Weizenbaum Publikationen

Dauerhafte URI für den Bereich

https://www.weizenbaum-library.de/handle/id/1

Listen

Gerade angezeigt 1 - 20 von 21

Agile Methods on the Shop Floor: Towards a "Tesla Production System"?
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2022) Daum, Timo
This discussion paper investigates two questions: To what extend can Tesla be regarded as a digital firm, and do we - as a result - see elements of a distinct "Tesla production system"? While the EV-startup is widely approached as a competing automaker focusing on the electric drive train, which it certainly is, this paper argues that it can only fully be understood as a digital firm - a digital car company with a digital product embedded in a digital ecosystem. Its roots in Silicon Valley, its software-first approach, and its strategic exploitation of user activity data point into this direction. In the second part, this paper explores to what extent Tesla's rootedness in software and its Silicon-Valley ancestry gave reason to introduce methods borrowed from software development on the shop floor. To a certain degree, concepts from agile software development found their way to the very assembly-line at Tesla. Although it might be exaggerated to speak of a distinct "Tesla Production system", indications for a considerable and possibly enduring alteration of Lean Production paradigm can be determined.
Automation, Digitalization, and Changes in Occupational Structures in the Automobile Industry in Germany, the United States, and Japan. A Brief History from the Early 1990s Until 2018
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2020) Krzywdzinski, Martin
In the current public discussion, it is considered certain that we are living in a time of rapidly advancing automation, which is driven in particular by the use of robots. Accordingly, many academic publications use robot density as the central indicator of automation. The present study challenges this perspective. It examines two central questions: First, what approaches to automation and digitalization have been pursued in the automotive industry in Germany, Japan and the USA? Second, how have employment and its occupational composition in the automotive industry developed in the three countries? The first part of the study focuses on the development of automation and digitalization approaches in the automotive industry from the early 1990s until today. It combines a qualitative analysis of press articles and a quantitative evaluation of the development of the stock of industrial robots from 1993 to 2018 based on the statistics of the International Federation of Robotics. The second part of the study focuses on the change in employment structures using occupational statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (USA), the Federal Employment Agency (Germany) and the Statistics Bureau of Japan. The study questions the perception of an automation-related threat to employment and especially to production employment. At the same time, it discusses developments in Germany, Japan and the USA in comparison and highlights differences in automation and digitalization approaches as well as different paths of change in employment structures.
Citizen Science and the Dissolution of Inequalities in Scientific Knowledge Production
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2019) Wünsche, Hannes; Schimmler, Sonja
Recently, a larger public has started to critically discuss scientific knowledge and its role in political decision making. In this discussion, scientific and civic epistemologies are put into connection with each other. Just as post-democratic theory argues in relation to political decisions, the production of scientific knowledge is criticized as a non-inclusive process, too. The Citizen Science movement tries to resolve this deficit by involving citizens into research. In this paper, we introduce agency as an analytical category into the discussion, focussing on how participants are represented in Citizen Science. We highlight the interdependencies between the degree of agency granted to the participants in Citizen Science projects and the degree of their representation in knowledge production.
Das Öffnen und Teilen von Daten qualitativer Forschung
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2020) Steinhardt, Isabel; Fischer, Caroline; Heimstädt, Maximilian; Hirsbrunner, Simon David; İkiz-Akıncı, Dilek; Kressin, Lisa; Kretzer, Susanne; Möllenkamp, Andreas; Porzelt, Maike; Rahal, Rima-Maria; Schimmler, Sonja; Wilke, René; Wünsche, Hannes
Data Governance Act Proposal
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2021) Neuberger, Christoph; Friesike, Sascha; Krzywdzinski, Martin; Eiermann, Karin-Irene; Stocker, Volker; Schawe, Nadine; Efroni, Zohar; von Hagen, Prisca; Völzmann, Lisa; Müller, Ferdinand
This Position Paper contains statements drafted by several Research Groups at the Weizenbaum Institute concerning the Data Governance Act (DGA) Proposal. Each statement is followed by a short explanation. The purpose of this Paper is to highlight a number of important aspects of the DGA Proposal and stimulate the debate around it with a special emphasis on the part that concerns regulation of data sharing services (Chapter III, DGA Proposal). The Paper touches upon a number of selected matters without the ambition to cover all the important issues the DGA legislation raises. The statements address the potential risks in creating a centralized architecture for data intermediaries, the problem of imposing a duty on data sharing services to offer data on a non-discriminatory basis, the role and expertise supervision authorities will need to assume and exercise and questions regarding the interface between the anticipated DGA and existing data protection law in the EU. The Paper includes a number of specific recommendations regarding the formulation of several DGA provisions, specifically in connection with its intersection points with the GDPR.
"Digital Taylorism"? Data Practices and Governance in the Enterprise Software Salesforce
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2020) Nyckel, Eva-Maria
This paper provides an investigation of the economy of the enterprise software Salesforce. The investigation looks at epistemologically distinct practices inscribed in enterprise software and challenges the notion of “digital Taylorism” by looking closer at current as well as historical practices of process management. While Taylor’s systematic approach involved a combination of distributed practices, Salesforce is an enterprise software platform that connects these practices digitally. Rather than examining the role of workers, the paper focuses particularly on the media techniques of Taylorism and the technologies in contemporary working environments that render organizational structures and courses of action available for algorithmic governance. Thereby, the paper seeks to contribute an additional theorization for organization studies and media theory. The mediated practices are conceptualized in four categories that allow for a contrast of Taylor’s approach with contemporary process management practices. In addition to an analysis of Taylor’s original texts and a document analysis of Salesforce whitepapers, this paper also presents empirical insights. The paper aims to shed light on the relation between techniques involved in Taylorist process management and governing modes of the enterprise software Salesforce.
Digitalisierung der Arbeitswelt in und nach der COVID-19-Krise: Thesen und Handlungsempfehlungen
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2021) Butollo, Florian; Flemming, Jana; Wandjo, David; Gerber, Christine; Krzywdzinski, Martin
Es gibt Anhaltspunkte dafür, dass die durch die COVID-19-Pandemie ausgelöste Krise zu strukturellen Veränderungen der Arbeitswelt geführt hat, die in engem Zusammenhang mit Digitalisierungsprozessen stehen. Einige Veränderungen sind in industriellen Produktionsprozessen, der mobilen Arbeit und auch der Plattformarbeit zu erwarten. Damit solche Veränderungen sich positiv auf die Arbeitswelt auswirken ist politische Gestaltung gefragt. Beobachtbar ist, dass einige Unternehmen ihre Digitalstrategien überdenken, teils forcieren und vermehrt mit neuen Möglichkeiten experimentieren. Hier ist es notwendig, Betriebsrät_innen und Beschäftigte frühzeitig in die Gestaltung neuer Ansätze einzubinden. Am offensichtlichsten hat sich die Arbeitswelt in der Krise durch die digitale Kommunikation im virtuellen Raum verändert. Menschen die bereits im Homeoffice arbeiten, sind jedoch verschiedenen Schwierigkeiten ausgesetzt. Virulent sind Fragen der Geschlechtergerechtigkeit, die Vermischung von beruflichem und privaten, sowie die Ausstattung des häuslichen Arbeitsplatzes. Aufgrund der Erschütterung der regulären Arbeitsmärkte nahm auch über digitale Plattformen vermittelte Arbeit zu. Die prekären Arbeitsbedingungen der Plattformarbeiter_innen haben sich während der Pandemie noch zugespitzt, gleichzeitig ist international aber eine politische Regulierung der Plattformarbeit in Sicht, die inzwischen auch in Deutschland in Ansätzen stattfindet.
Editorial: Volume 1, Issue 1
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2021) Emmer, Martin; Krasnova, Hanna; Krzywdzinski, Martin; Metzger, Axel; Schimmler, Sonja; Ulbricht, Lena; Neuberger, Christoph
The Weizenbaum Journal of the Digital Society is an open access journal and could not function any other way, because we see digitalization as a process that changes traditional forms of communication and cooperation, which raises the questions of control of data, information and knowledge anew. We look forward to contributions about the conditions, forms and consequences of the digitalization of society and its sub-sectors such as politics, business, science, labor, the public, civil society, law and culture. The digitalization of society has many facets: the disruptive transformation of the world of work, radical changes in the economic and innovation systems, new forms of learning and the restructuring of educational systems, the transformation of public space through digital media and platforms, changes in the way democracies function, massive challenges for the legal system and the planning and design of technical infrastructures. In light of these developments, the question arises as to how social actors can shape the digital transformation while safeguarding the foundations for individual and societal self-determination.
Growing Open Science with the Combined Potential of Citizen Science and Auto Science
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2019) Schimmler, Sonja; Kirstein, Fabian; Urbanek, Sebastian; Wünsche, Hannes; Hauswirth, Manfred
In this paper, we present our ideas on how to best support researchers in every phase of the research process when dealing with their research data. We propose a Research Data Portal as the central data infrastructure. With the help of this portal, a researcher can easily manage and update his or her research data, share it with collaborators, and reach out to the public. We further propose a Citizen Science Portal, which includes some new and innovative concepts and methods. In this portal, Citizen Science and Auto Science concepts are applied, and support to bring together the best of both worlds is provided. Citizen Science promises to entail the individual (scientists and hobby scientists) to help with research. Auto Science is meant to help analyze research data, e.g., to help publish the data and to help improve its quality, by applying methods from artificial intelligence.
Opening up and Sharing Data from Qualitative Research: A Primer
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2021) Steinhardt, Isabel; Fischer, Caroline; Heimstädt, Maximilian; Hirsbrunner, Simon David; İkiz-Akıncı, Dilek; Kressin, Lisa; Kretzer, Susanne; Möllenkamp, Andreas; Porzelt, Maike; Rahal, Rima-Maria; Schimmler, Sonja; Wilke, René; Wünsche, Hannes
Stellungnahme zum Entwurf des Digitalisierungsgesetzes der Landesregierung Schleswig-Holstein, Drucksache 19/3267
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2021) Müller, Ferdinand; Keiner, Alexandra; Schädlich, Finn; Völzmann, Lisa; Peter, Robert; Schrör, Simon; Efroni, Zohar; Schimmler, Sonja; von Hagen, Prisca
Team Collaboration and Productivity: Experiences of agile, hybrid, and traditional teams with remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2022) Krzywdzinski, Martin
The shift to remote work poses particular challenges for teamwork. It makes spontaneous and informal communication more difficult and may weaken social relations in teams. This study based on an online survey of 1,516 individuals who worked from home during the COVID-19 pandemic examines the functioning of teamwork in remote-work contexts and attempts to answer the following questions: (1) What organizational and technical working conditions influence working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic? (2) How did collaboration in different forms of teamwork evolve under working-from-home conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic? (3) What effects of working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic can be observed in terms of teamwork productivity? Overall, the study reveals quite surprising differences between different forms of team organization. The quality of team collaboration and team productivity slightly increased in agile teams, even in a situation where at least some members of the team were working from home. In contrast, respondents working in traditional teams reported slightly negative effects of working from home on teamwork quality and team productivity.
The Growing Gap Between Pioneers and Laggards: Digitalization, automation, and organizational change in the wake of the COVID-19-crisis in Germany
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2022) Krzywdzinski, Martin; Butollo, Florian; Flemming, Jana; Gerber, Christine; Wandjo, David; Delicat, Nina; Herzog, Lorena; Bovenschulte, Marc; Nerger, Michael
The COVID 19 crisis has had a massive impact on the world of work. Based on a standardized survey of 540 company sites and 34 qualitative case studies in six industries (automotive, chemicals, mechanical engineering, logistics, healthcare and financial services), this study examines how companies’ digitalization and automation strategies have changed in the context of the pandemic. The analysis shows that the companies surveyed have by and large coped well with the crisis. However, an increasing polarization is becoming apparent. Digital pioneers intensified digitalization measures to a greater extent than those that were already behind in this respect before the pandemic. The focus of digitalization during the pandemic was particularly on supporting processes in administration, human resources management and sales. Automation also primarily played a role in these fields and only a minority of respondents expected employment losses in the medium term. Another key finding of this study is the correlation between technical and organizational innovation. It can be observed that those companies that invested more heavily in technical digitalization processes were also more inclined to make organizational changes with regard to management styles, working hours and work organization.
The Structural Transformation of the Scientific Public Sphere: Constitution and consequences of the path towards Open Access
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2021) Dobusch, Leonhard; Heimstädt, Maximilian
We are currently witnessing a fundamental structural transformation of the scientific public sphere, characterized by processes of specialization, metrification, internationalization, platformization, and visibilization. In contrast to explanations of this structural transformation that invoke a technological determinism, we demonstrate its historical contingency by drawing on analytic concepts from organization theory and the case of the Open Access transformation in Germany. The digitization of academic journals has not broadened access to scientific output but narrowed it down even further in the course of the “serials crisis”. For a long time, research institutions were not able to convince large academic publishers to adopt less restrictive forms of access to academic journals. It was only through the emergence of new and in part illegal actors (shadow libraries and preprint servers) that the existing path could be broken, and an Open Access path constituted. Following this analysis, we discuss consequences of the Open Access transformation for the public spheres of science and democracy. We conclude that Open Access publishing can only help to transform both communicative spaces towards the normative ideal of a public sphere when complemented by systematic support for non-profit publication infrastructures.
The Tech Company: On the neglected second nature of platforms
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2022) Ziegler, Alexander
The unprecedented rise of startups such as Google or Amazon has spurred an ongoing debate on the conceptualization of the corporate model these firms represent. Thus far, attention has centered on the analysis of their product and market strategies highlighting their platform nature as common feature and its defining characteristic. By applying and scaling the platform business model these companies have been able to capture value created outside the firm. The focus on the platform nature and the evolution of their external ecosystems, however, has left the work that is done inside these companies to create and provide online platforms largely unnoticed. Against this background, the article seeks to contribute to the debate by analyzing the inner mode of production as an essential component of their corporate model. The second nature of online platform firms, it is argued, is that they are tech companies. Building on this, the article aims to reconstruct how as tech companies they have learned and perfected to continuously develop and operate the internet applications that power their online platforms at global scale.
Unequal Training Participation and Training Experience at the Digital Work Place - an Interdisciplinary Study
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2019) Vladova, Gergana; Wotschack, Philip
Despite technological progress and the resulting changes, the human actor remains the decisive critical factor for the economic success of companies. This paper presents an interdisciplinary approach and research design to examine issues of unequal access to training in the new digital workplace. The research project combines an in-depth state-of-the-art study with an experimental design that tests in a lab environment how learning barriers can be tackled by manipulating the educational situation. In a final step, the methods developed and the results of the experiment are implemented and evaluated in the real situation using the example of one or more companies. The aim of the study is to identify possibilities for different actors in companies to better design working and learning conditions.
Varieties of platform work. Platforms and social inequality in Germany and the United States
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2020) Krzywdzinski, Martin; Gerber, Christine
The platform economy has been criticized for exacerbating social inequalities in various ways. This study draws on these discussions and examines the extent to which social inequalities are being reproduced, reduced, or even increased within platform work. The first central question is that of the precariousness of this form of work and the vulnerability of the platform workers as a group. This is followed by a second question about the role of classical dimensions of inequality of education and gender within the group of platform workers. The study focuses on inequalities related to income, workload, and the subjective perception of platform work. It follows a comparative approach, building on institutionalist analyses developed in labor market and inequality research. The empirical analysis is based on case studies of 15 crowdwork platforms in the United States and Germany and on an online survey of crowdworkers in both countries. While platforms represent a global organizational model, they are embedded in different models of capitalism. The study shows that existing labor market segmentation and social welfare systems determine who works on platforms and to what extent. The weaker the social safety net, the more likely platform work is to be both a curse and a blessing: It offers a much needed and flexible source of income, albeit under extremely precarious conditions. The stronger the social safety net, on the other hand, the greater the market power of workers vis-à-vis the platforms.
Wachsende Kluft zwischen Vorreiterunternehmen und Nachzüglern: Digitalisierung, Automatisierung und organisatorischer Wandel in Folge der COVID-19-Krise
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2022) Krzywdzinski, Martin; Butollo, Florian; Flemming, Jana; Gerber, Christine; Wandjo, David; Delicat, Nina; Herzog, Lorena; Bovenschulte, Marc; Nerger, Michael
Die COVID-19-Krise hat massiven Einfluss auf die Arbeitswelt. Basierend auf einer standardisierten Befragung von 540 Betrieben und 34 qualitativen Fallstudien in sechs Branchen (Automobil, Chemie, Maschinenbau, Logistik, Gesundheit und Finanzdienstleistungen) untersucht die vorliegende Studie, wie sich im Kontext der Pandemie die Digitalisierungs- und Automatisierungsstrategien von Unternehmen verändert haben. Die Analyse zeigt, dass die befragten Betriebe die Krise im Großen und Ganzen gut bewältigt haben. Dabei zeigt sich allerdings eine zunehmende Polarisierung. Digitale Vorreiter haben Digitalisierungsmaßnahmen während der Pandemie in stärkerem Maße intensiviert, als jene, die in dieser Hinsicht bereits vor der Pandemie zurücklagen. Der Fokus der Digitalisierung während der Pandemie lag insbesondere auf der Unterstützung von Prozessen in der Verwaltung, dem Personalmanagement und dem Vertrieb. Automatisierung spielte primär in diesen Feldern eine Rolle und nur eine Minderheit der Befragten erwartete mittelfristig Beschäftigungsverluste. Ein zentraler Befund der vorliegenden Studie ist zudem der Zusammenhang zwischen technischer und organisatorischer Innovation. Es lässt sich beobachten, dass jene Unternehmen, die stärker in technische Digitalisierungsprozesse investiert haben, zugleich auch eher geneigt waren, organisatorische Veränderungen im Hinblick auf Führungsstile, Arbeitszeit und Arbeitsorganisation vorzunehmen.
When do Companies Train Low Skilled Workers? The Role of Technological Change, Human Resources Practices, and Institutional Arrangements
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2019) Wotschack, Philip
The article investigates the role of technological change, HR practices, and institutional organizational differences in training participation of low skilled workers in Germany. By building on institutional theories four hypotheses are derived and tested. Regression analysis based on the IAB Establishment Survey (wave 2011 and 2013) show evidence that the training participation of low skilled workers is shaped by organizational characteristics in terms of advanced production technology, investments in EDP, organizational or technological innovation, institutionalized arrangements and HR policies. While the effects of technology and innovations are of short-term nature, institutionalized arrangements in terms of employee representations and formalized HR practices have an enduring effect: They are positively associated with both a higher likelihood of training investments in low skilled workers and higher rates of continuing training participation among low skilled workers in 2011 and 2013.
“You are too Old (Not) to Learn” - A Critical Reconsideration of “Older Employees”
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2019) Teichmann, Malte; Matthiessen, Julia; Vladova, Gergana
Todays working environment faces the major challenges of demographical change and digitalization. Deficit-oriented stereotypes question the ability of older employees to keep pace with these technological innovations. Consequently, the elderly are perceived as less valuable for the company leading to fewer vocational training offers. Facing this dilemma, this contribution aims at uncovering the prevailing stereotypes against older employees and present a new approach of looking at older generations. Focusing existing experienced-based knowledge instead of assumed deficits as a starting point for further didactical work and research, basics of age-appropriate vocational training get pointed out in order to raise target group specific potentials in the context of the challenges of digitalization.

Listen

Auflistung Weizenbaum Publikationen nach Forschungsbereichen "Mensch – Arbeit – Wissen"

Treffer pro Seite

Sortieroptionen