TY - CHAP

T1 - IT Support for Sustainable Development in Organizations

AU - Möller, Andreas

AU - Rolf, Arno

N1 - Conference code: 21

PY - 2010

Y1 - 2010

N2 - This contribution is based on Habermas’ theory of communicative action and his distinction between lifeworld and social subsystems like the economy, science and public administration. This distinction does not only help in understanding the role of generalized action orientations and symbolic mechanisms in social subsystems, one important conclusion is that evolution and transition of orientations and mechanisms require communication and discourse: communication about problems, about problematic orientations, new ways and mutual insights etc. IT support in this regard (conversation support) plays a completely different role than “normal” information systems that are aimed at the stabilization of established orientations (like in economy profit maximization in combination with Taylor’s efficiency thinking). This allows discussion of different IT solutions with respect to their capabilities supporting the transition phase of sustainable development, as well as their contributions to modified or new generalized action orientations: environmental management information systems (EMIS), specialized modeling tools (e.g. life cycle assessment tools) but also all-purpose tools such as Excel, Email and web-based social networks.

AB - This contribution is based on Habermas’ theory of communicative action and his distinction between lifeworld and social subsystems like the economy, science and public administration. This distinction does not only help in understanding the role of generalized action orientations and symbolic mechanisms in social subsystems, one important conclusion is that evolution and transition of orientations and mechanisms require communication and discourse: communication about problems, about problematic orientations, new ways and mutual insights etc. IT support in this regard (conversation support) plays a completely different role than “normal” information systems that are aimed at the stabilization of established orientations (like in economy profit maximization in combination with Taylor’s efficiency thinking). This allows discussion of different IT solutions with respect to their capabilities supporting the transition phase of sustainable development, as well as their contributions to modified or new generalized action orientations: environmental management information systems (EMIS), specialized modeling tools (e.g. life cycle assessment tools) but also all-purpose tools such as Excel, Email and web-based social networks.

KW - Sustainability sciences, Communication

KW - Communicative Action

KW - Systemic Mechanisms

KW - Communication

KW - Conversation

KW - Generalized Action Orientation

KW - Lifeworld

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85032340418&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1007/978-3-642-15479-9_27

DO - 10.1007/978-3-642-15479-9_27

M3 - Article in conference proceedings

SN - 978-3-642-15478-2

VL - 328

T3 - IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology

SP - 281

EP - 291

BT - What Kind of Information Society?

A2 - Hilty, Lorenz M.

A2 - Berleur, Jacques

A2 - Hercheui, Magda David

PB - Springer

T2 - 21st World Computer Congress - 2010

Y2 - 20 September 2010 through 23 September 2010

ER -