Cited By
View all- Tran MBiddle RKapralos BKatchabaw MRajnovich J(2008)Collaboration in serious game developmentProceedings of the 2008 Conference on Future Play: Research, Play, Share10.1145/1496984.1496993(49-56)Online publication date: 3-Nov-2008
Organizational collaboration: effects of rank on collaboration
Pages 53 - 56
Abstract
Motivation -- Organizational change initiatives often fail resulting in wasted time, money, and human resources. Many organizational changes such as the implementation of new technology are driven by high ranking personnel. However, these changes are often executed by junior ranking personnel. Thus, potential conflicts can arise if there are mismatches between these groups regarding organizational perceptions. The present study sought to understand if different levels of rank influenced perceptions of organizational collaboration in an Air Force domain.
Research approach -- Participants (N=236) from a military logistics Command and Control (C2) center participated in an organizational questionnaire which included a measure of organizational collaboration. Based on their rank, participants were categorized into senior, mid-level, and junior groups. Group differences in collaboration perceptions were tested.
Findings/Design -- The findings suggested that rank effects perceived quality of organizational collaboration. Overall, junior ranking personnel reported lower organizational collaboration perceptions compared to senior ranking personnel.
Research limitations/Implications -- Due to the exploratory nature of this study and the paucity of collaboration research in general, the generalizability of the results beyond the domain of knowledge work are unclear. Though just a pilot study, the results of this research suggest that organizational leaders must be aware of and acknowledge different perspectives from the range of personnel in their organizations prior to planning organizational changes, such as new technology, policies, and job design. Such changes may have a very different impact on military personnel depending on their organizational beliefs, which in turn, appear to be influenced by their hierarchical status in the organization (i.e., rank).
Take away message -- The results suggest that rank does play a significant role in the perceived quality of organizational collaboration across several factors including, general collaboration attitudes, adaptability to new technology, collaboration enablers, as well as job characteristics.
References
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- Organizational collaboration: effects of rank on collaboration
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August 2007
334 pages
ISBN:9781847998491
DOI:10.1145/1362550
- Conference Chairs:
- Willem Paul Brinkman,
- Dong Han Ham,
- B. L. William Wong
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- ACM: Association for Computing Machinery
- SIGCHI: Specialist Interest Group in Computer-Human Interaction of the ACM
- Interactions, the Human-Computer Interaction Specialist Group of the BCS
- Middlesex University, London, School of Computing Science
- European Office of Aerospace Research and Development, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, United States Air Force Research Laboratory
- EACE: European Association of Cognitive Ergonomics
- Brunel University, West London, Department of Information Systems and Computing
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New York, NY, United States
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Published: 28 August 2007
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View all- Tran MBiddle RKapralos BKatchabaw MRajnovich J(2008)Collaboration in serious game developmentProceedings of the 2008 Conference on Future Play: Research, Play, Share10.1145/1496984.1496993(49-56)Online publication date: 3-Nov-2008
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