Design scholars, practitioners to explore positive approaches to information systems development and organizational change at Weatherhead School working conference
November 2, 2005 | For more information: Jeff Bendix 216-368-6070
Some of the world's leading scholars and practitioners in the fields of industrial, graphic, organizational and information systems design will gather at Case Western Reserve University's Weatherhead School of Management to exchange ideas and explore positive approaches for improving the way they work.
The event bringing them together is a workshop, "Designing Information and Organizations with a Positive Lens." It will take place November 11-12 in the Peter B. Lewis building, 11119 Bellflower Road on the Case campus, and is co-sponsored by the Weatherhead School's Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit and its Information Design Studio.
"This is the first conference that brings together the Positive Lens concept and the emerging voices approaching organizational and management scholarship from the view point of design," said Michel Avital, assistant professor in the Department of Information Systems at the Weatherhead School and a co-chair of the working conference. "Adopting a positive lens means that one is less focused on the detection of error and the control of chronic problems, and more concerned with designing hopeful organizations and more human centered technologies that foster betterment in human organizations and communities. This is radical in our multidisciplinary context and has far reaching implications for both business and society."
The organizers believe that scholarly efforts ought to be multidisciplinary and socially responsible with an objective of attaining global impact. "We aim to promote the exchange of ideas across disciplines as well as across industry and academia," said Kalle Lyytinen, Iris S. Wolstein Professor of Management Design at the Weatherhead School. "We also have invited some of the world's leading scholars and practitioners to participate in the workshop. By doing so, we aim to start a positive dialogue across disciplines which so far have not had significant interactions."
A distinct feature of the event is its international reach, Lyytinen added. Participants are coming from Scandinavia, Netherlands, Belgium, South Korea and Australia among others.
Some of the topics for discussion at the workshop will be "Design Science and Design Practices with a Positive Lens," "Design for Sustainable Value," "Design for Improvisation" and "Designing for Collaboration and Inter-Organizational Relationships."
Among the participants will be Nancy Adler, professor of international management at the Faculty of Management, McGill University; Richard Buchanan, professor of design at Carnegie Mellon University, where he also directs the Center for Design and Organizational Change; John Carroll, professor of information sciences and technology at Penn State University; Dong-Sung Cho, professor of strategy, international business and management design at Seoul National University; Chris Laszlo, a partner and cofounder of Sustainable Value Partners, Inc.; and Dan Robey, professor of information systems at Georgia State University.
Along with Avital and Lyytinen, the conference's organizers include Richard Boland, professor of information systems at Weatherhead; and David Cooperrider, professor and chair of the Department of Organizational Behavior. For more information call (216) 368-2144 or see http://weatherhead.case.edu/design/
About Case Western Reserve University
Case is among the nation's leading research institutions. Founded in 1826
and shaped by the unique merger of the Case Institute of Technology and Western
Reserve University, Case is distinguished by its strengths in education, research,
service, and experiential learning. Located in Cleveland, Case offers nationally
recognized programs in the Arts and Sciences, Dental Medicine, Engineering,
Law, Management, Medicine, Nursing, and Social Work. http://www.case.edu.
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