Groupware and Technology for Teams Infsy 540 Dr. Ocker

Groups and IT n Main topics n Groups n Group Support Systems n Groupware

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

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

Problems with group decision making n requires ftf meetings

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results n leaders changed in electronic group n 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

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

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

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

Why are group systems important? n Teams - basis for orgs. n 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.

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

this move being driven by 3 factors, says Drucker n 3.IT forcing shift - once companies use IT to handle information - not data - their decision processes, management structure, and work patterns change. n 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 n information-based org. needs many more specialists than managers who relay info.

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

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

groupware n 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 n need groupware - most people spend % of their time working with others

Lotus Notes n take a tour of Notes on the Web at: n rkspac.html n leading groupware software n essentially a way to share a database over a network to create information- sharing applications

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

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