Martin Harris

Bio: Martin Harris is an academic researcher from University of Essex. The author has contributed to research in topics: Bureaucracy & Network society. The author has an hindex of 8, co-authored 20 publications receiving 201 citations.

Managing Modernity: Beyond Bureaucracy?

Abstract: Bureaucracy has long been a cornerstone of advanced industrial societies, and a defining feature of modernity. At the same time, many commentators from all quarters argue that it is on the wane in this post-this or that world; or that if it isn't, it should be dismantled to free up organizations, enterprise, and innovation. But do we live in a more or less bureaucratic world? Do contemporary forms and means of communication undermine or modify bureaucracy, or does technology create new 'iron cages' and forms of control? If bureaucratic models of organization are abandoned, do we run risks of organizational failure and inequity? Are there certain moral, professional, and social values associated with bureaucratic models? This book explores these issues in different organizational contexts - public administration, the National Health Service, the modern firm and corporation - and offers new insights into enduring questions. It will be an invaluable resource for academics, researchers, and students in organization studies, management, public administration, and sociology. The volume will also appeal to managers, planners, and policy makers who deal with these challenges.

Technology, innovation and post‐bureaucracy: the case of the British Library

Abstract: Purpose – In recent years it has been argued that the widespread adoption of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) presages the “end” of bureaucracy and its replacement by new and more flexible organisational forms. The purpose of this paper is to question contemporary accounts of “the network enterprise” and “the virtual organisation”, arguing that these are founded on a logic which abstracts innovation from its institutional and organisational context.Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a case study analysis of the British Library to explore the relationship between ICTs and new organisational forms.Findings – The case study evidence suggests that there is a need to go beyond the binary opposition of “bureaucratic” and “post‐bureaucratic” forms. The evidence also shows that the bureaucratic form was associated with the institutional legacies, expertise and practices that are crucial in fostering innovation.Originality/value – The paper shows that the bureaucratic context offers ...

Post bureaucracy and the politics of forgetting: The management of change at the BBC, 1991‐2002

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the imputed “fall” and subsequent “reinvention” of the BBC during the 1990s, relating a managerialist “politics of forgetting” to the broader ideological narratives of “the post bureaucratic turn”Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on a wide range of primary and secondary sources, combining case study analysis with long‐term historical perspectives on organisational changeFindings – The paper shows the ways in which public sector professionals contested “post bureaucratic” pressures for marketisation and organisational disaggregationOriginality/value – The paper shows the ways in which large‐scale technological, regulatory and organisational change was mediated by cultural continuities and recurrent “surges” of managerial control

Virtual learning and the network society

Abstract: A wide variety of organizational structures and technologies are associated with the 'virtual campus'. This paper compares the UK's two largest distance learning initiatives: the Open University (O...

Digital technology and governance in transition: The case of the British Library

Abstract: Comment on the organizational consequences of the new information and communications technologies (ICTs) is pervaded by the idea that `virtual' forms of production are synonymous with disaggregation and the `end' of bureaucracy. This article takes issue with this view, drawing on case study analysis of the British Library (BL) to show the ways in which bureaucratic modes of governance are shaping scholarly access to information resources. This research produces two main findings, each of which has a strong bearing on virtualization and the theme of `governance in transition'. First, radically decentralized `virtual' forms of service delivery are dependent on heavily`managed' forms of capacity-building and information aggregation. Second, the digitization initiatives explored in the case study are embedded in an inherently contested and contradictory context of institutional change. Current developments in the management and control of digital rights are consistent with the commodification of the public sp...

萨义德的“Orientalism”释义

Abstract: 萨义德以其独特的双重身份,对西方中心权力话语做了分析,通过对文学作品、演讲演说等文本的解读,将O rie n ta lis m——"东方学",做了三重释义:一门学科、一种思维方式和一种权力话语系统,对东方学权力话语做了系统的批判,同时将东方学放入空间维度对东方学文本做了细致的解读。

The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields (Chinese Translation)

Abstract: What makes organizations so similar? We contend that the engine of rationalization and bureaucratization has moved from the competitive marketplace to the state and the professions. Once a set of organizations emerges as a field, a paradox arises: rational actors make their organizations increasingly similar as they try to change them. We describe three isomorphic processes-coercive, mimetic, and normative—leading to this outcome. We then specify hypotheses about the impact of resource centralization and dependency, goal ambiguity and technical uncertainty, and professionalization and structuration on isomorphic change. Finally, we suggest implications for theories of organizations and social change.