current event

Current Event Summary Paper (2)

Each student is to read a current event article from any source (i.e. newspaper, trade journal, internet posting, etc.) and provide a summary of the article.  Articles must be related to a subject discussed in class or the course subject matter.  The summary will follow the format below:

Sample article review and response:

Sample Article Summary and Review

Reference

                           Blaskovich, Jennifer (2008), Exploring the Effect of Distance:  An Experimental Investigation of Virtual Collaboration, Social Loafing, and Group Decisions, Journal of Information Systems, Sarasota: Spring 2008, Retrieved from ProQuest, June 18, 2008

Findings

   The organizational structure is experiencing considerable changes, as personnel are finding themselves working in groups anywhere/anytime mode, connected to co-workers around the world through information technology. Virtual Group members are often widely dispersed geographically and usually have very little direct contact with one another. This distance makes virtual groups inherently open to social loafing because the technology facilitates a decrease in social impact that allows individuals to detach from the group.  Individuals become more isolated, perceive that their lack of involvement is not visible, and spend less of an effort toward the group task. 

Personal Critique

   I find this article to be relative to the many VTT classes that I have taken with ... The classes may have been in different states; collectively both classes were considered one class, (a Group).  Without the teacher, were the students expected to exhibit greater social loafing behavior as compared to the students with the teacher? (Face to Face). I would say not, because online groups have a higher level of group performance documentation, thus allowing individuals/team contributions to be monitored. This allows for tracking of those who lean toward “Social Loafing” and those who perform. The level of electronic accountability could act as a motivator for members to participate more often because they know that their contributions are electronically tracked.