Case Incident 1 Chapter 6 P 208
Case Incident 1 Chapter 6 P 208
Question 6-14
In what ways do you think collaboration overload can have an impact on decision making?
I think collaboration overload is a risky idea mainly because collaborating can cause self-
doubt and before you know it, your initial plan is tossed out because you get too many ideas
from others. Collaborating is okay when it’s with a few people, but sometimes people get carried
away and suddenly they’re in a room with sixteen people getting feedback on an idea that has
now been modified so much that it’s a completely different plan now. People start spending more
time on others’ ideas rather than accomplishing their own goals and working towards their idea.
It can also exhaust resources, which many people don’t realize. They start spending money on
different concepts that have nothing to do with what the goal was originally. People can also be
overwhelmed because instead of a group project with 3 people, you’re suddenly sending emails,
texts, blueprints, etc. to more than 10 people… so the decision process is slowed down because
there’s too many people involved. Collaboration is often needed in organizations, but it’s
something to be mindful of.
Question 6-15
What biases do you think play into managers continued use of collaboration tools and modes?
I think managers use collaboration tools and modes because it’s easier for them to see
how all of the employees work, especially when they work together. I think teachers actually use
the same concept, except they don’t really benefit as managers do. Managers can use their
employees’ collaborated ideas and see what kind of headspace they are in. Maybe some
employees have a lot of potential with their goals and ideas, and maybe some don’t. They can
see everyone’s strengths and weaknesses in a collaborative effort. This way, managers can
decide who their top performers are and who has the best ideas for the organization. They use
team efforts to see if work can be done efficiently and properly – basically, they are more
interested in what’s best for the organization than what’s best for the collaborative teams.
Question 6-16
How does collaboration overload (e.g., requiring employees to use multiple collaboration
mechanisms or become employed in open-office environments) compare to the three ethical
decision criteria (i.e., utilitarianism, liberties/rights, and deonance) discussed in this chapter?
Collaboration overload compares to utilitarianism because the whole reason why
“collaboration overload” exists is because the collaboration is happening for the usefulness and
benefit of the organization as a whole. Utilitarianism is the idea that actions should be taken for
the betterment of the company, not just the one person. Also, collaboration is related to
liberties/rights because it gives everyone the chance to voice their concerns and opinions, and
their team can give feedback/suggestions to improve the idea. Collaboration overload compares
to the three ethical decision criteria because although it is mainly done for the betterment of the
organization, it also gives each employee that is involved to feel like what they have to “add on”
will matter in the final decision. It is probably not best for an organization to have an overload,
since it uses a lot of resources and slows down the decision making process, but organizations
seem to think that employees collaborating is still a good idea (and an efficient one at that).