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

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

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The night of the bug: technology, risk and (dis)organization at the fin de siecle. / Knights, David; Vurdubakis, Theo; Willmott, Hugh.
In: Management and Organizational History, Vol. 3, No. 3-4, 08.2008, p. 289-309.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

Harvard

Knights, D, Vurdubakis, T & Willmott, H 2008, 'The night of the bug: technology, risk and (dis)organization at the fin de siecle', Management and Organizational History, vol. 3, no. 3-4, pp. 289-309. https://doi.org/10.1177/1744935908095411

APA

Knights, D., Vurdubakis, T., & Willmott, H. (2008). The night of the bug: technology, risk and (dis)organization at the fin de siecle. Management and Organizational History, 3(3-4), 289-309. https://doi.org/10.1177/1744935908095411

Vancouver

Knights D, Vurdubakis T, Willmott H. The night of the bug: technology, risk and (dis)organization at the fin de siecle. Management and Organizational History. 2008 Aug;3(3-4):289-309. doi: 10.1177/1744935908095411

Author

Knights, David ; Vurdubakis, Theo ; Willmott, Hugh. / The night of the bug : technology, risk and (dis)organization at the fin de siecle. In: Management and Organizational History. 2008 ; Vol. 3, No. 3-4. pp. 289-309.

Bibtex

@article{558697bb4ea54af492ec3456a03874b8,
title = "The night of the bug: technology, risk and (dis)organization at the fin de siecle",
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 {\textquoteleft}network society{\textquoteright}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 {\textquoteleft}Millennium Bug{\textquoteright} 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.",
keywords = "computer failure , institutional memory, manageability, Millennium Bug , Y2K",
author = "David Knights and Theo Vurdubakis and Hugh Willmott",
year = "2008",
month = aug,
doi = "10.1177/1744935908095411",
language = "English",
volume = "3",
pages = "289--309",
journal = "Management and Organizational History",
issn = "1744-9359",
publisher = "SAGE Publications Ltd",
number = "3-4",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - The night of the bug

T2 - technology, risk and (dis)organization at the fin de siecle

AU - Knights, David

AU - Vurdubakis, Theo

AU - Willmott, Hugh

PY - 2008/8

Y1 - 2008/8

N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

KW - computer failure

KW - institutional memory

KW - manageability

KW - Millennium Bug

KW - Y2K

U2 - 10.1177/1744935908095411

DO - 10.1177/1744935908095411

M3 - Journal article

VL - 3

SP - 289

EP - 309

JO - Management and Organizational History

JF - Management and Organizational History

SN - 1744-9359

IS - 3-4

ER -