Critically Analyzing A Meta-Analysis Study On Group Decision Making Through Computer-Mediated Communication

Reference

Baltes, B. B., Dickson, M. W., Sherman, M. P., Bauer, C. C., & LaGanke, J. S. (2002). Computer-mediated communication and group decision making: A meta-analysis. Organizational behavior and human decision processes, 87(1), 156-179.

Article classification

Meta analysis

Journal ranking

B

Impact factor

The impact factor here is the time, which the groups take to reach to the relevant decision.   

Aim/Purpose of the article

The aim of the article is to explore the individual member factors, contributing to the biases. 

Approach of the author

In this article, the author undertakes the descriptive approach for researching the approaches of the individual members towards the decisions taken by the management. In the process of this research, the author also attempts to explore the biases, which occur within the decision-making process. Initiating with a brief insight about the variables, research methodology, results, findings, conclusions and recommendations reflects the systematic approach of the author towards validating the journal reference.

Research methodology

Sources such as Psychological abstracts, Business Periodical Index, and dissertations on computer-mediated communication were referred for collecting necessary data on the individual approaches of the members involved in the process of decision-making. Along with this, GDSS systems were considered for coding the variables from each data. In total, 22 published sources were used and 5 unpublished sources. The sample size taken for the group discussion was three at the first instance. However, the included studies project that the sample size was 52. Therefore, it can be said that qualitative research methods have been used for completion of the data collection process.

Research findings and conclusions by the researchers

In an organization, the employees possess individual approaches towards the decisions undertaken by the management. Within this, biases are implied as the employees have personal approaches towards the events, which the organizations undertake. Biases in the group discussions are obvious in terms of exercising the provided power in comparison to the other employees. As a matter of specification, maintaining consistency in organizing discussions and open forums helps the organizational personnel to mitigate the instances of conflicts and biases, which makes the decision-making process prolonged. Herein lays the appropriateness of the time experiment done as a research in the article. Along with this, the results also points out that the time taken to reach the decisions is inversely proportional to the satisfaction levels of the members. The satisfaction levels are distorted if the intensity of the biases is more. Homogeneity is absent in all of these groups. However, the range of modernity varies according to the characteristics of the groups. Intervals are an important factor in terms of calculating the time taken by the members to reach to the appropriate decision.

The relationship between the communication and satisfaction levels is an attempt to project the different approaches of the personnel in response to the given situation. Herein lays the appropriateness of the axis of time taken in the figure projections.

Conclusions drawn by the author

The systematic representation of the research proves apt in terms of informing the article regarding the contents of the article. Mathematical calculations for displaying the results make the businesspersons aware of the individual approaches of the employees in terms of the decisions undertaken by the management. Consideration of the relevant sources is flexible enough for the researcher in terms of averting the instances of plagiarism and collusion. Theoretical considerations towards the perception of workplace communications bring to the forefront the adjustment skills of the employees within an ambience of pressure. The research in the article lacks proper format, which attaches an interrogative parameter to the précised form of doing dissertations.  

Significance

The experimentations done in this article can be correlated with the hyper-dimensions as mentioned in the article, Interpersonal and Hyperpersonal Dimensions of Computer?Mediated Communication. This is because experiments relate to different mindsets of the employees in a given situation (Walther et al., 2015). Moreover, the source is directly related with the individual approaches of the employees in terms of the organizational decisions. However, the critique is more focused on the variable “interpersonal;” rather than computer mediated communication. Viewing it from the other perspective, referring to the psychological abstracts, helps the managers in assessing the mentality of the employees in different situations. Herein lays the correlation with the act of evaluating the feasibility, effectiveness and appropriateness of the communication systems in terms of the workplace environment. The previous sentence establishes the linkage between the given article and the article entitled, Computer-mediated communication systems: Status and evaluation (Kerr & Hiltz, 2013). This evaluation enhances the clarity of the businesspersons in terms of providing training to the employees for motivating them towards a better performance. Evaluation of the group discussions helps the managers of the organizations to enhance their awareness regarding the individual approaches of the employees towards the decisions undertaken. Application of rationality in this process enhances the personal status of the managers. This rationality is assistance in terms of discovering the biases and attempting to mitigate them.

Exposure of collaborative output in organizing group discussions enable the personnel to achieve successful completion of the projects within the stipulated times. Along with this, collaboration results in transfer to skills from one employee to the other, nullifying the aspect of inadequate knowledge (Morreale, Spitzberg & Barge, 2013).

Comparison with the other articles broadens the scope and arena of the article as well as the aspect of individual approaches, which leads to biases in the decision-making process. This expansion reflects the importance of liberty, which is an important component in the workplace communication. The aspect of 3 dimensional communications can be considered as an innovation in the aspect of communication practiced in the workplace of the organizations. The three dimensions here can be the approaches and mentality of the personnel in terms of the organizational decisions. Herein the article, Interpersonal and Hyperpersonal Dimensions of Computer?Mediated Communication can be correlated (Walther et al., 2015). As a matter of specification, the words “interpersonal” and “dimensions” can be correlated, as the mind has different dimensions for reacting to the instances, which takes place in the surrounding of the individuals.

Strengths

Theoretical considerations enliven the circumstances in which workplace communication is effective. In-depth insight into the variables enriches the preconceived knowledge, skills and expertise of the business organizations in terms of maintaining diversity in the workplace (Baltes et al., 2002). Herein lays the appropriateness of using the figures and tables. Comparison between the variables proves effective in terms of providing the opportunity to the employees regarding the exposure of appropriate expression towards the organizational decisions.  

Weakness

The article makes some assumptions, which are not true. Making such assumptions possess high tendencies towards controversies, which makes the results and the conclusions an invalid one. Along with this, the article lacks the assertion of the objectives, which would be assessed in the conclusion (Baltes et al., 2002). This lack attaches an interrogative parameter to the derived conclusion and proposed recommendations. This interrogation raises doubts over the research perspective highlighted in the article. Apart from this, there is no connection between the sections of the article. After the abstract, the article abruptly starts, without any introduction (Baltes et al., 2002). In other words, the article fails to enhance the knowledge of the readers regarding the factors leading to biases in response to the organizational decisions.

Limitations

The main limitations of the article are time and finance. Availability of adequate time would have resulted in the consideration of quantitative research along with qualitative. This would have enhanced the clarity of the researcher in the article about the approaches of the employees in terms of the workplace communications. Inadequate financial resources have compelled the researcher of the article to publish the article in this format (Baltes et al., 2002). Failure in terms of aligning the research with the topic is one of the greatest limitations of the article.