Introduction
Organizations have numerous activities that run concurrently, and the synchronization of these activities is necessary to enhance their efficiency and effectiveness, organizational communication being one of the greatest pillars of success (Hussain 2008). Changes in the principles of efficient organizational communication have been drastic. Recent developments in addressing team ineffectiveness involve using technology to meet the growing needs and responsibilities of organizational members (Velte, Velte, & Elesenpeter 2008).
The DHL Company has utilised the group support system (GSS) as an instrumental tool in enhancing the group meeting effectiveness via the electronic communication support that is designed to improve the modern communication systems in the business environment. This analytical paper shows how the DHL Company uses systems to generate value.
DHL Company Systems Used to Generate Value
Due to unceasing competition, organizational leaders at the DHL Company are trying to curtail expenditures, augment the quality of their products, provide better customer service, and concentrate on research and development. Groups, rather than individuals, make important decisions at the company through proactive communication exchange. Due to the geographical locations of team members at the DHL Company, such communication is not always possible. Another problem with face-to-face communication is that each individual has less time to express his or her ideas and thoughts. This type of drawback is known as air fragmentation (Tomlinson, 2010).
There is also a possibility of domination by a single person. People fear to express their views because they are afraid that if their ideas or thoughts are significant others will laugh at them (Sheldon & Yoxon 2002). Another reason for not expressing ideas is that individuals believe that if their superiors do not like their ideas or thoughts, they may receive a reprimand or a demotion. These challenges necessitated the adoption of a GSS system at the DHL Company as a strategy for effective communication management.
A GSS is a set of approaches, technology, and software whose primary function lies in using techniques that focus on improving communication and decision making during group meetings (Cassidy 1998). Introducing GSS at the DHL organization, especially within group meeting settings, has contributed significantly to value management and lead to a new powerful network that shapes ethical and moral values among individuals operating within the organization. The integration of technology-supported systems into a collaboration model of the organization has facilitated the prediction of performance and productivity outcomes through the GSS platforms such as a webinar, Direct Collaboration Service, and the Video Teleconferencing-Sysco (Sheldon & Yoxon 2002).
A webinar is a workshop form of communication transmitted through the DHL websites using video-conferencing software with an ability to produce, receive, and relay some discussed information. The platform allows members of the DHL to interact using different forms of communication techniques, including the use of direct chats, messaging services, voice calls, and direct video teleconferencing services (Kumar 2011).
Direct Collaboration Services (DCS) is a communications platform powered by the Adobe to connect online information and communication platform. It provides the DHL extensive power to communicate and coordinate its logistics operations across the globe. DCS supports direct Web conferencing, active chat services, and virtual meetings regardless of the geographical positioning of company offices across the globe (Hird 2008). The platform allows users from multiple locations to collaborate and interact through virtual networks and allows dispersed member groups to interact and participate in meetings (White 2008).
Lastly, the Video Teleconferencing-Sysco is the communication software that relays content-rich information from one person to another mainly through video-conferencing solutions, therefore, making it possible to record data acquired in the course of meetings across different regions that DHL operates in. The system is a powerful information and communication platform that provides exclusive international videoconferencing solutions and telepresence solutions at the DHL in single-source solutions and through collaborative systems (Velte, Velte, & Elesenpeter 2010). The communication tool also supports small office rooms to large conference rooms with multiple users, especially in the US and Europe operational centres of the DHL Company.
The GSS communication platforms have become particularly important for the aspects such as leadership, team building, effective communication, generating new ideas, informed decision making, employee engagement, and organizational learning at the DHL Company (Lloyd 2004). Before its implementation, most managers used to spend a considerable amount of time on meetings rather than the actual tasks and goals to achieve goals.
Group support systems such as group decision support systems (GDSS) have significant benefits because they reduce losses at the DHL Company. In addition, being interactive tools of IT, its use at the DHL has shored up the concerted efforts that are central in the completion of joint tasks. Through GSS, managers at the DHL Company are able to create innovative concepts, understand and categorize them, as well as assess them with the help of diverse voting methods (Ward & Peppard 2002). These managers apply the GSS support system in project assessments, methodological planning, development and evaluation of workflows, group development, and crisis management.
Also as part of the GSS, the Group decision room (GDR), consisting of support processes and tools that create a virtual meeting room, has been applied at the DHL Company to bring together the thinking processes of all involved logistics managers at the meeting, thus, creating a participative approach aimed at solving complex tasks. This platform works by interplaying between software and hardware in which every participant at a meeting owns a workstation. The main feature of GDR is anonymity, which means that all the participants at the meeting can contribute anonymously (Velte, Velte, & Elesenpeter 2008).
Again, there is a parallel system of work in which GDR offers contributions in clusters, which means the system can store or collect information under different or similar packages. Finally, the parallel system captures the minutes automatically (Kumar 2011).
These benefits have resulted in efficiency in conducting logistical support across the many division of the DHL Company. As part of value system, the GSS support systems offer a plausible and engaging option to the customary face-to-face conferences, and the management finds them beneficial because, without a proper communication approach deployed, conferences may return zero results and only turn out to be a waste of time.
In order to create a dynamic organization, there is a need to create an environment of free information flow. In relation to the DHL Company, the GSS approach has allowed the staff to give vent to their feelings, therefore, limiting the number of possible conflicts to zero and enhancing positive attitudes among the staff members, therefore, galvanizing them for delivering more fruitful results. In this case, the GSS strategy adopted at the DHL Company helps to address the conflict issue that occurs after regular meetings through the adoption of strategic leadership approach to conflict management (Velte, Velte, & Elesenpeter 2008).
At the DHL Company, the GDS system relies on the synchronization of people, software, hardware, and protocols to ensure that the logistical support channels work flawlessly. The integration of IT Solutions has contributed to the proliferation of much faster and more practical solutions proposed in an online setting through social networking platforms, microblogs, and discussion forums at the DHL Company. This is because the group support systems, as important sources of enhancing communication, provide a solid ground for reconstructing decisions.
Since the growth of collaborative teams is central in enabling organizational effectiveness, the DHL Company introduced the GSS system to provide new alternatives for cooperating and group decision making. Aside from enhanced communication, GSS positively contribute to human resource management at the DHL Company. This is because the GSS system has the capacity to enhance human resource management through efficient communication strategies, build collaborative teams, and promote teamwork (Velte, Velte, & Elesenpeter 2010).
The advantages of GSS at the DHL Company include secrecy, parallel contacts, computerized record-keeping, an improved and more detailed structure, and increased output (Sheldon & Yoxon 2002). Secrecy permits the anonymous sharing of thoughts, which in turn boosts the level of confidence among people to participate in the process (Ward & Peppard 2002). As a result of the integration of secrecy, the team members at the DHL Company can share their opinions without being afraid of a reproachful attitude of the manager, who may disagree with the statements voiced during the meeting.
In the ideal application of the GSS at the DHL Company, the system records remarks, voting status, and other important data given by a group. As there is an automatic record-keeping facility in GSS, the obtained records are automatically transferred into an e-file (Ward & Peppard 2002). The advantage of this kind of facility is that the team members or the managers need not carry hard copies of the records whenever and wherever required. In other words, they do not have to keep mental track of the proceedings (Sheldon & Yoxon 2002). The group support systems minimize the distractions between teams that are working toward a common aim of completing a particular venture or assignment (Poniatowski 2010), which helps in avoiding rushed and imperfect assessments at the DHL Company.
Conclusion
Collaborating technology and group decision making is vital for culturally diverse settings. To integrate this environment, employees must have new tools and skills for collaboration. In the case of the DHL Company, integration of the GSS systems have improved on efficiency in decision making since they system integrates technology support and process support, both of which involve design tasks, application tasks, and management tasks.
The DHL Company chose the GSS because it decreases travelling costs, increases the effectiveness of decision making, and creates a working atmosphere, where ideas occur quickly, and the air of innovation surrounds the work process. The main aim of the GSS is to improve the effectiveness of group collaboration by expediting the distribution of data between the team members. Because of the promptness of communication and the absence of enough socio-zealous signs displayed in computer-intervened communication through the GSS system, the time required for making decisions has decreased due to collaborative information technology support.
Appendix 1: Summary of the DHL Company
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