Journal Article

Can organisations afford knowledge?

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Date

1992, 1992

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Journal Title

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Volume Title

Source

Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW): Vol. 1, No. 3

Publisher

Springer

Abstract

“Affordance Theory” has been widely discussed as a potential resource for the design of interfaces for CSCW and other systems. In this paper, we discuss the extension and adaption of this concept beyond the psychology of perception to the social distribution of a common stock of knowledge. We suggest that a working division of labour as that is known, oriented to, and rendered visible by the management of space and artifacts within a working environment can “afford” knowledge of organisational routines and practices. Learning to see the working division of labour is coming to understand the organisation. The grounds for extending the concept in this way are derived from consideration of an actual example taken from fieldwork. Some implications for the design of CSCW systems are reviewed.

Description

Anderson, R.; Sharrock, W. (1992): Can organisations afford knowledge?. Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW): Vol. 1, No. 3. DOI: 10.1007/BF00752436. Springer. PISSN: 1573-7551. pp. 143-161

Keywords

Affordance, Cognition, Distributed Cognition, Knowledge, Organisation

Citation

DOI

10.1007/BF00752436

URI

URI

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00752436
 https://dl.eusset.eu/handle/20.500.12015/3427

Collections

JCSCW Vol. 01 (1992)

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Referenced By

Number of citations to item: 43

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  • Jon Hindmarsh, Alison Pilnick (2002): The Tacit Order of Teamwork: Collaboration and Embodied Conduct in Anesthesia, In: The Sociological Quarterly 2(43), doi:10.1111/j.1533-8525.2002.tb00044.x
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