0000000000033701
AUTHOR
Petri Maaranen
Unusual business or business as usual: An investigation of meeting support requirements in multilateral diplomacy
Abstract The concept of supporting meetings at the same time and at the same place with computers raises the problem of how salient features of group behaviors are understood in meetings. In this paper we critically examine some aspects of meeting behaviors. We point out that the idea of small, cohesive business teams is not necessarily a valid starting point in thinking of all meeting support. In particular, beliefs that relate to user aspects, group features such as composition, structure and protocols, and task characteristics such as nature, importance, and goals in meetings may need deliberation in many group decision support systems (GDSS) interventions. To demonstrate the credibility…
Added Value of Intangibles for Organizational Innovation
The purpose of this paper is to present the theoretical basis for a measurement and improvement system that will help organizations create a more innovative climate. The role of intangible assets in contributing to organizational innovativeness is clarified within six hypotheses on the basis of a cross-disciplinary literature review combining studies from psychology, human resources management, communication, information technology, and marketing. These factors range from the individual level to interaction with the environment surrounding the organization, and involve (a) individual psychological flexibility, (b) institutional and interpersonal trust, (c) diverse human resources, (d) strat…
Groups are not always the same
The idea of supporting group meetings at the same time and at the same place by computer raises the problem of how salient features of group behaviors are understood in meetings. In this paper we take a critical look at several beliefs about group behaviors in research dealing with electronic meeting systems (EMS). The paper argues based on an empirical study that the concept of a small, cohesive business team, so widely held, in all EMS research is not necessarily a valid starting point in thinking of meeting support. In particular, the paper critically evaluates a number of beliefs of user aspects, group features such as composition, structure and protocols, and task characteristics such …
Designing meeting support systems in a user-centered manner
Multilateral diplomacy faces pressures to improve the efficiency of its operations. Because meetings play a central role in diplomacy they form one promising target in productivity improvements. Diplomatic meetings are rife with political maneuvering and embedded with pervasive diplomatic rituals and protocols which all affect considerably the content and form of successful technology interventions. In this paper we describe a meeting support system called the Helsinki Prototype System. To our knowledge it was the first meeting support system (MSS) which was intended to support multilateral diplomatic meetings. It was designed for the fourth Follow-up meeting of the Conference on Security a…