Replying to Debbie's comments on technology:
Debbie, you don't say what your faculty is, or area of
specialization, and I haven't followed closely enough lately to be aware
(forgive me!). Regarding the definition of technology, in the management
literature at least, your notion of including organization and management
as part of the "technology" is well-regarded. Going back in the
organization theory literature to Joseph Litterer's ANALYSIS OF
ORGANIZATIONS, Litterer explicitly included such managerial "software"
along with the "hardware" of equipment as technology in his well-regarded
text.
Joe's notion was that technology in its roots is "know-how,"
expressed in either hardware or software. Even a problem-solving technique
would be "technology." Of course, in the information age, what's going on
in the application of computers is again and again a union of information,
software and hardware.
Regarding your question about bias, a very interesting instance of
bias would seem to be the use of von Neuman (linear sequential)
computation versus parallel processors and so-called neural nets for
non-linear, non-sequential computation that relies on (for example)
proximity and recency effects. These latter approaches may be much closer
approximations to how the human mind works.
Good luck on your thesis!
Sam
Mariann Jelinek, Ph.D.
Richard C. Kraemer Professor of
Business Administration
Graduate School of Business | The only real, enduring strategic advantage
College of William and Mary |comes from changing the rules of the game.
P.O. Box 8795
Williamsburg, VA 23185-8795
Tel. (757) 221-2882 FAX: (757) 229-6135
--Mariann Jelinek <mxjeli@facstaff.wm.edu>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>