Unit 3: Organisations and Behaviour - Working with others, teamwork, groups and group dynamics
Impact of technology on team functioning
Technology
The use of new technologies can improve and in some cases hinder team functioning.
As technology changes teams must update and maintain their knowledge in order to function effectively.
Technologies which have improved team functions
- mobile phones
- blackberry
- groupware
- computers
e-mail allows asynchronous communication which means team members do not need to be in the same place at the the same time in order to communicate effectively. e-mail also has it's negative aspects in terms of manging e-mail and the misuse of e-mail.
Mobile phones have come a long way from the yuppie bricks of the 1980s and there are now more mobile phones in the UK then there are people. Mobile phones allow teams to communicate even when team members are out of the office, on the road or otherwise unavailable. Sometimes having always access to team members can hinder team functioning.
Phone technologies such as blackberry and 3G datacards allow team members to work and communicate remotely and this out in the field or with clients.
Groupware enables teams to plan meetings, collaborate, delegate all within a virtual environment which can often be accessed remotely from anywhere in the world.
Personal computers allow team members to carry out various tasks and communicate more effectively. Laptop computers allow you to do this anywhere. They are now lighter, more powerful and a longer battery life. Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) now have much of the same functionality as their bigger cousins, but are smaller, more portable and have a longer battery life. Many PDAs now have wifi as standard and some are also phones (and some phones have many PDA features).
