jordan-webb - all rights reserved 1991-2003 integrating group work with technology overview paul...

Jordan-Webb - All Rights Reserved 1991-2003

Integrating Group Work with Technology

Overview

Paul CollinsJordan-Webb(773) [email protected]


Individual– discrete, individual effort toward goal (like a

sprinter or hurdler) Coordinated

– parallel, but independent effort toward goal (like runners on a relay team)

Group Dynamic– concerted effort toward goal (like

synchronized rowing or swimming)

Three Levels of Group Work


Communicating– conveying information in words & images

Thinking– making sense of conditions, forming

intentions Accessing Information

– finding & filtering information needed to support thinking & communication

Three Work Group Processes(Briggs Focus Theory)


Coordinated

Communicating ThinkingAccessingInformation

SimultaneousDocument and

Data Conferencing

Group Scheduling,Workflow and

Project Management

GROUP WORK PROCESSES

GROUP WORK LEVELS

IndividualPreparing

Documents and Presentations

Individual Scheduling,

Modeling andSimulating

Retrieving and Filtering Local

Data

Generating Ideas, Persuading,Proposing,Discussing

Analyzing, Evaluating,

Understanding, Building

Consensus

Reviewing, Organizing, Interpreting,Integrating

Group Work-Process Grid

Group Dynamic

Retrieving and Filtering

Distributed Data


Email, Whiteboard, Document and

Data Conferencing, Chat Rooms

Scheduling, Workflow and Project Mgmt

Systems

Distributed Database

Management Systems

“GROUPWARE” PRODUCT TYPE

GROUP WORK LEVELS

Presentation Graphics Software

Word Processing,

Prototyping & Calendar Systems

Local & Networked Database

Management Systems

Group Decision Support Systems

Groupware Product Grid

Communicating ThinkingAccessingInformation

Coordinated

Individual

Group Dynamic




Organizations& Teaming

Decision-making in modern organizations increasingly depends on participation and consensus of diverse stakeholder groups (principles, executives, managers, employees, customers, suppliers, etc.).

Teams form the foundation of most business organizations and are critical in the effort to increase the quality of an organization’s decisions, products and services.

Teams are necessary because no individual has all of the expertise, experience, information, insight and inspiration to resolve issues of change, complexity and competition.


People & Teaming

Organizations planning for the future are trying to learn how to obtain better information and make better informed decisions in increasingly compressed time frames.

As more such activities are delegated to work groups, it is critical to provide these groups with tools and techniques that enable them to navigate the group maturity model (forming-storming-norming-performing) and to evolve into real teams.

Balancing the need for teams to do work and produce results against the time (a non-renewable asset) needed to develop individuals into team members is a difficult issue to resolve.

FormingPerforming

StormingNorming


Technology& Teaming

Integrating collaborative processes and group management techniques with group support technology will help manage the issue of “team versus time”.

Participants in technology-supported sessions will produce higher-quality deliverables in less time.

“By-products” of Technology-supported sessions include:– a high degree of “team-consciousness”

– an understanding of consensus

– a buy-in to the overall process

– a high level of satisfaction with the deliverable work product(s) -


Technology& Techniques

It ain’t just the technology, it’s the techniques. Smart use of the technology is essential for an organization that values:

• Free flow of ideas– Prevents filtering in/out by position, gender, race, etc.– Helps surface the un-speakable, un-expected, un-imaginable– Promotes consideration on merit instead of origin– Enables sharing of knowledge– Encourages candor

• Mature Group Behavior– Reduces pressure to conform or “boss bias”– Levels playing field for introverts/extroverts, management/staff– Supports convergent thinking and alignment of group & individual goals

(OK to agree)– Fosters divergent thinking (OK to disagree) or asking the “dumb” question (OK

to ask for clarification)


Next Steps & Action Items

We’d like to learn more about your Organization

Perhaps we can be of assistance

Please contact Paul Collins at:– [email protected]– (773) 463-2288