Webinar 1: Contextual Introduction to the Norwegian SocioTechnical Tradition
21 September 2020; Session 1: 10:00am – 11:30am CEST (For Europe & Australia) and Session 2: 7:00pm– 8:30 pm CEST (For US & Canada)
Workshop Overview:
The first webinar focused on introducing the way the Norwegian context (societal and organizational) is characterized by sociotechnical influences. First, Hanne Finnestrand and Johan Ravn took us through general developments in modern Norwegian society. Subsequently, Roger Bjørnstad gave in depth insight into the way institutional and economic macro structures are intertwined with organizational life in Norway. Also, he addressed challenges with which LO -the largest federation of labor unions in Norway- is confronted today, such as flexibilization of the workforce and the platform economy.
In workgroups we reflected on the Norwegian context, by highlighting similarities and differences with other countries and investigating the impact these may have on opportunities for sociotechnical design. Results from the workgroups were the input for the second webinar that delves deeper into conceptual developments of the Norwegian sociotechnical tradition.
Roger Bjørnstad is the chief economist at LO, and holds a PhD in social economy from the University of Oslo.
Hanne Finnestrand is Associate Professor at the department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Johan E. Ravn is Full Professor in Organizational Behavior at Nord University.
Recording:
Webinar 2: Emerging Concepts & Perspective – Norwegian SocioTechnical Tradition
29 September 2020; Session 1: 10:00am – 11:30am CEST (For Europe & Australia) and Session 2: 7:00pm– 8:30pm CEST (For US & Canada)
For the second webinar, the starting point was that the Norwegian tradition acknowledges the intertwinedness of institutional and organizational structures in explaining and improving conditions of workers. As such, and based on the discussions in the first webinar, we developed an understanding of such structuring effects on three different levels (policy making, work life regulation and internal organization governance).
After that we tapped into the different opportunities Norwegian sociotechnical thinking offers for changing institutional conditions for the better. Here, the Norwegian industrial democracy tradition emphasizes action research, participation and democratization. In workgroups we reflected on, and applied, Norwegian sociotechnical concepts to modern challenges in society.
