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| Knowledge Management and Virtual Teams: Helping Performance Analysts and Other Workers to Perform Well |
| Monday, May 30, 2005 |
| 9:00 AM–10:20 AM |
| Joliet (3rd floor) |
| Area: OBM; Domain: Theory |
| Chair: Joseph R. Sasson (Florida State University) |
| Discussant: Donald A. Hantula (Temple University) |
| Abstract: This symposium will focus on Knowledge Management (KM). The first presentation will provide a behavioral perspective of KM along with high-level review of how to design a performance-based KM system and data from one such implementation. The second presentation will present a KM system that has been designed to support performance analysts and to encourage collaboration (via virtual teams) and knowledge reuse in performance improvement endeavors. The third presentation will focus on issues concerning virtual teams (e.g., trust) and virtual team success in comparison to in-vivo teams, using theories of media compensation to explain changes in human operant and verbal behavior. |
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| A Performance-Based Knowledge Management System: A Study and its Results |
| JACALYN S. SMELTZER (Western Michigan University) |
| Abstract: This presentation will review the results of a study in which a performance-based knowledge management system (KMS) was designed for a small business in the professional services industry. A mixed methods research design including repeated measures of independent groups was used for the study. Highlights from the study will be reviewed, including: 1) A high-level description of how to design a performance-based KMS, 2) A behavior-analytic interpretation of many concepts in knowledge management, and 3) A brief review of the types of data collected.Performance results indicated a significant increase in the frequency of performers creating a particular work product that was supported by a knowledge item in the knowledge base after the KMS implementation, for one of the two subject groups (chi-square for independence test), and a significant improvement in the similarity of a particular work product to the expected attributes of that work product based on a supporting knowledge item in the knowledge base after the KMS implementation for both subject groups (t-tests for independent samples). |
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| Net-Centric Performance Improvement: Promoting Collaboration and Information Reuse in Performance Improvement |
| JOSEPH R. SASSON (Florida State University), Ian Douglas (Florida State University) |
| Abstract: A way to improve the effectiveness of the performance improvement process in large organizations (and across organizations) is Net-Centric Performance Improvement (Net-PI). The Net-PI components provide a means of aligning all levels of the organization, collaborating for performance improvement (PI) purposes, promoting the reuse of information, and documenting the rationale for decisions made throughout the PI process. The Net-PI prototype (which is research based and not a commercially available product) and its benefits will be presented. Attendees will learn about the future of performance analysis software that performance analysts can use to analyze performance problems and develop solutions in an effective manner with the collaboration of stakeholders all over the world. |
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| Explaining Adaptation and Performance in Virtual Teams: Media Compensation Theory |
| DONALD A. HANTULA (Temple University), Ned Kock (Texas A&M University), Darleen DeRosa (Right Management Consultants), John D'Arcy (Temple University) |
| Abstract: This paper proceeds from the paradox that virtual teams are generally successful, sometimes even outperforming face-to- face teams in spite of much theory that predicts the opposite. We review theories that have previously been used to explain behavior toward electronic communication media, highlighting a theoretical gap, which is filled with a new adaptive perspective called media compensation theory. Eight theoretical principles are discussed – media naturalness, innate schema similarity, learned schema variety, evolutionary task relevance, compensatory adaptation, media humanness, cue removal, and speech imperative. Those principles are then used as a basis for a discussion of the impact that different media have on virtual teams. Empirical evidence in connection with studies of idea generation, problem solving, and business process redesign tasks are reviewed. The evidence provides support for the framework proposed, and a future research agenda in virtual teams from a media compensation perspective. |
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