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Groupware and Technology for Teams

Groupware and Technology for Teams. Infsy 540 Dr. Ocker. Groups and IT. Main topics Groups Group Support Systems Groupware. 1. Groups. groups are important in organizations teams becoming basic unit of organizational work researchers found that groups experienced "process losses"

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Groupware and Technology for Teams

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  1. Groupware and Technology for Teams Infsy 540 Dr. Ocker

  2. Groups and IT • Main topics • Groups • Group Support Systems • Groupware

  3. 1. Groups • groups are important in organizations • teams becoming basic unit of organizational work • researchers found that groups experienced "process losses" • findings of recent study - executives spent more than 800 hours/year in meetings (30 %) • most execs. reported that they considered 240 hours wasted in useless meetings (30 %)

  4. Activities of work groups • schedule meetings • hold meetings • communicate with one another • collaborate to develop ideas • share the preparation of documents • share knowledge • share information on the work each member is doing

  5. Problems with group decision making • requires ftf meetings

  6. Problems with meetings • too many ftf meetings • length of meetings • number of meeting attendees (too many people) • lack of agenda • no problems clearly spelled out in advance and no specific action items proposed for addressing problems

  7. Problems with meetings • alternative actions not considered • key people late in arriving/ poor attendance • poor job by meeting chairperson • a few people dominate discussion - repetitious/say same things over and over • wasteful from cost standpoint - high salaries

  8. 2 generic types of activities performed by groups • 1) communication and interaction (back and forth communication) • 2) decision making/problem solving • IT can be an important tool for facilitating effective group performance

  9. 2. Group Support Systems • an interactive computer-based system to • facilitate the solution to unstructured problems by group of decision makers • incorporates: • computer technology • communication • decision making processes • to support group problem solving and decision making • developed in response to unproductive/ineffective meetings

  10. Common terms used to refer to GSS • computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW) • group decision support systems • collaborative computing • computer-mediated communication • group decision support systems • distributed group support systems • groupware

  11. Electronic communication changes the way groups work • Findings of Eveland and Bikson (1988) • 2 work groups given a year to develop a set of recommendations about pre retirement planning for employees about to retire • each group consisted of retirees (1/2) and employees (1/2) • one group supported by e-mail, the other group was not • study lasted for 18 months

  12. Results • group structures differed • electronic group more fluid and changeable, people served on multiple committees and formed committees ad hoc, spent little time organizing themselves • leadership • conventional group more centralized - relied on a few members to carry out the work; electronic group - more even participation

  13. Results • leaders changed in electronic group • final reports differed • conventional groups report was 15 pages long and contained mostly anecdotal advice about preparing for retirement; • electronic group's report was 75 pages long and was composed mainly of tables describing results of an opinion survey that they had designed and analyzed on-line

  14. Electronic Meeting Systems • attempt to structure the group process along with providing electronic tools to support (and hopefully improve) group performance • types of tools - electronic brainstorming/idea creation • anonymity • message exchange • project planning • document preparation • voting tools

  15. Electronic Meeting Systems • groups typically meet FtF in a decision room • room has big screen projection, printing capabilities, individual terminals for each meeting participant, and a workstation for a facilitator

  16. GSS promotes desirable meeting elements • improved pre-planning of meetings • increased participation • open, collaborative meeting atmosphere • criticism-free idea generation • evaluation objectivity - evaluate idea based solely on its merits • idea organization and evaluation • setting priorities and making decisions • documentation of meetings • preservation of organizational memory • eliminate some meetings

  17. Why are group systems important? • Teams - basis for orgs. • HBR - Peter Drucker (1988) • orgs. will become information based, and that they will be organized like a symphony orchestra, a hospital, or a university (rather than like a manufacturing firm) • composed mainly of specialists who direct their own performance thru feedback from others - colleagues, customers, and headquarters.

  18. this move being driven by 3 factors, says Drucker • 1. knowledge workers are becoming dominant portion of labor - they resist command-and-control form of org. • 2. all companies need to find ways to be more innovative and entrepreneurial

  19. this move being driven by 3 factors, says Drucker • 3. IT forcing shift - once companies use IT to handle information - not data - their decision processes, management structure, and work patterns change. • e.g. IT changes org. structure when firm shifts focus from processing data to producing information -- turning data into information requires knowledge; knowledge requires specialization • information-based org. needs many more specialists than managers who relay info.

  20. Team based organizations • So... orgs. will be flatter with fewer staff and many specialists in operating units. • team-based orgs. will work like orchestras and hospitals • many specialty units, each with its own knowledge, training, and language; little middle management • work done by ad hoc teams assembled to meet patient's condition and diagnosis

  21. 3. Groupware • software that supports the collaborative activities of work groups • includes functions for information sharing, electronic meetings, scheduling, and e-mail • requires use of a network to connect group members

  22. groupware • represent fundamental change in way people think about using computers - things they need to work together are different from things they need to work alone - so groupware is different from past software • need groupware - most people spend 60-80 % of their time working with others

  23. Lotus Notes • take a tour of Notes on the Web at: • http://www.st.rim.or.jp/~snash/Notes/workspac.html • leading groupware software • essentially a way to share a database over a network to create information-sharing applications

  24. Lotus Notes • Notes databases - collections of documents stored in a group; can contain free-form text, graphics, file attachments, along with sound, image and video data • supports compound documents - documents consisting of differing types of information from separate sources - e.g. text, graphics and spreadsheet data • the whole document stored as a single record (with normal office sw, these pieces are only combined at print time)

  25. Lotus Notes • each application is a separate database; each application has its own icon • each database logs all communications among group members • can operate on wide range of systems • data stored in a distributed database with multiple servers • runs on network operating systems - Novell, Banyan, IBM • user interface is Windows-like and icon-based

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