Your Instructor

Prof. Dr. Gerit Wagner

• Studied Information Systems at Universität Regensburg and University of Oulu
• Postdoctoral Felloship: HEC Montréal
• At Bamberg University since October 2022

I am excited study the evolving landscape of digital work practices and the technologies shaping the future of work.

Your expectations for the lecture "Introduction to Digital Work"

• Topics you are interested in
• Challenges you grapple with
• Work technologies that are exciting

Contents

This course covers the following themes:

• Drivers of change in digital work and its impact on modern organizations
• Personal information management and strategies for individual work excellence
• Best practices for remote teams and effective communication
• Collaborative content creation and the role of open source in work environments
• The impact of platformization on work structures
• Understanding knowledge-intensive services and how they drive innovation
• Exploring future scenarios for work, including fully digital and distributed organizing
• Addressing important ethical questions, including the role of generative AI in shaping the future of work

Note: The session on Teaming with (AI) Agents is our most recent addition.

Learning objectives

• Describe the historical, organizational, and societal drivers of change in digital work.
• Understand how digitalization changes work for individuals, teams, and crowds.
• Build you repertoire of practices, methods, and tools for effective digital work.
• Explain corresponding theories of personal information management, media synchronicity, and virtual teams.
• Appreciate different forms of scientific knowledge, theories, and methods prevalent in research on digital work.
• Critically evaluate ethical outcomes and recommend policy measures.

How this lecture approaches digital work

• Science and practice inform each other.

  • Scientists are not the only producers of knowledge in this field (unlike in medicine, for example).
  • It is valid to study how practitioners commonly work or how outstanding performers work, especially when there is limited scientific evidence.
  • To do that, it is important to appreciate differences in scientific knowledge, including theories, methods, and evidence.

• We focus on understanding changes as well as underlying theory and evidence to shape digital work, and on applying repertoire of techniques and methods.

• The course is an opportunity to adapt, test, and refine the methods that work best for you.

Materials

Slides

• Presentation slides will be made available for download.
• You are expected to take complementary notes and read the recommended literature.
• We invite you to contribute directly to our teaching materials by submitting an issue or suggesting edits .

Literature

• Literature and complementary materials will be listed at the end of each lecture.
• Materials will be made available via VC whenever possible.
• Reading of complementary materials depends on your interest and ambition.

Grades

• Exam: 90 points (minimum required: 45 points)
• Summaries for the exams
  • You can submit summaries at lectures 4, 7, and 10.
  • Each summary can be one page (A5).
  • Contents have to be summarized.
  • The summaries will be available during the exams.

Administration

Contact: gerit.wagner@uni-bamberg.de

Sessions: Monday, 8.15-11.45, April 28 - July 21
Location: WE5/04.003

Consultation hours: by appointment (individually or in small groups)
Web: https://www.uni-bamberg.de/digital-work

Materials: available via VC: https://vc.uni-bamberg.de/course/view.php?id=71961 (password: IdW25#stud)

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Bachelor's theses

• See information on the process and open topics