Groupware and Technology for Teams

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