Abstract The virtual organisation challenges traditional management assumptions because a new means of coordinating globally dispersed employees is needed. To understand the collective activities of a workforce separated by space and time, this paper describes a complexity science-based management framework for virtual organisations. Specific focus is on a South African virtual organisation as a complex adaptive system. A single, embedded case study strategy was followed, and multiple data sources used to generate theory. In this paper, results are reported that clarify the management of an organisation where technology replaces conventional face-toface contexts for socialisation and assimilation. The paper shows how managers create a virtual context for sharing meaning and interaction through synergy, empowerment, participation and an accountable, committed workforce.

In recent years, the problem of automating the formation of Virtual Organisations (VO) has risen to prominence. Work in this area has typically considered the process of VO formation to be a centralised process driven by a company with responsibility for the business opportunity.Such systems use two main stages: first they decompose the business opportunity into a set of roles and then select suppliers for each role by matching their advertised capability against criteria supplied by the user. Both stages require that the company driving the VO formation process has access to considerable amounts of centralised knowledge.In contrast, this thesis considers virtual organisations as forming by combining the cooperative contributions within a group of organisations. It is shown that, within this context, both the knowledge required to facilitate and the control within the virtual organisation formation process are naturally distributed. In particular companies are free to vary their level of commitment to given projects and so only they have detailed knowledge of their capabilities. Supporting VO formation within this context requires a novel approach capable of utilising this distributed information. The primary contribution of this thesis is to provide such a novel approach to supporting virtual organisation formation. This approach builds on the traditions of blackboard and multi-agent systems. It allows virtual organisation formation to be driven by the accumulation of voluntary contributions from the prospective members of the virtual organisation. The principle focus of the system is on identifying candidate virtual organisations, and it does not offer automated support for such aspects as the creation of contracts. Crucially this system works with the distributed knowledge encountered in the chosen problem domain. The following technical contributions shape the general approach into a detailed system: (a) the representation of company's capabilities, (b) an algorithm for combining those capabilities and (c) mechanisms enabling intelligent agents representing the companies to produce candidate virtual organisations. The proposed system is evaluated in three ways - its technical feasibility is demonstrated through the implementation of a testbed prototype, a theoretical discussion of the systems performance is given and finally its potential benefits are shown in a reasoned case study.

Research into leadership in the higher education environment has traditionally mirrored business related constructs. Many of the models and instruments that have been developed for the business environment such as the transactional transformational leadership dyad have been transposed to the higher education environment with relatively minor adaptation. On the other hand, there has been relatively little exploration of leadership models for the Virtual Organisation. This research brings together the literatures of virtuality and the virtual organisation, leadership and higher education management to interrogate the effect of virtuality on leadership styles within the volatile global higher education environment caused by the liberalisation of the sector. Through a case study of a higher education institution (HEI) that is developing a virtual campus, the research explores the perceptions of leadership skills, competencies and behaviours within the virtual higher education environment to determine whether a new model or framework can be developed for a virtual and widely distributed environment. The data from interviews, surveys and focus groups carried out in the case study show that virtuality does impact leadership skills in nuanced ways, thus proposing a configuration of behaviours, skills and competencies more relevant to the virtual higher education environment. The proposed framework adds to the literature on leadership in higher education as well as leadership in the virtual environment and contributes to practice in the areas of recruitment and training of leaders and managers in the virtual higher education sector.

There has long been a concern about the research-practice gap within Library and Information Science (LIS). Several authors have highlighted the disconnection between the world of professional practice, interested in service and information system development, and the world of the academy, focused on the development of theory and the progress of the discipline. A virtual organization, such as a collaboratory, might support collaboration between LIS professionals and academics in research, potentially transforming the way research between these two groups is undertaken. The purpose of this study was to examine how sociotechnical aspects of work organization influence the initiation, development, and conclusion of collaboration between LIS academics and professionals in distributed research projects. The study examined the development of three collaborative projects from the start to completion in two countries, Italy and another European country. The data analysis aimed at deriving implications for the further development of theory on remote scientific collaboration, and for the design of a sustainable collaboratory to support small-scale, distributed research projects between LIS academics and professionals. The research design, data collection, and data analysis were informed by Actor- Network-Theory (ANT), in particular by Callon’s model of translation of interests. Qualitative interviews and analysis of literary inscriptions formed the key sources of data for the three case studies. The analysis of how and why collaborations between LIS academics and professionals initiated and developed revealed that the initial motivation to pursue collaboration has to do with the lack of economic and organizational resources on either or both sides, and with a genuine interest in a topic by both academics and professionals. The case studies in this study were decentralized and bottom-up projects in which LIS academics and professionals pursued collaboration because they had a genuine interest in a given topic and not because they were mandated by their employers, or they hoped to be acknowledged and promoted by them on the basis of their participation in the project. Market conditions and/or institutional pressures did not exert much influence on the start and development of these collaborations, although one project was influenced by political considerations and funding conditions in healthcare. The patterns emerged from the findings of the three cases underpin the development of a sociotechnical framework aimed at providing a better understanding of remote collaboration between academics and professionals not only in LIS but also in other fields affected by the research-practice gap. / <p>Akademisk avhandling som med tillstånd av samhällsvetenskapliga fakulteten vid Göteborgs universitet för vinnande av doktorsexamen framläggs till offentlig granskning kl. 13.15 torsdagen den 29 april 2010, i hörsal C203, Högskolan i Borås, Allégatan 1, Borås.</p>

The main goal of Masters final work is to analize basics of virtual organization and its needs for document management system. Virtual organisation is a one of organisations methods to colaborate. Virtual organisation require the system, who will guarantee document managent and control.

The main aim of the study is to investigate the flows of information and the impact and added value of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) on the integration of information flows. This concept is related to the optimal design of organisational (and other) systems that allow the right decision to be made by the right person at the right time in an appropriate location. Clearly, information that is often distributed needs to come together in an efficient way to allow the best use of resources to maximize the information value. The virtual organisation (VO) is a new style of working that allows completion of tasks across time and location. The use of ICTs is viewed as a facilitator of these tasks and their application provides good examples to extend their use. The most common types of VOs are home offices, teleworking centres, mobile offices and `hotelling'. Teleworkers still face several problems, such as managing their work, lack of appropriate communications to complete their work efficiently, and isolation. This study applied an information-driven approach to investigate the current problems in the teleworking environment, and solutions are proposed to improve the flow of information in the VOs. The data required were collected by questionnaire survey, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis. Members of the Telework Association (TCA) in the UK were invited to take part in this survey, and 153 out of 800 respondents came from this source. From subsequent analysis of the data collected, there is indeed an issue with the use and integration of information flows in VOs. An in depth study of six individual cases revealed a lack of information sharing, poor understanding of information needs, and low rates of access to online information. Soft solutions can be achieved through understanding information needs, developing information policy, and training. Hard solutions can be achieved through using online information, using workflow software, upgrading the speed of Internet connection, using information sharing systems, and arranging more open access to information. Some indicators of future research can be mentioned, particularly in conducting the second generation of information audit in teleworking practice, to study knowledge management (KM) practices in teleworking, to develop information policies to enhance teleworking practices, to focus on the information needs of teleworkers, to evaluate the impact of software applications (such as workflow software), to implement information sharing systems, and to study the impact of training on information retrieval and use.

In this research, we propose a knowledge management architecture in a collaborative environment and service oriented organization. The architecture contains five components, including partners, knowledge bases, portals, pipes, and cloud. Each segment of knowledge which is created in partners’ portals will be displayed in the cloud. The cloud contains knowledge from portals. Portals and the cloud will be linked by a specific type of connections (pipes), which presents the knowledge to the cloud without copying them. We implement the proposed architecture online to prove its validity. The prototype that we examine has three partners including finance, insurance, and transportation. Each partner creates knowledge by using its portal and saving it in its own knowledge base (KB). Likewise, each partner has an access to other partners’ portals to ask questions or perform inquiries. The answered questions are saved in the KBs and displayed in the cloud. For implementation, we use Joomla as CMS portals, K2 as KB in each portal, Yahoo Pipes as connections between the portals and the cloud. Finally, the cloud is a webpage that displays knowledge from different portals. We demonstrate that the proposed architecture facilitates sharing knowledge among the partners in the VO, and prevents knowledge duplications in different KBs. Moreover, we could move the stored knowledge from KB to another by using backup feature the CMS portal if any partner want to leave or the VO decides to terminate.

Problem:Many businesses today, based on the stakeholder’s theory, suggest thatsustainability can only be achieved through the fulfillment of the stakeholder’s in-terests. These interests are centered around adding value to the stakeholders forexample; shareholders in terms of increased dividends. The value in form of profitmaximization, which suppresses the need for other pillars of sustainability to prevail.In this thesis, an argument is presented that a balance should be achieved in all threepillars of. The economic, social and environmental sustainability. It further arguesthat the shift fromH.R.Mtoe−H.R.Mis crucial for innovations and inventions,focused on the development of such technologies, that bolster social sustainability.However, any change may have to put into consideration the company or organiza-tion’s size, this is because somee−H.R.Mtools might not be efficient and effectivefor small-size companies as defined in the report. Purpose:The purpose of this study is to add insight to the concept ofe−H.R.M, and further explore to which extent ise−H.R.Ma driver towards social sus-tainability, reflecting onthe downside of the change which such sustainability mightcreate. Method:Data collection was through interviews. Three managers, two C.E.Os anda former employee from three companies were involved. The interviews were con-ducted via telephone that lasted between30to40minutes. However, a face-to-facefollow up interview was conducted for one of the participants. All interviews wererecorded with the consent of the participants and later transcribed and analysed. Results:The interviewees agreed thate−H.R.Mtools and strategies helped tocreate harmony at work and simplified communication, training and aided the per-formance and appraisal process of employees, which is used during the incentivesprocess, a form of motivation in the organisation. Conclusion:The conclusion from this study is that,e−H.R.Mis a good changefromH.R.Mand that it plays a big role in organizational social sustainability. Abalance should, however, be gained to also put into consideration other pillars. Thestudy contradicts the stakeholders’ theory that only focuses on the economic part ofsustainability through profit maximization, favorable for functional markets alone.

Die vorliegende Dissertation präsentiert neue wissenschaftliche Konzepte und Lösungen zur Erstellung, Durchführung und Auswertung von Befragungen, die sich einfacher an unterschiedliche Nutzungsszenarien anpassen lassen und für den Einsatz in virtuellen Organisationen besser geeignet sind als herkömmliche Online-Befragungen. Die dabei berücksichtigten Adaptionsaspekte umfassen Inhalt und Umfang der Befragung, die Umsetzung in unterschiedliche Präsentationsmedien, -formate und Befragungsmodi sowie das adaptive Verhalten während der Interaktion. Eine wesentliche Grundlage bildet die inhaltsorientierte Beschreibung adaptiver und adaptierbarer Befragungen durch die hier vorgeschlagene deklarative Beschreibungssprache AXSML. Diese berücksichtigt insbesondere die Wechselwirkungen der unterschiedlichen Adaptionsaspekte in Verbindung mit der Forderung nach einer medien- und modusübergreifenden Vergleichbarkeit der Ergebnisse multimodaler Befragungen. Für diese Beschreibungssprache werden Transformationsregeln vorgestellt, die eine adäquate Umsetzung einer Befragung in verschiedene Präsentationsmedien und Befragungsformen ermöglichen. Eine damit einhergehende inhaltliche Anpassung an das Einsatzszenario erfolgt automatisiert und erfordert keine speziellen Fachkenntnisse auf dem Gebiet des Befragungsdesigns. Die Auswertung der Befragungsrückläufe wird ebenfalls deklarativ beschrieben, berücksichtigt adaptionsbedingte Fehlwerte und erlaubt die Nutzung verschiedenster Berechnungsmodelle zur Aggregation der Rücklaufdaten. Da Erstellung und Wartung adaptiver und adaptierbarer Befragungen sehr komplex sind, werden Konzepte und Lösungen zur Unterstützung des Autorenprozesses vorgestellt, die den notwendigen Aufwand reduzieren. Um die gleichzeitige Durchführung einer großen Zahl von Untersuchungen in vielen unterschiedlichen Teams und die Anpassung der Befragung durch Nicht-Fachexperten zu gewährleisten, wurde eine IT-Stützung des Befragungsprozesses konzipiert und umgesetzt, welche den Anforderungen an die organisatorische Einbindung der Befragung in virtuellen Unternehmen gerecht wird.

Die vorliegende Dissertation präsentiert neue wissenschaftliche Konzepte und Lösungen zur Erstellung, Durchführung und Auswertung von Befragungen, die sich einfacher an unterschiedliche Nutzungsszenarien anpassen lassen und für den Einsatz in virtuellen Organisationen besser geeignet sind als herkömmliche Online-Befragungen. Die dabei berücksichtigten Adaptionsaspekte umfassen Inhalt und Umfang der Befragung, die Umsetzung in unterschiedliche Präsentationsmedien, -formate und Befragungsmodi sowie das adaptive Verhalten während der Interaktion. Eine wesentliche Grundlage bildet die inhaltsorientierte Beschreibung adaptiver und adaptierbarer Befragungen durch die hier vorgeschlagene deklarative Beschreibungssprache AXSML. Diese berücksichtigt insbesondere die Wechselwirkungen der unterschiedlichen Adaptionsaspekte in Verbindung mit der Forderung nach einer medien- und modusübergreifenden Vergleichbarkeit der Ergebnisse multimodaler Befragungen. Für diese Beschreibungssprache werden Transformationsregeln vorgestellt, die eine adäquate Umsetzung einer Befragung in verschiedene Präsentationsmedien und Befragungsformen ermöglichen. Eine damit einhergehende inhaltliche Anpassung an das Einsatzszenario erfolgt automatisiert und erfordert keine speziellen Fachkenntnisse auf dem Gebiet des Befragungsdesigns. Die Auswertung der Befragungsrückläufe wird ebenfalls deklarativ beschrieben, berücksichtigt adaptionsbedingte Fehlwerte und erlaubt die Nutzung verschiedenster Berechnungsmodelle zur Aggregation der Rücklaufdaten. Da Erstellung und Wartung adaptiver und adaptierbarer Befragungen sehr komplex sind, werden Konzepte und Lösungen zur Unterstützung des Autorenprozesses vorgestellt, die den notwendigen Aufwand reduzieren. Um die gleichzeitige Durchführung einer großen Zahl von Untersuchungen in vielen unterschiedlichen Teams und die Anpassung der Befragung durch Nicht-Fachexperten zu gewährleisten, wurde eine IT-Stützung des Befragungsprozesses konzipiert und umgesetzt, welche den Anforderungen an die organisatorische Einbindung der Befragung in virtuellen Unternehmen gerecht wird.