Swift Trust in Socio-Technology - Coursework Example

Swift Trust in Socio-Technology Introduction Communication among team members and organizations is usually important to consider if the goals of the group are to be achieved. A good communication system will ensure the members tasked with these duties work hard towards achieving the goals. Among the new innovations that many firms are introducing in their operations today include the socio-technical system. These systems play a big part in enhancing team communication. This paper is going to look into various ways in which organizations and teams can work towards achieving the goals of the team in question. Dq-4.1 (1)Conduct an Internet search to define a socio-technical system and discuss whether any of the systems you use at work could be classified as socio-technical. A socio-technical system is a coordinated operation that is enhanced by technological factors. Generally, it is system that makes connection of people easier by the technological advancements being used. Examples of socio-technical system include email, youtube, administration software, facebook and twitter. Sometimes these examples are classified under a branch of socio-technical systems[Ber11]. They are grouped as software components since their operations rely on different types of software. Using the same categorization we can have hardware socio-technical systems. They include materials that are used to enhance these technological innovations. Both the software and hardware work together in any socio-technical system. Some of the systems we use at work are socio-technical. For example, the use of work emails in communication is common among departments in the organization. Officers also submit their reports for the projects they are assigned through mails. The firm also has a twitter handle through which our clients and prospective buyers can pass their opinions. That is another way through which socio-technical systems are used in this organization. Therefore, this type of system is an idea already in use by many workers[Ahu11]. (2)What is the relevance of examining the socio-technical systems that might exist for distributed knowledge worker teams? Communication between workers who are globally placed is usually faced without a lot of challenges. This problem of unreliable communication has pushed many knowledge workers who are dispersed to different points to seek advanced systems of connection. The socio-technical systems are one of the reliable ways through which people in different regions of the world. Therefore, examining the socio-technical systems that can be available for these types of teams who are far dispersed is important[Gaj12]. The examination is relevant for the teams because it gives them room to identify any kind of socio-technical system that they can access and will be useful to the success of this team. The accessibility of these systems depends on the financial and human resources needed for operation of the systems. Therefore, the team gets to assess its capability and compare it to the requirements. The examination of available systems is also necessary in assessing the relevance of the desired system to the activities of the team. There must be some connection between the kind of work the team does and the roles of this system[Dor12]. Dq-4.2 (1)Team members may discuss projects by phone, by email, or face-to-face. What are some issues that may occur in each mode of communication? Phones, emails and face-to-face means of communication are among the most convenient means of passing information. There are a lot of benefits that people who operate using these means enjoy. However, there are also some issues that arise from the use of such modes[Gaj12]. Communication through phones is convenient especially for people who are situated far from each other. Even though its helpful to such people, they find it hard to persuade each other on matters related to the project due to the distance. Publication of the projects requires references about the communications done. Sometimes it is hard to keep prove of phone calls. Use of emails brings up issues such as poor network connections for people who are based in remote areas of other continents. Persuasion through the emails is also impossible even in cases where a serious is on debate[Gil13]. Face-to-face communication faces a major challenge of being time consuming especially in cases where people are to travel from different states. Preparation for this type of communication may also consume time due to the arrangements to accommodate people to attend the meeting. (2)How might these issues affect team performance? Lack of convenient means of communication affects the performance of a team in various ways. First, poor communication leads to lack of coordination among the team members who are distributed in different parts of the world. Due to this, sharing of duties becomes unbeneficial to the team or organization[Hou14]. Issuing of directives also becomes difficult due to issues related to communication. When the leadership of the teams and the organization’s management want to pass information they need to seek a convenient mode of communication. A channel that will ensure the message reaches the intended people at the right time in the right form is preferred in this case. Generally, these issues that are brought up by inappropriate means of passing messages lead to reduced quality performance of the teams. The poor coordination of the workers makes it impossible to pass knowledge that the organizations need. A knowledge worker in a far place may have some crucial information for the team but fail to pass it due to poor communications. Therefore, the team and the organization stand to lose a lot of important information that could have better the performance of the team[Jar13]. (3)What are some considerations or strategies that may facilitate communication among team members? The first important strategy to take is to ensure all the team members are aware about the objectives of the team clearly. Being clear on the objectives makes all the parties involved to have a direction to follow when working and even when passing information. For example, a worker who knows the goals his team has to score will work round the clock to ensure it is done. Giving of useful information through proper communication channels is one way of being active in the team’s work[Hou14]. It is also important to make sure the team’s communication means and channels are well illustrated to the relevant stakeholders. The team members should be informed of the different ways through which they are expected to communicate to each other. By ensuring this is done, it becomes easier for the globally dispersed workers to boost their connections since they know the channels of communication they need to seek[Mac14]. The other important consideration is determination of the people who need to be in team. After these people are recognized, they need to be introduced to each other. Collaboration among workers is boosted through such a move. Dq-4.2.2 (1)What is the primary means of communication between members of your immediate department? Good communication between different departments within an organization is crucial since it enhances coordination of the entire organization to make it one working unit. The same way communication among departments is important, communication within each department in the organization is also crucial. The reason why it is important to have a department with an effective means of communication is because it ensures coordination of workmates thus good performance[Sar11]. Emails are the primary means of communication for members in my immediate department. The use of emails is preferred because it enhances communication between people at a closer range and also those who are far placed from each other. Since use of emails would require internet connections, the department’s working rooms are usually fit with a fast internet connection. This is to enhance the use of emails as the core means of communication for this department. Mailing the internet is the best option for departments that have some members in different parts of the globe. Emails can be received faster by anyone in any place in the world provided there is good internet connection. (2)Do you classify this communication method as synchronous or asynchronous? The use of emails to pass knowledge and information can be classified as asynchronous method of communication. This type of communication is one that does not necessarily involve the reel time. Therefore, one can send some message to a colleague and wait for more hours before getting feedback on this message. Generally, it is a mode that does not involve one-on-one communication since some members might be off the communication channel for a specific period[Tse11]. In our department emails are sent to members when particular information is to be issued to the entire team. Once such emails are sent, the members are given enough time to analyze the message and give back responses. Therefore, the primary means of communication here is not based on real time. An advantage of the asynchronous method of communication is that it enables flexibility among the members communicating. Whenever a work receives his or her email, he/she can respond to it at any point without having to struggle to go back to the work station and starting to gather different tools. Another benefit of this method is that they are usually fast in most cases. (3)For your department, what recommendations for improvement to communication methods could you make? One way of improving communication within our department is through introducing more online project management tools. Internet communication is a fast way of passing information. Therefore, having most of communication tools connected to the internet would help us in enhancing the speed of passing messages from one member in the department to another. Building rapport among the department members is also crucial in enhancing communication among the colleagues. When people get to know each other properly, they start to feel free to communicate. Therefore, the good rapport is going to act like a catalyst to make communication effective[Mac14]. Dq-4.3 (1)How do mobile devices such as the iPhone, Blackberry, and DROID change the way distributed teams communicate? Communication across the globe has been made easier due to the innovations in telecommunications that bring in advanced cell phones. iPhones, Blackberry and Android phones are among the new technology that are in the cell phone market today. These phones have advanced software that makes communication easier even for dispersed teams. Therefore, operations of globally distributed teams are made faster through these innovations[Wei13]. The teams can also handle urgent matters since they have the work tools such as emails at their disposal any time. The phones are usually in a way that the users can get access to their emails at any time. The software install in them are enabled in this manner thus they serve as the best way of keeping the team working together despite the physical distance between them. (2) Discuss the positive and negative aspects of incorporating these tools as communication devices within an organization. There are a number of advantages that people who use these tools that are much improvised enjoy. Some of the advantages are enjoyed by the organization or the team as a group, while some benefits are enjoyed by the team members individually. The advantages that the team members enjoy personally get to reflect back to the team or organization as a whole. The tools make the workers to have swift ways of accessing their duties as allocated the management. For example, the use of emails is a quick way of passing information to any point in the world. The management can therefore get to allocate roles and any new jobs through the email. The email is accessed instantly by the workers provided there is a good internet connection. Another benefit of these technological tools is that they tend to be more economical to any team or organization. The tools help the financial department to avoid a lot of expenses such as travelling and conducting meetings in different continents. With the technology in these phones it is possible to coordinate the globally distributed teams easily. However, there are some negative impacts that come along with these tools. For example, some workers tend to use these gadgets in doing other things that are not work related. Social applications such as twitter and instagram are some of the sites that consume a lot of time that could have been taken on work activities[McN12]. The tools are also reported to be the reason as to why some workers have adopted a habit of reporting late to work. These technologies have made people believe on online activities until they become lazy to engage in physical meetings. Conclusion The need for the teams, departments and organizations to achieve their set goals has brought in many ways through which communication between colleagues can be improved. The use of socio-technical systems is one of the best options to better performance in an organization. The advanced mobile phone technologies such as blackberry are also important in this case. These among other factors can be used in enhancing communication in a team. References Ber11: , (Berry, Enhancing effectiveness on virtual teams: Understanding why traditional team skills are insufficient, 2011), Ahu11: , (Ahuja, 2011), Gaj12: , (Gajendran, 2012), Dor12: , (Dorairaj, 2012), Gil13: , (Gillespie, 2013), Hou14: , (Houston, 2014), Jar13: , (Jarvenpaa, 2013), Mac14: , (MacLean, 2014), Sar11: , (Sarker, The role of communication and trust in global virtual teams: a social network perspective, 2011), Tse11: , (Tseng, 2011), Wei13: , (Weimann, 2013), McN12: , (McNab & Basoglu, 2012), Read More