Abstract
Task complexity has been an important part of analyses of the Group
Support System literature and relates to both task performance’s process and
outcomes. The entanglement between the human agency (e.g., users) and the
material agency (e.g., technology) should not be underestimated when
considering decision-making enacted through technology usage. A relational
concept of technology, affordances and constraints facilitates the organizational understanding of the potential of a technology as well as its sometimes unintended use. In order to assess the interaction between human and material agencies, we draw from the “imbrication” metaphor on sociomateriality. In this article, we combine the perspective of affordances with the McGrath task typology/circumplex) to study the material and human agency in the context of decision making in police work. Our approach is illustrated with field data collected during decision-making of police officers in practice. The approach proves useful to determine the outcomes of technology on High Reliability Organizations. It outlines differences between intended technology use and technology affordance as it is enacted in practice.
Support System literature and relates to both task performance’s process and
outcomes. The entanglement between the human agency (e.g., users) and the
material agency (e.g., technology) should not be underestimated when
considering decision-making enacted through technology usage. A relational
concept of technology, affordances and constraints facilitates the organizational understanding of the potential of a technology as well as its sometimes unintended use. In order to assess the interaction between human and material agencies, we draw from the “imbrication” metaphor on sociomateriality. In this article, we combine the perspective of affordances with the McGrath task typology/circumplex) to study the material and human agency in the context of decision making in police work. Our approach is illustrated with field data collected during decision-making of police officers in practice. The approach proves useful to determine the outcomes of technology on High Reliability Organizations. It outlines differences between intended technology use and technology affordance as it is enacted in practice.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Group Decision and Negotiation |
| Subtitle of host publication | Hohenheim Discussion Papers in Business, Economics and Social Sciences, Research Area NegoTrans, 16-2017 |
| Editors | Mareike Schoop, Marc Kilgour |
| Place of Publication | Stuttgart |
| Publisher | Springer |
| Pages | 415-422 |
| Publication status | Published - Aug 2017 |
| Event | 17th International Conference on Group Decision and Negotiation - University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany Duration: 14 Aug 2017 → 18 Aug 2017 Conference number: 17 |
Conference
| Conference | 17th International Conference on Group Decision and Negotiation |
|---|---|
| Abbreviated title | GDN 2017 |
| Country/Territory | Germany |
| City | Stuttgart |
| Period | 14/08/17 → 18/08/17 |
Keywords
- group support systems
- affordances
- constraints
- imbrication
- collaborative technology
- high reliability organizations