The Information Processing Theory of Organization

by Kmetz, John L.

• ISBN13: 9781840144277
• ISBN10: 1840144270
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1998-09-01
• Publisher: Ashgate Pub Ltd

Summary

The book develops and tests an information-processing model of organization, within the context of the accession of a new generation of a production technology. The model conceptualises organizations as systems which accomplish their objectives through the processing of information. The book begins with the conceptual basis of the theory, developing the fundamental concepts of information, information processing and technology. The accession of an automatic avionics tester during the 1970's and 1980's is the change in production technology used to test the theory. The theory is tested by mapping and analyzing performance with a three-wave longitudinal field experiment and objective performance measures in the workflow of a very complex system, the US Navy's avionics maintenance organization. The information processing capacity of the system is shown to be the primary determinant of system performance, with or without the use of information technology. Additional support for the theory comes from newer test and information technologies deployed in the 1980's and 1990's. Implications of this theory for current generations of test technology are provided in the final chapters, along with further development of the theory and its general application to many types of organizations.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	p. vii
List of Tables	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xi
List of Abbreviations	p. xiii
Foreword	p. xvii
Foundations of IPT: the Information Processing Theory of Organization	p. 1
A Brief Review of the Payoff Matrix	p. 63
Social Science Methodology, Statistical Significance Testing, and the Use of Organizational Research in This Book	p. 69
Avionics Maintenance and Technology Accession	p. 85
VAST-Supported Aircraft	p. 117
VAST and Avionics Maintenance	p. 123
VAST Building Blocks	p. 161
Work Center Codes	p. 163
Beyond Capability of Maintenance (BCM) Codes	p. 169
Malfunction Description Codes	p. 171
The VAST Shop Effectiveness and Efficiency Studies	p. 177
AIMD Workflow Problems	p. 233
Coping with Complexity in the Avionics Maintenance System	p. 241
"Experiment 2"--IP Capacity, Organization Performance, and Organization Slack	p. 277
New Technologies and "Experiment 3"	p. 309
Extending IPT, ATE Lessons, and a Technology Accession Model	p. 333
Workflow Analysis	p. 377
Index	p. 381
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