[diss] Perustieteiden korkeakoulu / SCI

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  • Keskeytykset ja katkokset työn etenemisessä: edeltävät tekijät, epäjatkuvuusolosuhteet ja niistä selviytyminen tietotyössä
    (2009) Kalliomäki-Levanto, Tiina
     Informaatio- ja luonnontieteiden tiedekunta | Doctoral dissertation (monograph)
    Introduction: The idea for this thesis came from observations of daily work when consulting organizations. Work is interrupted, many tasks are being undertaken at the same time, some tasks are suspended, co-workers for different tasks may change due to various reasons, and the customer always needs something. The aim of this study was to understand changing work with new concepts; to find out ways to facilitate work activities in order to allow work to continue with reasonable human resources. Methodology for nascent theory: The topic chosen had little or no previous theory. For studying a phenomenon that is not vell understood, methodology for nascent theory is the most suitable. This means iterative processing of empirical and theoretical work, and reorientation along the analysis and process. The abductive model of reasoning was used throughout the study. Grounded theory (GT) and open-ended interviews were the main methods used for obtaining and analysing data for the nascent theory. Analysis according to the GT is based on constant comparison when developing categories from the data. The material consists of 660 pages of transcription text from interviews of 21 informants. The participant organization produced innovative technological solutions for industrial use. The preliminary research question focused on time at work but reorientation soon followed. The emerging categories seemed connected to interruptions, which suspended the flow of work. Background: Daily work was structured using concept interruption. There is some cumulated knowledge of this: consequences of interruption are time waste and problems of cognitive processing. There is little knowledge, however, of 1) the antecedent factors creating interruptions and 2) the strategies for dealing with interruptions. Those areas were the focus of the second reorientation. Research questions and analysis: 1) What will the factors and chain of antecedents before interruptions and gaps in knowledge work be, constructed on the basis of informant reports? 2) What kind of strategies will be used to deal with interruptions and gaps in the flow of work described on the grounds of informant reports? A chain of antecedents were developed according to GT. The chains were compared to find out their common connecting theme. This theme was then named, thus formulating the subcategory. The subcategories were also compared, and a further abstract category was named. Finally, the core category, connecting all categories, was named. Results: The result, the substantial theory, was presented as theoretical reasoning by using the core category and other categories. The core category which connected different antecedent events before interruptions was "poor availability of knowledge for the work at a certain moment". Knowledge for the work at a certain moment means 1) poor availability of expert knowledge, 2) the changing needs of customers and difficulty in mediating customer information, and 3) poor availability of exact knowledge of product solutions. It was hypothesized, that these three dimensions cause interruptions and gaps in the flow of work through several chains of events. The reliability of the categories was evaluated. As some subcategories were not sufficiently reliable, they were excluded from the categories. Thus the third reorientation was made. Strategies for dealing with the interruptions were: 1) to influence the causes of interruption, 2) using existing methods of work for support 3) to anticipate and 4) working overtime. Discussion of results: Results highlighted the organization as a whole system as an antecedent factor before interruption rather than one single factor. Underlying factors of interruptions were found as being part of the organization. Poor availability of expert knowledge, the changing needs of customers, difficulty in mediating customer information, and poor availability of exact knowledge of product solution are usually the focus of organization management research. An example area of organization management research is intangible assets. Intangible assets consist of three dimensions, which were equivalent with the three categories of this study. This equivalency is discussed further: management decisions create a chain of antecedents which result in interruptions to the flow of work. Constraints: The interview method is problematic. Human memory restricts our ability to retrospectively recall our previous experiences. When answering questions regarding events in the past, answers tend to be self-generated global assessments. Thus we can recall experiences but not the actual situations to which the experience is related. Human memory also restricts our ability to retrospectively recall minor daily events. The data which is gathered by interview is thus biased. Challenges for further study: It was developed four themes for further study: (1) the constraints of the study require further study, (2) the factors and chain of antecedents before interruptions, (3) a new research area in which interruptions as a main concept connect different disciplines and (4) challenges for management and supervision. Conclusion: "The interruptions and gaps in the flow of work" is a mid-range variable. On the one hand interruptions and gaps in the flow of work are connected through the chains of events to the different areas of an organization. The areas of organization are the focus of management decisions, for example in the model of intangible assets. On the other hand, the interruptions and gaps in the flow of work affect cognitive processing, and through this, the results of work and well-being. For example, continuous employment, stable work groups through membership, and adherence to product solution knowledge (keeping design or engineering and production together) would be management operations which help the flow of work without interruptions.