Linda Plotnick

Leadership Roles and Communication Issues in Partially Distributed Emergency Response Software Development Teams: A Pilot Study

Emergencies often require inter-organizational and/or international coordination for effective planning and response. Therefore, planning and response teams are often configured as partially distributed teams. A partially distributed team (PDT) is a virtual team, in which some sub-groups are collocated, yet the subgroups are dispersed from each other, and communication between them is primarily by electronic media. We describe a project investigating different configurations of group and sub-group distribution and leadership in global PDTs engaged in tasks related to emergency response; in this paper we focus on results related to the leadership configuration (each of two subgroups in a team chose a local leader) and communication issues. Analysis of pilot data has helped us to articulate key leadership roles and suggests that significant in-group/out-group divides occurred. Implications for practitioners and future research plans are discussed.

Enhancing learning experiences in Partially Distributed Teams: Training students to work effectively across distances

Three training modules were designed to decrease ingroup dynamics in Partially Distributed Teams, which have two or more geographically separated subteams. The action research oriented study included 84 student PDTs with nearly 700 members, working on high-level software requirements. Results indicate that the training improved outcomes in terms of shared identification, trust, awareness, coordination, competence, conflict, and team performance.

Trust over Time and Distance in Global Partially Distributed Teams

Partially Distributed Teams (PDTs), increasingly common in this global economy, have some collocated members in subteams but the subteams are distributed over geographic distance. Trust is crucial for effective team functioning and may be even more so in PDTs which have unique characteristics that can impede the development and maintenance of trust. In a quasi-experimental field study we examine the dimensions of trust, how trust changes over time, and the effects of temporal and cultural distance on trust in PDTs composed of subteams from 8 nations. Results indicate that in PDTs, early trust predicts later trust, trust is multidimensional, and can increase over time. Variations in trust by temporal and cultural distance between the subteams in PDTs are more inconsistent than anticipated and the relationship with cultural distance decreases over time.

A Framework to Identify Best Practices: Social Media and Web 2.0 Technologies in the Emergency Domain

Social media is used in a variety of domains, including emergency management. However, the question of which technologies are most appropriate for a given emergency remains open. We present a framework of dimensions of emergencies that can assist in selecting appropriate social media for an emergency situation. Social media is not a panacea but can be used effectively given the proper functions available from the particular services provided by each of the Web 2.0 technologies available. The main objective of this paper is to identify the best practices for social media to leverage its ability given the complexities that coincide with events. This is a conceptual paper based on the results of preliminary studies involving group interactions with emergency professionals with various backgrounds. In addition, emergency management students who are professionals in the field followed by another interview soliciting information from information systems scientist were surveyed. We found that each situation called forth various dimensions where only sub phases of the stated dimension may be used given the task type derived from the event characteristics. This lays a foundation upon which a more formal approach can be taken to help tame the social media mania into a manageable set of ‘best practices’ from which emergencies can be managed more effectively given Web 2.0 technologies and social collaborative online tools.

Media Choices and Trust in Partially Distributed Global Teams

Partially distributed teams (PDTs) are increasingly common in organizations as they collaborate across distance. A PDT has at least two collocated subteams that are geographically distant and communicate by electronic media. This paper reports on a two semester quasi-experimental study of students in global PDTs in the role of software developers designing an emergency management information system. Leadership configuration and temporal distribution were varied and their effects on communication media chosen were examined, as well as the relationship of the media used with trust. Both leadership configuration and distance affect the choices made of communications media and those choices, in some cases, are significantly associated with trust.

Occurrence and Effects of Leader Delegation in Virtual Teams

Virtual teams are an important work structure in software development projects. However, little is known about what constitutes effective virtual team leadership, in particular, what amount of leader delegation is appropriate in a virtual environment? This study investigates virtual team leader delegation and explores the impact of delegation strategies on virtual team performance mediated by team motivation, team flexibility and team satisfaction with the team leader The research is a report of a pilot study run on student teams carried out to refine and test the research constructs and research model. The study found that virtual team leaders delegate more to competent virtual teams and that delegation is positively correlated with team member satisfaction with their leader and with team member motivation. This work provides important knowledge for software-based organizations interested in developing virtual team leadership skills.

The US is replacing its historical federalist

There exists an acute need for an unambiguous objectively measurable emergency scale to facilitate communication and mutual understanding of the nature of any emergency, by the public and government agencies. A review of existing emergency scales and their potential indicates no one scale can accurately describe all emergencies. Our research solicits ideas for such a scale using a modified Delphi process followed by a survey. The goal of this research is to gain a better understanding on how the public understands emergency scales and anticipate response for emergency events. The contribution of this research is to identify a set of fundamental dimensions for a measurable emergency scale, derived from the Delphi process outcomes. We also present preliminary findings from the survey developed from the results of the Delphi process.

Supporting the Use of Social Media by Emergency Managers: Software Tools to Overcome Information Overload

Information overload has been suggested as a potential barrier to use of social media by emergency managers, especially for gathering information during disasters. This paper, based on a survey of 477 U.S. county-level emergency managers, examines the relationship of the perception of information overload as a barrier to social media use for gathering information, to the intention to use social media. It also examines the relationship of perceived usefulness of certain technological advancements currently being developed to intention to use. Results indicate that emergency managers’ perception of information overload as a barrier to use is negatively related to intention to use it, while perceptions of the usefulness of these technologies are positively related to intention to use. The study calls attention to the importance of resolving information overload to increase the use of social media for emergency management, and suggests the implementation of appropriate software tools to ameliorate this problem.

Ingroup Dynamics and Perceived Effectiveness of Partially Distributed Teams

Research problem: Partially distributed teams (PDTs) are virtual teams that consist of at least two distinct geographically dispersed subgroups that communicate mainly through information and communication technology (ICT). As such teams become increasingly prevalent, it is important to understand how to manage them to maximize team effectiveness. The perceptions of effectiveness of PDTs may be significantly decreased when they are characterized by ingroup dynamics, consisting of preferential attitudes and actions toward collocated members, with accompanying conflict and lack of trust in regard to the distant subteam(s). Research questions: Do ingroup dynamics negatively impact perceptions of effectiveness in PDTs and, if so, how strongly? What factors can lessen ingroup dynamics-specifically, can training or reliable ICT support decrease ingroup dynamics? Does organizational context affect these relationships? Does whether or not the PDT is international affect these relationships? Does the number of subgroups in a PDT affect these relationships? Literature review: Social identity theory suggests how ingroup dynamics may emerge and create fault lines between subteams in a PDT. Effectiveness is defined in terms of process performance, which refers to how well the teamwork process has been undertaken. Prior research suggests that ICT reliability and training for work in distributed teams may decrease ingroup dynamics and improve effectiveness. International members, the specific organizational context, and the number of subteams per team might moderate these relationships. Methodology: An online survey of professionals with experience in PDTs was conducted, with two subsamples-one from a single large telecommunications company and one from a mix of organizations. Partial least squares regression was used to build and test a model of the relationships among the variables measured. Results: Ingroup dynamics have a strong negative relationship with perceived effectiveness. Overall, technology reliability and training significantly reduce ingroup dynamics. In the telecommunications company, training increased ingroup dynamics; thus, training may not always be beneficial, depending on organizational culture and the modes and types of training provided by a specific organization. Neither international membership on the team nor the number of subgroups per team was a significant multigroup moderator on any path in our model. Conclusions: These results help to extend social identity theory into this domain as they elucidate specifically that ICT reliability and training promote effectiveness of PDTs and that ingroup dynamics affect the perceptions of effectiveness in such teams. The results give managers guidance on what issues of PDTs to focus on to promote the effectiveness of PDTs.

Partially Distributed Emergency Teams: Considerations of Decision Support for Virtual Communities of Practice

Emergency situations often require cross-organisational response and planning by groups that are geographically distant from one another. Increasingly, individuals and these groups are leveraging technology to support a variety of communication and decision-making needs. This is creating an opportunity for groups, who traditionally worked in face-to-face environments, to accomplish these same tasks remotely using electronic communications resulting in new group dynamics. These groups, known as partially distributed emergency teams (PDETs), are managing crises, working together as a team of geographically dispersed collocated groups. This forms a flatter organisation which supports greater collaboration. Technology can be used to support creative ways that replace and enhance the gaps that are left from the transition of a F2F environment to a virtual one. There are underexplored methods that can be further developed to support virtual communities of practice communication and decision-making needs. We identify these gaps and suggest strategies to help build and nurture these communities. We conclude the chapter by describing the strength of online citizen participation and describe how using a global population can change the way some decision- making efforts can be enabled and enhanced.