Chalmers Conferences, LCM 2013

SOCIAL PRACTICES - A NEW FOCUS AREA IN LCM
Kirsten Schmidt

Last modified: 2014-09-11

Abstract


The present understanding of LCM as a product management system supported by a number of tools and methods does not pay attention to the importance of social practices that the employees develop in relation to the systematic approach. A new conceptual model of LCM including the social practices is presented and discussed from theoretical and empirical perspectives. Theoretically, the analyses cover the formalized structures related to the division of labor and the coordination of the tasks on the one hand, and the social practices as meanings, values and priorities on the other hand. A larger Danish company serves as case for the empirical analyses of the formalized structures and their interaction with the social practices developed by the employees over time.

Keywords


LCM; social practices; organizational structures; learning; engagement

References


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Remmen A, Jensen AA, Frydendal J (2007). Life Cycle Management. A Business Guide to Sustainability. United Nations Environment Programme.

Schmidt K (2011). Bæredygtighed i organisationer – samspillet mellem strukturer og social praksis (Sustainability in Organizations – interaction of structures and social practices). PhD thesis, Aalborg University.

UNEP-SETAC (2013). http://www.lifecycleinitiative.org/

Wenger E (1998). Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, Identity. Cambridge University Press.


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