The research literature to date on electronic meeting systems (EMS) has been dominated by studies of high structure systems. High and low structure are defined here in terms of the preponderance of influence that technology and groups exert on each other. High structure EMS attempt to directly influence group structure and processes through explicit rules and procedures embedded in the software. Low structure EMS do not explicitly build in rules or procedures that govern group interaction. Low structure EMS are hypothesized to increase task focus through the use of shared flexible software tools and shared views of joint work. Results of two experiments, that compare low structure EMS-supported groups to manually-supported groups on equality of participation, degree of task focus, task performance and member satisfaction, for two different tasks, are reported. The experiments found that this low structure EMS had no effect on participation equality or member satisfaction. Contrary to the hypotheses, the EMS was found to decrease task focus. The EMS led to marginally better task performance on a simple evaluative task, and to worse performance on a complex generative task. A revision of the study's theoretical model is developed which takes into account the nature of the task.
This study examined differences between human-factors and machine-factors computer professionals in self-reports of their interpersonal behaviors. Three hundred and eleven computer professionals completed an instrument describing their jobs and three categories of their interpersonal behavior—Dominance, Friendliness, and Task versus Socio-Emotional. Human-factors professionals described their ideal and actual behavior as more dominant than that of other computer professionals. No differences were found for the other two behavior dimensions. Human-factors professionals on the average were more involved with research while machine-oriented professionals were more involved with product development. The findings are discussed with respect to their importance for computer system design teams. It is suggested that interpersonal factors may affect the utilization of human-factors experts.