Since 2007, I have been involved with Information Science Student Association Executive Board at Cornell University. The board consists of members with various skills and interests from three different colleges, which are important to create aggregation and synergy for successful group work. The members are also ambitious in both their education and their mission to serve the Information Science community.
The board’s task consists of cooperative cognitive tasks which include generative tasks such as brainstorming for speakers and events, and intellective tasks in which information is collected to organize and oversee information sessions, general meetings, and social gatherings.
Tasks are structured by the roles assigned to office holders. In times of unexpected situations or emergencies, the president and the vice president may act on situations themselves and/or divide the task among other members. We also use various technologies such as phone, email, website, list-serve, Google calendar, doodle.ch, and Microsoft Office products to communicate to each other and work more efficiently.
A substantial amount of interpersonal communication is essential for the board to perform interdependence tasks. Since each member is responsible for part of the events, it is crucial to check on each other if the duties were done correctly, and coordinate to move on to the next process. The board meets face to face biweekly to socialize, evaluate past events, discuss agenda that the president has emailed the night before, and brainstorm and plan future events. Most members also attend general meeting and information sessions to oversee them and support the organization.
The board is most productive when members are engaged in face to face communication. The president is able to “coordinate interdependent efforts, develop and maintain group culture and authority (Kiesler & Cummings, 2002).” The board still assigns same roles to officeholders and holds election every spring. After the meeting clarifies plans and assign roles, when “the existing feelings of alliance or commitment sustain motivation,” communication technologies such as phone and email are successful in promoting collaboration among members (Kiesler & Cummings, 2002).
The Input-process-output models suggest that a group’s inputs and interaction process influence whether the group work will be successful. The board’s motivation to help Information Science students, and constant communication with various technologies, enable us to carry information sessions and tech talks from big engineering companies, cover dinner costs for members at the Nine’s, and to invite professors and researchers to give students opportunities of research and networking at general meetings.
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Interesting post, it’s nice to see how another organization handles their executive operations. I’m curious to know, are there any other technologies that you guys use to interact with other schools, companies, research groups, or alumnus…like video-conferencing or web-conferencing? Would that be valuable (or even financially beneficial) to have a g-body meeting that features a guest via one of these synchronous a/v web technologies instead of having them fly out to (chilly ol’) Ithaca? Also, do you all utilize committees? If so, how is communication facilitated in those groups? Are they fashioned in the same way the board is, or do they interact more or less FTF?
ReplyDeleteIt’s interesting how you refer to a system of checks and balances among members of the board to help make sure things get done right. How do you think this process would change if you guys never met face to face? Would there be as much looking over one another’s shoulder? Similarly, what do you think would happen to the quality and efficiency of decisions like bringing in speakers if fewer people were involved in the decision? I know that in some departments that have that goal, one person is responsible for it, but that person sometimes asks for feedback on some of his choices. The result could be arguably more time efficient but of lower quality.
ReplyDeleteIt is intriguing to hear about how the ISSA executive board is run. You mention the wide variety of mediums used to communicate amongts the executive board members, and I'm wondering if there are different mediums used more commonly to discuss different tasks among the members as the media richness theory might explain. Also, during your meetings is it primarily the president/vice president choosing events and assigning roles, or more of a democratic process?
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