Improving Team Performance and Participation Via Computer-Mediated Turn Taking and Informational Prompts

Increasingly, collaborative writing occurs in distributed work environments. Collaboration is essential for technical writing teams that develop and share, or single source, content using content management system (CMS) technology. Technical writers must be proficient not only in developing content that can be shared but also in carrying out complex writing tasks virtually. However, research indicates that asynchronous-distributed collaborative writing can lead to productivity losses unless teams implement explicit processes for interacting and using computer-mediated communication (CMC) technology. With highly structured processes to guide their efforts, teams are more likely to see productivity gains. To achieve these gains, effective collaboration must address six key areas: (1) targets to guide team performance, (2) assessments of collaborative writing skills in virtual teams, (3) role delineation, (4) process scripts to promote efficient virtual collaborative writing, (5) a training framework, and (6) performance measurements and a recognition framework for reinforcing team accomplishments. Organizations must be willing to create a culture that supports a team environment committed to these specific areas. This chapter explores how to establish an infrastructure that promotes collaborative writing efficiency in virtual settings.

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Discourse Features in Nigerian Online Discussion Forums

Interpersonal Relations and Social Patterns in Communication Technologies ◽

10.4018/978-1-61520-827-2.ch010 ◽

2010 ◽

pp. 185-201 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Rotimi Taiwo

Keyword(s):

Online Discussion ◽

Complex Phenomenon ◽

Discussion Forums ◽

Framework Analysis ◽

Online Discussion Forums ◽

Computer Mediated ◽

Popular Medium ◽

Mediated Discourse ◽

Turn Taking ◽

Tracking Device

This chapter investigates discourse features in asynchronous Nigerian discussion forums, which is now becoming a popular medium for discussing issues of interest to many Nigerians. The sample was based on extracts from CONCOMED, a corpus of Nigerian Computer-mediated English Discourse compiled by this researcher between 2006 and 2009. Four threads, one for each year were subjected to analysis based on Herring’s (2004) Computer Mediated Discourse Analysis (CMDA) framework. Analysis focused on interaction features of turn-taking, topic focus and coherence. Turn-taking process in the threads was a complex phenomenon characterized by non-sequential turns and adjacency disruptions. Interactants typically self-selected and used Quoting as turn tracking device. Global topics often split into sub-topics to address details. Despite the limitations of messaging systems on sequential turn-taking and referencing, interactional and topical coherence was established in the threads, as participants were able to logically connect their ideas in this complex virtual conversational context through Quoting, Addressivity and topic focus.

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The Eyes of the Beholder: Understanding the Turn-Taking System in Quasi-Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication

Research on Language and Social Interaction ◽

10.1207/s15327973rls3204_2 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 32 (4) ◽

pp. 337-367 ◽

Cited By ~ 151

Author(s):

Angela Cora Garcia ◽

Jennifer Baker Jacobs

Keyword(s):

Computer Mediated Communication ◽

Mediated Communication ◽

Computer Mediated ◽

Turn Taking

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Talk and Let Talk: The Effects of Language Proficiency on Speaking Up and Competence Perceptions in Multinational Teams

Group & Organization Management ◽

10.1177/1059601118756734 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 44 (5) ◽

pp. 953-989 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Huisi (Jessica) Li ◽

Y. Connie Yuan ◽

Natalya N. Bazarova ◽

Bradford S. Bell

Keyword(s):

Language Proficiency ◽

Team Performance ◽

Multilevel Model ◽

Future Research ◽

Speaking Up ◽

Individual Level ◽

Face To Face ◽

Computer Mediated ◽

The Individual ◽

Speak Up

Collaboration within multinational teams necessitates the adoption of a common language, typically English, which often leads to significant differences in language proficiency across members. We develop and test a multilevel model of the effects of language proficiency within multinational teams. An experimental study of 51 teams (102 American and 102 Chinese participants) revealed that, at the individual level, members with higher levels of language proficiency were more likely to speak up, which led to more positive perceptions of their competence. At the team level, greater dispersion in language proficiency across members was associated with less accurate competence recognition, which, in turn, led to lower overall team performance. Moreover, communication medium moderated these relationships, such that the effects of language proficiency were more potent in face-to-face than in computer-mediated teams. We discuss the implications of these findings for future research and for managing participation, competence, and technology in multinational teams.

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The Multitasking Audit Environment: The Effect of Alternative Modes of Communication on Team Performance

Journal of Information Systems ◽

10.2308/isys-2020-019 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Juergen Sidgman ◽

Veena Brown ◽

Joseph F. Brazel

Keyword(s):

Team Performance ◽

Computer Mediated Communication ◽

Communication Technologies ◽

Discussion Board ◽

Discussion Boards ◽

Mediated Communication ◽

Considerable Evidence ◽

Face To Face ◽

Computer Mediated

Despite the considerable evidence suggesting multitasking reduces performance, multitasking is unavoidable and pervasive in the audit setting. Members of engagement teams are often required to work on multiple engagements simultaneously and their work on one engagement is frequently interrupted due to the demands of another engagement. In hopes of facilitating multitasking, engagement team communications have extended beyond face-to-face interactions to computer-mediated communication technologies. However, little is known about the performance of multitasking teams under these alternative modes of communication (face-to-face, discussion board, and chatroom). Our study demonstrates that, when multitasking, the performance of audit teams communicating face-to-face is greater than the performance of teams using computer-mediated communication. While we expected enhanced team performance with discussion boards, additional analyses reveal that participants’ familiarity with, and preference for, chatroom features (which are similar to texting) may have offset the benefits prior studies have attributed to discussion boards (which are similar to emailing).

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Speakers’ Identities in Online Interaction

10.31235/osf.io/x7tnq ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Oudah S. Alenazi

Keyword(s):

Social Space ◽

Computer Mediated Communication ◽

Technical Skills ◽

Online Interaction ◽

Chat Rooms ◽

Mediated Communication ◽

Computer Mediated ◽

Turn Taking ◽

The Way

Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) is acknowledged to represent a social space where people interact with others who may not necessarily know them. They can also recreate their own identities in the course of their interaction. This study investigates ways in which the identities of speakers can be revealed by their use of language in multiple-participant conversations. In particular, the study aims to elicit the strategies that speakers employ the most by analysing the way they talk at a micro-analytic level, and the ways in which they organise and sequence their turns at talking. The results show that the processes of turn-taking and topic development are subject to distraction and breakdown in computer-mediated environments. There are many instances of pauses caused by frequent overlaps between participants. The accents of participants are considered the main feature which can constitute one’s identity in voice-based chat-rooms. Other factors such as communication and technical skills, systems and server speeds could also have an effect on such communication. Additionally, the participants seem to employ certain strategies to overcome interactional limitations of CMC systems, such as the use of pauses, quiet and loud intonation, and stress of particular syllables of some words. These strategies can contribute to determining the speaker’s identity.

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A Structured Reset Process to Benefit Team Resilience

Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting ◽

10.1177/1071181319631060 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 63 (1) ◽

pp. 909-913

Author(s):

Jeffrey Hanrahan ◽

Robert Henning

Keyword(s):

Survey Data ◽

Empirical Research ◽

Team Performance ◽

Performance Outcomes ◽

Experimental Conditions ◽

Individual Resilience ◽

Team Resilience ◽

Computer Mediated ◽

Challenging Situation ◽

Simulation Task

The concept of teams recovering from disruptions or challenging performance episodes has been termed “team resilience” and shares similarities with, but is distinct from, individual resilience. Empirical research on this construct is sparse and remains largely theoretical in the peer-reviewed literature. Recently, a theoretical framework of team resilience has been proposed in which a reset phase serves as a period of restoration and reflection for teams. Using this idea of a reset phase, two main objectives of the current research were to better understand and organize the actions teams engage in that might promote a more effective reset phase, thus improving team resilience, as well as examine the impacts of these actions on performance outcomes, including a team’s self-reported level of resilience. Teams were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions where each team would experience a challenging situation during a computer-mediated simulation task designed to degraded team performance, after which, a reset phase was started. Survey data were collected to examine differences across groups on various outcome measures. Supplemental analyses identified team learning as one area for further study.

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