The night of the bug : technology, risk and (dis)organization at the fin de siecle

Knights, David and Vurdubakis, Theo and Willmott, Hugh (2008) The night of the bug : technology, risk and (dis)organization at the fin de siecle. Management and Organizational History, 3 (3-4). pp. 289-309. ISSN 1744-9359

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Abstract

Euro-American forms of social organization are increasingly performed via ever more intricate computer systems and networks. Against this backdrop, the corrosive spectre of computer failure has assumed the role of the ‘network society’s dreaded other, the harbinger of dis-organization and dis-order.At the close of the twentieth century anxiety over the probable effects and consequences of the so-called ‘Millennium Bug’ provided a stark contrast to the then prevailing internet euphoria.This article suggests that the Bug, and the extensive (and costly) efforts that were dedicated to its extermination, provide us with a useful illustration of the ways in which IT applications have been used to think and enact particular, historically and culturally situated, notions of (human and technological) agency, organization, manageability and expertise.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Management and Organizational History
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1200/1202
Subjects:
?? computer failure institutional memorymanageabilitymillennium bug y2khistorybusiness and international managementstrategy and managementdiscipline-based research ??
ID Code:
45807
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
11 Jul 2011 18:38
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
15 Jul 2024 12:13