THE DESIGN OF COMPUTER BASED SUPPORT FOR TASK COMMUNICATION WITHIN ORGANIZATIONS

Task communication plays an important role within organizations, facilitating the conversion of inputs to outputs and the coordination and control of internal activities. An important function of several computer based information technologies is to support task communication. However, information systems designers do not have a framework that can help them select information technology that will provide efficient and effective communication support. This paper integrates the organization and information systems literatures in order to develop guidelines for the selection of appropriate communication support technology

The Role of Information Technology Support Mechanisms in Coordination Managementfor Virtual Organizations

Technology offers real potential for changing the way in which people work (Daniels, 1995). Perhaps for the first time it may be possible to build organizations in the way people want, not constrained by information requirements and availability (Daniels, 1995). Companies are forming international collaborative arrangements as the basis for developing competitive advantage from technology (Bailetti and Callahan, 1993), and coordination of IT management presents a challenge to these firms with dispersed, decentralized IT practices (DeSanctis and Jackson, 1994).Virtual enterprises are emerging that reflect the current situation, with previously well-defined structures beginning to lose their edges, seemingly permanent things starting to change continuously, and products and services adapting to match our desires (Davidow and Malone, 1992). Virtual organizations are: reliant on cyberspace (the medium in which electronic communications flow and software operates), enabled by new computing and communications developments, and initially will exist only across conventional organizational structures (Barnatt, 1995). Currently,four different versions of the virtual organization have been identified: telecommuting, hot desk environment, hotelling, and virtual teams (Barnatt, 1995). This research will focus on virtual teams within existing corporations as representative of virtual organizations.To remain competitive in today\u27s business environment requires new levels of cooperation and coordination of both intra-and inter-organizational systems. DeSanctis and Jackson (1994) explored three major mechanisms for facilitating interunit coordination of IT management: structural design approaches, functional coordination modes, and computer-based communication systems. The authors presented a three-dimensional model consisting of: Coordination Structures (cross-functional teams, task forces, designated liaison roles, direct contact, reporting requirements), Coordination Modes (information sharing, procedural, structural, task outputs, task dialogue), and IT Support Mechanisms (document sharing, bulletin boards/E-Mail, computer conferencing, electronic meeting software, discussion databases).A next logical step in developing this work includes expanding its coverage to ongoing and ad-hoc intraorganizational groups serving as representatives for virtual organizations. In addition, further development is needed for each dimension of the proposed three-dimensional model. This research will attempt to identify the components of the IT Support Mechanisms dimension of the model and measure those components in organizations which exhibit virtual organization characteristics in their group operation

Distributed Learning System Design: A New Approach and an Agenda for Future Research

This article presents a theoretical framework designed to guide distributed learning design, with the goal of enhancing the effectiveness of distributed learning systems. The authors begin with a review of the extant research on distributed learning design, and themes embedded in this literature are extracted and discussed to identify critical gaps that should be addressed by future work in this area. A conceptual framework that integrates instructional objectives, targeted competencies, instructional design considerations, and technological features is then developed to address the most pressing gaps in current research and practice. The rationale and logic underlying this framework is explicated. The framework is designed to help guide trainers and instructional designers through critical stages of the distributed learning system design process. In addition, it is intended to help researchers identify critical issues that should serve as the focus of future research efforts. Recommendations and future research directions are presented and discussed

Coordination approaches and systems - part I : a strategic perspective

This is the first part of a two-part paper presenting a fundamental review and summary of research of design coordination and cooperation technologies. The theme of this review is aimed at the research conducted within the decision management aspect of design coordination. The focus is therefore on the strategies involved in making decisions and how these strategies are used to satisfy design requirements. The paper reviews research within collaborative and coordinated design, project and workflow management, and, task and organization models. The research reviewed has attempted to identify fundamental coordination mechanisms from different domains, however it is concluded that domain independent mechanisms need to be augmented with domain specific mechanisms to facilitate coordination. Part II is a review of design coordination from an operational perspective

An Agent-based approach to modelling integrated product teams undertaking a design activity.

The interactions between individual designers, within integrated product teams, and the nature of design tasks, all have a significant impact upon how well a design task can be performed, and hence the quality of the resultant product and the time in which it can be delivered. In this paper we describe an ongoing research project which aims to model integrated product teams through the use of multi-agent systems. We first describe the background and rationale for our work, and then present our initial computational model and results from the simulation of an integrated product team. The paper concludes with a discussion of how the model will evolve to improve the accuracy of the simulation

A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Face-to-Face and Virtual Communication: Overcoming the Challenges

Virtual communication has become the norm for many organizations (Baltes, Dickson, Sherman, Bauer, & LaGanke, 2002; Bergiel, Bergiel, & Balsmeier, 2008; Hertel, Geister, & Konradt, 2005). As technology has evolved, time and distance barriers have dissolved, allowing for access to experts worldwide. The reality of business today demands the use of virtual communication for at least some work, and many professionals will sit on a virtual team at some point (Dewar, 2006). Although virtual communication offers many advantages, it is not without challenges. This article examines the costs and benefits associated with virtual and face-to-face communication, and identifies strategies to overcome virtual communication\u27s challenges

Tasks, cognitive agents, and KB-DSS in workflow and process management

The purpose of this paper is to propose a nonparametric interest rate term structure model and investigate its implications on term structure dynamics and prices of interest rate derivative securities. The nonparametric spot interest rate process is estimated from the observed short-term interest rates following a robust estimation procedure and the market price of interest rate risk is estimated as implied from the historical term structure data. That is, instead of imposing a priori restrictions on the model, data are allowed to speak for themselves, and at the same time the model retains a parsimonious structure and the computational tractability. The model is implemented using historical Canadian interest rate term structure data. The parametric models with closed form solutions for bond and bond option prices, namely the Vasicek (1977) and CIR (1985) models, are also estimated for comparison purpose. The empirical results not only provide strong evidence that the traditional spot interest rate models and market prices of interest rate risk are severely misspecified but also suggest that different model specifications have significant impact on term structure dynamics and prices of interest rate derivative securities.

A Typology of Virtual Teams: Implications for Effective Leadership

As the nature of work in today\u27s organizations becomes more complex, dynamic, and global, there has been an increasing emphasis on far-flung, distributed, virtual teams as organizing units of work. Despite their growing prevalence, relatively little is known about this new form of work unit. The purpose of this paper is to present a theoretical framework to focus research toward understanding virtual teams and, in particular, to identify implications for effective leadership. Specifically, we focus on delineating the dimensions of a typology to characterize different types of virtual teams. First, we distinguish virtual teams from conventional teams to identify where current knowledge applies and new research needs to be developed. Second, we distinguish among different types of virtual teams, considering the critical role of task complexity in determining the underlying characteristics of virtual teams and leadership challenges the different types entail. Propositions addressing leadership implications for the effective management of virtual teams are proposed and discussed