Managerial Robotics: A Model of Sociality and Autonomy for Robots Managing Human Beings and Machines

International Journal of Contemporary Management 13, no. 3 (2014), pp. 67-76; MNiSW 2014 List B: 9 points

ABSTRACT: The development of robots with increasingly sophisticated decision-making and social capacities is opening the door to the possibility of robots carrying out the management functions of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling the work of human beings and other machines. In this paper we study the relationship between two traits that impact a robot’s ability to effectively perform management functions: those of autonomy and sociality. Using an assessment instrument we evaluate the levels of autonomy and sociality of 35 robots that have been created for use in a wide range of industrial, domestic, and governmental contexts, along with several kinds of living organisms with which such robots can share a social space and which may provide templates for some aspects of future robotic design. We then develop a two-dimensional model that classifies the robots into 16 different types, each of which offers unique strengths and weaknesses for the performance of management functions. Our data suggest correlations between autonomy and sociality that could potentially assist organizations in identifying new and more effective management applications for existing robots and aid roboticists in designing new kinds of robots that are capable of succeeding in particular management roles.

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A Tool for Designing and Evaluating the Temporal Work Patterns of Human and Artificial Agents

Informatyka Ekonomiczna / Business Informatics 3:33 (2014), pp. 61-76; MNiSW 2014 List B: 8 points

ABSTRACT: The measure of availability is frequently used to compare the dependability of computer-based systems. However, it is an imperfect measure insofar as two systems with the same availability can display radically different performance characteristics. Here we develop a new fractal temporal measure for work effort which – used alongside availability – offers richer insight into the performance of computer-based systems. We establish that this fractal measure can be applied to the temporal work patterns of both human and artificial agents, allowing direct comparisons between them. By analyzing six hypothetical cases, we demonstrate that this new measure reveals unique strengths and weaknesses in human and artificial agents’ work patterns that are not captured by the traditional availability measure. We also identify circumstances in which such new comparative assessment tools will become increasingly important for organizational designers and solution architects, as the development of more sophisticated artificial agents creates situations in which particular functions within an organization can be carried out either by human personnel or artificial agents.

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