CAREER: Computational work design: How networked, intelligent technologies are changing organizational design and worker experience

随着组织开发和采用新技术来完成工作，它们也从根本上改变了组织工作的方式。未来的工作可能会更多地利用计算工作——将人类和计算机的能力结合起来，完成两者都无法单独完成的任务。新的互联网和数据分析技术正在改变计算工作的设计。该项目将使用纵向观察实地研究来发展当前在现实世界组织中使用的计算工作设计的新理论和基本理解。该项目将强调计算工作如何消除某些类型的工作和任务，创造其他类型的工作和任务，并改变许多仍然存在的工作。此外，该项目将研究计算工作如何影响工人的经验和授权。研究结果可以促进对机器智能技术对人类和社会福祉影响的理解。研究议程还包括为学生和公民领袖制定和传播教育课程，以便更好地了解计算工作设计及其对组织结构和工人经验的影响。新开发的工作系统现在包括未来工作的动态能力。具体来说，机器智能技术正在通过以下方式重塑工作：1)收集每个人正在做什么的数据；2)算法结合人类的努力或促进直接的人类整合；3)分析分工与整合活动的模式；4)建议或介入创造新的划分和整合工作的方式。包括这些活动的新工作系统可以被理解为从事计算工作设计。该项目将培养对现实世界组织中使用的计算工作设计的基本理解，旨在支持改进其设计和操作，以及相关的社会基础设施。将对三个先进部署计算工作设计的组织进行纵向观察研究，以发展关于计算工作设计和工人授权的新理论，并推进定性研究方法。此外，该项目将为政策制定者和管理科学专业的学生编写和传播一套教育课程。研究结果将促进我们对人类技术前沿工作的未来及其对人类和社会福祉的影响的理解。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

As organizations develop and adopt new technologies for doing work, they also fundamentally change the way work is organized. Future work is likely to make greater use of computational work -- work that combines human and computer capabilities to perform tasks that neither could do alone. New internet and data analytic technologies are transforming the design of computational work. This project will use longitudinal observational field research to develop new theory and fundamental understanding of computational work designs that are currently used in real-world organizations. The project will emphasize how computational work can eliminate some types of jobs and tasks, create others, and transform many jobs that remain. Furthermore, this project will examine how computational work might affect worker experiences and empowerment. Results could advance understanding on the impact of machine-intelligent technologies on human and societal well-being. The research agenda also includes development and dissemination of an educational curriculum for students and civic leaders to better understand computational work design and its effects on organizational structure and worker experience.Newly developed work systems now include dynamic capabilities for future work. Specifically, machine-intelligent technologies are reshaping work by: 1) collecting data on what everyone is doing; 2) algorithmically combining human efforts or facilitating direct human integration; 3) analyzing patterns in work division and integration activities; and 4) recommending or intervening to create new ways of dividing and integrating work. New work systems that include such activities can be understood as being engaged in computational work design. This project will develop fundamental understanding about computational work designs used in real-world organizations, with the aim of supporting improvements to their design and operation, and to the relevant societal infrastructure. Longitudinal, observational studies of three organizations with advanced deployments of computational work design will be conducted to develop new theory about computational work design and worker empowerment, as well as to advance qualitative research methodology. Furthermore, this project will create and disseminate an educational curriculum to policymakers and management science students. Results should advance our understanding of the future of work at the human-technology frontier and its impact on human and societal well-being.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.