Automated Organizations


Book Description

This book attempts to characterize a new organizational form that is now visible in many companies as a substitute of previous forms related to mechanized or mechanistic standards. The book is based on the approach of organizational structure and on Henry Mintzberg’s work on organizational configurations. As a matter of fact, it attempts to supplement and update Mintzberg's organizational taxonomy, taking into account changes in the structure and work organization of business firms. The book is written for all people whose work is related to organizations and who are interested in the subjects it deals with.




Designing Knowledge Organizations


Book Description

A pedagogical approach to the principles and architecture of knowledge management in organizations This textbook is based on a graduate course taught at Stevens Institute of Technology. It focuses on the design and management of today's complex K organizations. A K organization is any company that generates and applies knowledge. The text takes existing ideas from organizational design and knowledge management to enhance and elevate each through harmonization with concepts from other disciplines. The authors—noted experts in the field—concentrate on both micro- and macro design and their interrelationships at individual, group, work, and organizational levels. A key feature of the textbook is an incisive discussion of the cultural, practice, and social aspects of knowledge management. The text explores the processes, tools, and infrastructures by which an organization can continuously improve, maintain, and exploit all elements of its knowledge base that are most relevant to achieve its strategic goals. The book seamlessly intertwines the disciplines of organizational design and knowledge management and offers extensive discussions, illustrative examples, student exercises, and visualizations. The following major topics are addressed: Knowledge management, intellectual capital, and knowledge systems Organizational design, behavior, and architecture Organizational strategy, change, and development Leadership and innovation Organizational culture and learning Social networking, communications, and collaboration Strategic human resources; e.g., hiring K workers and performance reviews Knowledge science, thinking, and creativity Philosophy of knowledge and information Information, knowledge, social, strategy, and contract continuums Information management and intelligent systems; e.g., business intelligence, big data, and cognitive systems Designing Knowledge Organizations takes an interdisciplinary and original approach to assess and synthesize the disciplines of knowledge management and organizational design, drawing upon conceptual underpinnings and practical experiences in these and related areas.




Site Reliability Engineering


Book Description

The overwhelming majority of a software system’s lifespan is spent in use, not in design or implementation. So, why does conventional wisdom insist that software engineers focus primarily on the design and development of large-scale computing systems? In this collection of essays and articles, key members of Google’s Site Reliability Team explain how and why their commitment to the entire lifecycle has enabled the company to successfully build, deploy, monitor, and maintain some of the largest software systems in the world. You’ll learn the principles and practices that enable Google engineers to make systems more scalable, reliable, and efficient—lessons directly applicable to your organization. This book is divided into four sections: Introduction—Learn what site reliability engineering is and why it differs from conventional IT industry practices Principles—Examine the patterns, behaviors, and areas of concern that influence the work of a site reliability engineer (SRE) Practices—Understand the theory and practice of an SRE’s day-to-day work: building and operating large distributed computing systems Management—Explore Google's best practices for training, communication, and meetings that your organization can use




Automated/Mechanized Drilling and Countersinking of Airframes


Book Description

Modern aircraft manufacturing involves drilling and countersinking hundreds of thousands to millions of holes. Doing this work by hand accounts for 65% of the cost of airframe assembly, 85% of the quality issues, and 80% of the lost time due to injuries. Automated drilling and countersinking replaces traditional hand methods and involves using numeric control machinery to drill and countersink a finished hole “one shot” (drilling a finished hole without using pilot holes or tool changes). This is a proven cost reducing technology that improves quality where it has been applied successfully. The focus of this book is on automating the process of drilling and countersinking holes during airframe manufacturing. Since this is the area of greatest return on investment for airframe producers, the book provides a stepped approach for evaluating possible areas for applying automation and a detailed description of the process for choosing, acquiring, and transitioning the right machinery for success. It also provides a vision for a 10- to 15-year future state of airframe manufacture. Readers will use the information to: • Understand the evolution of automated/mechanized drilling and countersinking airframes. • Access decision models and matrices to help evaluate the feasibility of applying automation/mechanization to any airframe. • Gain access to a step-by-step procedure to select the right piece of machinery. • Learn the necessary processes for testing and transitioning machinery to production. • Assess and acquire data to evaluate the effect of the process. • Choose and train the right individuals to manage and run the machinery. • Conduct cost benefit analysis models. • Make recommendations for maintenance and spares. • Address socio-economic factors to reconfigure a facility from hand to automated activities. No other book provides such detailed technical, economic, and social information about automating the single largest contributor to airframe cost.




Automated Driving


Book Description

The main topics of this book include advanced control, cognitive data processing, high performance computing, functional safety, and comprehensive validation. These topics are seen as technological bricks to drive forward automated driving. The current state of the art of automated vehicle research, development and innovation is given. The book also addresses industry-driven roadmaps for major new technology advances as well as collaborative European initiatives supporting the evolvement of automated driving. Various examples highlight the state of development of automated driving as well as the way forward. The book will be of interest to academics and researchers within engineering, graduate students, automotive engineers at OEMs and suppliers, ICT and software engineers, managers, and other decision-makers.




Emerging Practices in the Age of Automated Digital Journalism


Book Description

Emerging Practices in the Age of Automated Digital Journalism provides detailed insight into the current state of journalism and its future challenges. The book brings together a global team of authors to review and analyse emerging practices in the automated digital scenario through which journalism is being reshaped, such as novel languages, storytelling forms, and business models. Providing a much-needed review of the field to apprehend the knowledge and experience acquired, the collection also offers an up-to-date overview of digital journalism today, outlining those trends pointing to the future of journalism practice and media in the online sphere. Through a multidisciplinary and international approach, chapters delve into the main technological changes that digital journalism has recently faced, closely related to digital native media, novel storytelling forms, social media, innovation, television broadcasting, new media management structures and procedures, content automation, fact-checking, web analytics, and social audiences. Offering new insights into this fast-developing area, this volume will be an engaging and vital resource for media professionals and researchers in journalism and communication studies, as well as those interested in contemporary journalism practice and communication technology.




Advances in Digital Transformation - Rise of Ultra-Smart Fully Automated Cyberspace


Book Description

Given the current research direction toward ubiquitous information sharing and digitalization, the huge amount of documents in the world’s largest libraries and archives are stored as digital data in big data centers, including those of Google, Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, Amazon, IBM, and others. The recent advancements in the fast Internet, smart computing, information technologies, and management information systems created a platform for ultra-smart cyberspace and cyber automation driven by digital transformation, artificial intelligence (AI), and ultra-smart humanoid robotics. Welcome to the world of the digital revolution and the new era of digitalization where the dream of paperless factories has become a reality today, and yet there are future challenges ahead of us to make sure that digitalization contributes to the betterment of humankind. This book is a valuable reference providing up-to-date information about current state-of-the-art and future research directions in digital transformation for cyber experts, business and industry practitioners, university faculty, and senior and graduate students worldwide.




The Automation Advantage: Embrace the Future of Productivity and Improve Speed, Quality, and Customer Experience Through AI


Book Description

From the global automation leaders at Accenture—the first-ever comprehensive blueprint for how to use and scale AI-powered intelligent automation in the enterprise to gain competitive advantage through faster speed to market, improved product quality, higher efficiency, and an elevated customer experience. Many companies were already implementing limited levels of automation when the pandemic hit. But the need to rapidly change business processes and how organizations work resulted in the compression of a decade’s worth of digital transformation into a matter of months. Technology suddenly became the essential element for rapid organizational change and the creation of 360-degree value benefiting all stakeholders. Businesses are faced with the imperative to embrace that change or risk being left behind. In The Automation Advantage, global enterprise technology and automation veterans Bhaskar Ghosh, Rajendra Prasad, and Gayathri Pallail give business leaders and managers the action plan they need to execute a strategic agenda that enables them to quickly and confidently scale their automation and AI initiatives. This practical and highly accessible implementation guide answers leaders’ burning questions, such as: How do I identify and prioritize automation opportunities? How do I assess my legacy systems and data issues? How do I derive full value out of my technology investments and automation efforts? How can I inspire my employees to embrace change and the new opportunities presented by automation? The Automation Advantage goes beyond optimizing process to using AI to transform almost any business activity in any industry to make it faster, more streamlined, cost efficient, and customer-focused—vastly improving overall productivity and performance. Featuring case studies of successful automation solutions, this indispensable road map includes guiding principles for technology, governance, culture, and leadership change. It offers a human-centric approach to AI and automation that leads to sustainable transformation and measurable business results.







Human Performance in Automated and Autonomous Systems


Book Description

This book is devoted to the examination of emerging practical issues related to automated and autonomous systems. The book highlights the significance of these emergent technologies that determine the course of our daily lives. Each unique chapter highlights human factors and engineering concerns across real-world applications, including matters related to aviation and healthcare, human-robot interaction, transportation systems, cybersecurity and cyber defense. This book also depicts the boundaries that separate humans from machine as we continue to become ever more immersed in and symbiotic with these fast-emerging technologies. Automation, across many occupations, has transitioned the human to a role of monitoring machines, presenting challenges related to vigilance and workload. This book identifies the importance of an approach to automated technology that emphasizes the "human user" at the center of the design process. Features Provides perspectives on the role of the individual and teams in complex technical systems such as aviation, healthcare, and medicine Presents the development of highly autonomous systems related to human safety and performance Examines solutions to human factors challenges presented by modern threats to data privacy and cybersecurity Discusses human perceptual and cognitive capabilities underwriting to the design of automated and autonomous systems • Provides in-depth, expert reviews of context-related developments in automation and human-robot teaming Human Performance in Automated and Autonomous Systems: Emerging Issues and Practical Perspectives applies scientific theory directly to real-world systems where automation and autonomous technology is implemented.