Big data and organizational design – the brave new world of algorithmic management and computer augmented transparency

摘要

Big data and sophisticated algorithms enable software to handlernincreasingly complex tasks, such as detecting fraud, optimizingrnlogistics routes, and even driving cars. Beyond technical tasks,rnalgorithms enable new ways to organize work. In this article, Irnsuggest a distinction of optimizing-oriented and open-endedrnsystems leveraging big data and examine how they are shapingrnorganizational design. The optimizing-oriented systems, typicallyrnbased on numerical data, enable smarter control of well-defined tasks,rnincluding algorithmic management of human work. Open-endedrnsystems, often based on textual data or visualizations, can providernanswers to a broad range of managerial questions relevant to effectivernorganizing, thereby enabling smarter and more responsive definitionrnof tasks and allocation of resources and effort. Algorithms processingrnconversations that naturally take place in organizations can formrn‘computer augmented transparency’, creating a host of potentialrnbenefits, but also threats. These developments are leading to a wave ofrninnovation in organizational design and changes to institutionalizedrnnorms of the workplace.