Syllabus update (Apr 8, 2009)

A cooperative model of human communication proposes that speakers take into account what they expect their listeners to understand and update that information as they are speaking. Listeners have an obligation to indicate their state of knowledge and to cooperate with the speaker to produce an utterance.

· Krauss, R. M. & Fussell, S. R. (1990). Mutual knowledge and communicative effectiveness. In J. Galegher & R. E. Kraut, et al. (Eds.), Intellectual teamwork: Social and technological foundations of cooperative work (pp. 111-145). Hillsdale, NJ, England: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

· Clark, Herbert H. & Brennan, Susan E. (1991). Grounding in communication. In L. B. Resnick, R. M. Levine, & S. D. Teasley (Eds.). Perspectives on socially shared cognition. (pp. 127-149). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

3. Jan 20: The role of visual information in grounding

· Whittaker, S. & O'Conaill, B. (1997). The role of vision in face-to-face and mediated communication. In E. E. Finn, A. J. Sellen, & S. B. Wilbur. (Eds.) Video-mediated communication. (pp. 23-50) Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

· Kraut, R. E., Gergle, D., & Fussell, S. R. (2002). The use of visual information in shared visual spaces: Informing the development of virtual co-presence. In Proceedings of the 2002 Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (pp. 318-327). New York, NY: Association of Computing Machinery.

· You will use clips available at http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~kraut/articles/SVS-clips/ from the Kraut, Gergle and Fussell (2002) experiment, (see reference above), to formulate and test a hypothesis about the way people use a shared visual space to collaborate on a task. The table of contents for the clips is available here. The instructions for the assignment are here. The assignment is due Jan 27.

4. Jan 22: Communication at a distance

· Olson, G. M. & Olson, J. S. (2000). Distance matters. Human-Computer Interaction, 15(2-3), 139-178.

5. Jan 27: Managerial communication

· Mintzberg, Henry (1990, March/April). The manager's job: Folklore and fact. Harvard Business Review, 68(2),163-176.

· Kraut, R. E., Fish, R.S., Root, R.W., & Chalfonte, B.L. (1990). Informal communication in organizations: Form, function, and technology. In S. O. S. Spacapan (Ed.), Human Reactions to Technology: The Claremont Symposium on Applied Social Psychology (pp. 145-199). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.

6. Jan 29: Communication and time

· Perlow, L. A. (1999). The time famine: Toward a sociology of work time. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(1), 57-81

· Dabbish, L., & Kraut, R. (2004). Controlling interruptions: Awareness displays and social motivation for coordination. CSCW'04: Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work.

Technology and common ground assignment due.

7. Feb 3: Communication & group performance

· Kanki, B. G. & Foushee, H. C. (1989). Communication as group process mediator of aircrew performance. Aviation, Space, & Environmental Medicine, 60(5), 402-410.

· Ginnett, R. (1990). Airline cockpit crew. In R. Hackman (Ed.). Groups that work (and those that don't). pp. 427-448. San Francisco. Jossey-Bass, 1990.

8. Feb 5: Communication, familiarity and coordination

Having common beliefs and views of a situation should allow groups to communicate more efficiently. How does this work?

· Argote, L. (1999). Organizational learning. Boston: Kluwer. Chapter 3. Organizational Memory. pp. 67-98.

· Espinosa, J., Slaughter, S., Kraut, R., & Herbsleb, J. (2007). Familiarity, Complexity, and Team Performance in Geographically Distributed Software Development. Organization Science, 18(4), 613.

9. Feb 10: Diversity in groups (I)

Many analysts stress the value of having demographically and intellectually diverse work groups, for reasons of fairness and performance. What are the benefits and costs of diversity of work groups? Can we identify techniques for getting value from diversity, while minimizing some of its known costs? This class focuses on organizing to gain benefits from diversity.

· Ideo (http://www.ideo.com/) is arguably the best product design firm in the United States. We'll be examining the innovation process that Ideo uses, through the Hargadon & Sutton article below and through an ABC News video, The Deep Dive. Come to class familiar with Ideo and its products, and be prepared to describe how it institutionalizes creativity.

· Hargadon, A. & Sutton, R. Technology brokering and innovation in a product development firm. (1997). Administrative Science Quarterly, 42, 716-749.

10. Feb 12: Diversity in groups (II)

This class examines some of the problems associated with diversity in groups.

· Williams, K. & O'Reilly, C.A. (1998). Demography and diversity in organizations: A review of 40 years of research. Research in Organizational Behavior, 20, 77-140.

· Polzer, J, Varga, I, & Elfenbein (2003). Henry Tam and the MGI Team. Harvard Business School Case 9-404-068.

Note: Class will focus on discussing the Henry Tam case.

11. Feb 17: Group identity and goal conflict

· Cialdini, Robert B. (2000) Influence: Science and practice (4rd Edition). Talman Co. pp. 154-161.

· Gaertner, S. L., Dovidio, J. F., Banker, B. S., Houlette, M., Johnson, K. M., & McGlynn, E. A. (2000). Reducing intergroup conflict: From superordinate goals to decategorization, recategorization, and mutual differentiation. Group Dynamics, 4(1), 98-114.

12. Feb 19: Managing conflict in groups

· Thompson, L. L. (2003). Making the team: A guide for managers (2nd ed.). Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall. Chapter 7: Conflict in teams.

· Barker, J. R. (1997). Disciplining a teammate. In B. D. Syher (Ed.), Case studies in organizational communication (Vol. 2, pp. 97-109). New York: Guildford Press.

13. Feb 24: Social loafing

· Karau, S. & Williams, K. (1993) Social loafing: A meta-analytic review and theoretical integration. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65(4), 681-706.

· Thompson, L. L. (2003). Making the team: A guide for managers. Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall. (pp. 29-36).

14. Feb 26: Negotiation

· Cialdini, R. (2008). Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (5th edition). Allyn & Bacon: New York. Chapter 2: Reciprocation Pp. 18-50

· Fisher, Roger, Ury, Wiliam, & Paten, Bruce (1991). Getting to yes: Negotiating agreement without giving in. Penguin: New York. Chapters 1 & 2: Don’t Bargain over Positions and Separate the People from the Problem.

15. Mar 3: Negotiation

· Thompson, Leigh (2005). The mind and heart of the negotiator (3rd edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hal. Chapter 9: Multiple Parties, Coalitions, and Teams

· Self-reflection on a group conflict due.

16. Mar 5: Problems in distributed groups

· Hinds, P. J., & Bailey, D. E. (2003). Out of sight, out of sync: Understanding conflict in distributed teams. Organization Science, 14(6), 615-632.

· Cramton, C. D. (2001). The mutual knowledge problem and its consequences for dispersed collaboration. Organization Science Special Issue, 12(3), 346-371.

Mar 9 - 13: Spring break

17. Mar 17: Successful distributed groups

· Malhotra, Arvind, Majchrzak, Ann, Carman, Robert & Lott, Vern (2001). Radical innovation without collocation: A case study at Boeing-Rocketdyne. MIS Quarterly, 25(2).

· Argyres, Nicholas S. (1999). The impact of information technology on coordination: Evidence from the B-2 'Stealth' bomber. Organizational Science, 10(2), 162-180.

18. Mar 24: Self-presentation (I)

· Leary, M. (1996). Self-Presentation: Impression Management and Interpersonal Behavior: Westview Press. (Chapter 2: Tactics & Chapter 4: Roles & Norms)

19. Mar 26: Self-presentation (II)

· Ibarra, H. (1999). Provisional selves: Experimenting with image and identity in professional adaptation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(Dec), 764-791.

20. Mar 31: Organizational self-presentation

· Van Maanen, J. (1991). The smile factory: Work at Disneyland. In P. Frost, L. Moore, M. Luis, C. Lundberg, & J. Martin (Eds.), Reframing organizational culture (pp. 58-76). Newbury Park, CA: Sage. (also available here.)

· Sutton, R. I. (1991). Maintaining norms about expressed emotions: A case of bill collectors. Administrative Science Quarterly, 36, 245-268

· Barley, S. (1993). Codes of the dead: The semiotics of funeral work. Urban Life, 10(4), 54-61.

· Self-presentation assignment due

21. Apr 2: Introduction to attitudes and persuasion

· Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1977). Attitude-behavior relations: A theoretical analysis and review of empirical research. Psychological Bulletin, 84(5), 888-918. (excepts)

22. Apr 7: Social proof

· Cialdini: Influence: Science and practice

. Social Proof, pp. 94-135.

23 Apr 9: Persuasion and liking

· Cialdini, Robert B. (2008) Influence: Science and practice (5rd Edition). Talman Co. Chapter 5: Liking. 136-170.

Lynn, M. (1996). Seven ways to increase your servers' tips. Cornell HRA Quarterly, 37(June), 24-29.

Zajonc, R. B. (2001). Mere exposure: A gateway to the subliminal. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 10(6), 224-226.

· Optional: Other Cialdini chapters: Reciprocity, Chapter 2; Consistency, Chapter 3; & Scarcity, Chapter 6. (Note: these will be very useful in writing your analysis of charity appeals.)\

25. Apr 14: Persuasion and social pressure

· Cialdini, Robert B. (2008) Influence: Science and practice (5rd Edition). Talman Co. Authority. pp.171-193.

Zimbardo's Stanford Prison experiment

· Review some of the news and analysis about the Abu Ghraib prison abuses.

Washington Post photos

Schlesinger, James (Ed.) Final Report of the Independent Panel to Review DoD Detention Operation (2004, August)

Army investigation of the 800th Miltary Police Brigade

Fay, George (2004, Aug). Investigation of the Abu Ghraib Detention Facility and 205th Military Intelligence Brigade

Apr 16: No class for Carnival

28. Apr 21: Social networks/Communication boundaries (I)

People are important sources for information and other resources. Interpersonal networking is important to gain these resources, but getting to new pockets of information is what is crucial.

· Allen, T. (1977). Managing the flow of technology. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. pp. 141-181. The technological gatekeepers.

· Krackhart, D. (1993, Jul/Aug). Informal networks: The company behind the chart. Harvard Business Review. 104-111.

· Swift, Sam (2003). Social Network Assignment for 88-341. Sam did a good network analysis of project teams in one CMU class a few years ago

29. Apr 23: Social networks and outcomes

· Cross, R & Cummings, J. (2004) Tie and network correlates of individual performance in knowledge intensive work Academy of Management Journal, 47(6), 928.

· Gibert, E & Karahalios, K. (2009). Predicting tie strength from scoail media. CHI09: Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. (pp 211-220.). NY: ACM Press.

· Milgram's small world experiments.

Written persuasion in a charitable campaign assignment is due .

26. Apr 28: Friendly fire (I)

Snook's book Friendly Fire describes an incident following the war in the Persian Gulf when two US F-16 fighters shot down two US Blackhawk helicopters ferrying UN diplomats around the area, resulting in the death of 26 peacekeepers. In some sense, this incident represents a failure of communication, at multiple levels. We'll treat the book as a case study in the types of actions that can go wrong in communication within and between groups.

· Snook, S. (2000). Friendly fire. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Chapters 2-3, pp. 26-98.

27 Apr 30: Friendly Fire (II)

· Snook, S. (2000). Friendly fire. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Chapters 4-6, pp. 98-201.

· optional: Leveson, N. G., Allen, P., & Storey, M.-A. (2002). The analysis of a friendly fire accident using a systems model of accidents. Paper presented at the International Conference of the System Safety Society, Denver, CO.

· Debate on who is responsible for the breakdowns revealed in Friendly Fire. You will be assigned to defend one of the groups involved in the shootdown -- AWAC crew, F-15 pilots, Blackhawk crew, or senior management -- using ideas from theories and empirical articles covered in this class.

Final Exam:Thur May 7, 8:30-11:30AM, Room TBA

Communication in Groups and Organizations

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Syllabus update (Apr 8, 2009)