The word "virtual" has probably surpassed the word "postmodern" in being used so vaguely and so generally that it has become, in many hands or mouths, almost meaningless, a kind of universal solvent to hype anybody's idea about anything, and, when applied to social phenomena, a way of being hip.How fortunate and refreshing, then, to have Abbe Mowshowitz's VIRTUAL ORGANIZATION, which is a conceptually clear and precise, intellectually and socially critical, and historically grounded as well as imaginative analysis of virtuality as a social phenomenon.Using the core of the computer-science understanding of virtuality as a model for organization, Mowshowitz shows how and why, in our particular economic, social, and political context, virtual organization is destined to be not only the predominant organizational form but also one that has and will increasingly have vast impacts on our entire social structure, for example in redrawing the boundaries between public and private in a way that can lead to a refeudalization of our society.And he does this in an amazingly comprehensive, detailed, and informed account of both the details of virtual enterprises and surrounding factors, such as information commodities, in today's political economy.He goes into substantive examination of the impact of virtual organization as a socio-historical phenomenon on many other aspects of social life, including not only the public sphere and the role of the nation-state but the family, community, and private life as well.Mowshowitz, who has had a disinguished research, teaching, and consulting career in the area of the social context and impact of information technology, is in the unusual position of being based both in computer-science and in political, economic, and social analysis and history, so that he can draw together the interwoven threads of technology and society in a convincing and thorough analysis.This gives his work a thorough and grounded character that makes it surpass, in quality and import, much of what passes for analysis of the impact of information technology on society.Because his work is not only analytical but, in the best sense, predictive and prognosticative -- in ways that are bound to be controversial -- his book is not only a scholarly contribution to, as the subtitle says, "a theory of societal transformation stimulated by information technology" but also a contribution to many of the vital public policy issues of the present.Hence this book will be of great interest and value not only to those who work in or manage virtual organizations, and to those interested in understanding contemporary social and technological trends and their interaction, but also to those concerned with what kind of society we and our descendants live in.A must read for all in any of these groups.
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Virtual Organization: Toward a Theory of Societal Transformation Stimulated by Information Technology (Hardcover)
All in all, Mitchell's vision of urban life in the industrialized nations is compelling. He weaves a convincing mosaic of The City of "real soonnow", where the design elements of architecture are extended toinclude the additions of Bandwidth, telepresence, conduit and storage.Indeed, as a network engineer myself, I believe he pretty much has it spoton, for those of us who are fortunate to live in the Northern Hemisphere.But what of the rest of the planet who won't have OC-48 cables running downtheir main streets? (80% of humanity have never come in contact with acomputer, let alone a network infrastructure).He paints a picture of aglorious brave new cyberworld for the top 5%, but ignores the implicationsof this technology on the other 95% of the people on this rock we callearth. Still, if you are one of the fortunate ones (or wish you were) to beable to take part in this vision, the book is well worth reading. Earth:E-topia or Borg Planet, YOU decide!