_The Org_, Fisman and Sullivan (kindle)
Aug. 12th, 2013 12:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
walkitoutSubtitled: The Underlying Logic of the Office
I picked it up along with a large chunk of this reading list.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/b126d26e-fb7a-11e2-a641-00144feabdc0.html
There are problems: they authors say librarians (or at any rate some of them) miss card catalogs. As in, the paper ones. Seriously? Who are they hanging out with? And the idea that serendipity was any more likely in a paper catalog than in a computer catalog today is just nuts. They are, in general, really uninspectedly down on the idea of going fully paperless, rather than making an effort to understand limitations on going paperless that were true in the past and then trying to understand whether they are still true.
But as a whole, the authors basically approach bizarre and annoying corporate behavior and try to figure out why it happens, rather than just acting like there is no reason (which is an understandable, but not very explanatory response). They largely succeed. It's an extremely worthwhile book to read and I heartily recommend it to everyone.
That said, they are _definitely_ apologists for the status quo. Any status quo. They are downright Panglossian at times, and not necessarily in a good way.
I picked it up along with a large chunk of this reading list.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/b126d26e-fb7a-11e2-a641-00144feabdc0.html
There are problems: they authors say librarians (or at any rate some of them) miss card catalogs. As in, the paper ones. Seriously? Who are they hanging out with? And the idea that serendipity was any more likely in a paper catalog than in a computer catalog today is just nuts. They are, in general, really uninspectedly down on the idea of going fully paperless, rather than making an effort to understand limitations on going paperless that were true in the past and then trying to understand whether they are still true.
But as a whole, the authors basically approach bizarre and annoying corporate behavior and try to figure out why it happens, rather than just acting like there is no reason (which is an understandable, but not very explanatory response). They largely succeed. It's an extremely worthwhile book to read and I heartily recommend it to everyone.
That said, they are _definitely_ apologists for the status quo. Any status quo. They are downright Panglossian at times, and not necessarily in a good way.