among both business people and environmentalists. For both, however, the focus is on performance; both business people and environmentalists are committed to results, albeit in different ways (

American Political Science Review, 1992

Canadian Journal of Communication, Apr 1, 2000

an informative and interesting book on information technology. It begins with a critique of techn... more an informative and interesting book on information technology. It begins with a critique of technological determinism and futuristic "endism," whether utopian or dystopian, frequently echoing the balanced assessments of Canadian thinkers like those of Harold Innis and Ursula Franklin. Electronic agents or "bots," they note, may "personalize" Web sites, but this often merely involves using data on past shopping to suggest new purchases, as on Amazon.com. Bots are rigidly programmed in contrast to human flexibility, resourcefulness, and shiftiness; for, Seely Brown & Duguid write, people have the awkward habit of changing rules and shifting goals in mid-negotiation (p. 50). Technologies, Seely Brown & Duguid suggest, are both resources and constraints, and should be "user-centric" in design. They question IT (Information Technology) fads like talk of the "death of distance," "disintermediation" (eliminating the middle man in e-commerce), decentralization, and so forth. In the latter connection, they note the recent vogue in encouraging office staff to work at home. The authors note that Chiat/Day advertising agency workers, when in their Los Angeles office, were required to use standard equipment and any available open space but still insisted on personalizing their work space and equipment. Where, however, people work in field locations, as salespeople and geologists do, electronic communications are more useful. They also enable flextime schedules, allowing many people to better integrate work and home life. While the authors are right in insisting that education requires face-to-face contact with teachers and other students, electronic media are helpful, especially where students are widely dispersed as through much of the Canadian hinterland. At Laurentian University, for example, we offer video conference-based courses to sites hundreds of kilometers apart. Seely Brown & Duguid reject the "re-engineering" management craze because it favours process over practice. Organizational learning, they add, rests on informal practices. Xerox technical representatives, for example, would get together and informally discuss repair techniques not covered in the technical manuals, and share their knowledge with call-centre operators. But when a divisional reorganization separated them, their conversations ceased and the operators could no longer solve customer problems over the phone. So the technicians found themselves wasting time on minor repair calls. In time, ways were found to reconnect them. The authors present their view of knowledge clusters in modern high-tech organizations by sketching a matrix diagram. The vertical columns represent an organization's proprietary knowledge, such as Xerox's private intellectual property right in the research developed at PARC. The horizontal rows denote information flows across organizational boundaries, such as communication between Reference Lewis, Michael. (2000). The new new thing, a Silicon Valley story. New York: Norton.

Journal of Canadian Studies/Revue d'études canadiennes, 2018

Abstract: The increasingly complex problems that advanced societies like ours face cannot be solv... more Abstract: The increasingly complex problems that advanced societies like ours face cannot be solved by outdated dichotomies between knowledges and interests. Instead a pluralist and pragmatist approach is needed, and two cases are explored: pollution from Canadian pulp and paper mills and hearings on siting nuclear reactors in seismically sensitive zones in the United States. Both suggest the need for pluralism – recognizing the diverse knowledges and interests involved. Integrating those knowledges and interests (pragmatism) helps determine a solution space from which to select specific solutions for the problem. The pluralist and pragmatist approaches are, finally, shown to be preferable to vague notions of muddling through and to two forms of dichotomies between knowledges and interests. Abstract: Les problèmes de plus en plus complexes que doivent affronter des civilisations de pointe comme la nôtre ne peuvent pas, on allègue, être résolus avec des dichotomies désuètes entre les...

Science and engineering ethics, 2002

Solving complex socio-technical problems, this paper claims, involves diverse knowledges (cogniti... more Solving complex socio-technical problems, this paper claims, involves diverse knowledges (cognitive diversity), competing interests (social diversity), and pragmatism. To explain this view, this paper first explores two different cases: Canadian pulp and paper mill pollution and siting nuclear reactors in systematically sensitive areas of California. Solving such socio-technically complex problems involves cognitive diversity as well as social diversity and pragmatism. Cognitive diversity requires one to not only recognize relevant knowledges but also to assess their validity. Finally, it is suggested, integrating the resultant set of diverse relevant and valid knowledges determines the parameters of the solution space for the problem.

Concern about the commercialization of research is rising, notably in testing new drugs. The prob... more Concern about the commercialization of research is rising, notably in testing new drugs. The problem involves oversimplified, polarizing assumptions about research and development (R&D) and intellectual property (IP). To address this problem this paper sets forth a more complex three phase RT&D process, involving Scientific Research (R), Technological Innovation (T), and Commercial Product Development (D) or the RT&D process. Scientific research and innovation testing involve costly intellectual work and do not produce free goods, but rather require IP regulation. RT&D processes involve an unrecognized IP shift from a common IP right in public goods like information and knowledge to private IP in products and other hard assets. The question then is, what kind of IP right: private or common? Since scientific research and innovation testing require openness about adverse findings, and wide, low cost diffusion of results, they require a common, inclusive IP right. Common IP is appropri...

Science and engineering ethics, 2003

Discerning the motives that lead businesspeople to make ethical decisions in economic contexts is... more Discerning the motives that lead businesspeople to make ethical decisions in economic contexts is important, for it aids the moral evaluation of such decisions. But conventional economic theory has for too long assumed an egoist model of motivation, to which many contrast an altruist view of ethical choices. The result is to see business decision making as implying dilemmas. On

Business and Professional Ethics Journal, 1987

Canadian Journal of Communication

Proceedings of the International Association for Business and Society, 1996

Journal of Canadian Studies, 2002

health sciences, history THE CANADIAN HISTORICAL REVIEW utpjournals.press/chr Offering a comprehe... more health sciences, history THE CANADIAN HISTORICAL REVIEW utpjournals.press/chr Offering a comprehensive analysis on the events that have shaped Canada, CHR publishes articles that examine Canadian history from both a multicultural and multidisciplinary perspective.