Considering an Organization's Memory (1998) [73 citations — 8 self]
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author = {Mark S. Ackerman and Christine Halverson},
title = {Considering an Organization's Memory},
booktitle = {In Proceedings of ACM 1998 Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work},
year = {1998},
pages = {39--48},
publisher = {ACM Press}
}
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Abstract:
The term organizational memory is due for an overhaul. Memory appears to be everywhere in organizations; yet, the term has been limited to a few uses. In this paper we examine what memory in an organization really is. Based on an ethnographic study of a telephone hotline group, this paper presents a micro-level analysis of a hotline call, the work activity surrounding the call, and the memory used in the work activity. We do this analysis from the viewpoint of distributed cognition theory, finding it fruitful for an understanding of an organization's memory. Keywords Organizational memory, knowledge management, collective memory, group memory, information sharing, distributed cognition, CSCW, computer-supported cooperative work INTRODUCTION The term organizational memory has been overworked and confused. Burdened with the requirement to reuse experience, the term organizational memory obscures and ignores critical functions of the organization's memory. Instead, only some forms of ...
