Description Distributed workforce

1 description

1.1 history of distributed work
1.2 key concepts
1.3 distributed vs collocated teams
1.4 communication technology
1.5 case study: boeing-rocketdyne slice
1.6 distance work in future

description

this not virtual business, employees distributed remain unconnected. company distributed workforce connects employees using networking infrastructure makes easy team members across world work together. using shared software approach called saas, or software service, workers , teams can share files securely access company’s databases, file sharing, telecommunications/unified communications, customer relationship management (crm), video teleconferencing, human resources, service management, accounting, security, web analytics, web content management, e-mail, calendars , more.

history of distributed work

new technologies changing important aspects of how live , work, , ways manage distance in work environment.the management of distance requires more technical artifacts. in fact, techniques, social conventions , norms, organizational structures, , institutions required. in section, take @ ways distributed work has evolved on past several centuries, cover last 50 decades.

over 20th century workplace became increasingly associated office building. in mid 1900’s, prominent business strategy based on mechanistic view of office workers units of production housed in unified , controlling space. then, in 1960s office seen communications system, floorplan opening facilitate free flow of information. office space designed intention of fostering communication , flexible teamwork within physical location. in 1980s there major workplace revolution computer moved computer room desktop. in 1990s second workplace revolution saw introduction of “new ways of working” response realization information technology transforming cultural, social, technological , construction processes. @ time, virtual world , digital tools reduced need synchronous, face-to-face communication , colocation office workers purposes of carrying out defined tasks.this digital revolution convergence between communications , computing technologies allows individuals , organizations connect in ways, , on scales inconceivable. today, new economy characterized increasing virtualization of products, processes, organizations , relationships. new economy production no longer requires people work in same physical space access tools , resources need produce work , allows distributed work.

after reviewing chapter trust , control in hudson s bay company in book distributed work , distributed work has been studied throughout history , not since middle of 1900s. between 1670 , 1826, management had rely on trust , control manage distributed work. during time, in addition dispersed operations relied heavily on combination of explicit information , detailed record keeping, more tacit , situated knowledge developed through socialization , participating in life on bay.

the hudson s bay company case of distributed work showed variety of control mechanisms including selection techniques, information requirements, , direct local oversight through distributed practices of socialization, communication, , participation. example, elaboration of reporting requirements during period of inland expansion used supplement current knowledge. final aspect note hbc case senior managements learning strengths , weaknesses of contracts means of controlling distant agents. on managers found out common sense not enough encourage comply. instead, company s managers created way encourage workers comply businesses norms. in hbc, concludes trust , control vital in distributed groups , organizations. hbc suggests process , outcome of geographically dispersed work shaped interaction of number of elements more complex, dynamic, , emergent suggested contemporary literature. thus, important review distributed work prior public emergence in 21st century.

key concepts

there several key terms associated collocated work , distributed work. important concepts common ground, coupling in work, collaboration readiness, , technology readiness. section briefly define these 4 concepts.

common ground refers knowledge participants have in common, , aware have information in common. common ground not established general knowledge person’s background, through specific knowledge learned several different cues available @ moment, including person’s appearance , behavior during conversational interactions. figure below, shows characteristics contribute achieving common ground inherent in various communication media.

it important note remote complain difficulty of establishing common ground. because when individuals connected audio conferencing, difficult tell speaking if not know participant well. however, people video can engage in subtle negotiation establishes local common ground- whether said understood or not, whether conversation can proceed or needs repair. overall, more common ground people can establish, easier communication , greater productivity.

coupling refers extent , kind of communication required work. tightly coupled work work depends on talents of collections of workers , nonroutine, , ambiguous. components of type of work highly interdependent, meaning work requires frequent, complex communication among group members, short feedback loops , multiple streams of information. type of communication difficult in remote locations, because technology not support rapid , forth conversations or awareness , repair of ambiguity. on other hand, loosely coupled work has fewer dependencies or more routine. important group members establish common ground task, goals, , procedures before working, type of work overall requires less frequent or less complicated interactions.

collaboration readiness groups willingness work , share ideas. using shared technology assumes coworkers need share information , rewarded sharing it. important note 1 should not attempt introduce groupware , remote technologies in organizations , communities not have culture of sharing , collaboration.

common ground used in collaboration, team out solve complex problem. in order solve complex problem, different skills , perspectives of members in team must pooled together. so, team must make sure on common ground in terms of knowledge , representation of problem. care must taken note achieve common ground when collaborating, differences constructively managed, rather downplayed. because collaboration differs compromise.

technology readiness company or groups willingness , ability use technology. companies require technical infrastructure if going adopt technologies in company. in particular, require habits, including of preparation, regular access, attention given others’ need information, in order use necessary technology distributed work. researchers repeatedly see failure of distributed work results attempts introduce new technologies organizations or communities not yet comfortable technologies in place. following chart explains order in various collaboration technologies should adopted in organizations allow employees become familiar , learn each new technology.

the list below shows observed order in various collaboration technologies adopted , used in different organizations.

telephone
fax
e-mail
audio conferencing
voicemail
e-mail attachments
video conferencing
repositories built others (e.g., intranet sites of static information)
shared calendaring
creating repositories
hand-off collaboration (e.g., using tracking changes option in ms word)
simultaneous collaboration (e.g., netmeeting, exceed, or timbuktu screen sharing)

as chart shows, advanced technologies should introduced in small steps.

these key concepts important because differentiate between collocated , distributed work. later on fifth concept of organizational management proposed.organizational management practices management activities part of shaping fundamental premises collaboration without proximity

distributed vs collocated teams

there 2 types of work explain geographical distance between coworkers/collaborators. collocated work case in team members @ same location. distributed work term used explain team members not in same physical location when working on project. there many differences, similarities, benefits, , obstacles of these 2 types of work. in order distinguish between collocated , distributed work, necessary go more detail.

collocated work case in team members @ same physical location. may temporary due travel common location or permanent because collaborators of group @ common work site. same location means coworkers can each other’s workspaces short walk , communicate via face-to-face interactions. also, during meetings or small group meetings, major advantage of collocated work individuals able move 1 meeting another, overhearing conversation, seeing working on, , being aware of how long had worked on or without progress. in addition, during these meetings coworkers can observe someone’s reaction being able see his/her gesture or glance. allows 1 make sure group has common ground prior moving on. also, coworkers have access common spaces group interactions , have mutual access significant shared information. in study, researchers observed individual describe drawing hands in air. later, referred “that idea” pointing spot in air first person had “drawn idea”.

opposite of collocated work, distributed work case in team members not physically in same location. thus, forced use different methods of technology communicate make progress on project/problem working on. today, technology distributed work groups use communicate changing because of rapid changes , because different groups have varying access technology. olson & olson describe options of communication today include:

telephony in current incarnation
meeting room video conferencing
desktop video , audio conferencing
chat rooms text interactions
file transfer
application sharing
some primitive virtual reality options

distributed work can successful, if company or group displays technology readiness. of benefits of distributed work include:

simultaneous access real-time data instruments around world, allowing coworkers talk while happening
microsoft netmeeting has been success. people had driven long distances attend meeting in area began attending offices’. these individuals chose forego time , stress of travel in favor of remote participation
ongoing work- 1,000 software engineers working on project in 4 sites. has allowed numerous people @ various different sites stay in contact on email video , audio conferencing, transferred files , fax. if understands structure of collaborative work , knows or role, distributed work can success.

distributed work far perfect , there many failures, of include:

complaints quality of communication on audio , video conferencing
hard detect persons motivation when not in office. example, if had tough meeting not know , therefore not know not right time send lengthy, stern email. 1 important feature of collocation missing in remote work awareness of state of one’s coworkers, both presence-absence , mental state.

overall, people have little common ground benefit having video channel.

communication technology

effective group communication involves various nonverbal communication characteristics. because distance limits interpersonal interaction between members of distributed groups, these characteristics become constrained. communication media focuses on alternative ways achieve these qualities , promote effective communication. section addresses communication technology in relation theories of grounding , mutual knowledge, , discusses costs , benefits of various communication technology tools.

grounding , technology

grounding in communication process of updating evolving common ground, or shared information, between participants. base of mutual knowledge important effective coordination , communication. additionally, participants gather various forms of verbal , nonverbal evidence establish understanding of change , task.

the following means of grounding , collecting evidence:

different forms of communication result in varied presence of these communication characteristics. therefore, nature of communication technology can either promote or inhibit grounding between participants. absence of grounding information results in reduced ability read , understand social cues. increases social distance between them.

costs grounding change

the lack of 1 of these characteristics forces participants use alternative grounding techniques, because costs associated grounding change. there trade-off between costs- 1 cost increase decreases. there correlation between costs. following table highlights several of costs can change medium of communication changes.

examples of communication technology

- structured management (hinds & kiesler): has been argued work can adapted individual situations through task decomposition , version control. can applied distributed groups allowing groups divide work manageable chunks. group members can work autonomously , come produce finished product. many recent software developments have been built address method.

- email email prevents communication of verbal inferences, such sarcasm , humor and, additionally, leaves email writers unaware of communication lacking. when people try anticipate perspective of email audience, studies suggest end pulling upon own experience , perspective instead. leads inconsistencies in email conversation , chaotic communication.

case study: boeing-rocketdyne slice

background team made of variety of professionals different companies collaborated different geographic locations create optimized rocket engine. encountered variety of challenges , used communication technology tools plan , execute project.

task

slice tasked designing rocket engine @ 1/100 current cost, increase speed market ten times, , increase rocket engine useful life 3 times. additionally, team of 8 presented design after 10 months of work, without committing more 15% of working time project, without collocated meetings , without common professional ground.

management practice 1: strategy-setting

the managers @ 3 involved companies began project spending year developing umbrella agreement, “continuous ordering agreement”, explicitly defined contractual obligations, allocation of intellectual property, , allotment of time team have work on project. determining these policies of risk management, project responsibility , funding between companies required significant level of trust , respect between teams.

the continuous ordering agreement strategically accomplished 3 fundamental elements of successful inter-company team. team able candidly share information without worrying disclosing company intellectual property, planning time between idea , project kick-off reduced, , team protected management changes within respective companies.

management practice 2: technology use

the team used internet notebook, project vault , teleconferences methods of collaborative technology. internet notebook allowed team securely , remotely access project , work on , review other ideas simultaneously. project vault common file storage , information transfer tool used promote sharing of information. although team planned use written communication, but, due overwhelming number of ideas , amount of data, team began hold 2 teleconferences week. following table illustrates capabilities of each method:

in order maintain efficiency , minimize confusion, team decided address need knowledge management retracting prohibition of face-to-face conversations , instead enforcing rule of total information sharing. issue became organization , order of ideas, not solved. issue involvement , interaction of team members collocated teams. because team members involved other projects @ respective companies, altered protocol allow interruptions , multitasking during meetings. unintentionally resulted in team performing just-in-time analysis , receiving real-time feedback.

management practice 3: work restructuring

the team found necessary changes work structure, in order accommodate virtual collaboration, should limited prevent complications in fulfillment of basic creative needs. team identified these needs consistent , frequent communication between team members, rapid creation , deletion of information, , common ground of task , solutions. slice consequently restructured work both meet these requirements , enhance virtual collaboration experience members

results

after 10 months of working on project, no more 15% of each member s time dedicated , each member working different geographic location, team designed optimized rocket engine fewer parts(6 parts instead of normal ~1,200), 14-fold decrease in manufacturing cost(from $7 million $0.5 million), , highest-ever quality performance in industry.

distance work in future

in future, design improvements , more horsepower solve number of current problems cause limitations of distance technologies. greater bandwidth solve disruptive influence of today’s delays in audio , video transmission. allow larger, smoother, more life-size displays of remote workers, making interaction more similar flow of face-to-face interactions. in future, possible technology provide capabilities in ways superior face-to-face options. however, problems result distributed work technologies , lack of knowledge operate technologies in future , face-to-face interactions not able eliminated completely.