New Organisational Forms and CSCW (part 2) M. Baptista Nunes 14/03/2000.

New Organisational New Organisational FormsForms

and CSCW (part 2)and CSCW (part 2)M. Baptista NunesM. Baptista Nunes

14/03/200014/03/2000

Organisational Structure, Organisational Structure, Culture and CommunicationCulture and Communication

Characteristics of Characteristics of Traditional OrganisationsTraditional Organisations

Functional Specialisation; Clear Boundaries; Hierarchical Structure; Communication Barriers; Poor Response to Change.

Organisational Structure, Organisational Structure, Culture and Culture and CommunicationCommunication

Characteristics of Networking Characteristics of Networking OrganisationsOrganisations

Flexible Specialisation; Networked Project Teams; Communication Barriers Broken Down; Information Exchange Encouraged; Rapid Response to Change.

Organisational Structure, Organisational Structure, Culture and Culture and CommunicationCommunication

Working Definition of Working Definition of Organisational Culture:Organisational Culture:

“... the values, beliefs, philosophies, ways of doing things and ways of relating to other people exhibited by members of an organisation.”

Organisational Organisational Structure, Culture and Structure, Culture and CommunicationCommunication

Factors Influencing Structure and Factors Influencing Structure and CultureCulture

history and ownership; organisational goals and objectives; the wider context or environment; size and complexity of the organisation; the members of the organisation; technology.

Information SystemInformation SystemInformation SystemInformation System

Information

Work

practices

People

Information

technology

Goals

what the system tries to

accomplish

people who

handle data,

make decisions

hardware and

software that

process data

formatted text,

data, pictures, sound

how the work is

performed by people

and technology

ICT InfrastructureICT InfrastructureICT InfrastructureICT Infrastructure

MIS Basic technological building blocks (ICT):

• Networks - Link different areas of the organisation dispersed both functionally and geographically;

• Databases - Enable storage, maintenance and retrieval of relevant organisational data;

• CMC - Enable electronic communication and collaborative work and sharing of information.

Benefits of CMC ? :-) Benefits of CMC ? :-) Benefits of CMC ? :-) Benefits of CMC ? :-)

Enable communication where it wouldn't otherwise be possible;

Cuts down on travel costs; Enables groups with common interests but

dispersed geographically and functionally throughout the organisation;

Saves time and cost in group work; Facilitates group brainstorming and problem-

solving; Enable new modes of communication, such as

anonymous interchanges or structured interactions.

GroupwareGroupwareGroupwareGroupware

Intentional GROUP processes and procedures to achieve specific

purposes

plus

softWARE tools designed to support and facilitate the group's work

(Hiltz & Turoff, 1992:69)

GroupwareGroupwareGroupwareGroupware

Groupware are Computer Supported Working Systems (CSCW).

Computer-based systems that support groups of people engaged in a common task and that provide an interface to a shared environment.

(Smith, 1997:328-337)

Computer Supported Computer Supported Collaborative Work Collaborative Work

SystemsSystems

Computer Supported Computer Supported Collaborative Work Collaborative Work

SystemsSystems

Databases

CMCNetworks

Computer Supported Working

Systems (Groupware)

Computer Supported Computer Supported Collaborative WorkCollaborative Work


CSCW proposes to enhance co-operation between groups of individuals working to the same organisational objective or goal.

This implies two very important concepts:• Co-operation;

• Group.



This implies two very important concepts:• Co-operation “Group behaviour that can have distinct, even critical,

advantages in problem identification and problem solving”(Clarke and Smyth, 1993)

• Group“A set of people who are knowingly collaborating on a

common goal, who require communication and co-ordination among group members”

(Olson, 1993)



Elements of Co-operation:• Goal directed behaviour - there must be an agreed

common goal;

• Behavioural Norms - legitimate socially shared behavioural standards and expected patterns;

• Reward Systems - successful task completion is not always appropriate reward;

• Distributed Responses - all members of the team must receive feedback;

• Effective co-ordination - appropriate division of labour according to the group member’s different specialising;

• Effective communication !



Elements of Co-operation:

Participants Participants

Artefacts of Work

P P

A

Shared Understanding

Communication

Control and Feedback



Characterisation of CSCW : Time and Place of co-operation;

• CMC;

• Conferencing Systems;

• Meeting Systems.

Nature of functionality afforded by the groupware;• Meeting Systems;

• Shared Applications;

• Co-authoring Systems;

• Argumentation Tools.



Characterisation of CSCW :

AsynchronousAsynchronous

SynchronousSynchronousCo-locatedCo-located RemoteRemote

Meeting Systems

Electronic Meeting Rooms

Decision Conferencing Electronic Chat Systems

Electronic Mail

Co-authoring Systems

Electronic Conferencing Systems

Video Conferencing Systems

Argumentation Tools



Reasons why CSCW is becoming increasingly important:

Increased complexity of organisations and of the environment in which they operate;

Social and cultural changes have led to more participatory management methods;

IT revolutionary evolution.


Management

Information Systems

Computer

Supported

Collaborative Work Systems


Computer Supported Collaborative Work (CSCW) Systems can be defined as an organisational and management solution, based on information and communication technology, to a challenge posed by the environment.

CSCW Systems can be defined technically as a set of interrelated components that collect, process, store and retrieve, and distribute information to support communication, decision making, co-ordination and control, problem solving, negotiation and even socialisation in an organisation.



Consequences of CSCW:

Improved performance of both teams and individuals (Galegher and Kraut, 1994);

Improved social experience and communication (Sproull and Kiesler, 1991);

Improved quality and effectiveness of teams (Smith, 1997).

But … there are deeper and more significant consequences

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New Organisational Forms and CSCW (part 2) M. Baptista Nunes 14/03/2000.

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