tailieunhanh - E-Human Resource Management 26

E-Human Resource Management 26. This book is presented in four sections — the first intended to be more general in nature, the following three devoted to specific aspects of the HRM field in the new information era. Section I, The Cutting-Edge in HRM, presents an overview of how ITCs are modifying general HRM processes and functions. This is the aim of the first three contributions. | Is Organizational e-Democracy Inevitable 211 environment has focused attention on the role of ICTs and their ability to disseminate information. The emergence of a knowledge economy where effective information transfer and the decentralization of organizational power structures is paramount however raises questions about the nature of organizational democracy. Despite its prominence in change research . Beer Nohria 2000 organizational democracy within the knowledge economy is confusing. In the contemporary workplace knowledge is regularly portrayed as the primary resource for individuals Drucker 1992 . The simultaneous sharing ofinforma-tion through sophisticated technology is viewed as a primary tool of organization Orlikowski lacono 2001 . This process assumes that the militaristic conditions of the industrial organization are antiquated and perhaps even unnecessary. Consequently changes to traditional bases of power and influence are believed to occur through decentralization and information access . Applegate 1994 Halal 1996 . Change initiated in the knowledge economy is regularly presented as a constant feature of the modern organization despite the dissatisfaction that exists with the nature of change research see Tsoukas Chia 2002 . This perspective that change is constant in the knowledge economy adds a paradoxical tangent to organizational e-democ-racy. These changes do not necessarily foster democracy Mantovani 1994 even though there are implied benefits ofthe evolving boundary-less and pluralistic nature of organizations in the current global economy. Many organizations are still organized autocratically Kraemer Dedrick 1997 Schwarz 2002 . Corporate ownership structures governance systems and incentive programs are still firmly entrenched in the industrial age. Organizations are still primarily organized through small management groups typical of hierarchies Markus 1983 Robey Boudreau 1999 . Any features of employee empowerment are limited. It .