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The machine should fit the work’

Organisation and Method and British approaches to new technology in business

Bibliographic Data

ID14800372
AuthorsRobbie Guerriero Wilson (Wilson Community College, corresponding author)
Year2008
Volume24
Issue4
Pages321-333
Publication date2008-12-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueHistory and Technology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0734-1512 • E-ISSN: 1477-2620
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/07341510802044702
OpenAlexW2002645642
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited5

‘Organisation and Method’ (O&M) was a discipline promoted in Britain in the first half of the twentieth century as a way of improving the efficiency of administrative enterprises. O&M practitioners were influential actors in the implementation of various information technologies in British businesses. When computers became the new technology, their introduction was seen as a natural adjunct to O&M work. The O&M practitioners understood the connections between the individual tasks to be done, the final outcome desired, and the technologies available. The practice of organizational ‘insiders’ acting as the dedicated mediators of technological introduction resulted in some remarkable successes in computer introduction in Britain in those years. Eventually the O&M approach would be superseded by purely technical experts, arguably to the detriment of user satisfaction

Business · Business process reengineering · Corporation · Economics · Information technology · Management · Political science · Productivity · Sociology · Engineering · History of Computing Technologies · Information Systems Theories and Implementation · Law · Marketing · Mechanical Engineering

  • Failure or precursor? ‘Organisation and Methods’ and the British practitioner tradition of management knowledge

    Robbie Guerriero Wilson•Management & Organizational History•2013

  • The struggle for management education in Britain

    Robbie Guerriero Wilson•Management & Organizational History•2011

  • The ‘layering’ of management in post-war Britain

    Robbie Guerriero Wilson•Business History•2012

  • The Government Machine

    Jon Agar•The Government Machine•2003

  • Inventing Information Systems

    Open Access•Thomas Haigh•The Business History Review•2001

  • The Teashop Computer Manufacturer

    John Hendry•Business History•1987

Citations per year0.2
Citation span2011 - 2013 (3)
Highly citedNo

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