Citation
(2003), "Special Issue on Institutional change", On the Horizon, Vol. 11 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/oth.2003.27411baa.002
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2003, MCB UP Limited
Special Issue on Institutional change
Special Issue on Institutional change
On the Horizon, intends to explore a broader domain beyond its present focus on the transformation of post secondary education alone. Revolutionary information technologies, globalization, and today's knowledge economy have been forcing all institutions into this same process of transformation, and these forces seem to be accelerating recently. For instance, the uncontested superiority of American military power is attributable to a "Force Transformation" to "Network Centric Warfare," notably seen in the battle to liberate Afghanistan. Meanwhile, Enron, WorldCom, and other corporate scandals have heightened the urgency of redefining corporate governance. State and Federal agencies are moving toward "E-Government;" health care is in upheaval; while publishing, financial investment, and other "information-intensive" industries are also moving toward the Internet.
These are simply prominent examples of "Institutional Change" - a field of study that goes beyond "Organizational Change" to focus on the transformation of entire classes of organizations serving various societal functions: business, government, education, military, health care, media, etc. Unlike the more specific managerial aspects of Organizational Change - teamwork, quality practices, reengineering processes, leadership styles, etc. - Institutional Change addresses the underlying social rules that define how these general societal functions are structured and conducted. This topic is of timely interest because institutions have been struggling for decades to redefine themselves for an Information Age with only modest success, but the biggest hurdles seem likely to be addressed in the next decade or so.
This topic should be well-suited to the future-oriented capabilities of On the Horizon contributors. Futurists can serve a unique role providing conceptual frameworks that define the long-term pathway which business, government, education, medicine, the military, etc. are following in this historic process. Papers may be submitted covering any aspect of Institutional Change, and they could take many forms. Some suggested topics are listed below:
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The emerging logic of Network Centric Warfare
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Reconciliation of the corporate profit motive with social interests
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Self-organizing, adaptive organizational structures
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The automation of supply-chains, client relations, and telework into online organizations operating in real time
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Evolving forms of health care systems
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Online publications
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Case studies of Institutional Change
Accepted papers will appear in a special issue of On the Horizon
All manuscripts should be under 5,000 words, essay format.
Articles are to be submitted electronically to: tom abeles tabeles@attglobal.net or William E. Halal Halal@gwu.edu
Questions or expressions of interest to:Tom Abeles, editorOn the Horizon3704 11th Ave. SouthMinneapolis, MN 55407tabeles@attglobal.nethttp://www.emeraldinsight.com/oth.htm