Question

Enumerate all constraints that apply to the Internet-based Collaborative Work Environment system

Answer 1

1. Lack of Face-To-Face Interaction

While online collaboration through video conferencing provides real-time communication between people, it lacks the aspect of face-to-face interaction. For instance, meeting participants cannot argue with one another simultaneously over the online platform because of longer lag times. That may sometimes limit the level of engagement of the employees in an online meeting. And when the quality of video stream is poor, it's difficult for meeting attendees to decipher facial expressions and body language of the presenter.

2. Possibility of Network Failure and Equipment Breakdown

Online collaboration might provide a range convenient and efficient meeting options but network failure and equipment breakdown might limit its use. Participating in online collaboration meetings through video conference also requires the use of huge data bundles, which can be limiting to some attendees. Running out of data bundles leads to disconnection from the internet, which bars attendees from participating in collaborative efforts of finding solutions to a project. Meeting interruptions due to any of these reasons may cause a cross-collaboration team to work beyond the scheduled timelines in order to complete the project. That can delay project discussions and subsequently decision making, which might have significant cost implications.

3. Language and Cultural Differences

The use of online collaboration software has made it easier for companies to bring together employees from different countries to collaborate in a given project. While that might be a good strategy to improve performance, differences in language and culture can limit the engagement of employees working in different regions. That means online collaboration cannot offer meaningful solutions in this case.

4. Incidences of Group Think

Bringing stakeholders from different departments and region to work together may undoubtedly inspire fresh perspectives on the project. However, there is always the threat of group think, where stronger personalities may take over the discussions, persuade and supplant the ideas of others. Such online collaborations might lead to the bosses believing the outcome is a group effort yet it's something that was agreed upon by a few. That might end up lowering the performance of a project as important ideas may be left out in the process.