>I read about a consulting firm that will run team meetings. They give
>every participant a computer, and people can type comments which are
>anonymously sent to the front of the room for discussion. This is
>heralded as a great advance in the ability to be honest at work.
>[incredulous, cynical grin] EXCUSE ME? Putting $8,000 worth of machinery
>between two people because they are too scared of each other to talk
>face-to-face seems like a "shifting the burden" archetype if I've ever
>seen one. I'd rather eliminate the technology altogether and address the
>question of why people in my organization can't talk face to face, the way
>they would in any other area of their life.
For an organization that has the hardware and software resources
available, I think it viable to utilize computer systems to facilitate the
communication process. As you may be aware, there are people who are
rather intelligent, but who do not like to speak up in meetings. They are
introverts by nature. If you afford them opportunity to utilize an
electronic medium, they may contribute some brillant ideas.
--William Bennett <wbennett@mail.arc.nasa.gov>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>