Element Finding: The Impact of a Group Support System on a Crucial Phase of Sense Making

Abstract:Many of the problem situations facing organizations today are complex and ill-structured, lacking a definitive structure and formulation. The attempt to clearly understand and make sense of these situations is a difficult, but crucial, early requirement for effective problem solving. Problem-solving theory suggests that element finding—identifying the elements or variables that are relevant to a problem situation—is one of the earliest essential divergent activities of sense making. This paper details a theoretical framework synthesizing the work of a number of problem-solving research streams to highlight how brainstorming, although with distinct objectives, can be used as a divergent tool during very different phases of the problem-solving process. Using this framework, we empirically explored the impact of electronic brainstorming—a feature of group support systems—on element finding as groups attempted to identify the elements of an ill-structured situation facing them.Key Words and Phrases:: brainstormingcognitive modelsgroup environmentgroup support systemsproblem structuring and formulationsense making Additional informationNotes on contributorsAnne P. MasseyAnne P. Massey is Assistant Professor of Management Information Systems in the School of Business at Clarkson University. She received a Ph.D. in decision sciences and engineering systems from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Her present research interests are in the areas of problem structuring and formulation, individual and group communication, the use and application of group support systems, and visual modeling. Dr. Massey has recent publications in Decision Sciences. IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering, the Journal of Knowledge Acquisition, and the Journal of Information Technology Management. She is a member of the Decision Sciences Institute, TIMS, and the Academy of Management.Danial L. ClapperDanial L. Clapper is Assistant Professor of Management Information Systems in the School of Business at Clarkson University. He received a Ph.D. in decision sciences from Georgia State University. His current research focuses on the impact of group support systems technology on group dynamics and outcomes. Other research interests include the theoretical foundations of meeting support and the design of group support tools.

• 저널Journal of Management Information Systems · 11(4) · 149–176
• 토픽Team Dynamics and Performance · Social Psychology
• DOI10.1080/07421222.1995.11518063
• 저자Anne Massey, Danial L. Clapper