Techno-Sense: Making Sense of Computer-Mediated Communication Systems

Abstract

This study examined the impact of a computer-mediated communication system (CMCS) on two "high tech" organizations. One hundred and twenty persons participated in semi-structured interviews or completed two critical incident forms. Grounded theory was used to analyze the interviews and the critical incident data, and naturalistic observations were used to provide depth and context to the discussion. The analysis of the data indicates that organizational members tend to give CMCS favorable reviews. However, the data also illustrated considerable variance in how organizational members view the impact of CMCS on interpersonal relationships, message structures, task efficiency, the work environment, and information processing characteristics of organizations. Secondary or unanticipated effects of CMCS are identified and discussed as potentially having a significant impact on organizations.A large portion of the research on computer technology has focused on the &dquo;instrumental computer&dquo; and the kind of work the computer can do. In contrast, Turkle (1984) examined the &dquo;subjective&dquo; computer and the way it affects our thinking, especially the way we think about ourselves. With a subjective approach in mind, the purpose of this study was to examine interpretations of computer-mediated communication systems (CMCS) and to see how they affect organizational communication processes. Specifically, two organizational environments were examined in an attempt to understand how CMCS affects individual and organizational communication processes.Historically, business communication technologies have been recognized as a dynamic factor in establishing and maintaining organizational systems (Bernard, 1938;Mayo, 1945;McLuhan, 1962). However, a shift has occurred as technologies such as CMCS have become a cornerstone to the activities of knowledge workers in the information age and the office of the future. More research is needed to understand how new communication technologies alter basic aspects of organizations such as information processing systems, task efficiency, and interpersonal relationships (Brod

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Wide-Area Computer-Mediated Communication in Business Writing

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