 |
Technical Convergence in a Public Bureaucracy: Cultural Change
| |
| | Unformatted Document Text:
ICA 2003 3
Technical Convergence in a Public Bureaucracy: Cultural Change
among Merged, High-Technology Work Groups
Sharing of knowledge, goals, resources, personnel, and finances in boundless
global networks is nowhere more evident than in the communications industries.
“Convergence” is the key buzzword… indicating the blurring of industry boundaries such that one can no longer tell where one industry begins and another ends. The multitude of alliances across cable, telephone, satellite, cellular, [and] computing… is the dominant industry form. (Monge & Fulk, 1999, pp 94-95) Many have come to recognize that a compatible organizational marriage depends upon characteristics of the partner, which extend beyond the suitability of the strategic match….[A]ny decision radically to change, integrate, or maintain the existing culture requires an understanding of the cultural and subcultural values and beliefs throughout the merged or acquired organization. (Cartwright & Cooper,1996, pp. 5, 126) [Reinvention of government] relies on the theory of the marketplace and on a businesslike culture in public organizations….A major belief among [reinvention] advocates is…a view whereby citizens are clients and customers of the public sector… the state and its bureaucratic subsystems are equivalent to a large private organization operating in an economic environment of supply and demand. (Vigoda, 2002, p. 534)
An interesting picture of organizational development during the late 20
th
century is
progressing into the new millennium. Technological convergence originating in the private sector
has served as the impetus for organizational mergers and consolidations in the name of operating
efficiency, cost reductions, and profitability. Such trends have influenced the public sector in
terms of restructured work environments, accountability-based outcomes, and new working
relationships
driven by “neo-managerialism,” or a faith in the idea that government leaders
should assume the role of public entrepreneurs (Vigoda, 2002). From a communication
perspective, these dramatic changes in public-sector organizations challenge the traditional norms,
values, communication networks, and cultural practices of government workers. This paper
explores such cultural evolution within a high-technology, public-sector environment.
|
| | Authors: McPherson, Jeanne. |
|
| |
|
|
ICA 2003 3
Technical Convergence in a Public Bureaucracy: Cultural Change
among Merged, High-Technology Work Groups
Sharing of knowledge, goals, resources, personnel, and finances in boundless
global networks is nowhere more evident than in the communications industries.
“Convergence” is the key buzzword… indicating the blurring of industry boundaries
such that one can no longer tell where one industry begins and another ends. The
multitude of alliances across cable, telephone, satellite, cellular, [and] computing…
is the dominant industry form. (Monge & Fulk, 1999, pp 94-95)
Many have come to recognize that a compatible organizational marriage depends
upon characteristics of the partner, which extend beyond the suitability of the strategic
match….[A]ny decision radically to change, integrate, or maintain the existing culture
requires an understanding of the cultural and subcultural values and beliefs throughout
the merged or acquired organization. (Cartwright & Cooper,1996, pp. 5, 126)
[Reinvention of government] relies on the theory of the marketplace and on
a businesslike culture in public organizations….A major belief among [reinvention]
advocates is…a view whereby citizens are clients and customers of the public sector…
the state and its bureaucratic subsystems are equivalent to a large private organization
operating in an economic environment of supply and demand. (Vigoda, 2002, p. 534)
An interesting picture of organizational development during the late 20
th
century is
progressing into the new millennium. Technological convergence originating in the private sector
has served as the impetus for organizational mergers and consolidations in the name of operating
efficiency, cost reductions, and profitability. Such trends have influenced the public sector in
terms of restructured work environments, accountability-based outcomes, and new working
relationships
driven by “neo-managerialism,” or a faith in the idea that government leaders
should assume the role of public entrepreneurs (Vigoda, 2002). From a communication
perspective, these dramatic changes in public-sector organizations challenge the traditional norms,
values, communication networks, and cultural practices of government workers. This paper
explores such cultural evolution within a high-technology, public-sector environment.
|
|
 Convention | | Submission, Review, and Scheduling! All Academic Convention can help with all of your abstract management needs and many more. Contact us today for a quote! | | Submission - Custom fields, multiple submission types, tracks, audio visual, multiple upload formats, automatic conversion to pdf. | | Review - Peer Review, Bulk reviewer assignment, bulk emails, ranking, z-score statistics, and multiple worksheets! | | Reports - Many standard and custom reports generated while you wait. Print programs with participant indexes, event grids, and more! | | Scheduling - Flexible and convenient grid scheduling within rooms and buildings. Conflict checking and advanced filtering. | | Communication - Bulk email tools to help your administrators send reminders and responses. Use form letters, a message center, and much more! | | Management - Search tools, duplicate people management, editing tools, submission transfers, many tools to manage a variety of conference management headaches! | | Click here for more information. |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
