Successful start of the "60 Minutes" online discussion in WS 2021/22

The online discussion series "60 Minutes" will be continued in the winter semester 2021/22 with two events. The successful kick-off was the panel on "Are algorithms the better managers?" moderated by Professor Martin Wiener, Chair of Business Engineering, on November 16, 2021. Nearly 80 participants experienced a panel discussion that focused on a topic that is highly interdisciplinary and raises ethical questions in addition to economic and technological issues.

In short keynote speeches, Professor Alexander Benlian from the TU Darmstadt, Department of Information Systems & E-Services, Susann Wagenknecht, Junior Professor of Micro-Sociology and Techno-Social Interaction, and Professor Udo Buscher, Chair of Industrial Management, looked at the question of what role agorithms play in the world of work today and in the future. In the subsequent discussion with the audience, it became clear that the use of algorithms to manage the workforce brings both downsides (e.g., insufficient transparency, continuous monitoring and dehumanization of work) and advantages (e.g., the possibility of establishing new forms of interaction or receiving continuous feedback).

Intensive research is currently being conducted at the Faculty of Business and Economics on the use of algorithms in management.  For example, since fall 2021, the DFG has been funding the project "Algorithmic Control: Implications for Workforce from a Legitimacy Perspective" (AlgoWork) for an initial two years. The article "Algorithmic Control and Gig Workers: A Legitimacy Perspective of Uber Drivers" published in the European Journal of Information Systems provides an insight into a concrete application example.