Synchronous Communication
Team members meet at the same
time, but not necessarily at the same
geographic location.
It may include conference calls, faceto-face-meetings, or online meetings
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Asynchronous Communication
Team members do not meet at the
same time or in the same geographic
location.
It may include discussion forums or
email exchanges.
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Q2 – How can you use collaboration systems to improve
team communication?
Fig 2-1 Information Technology for Communication
© Pearson Prentice Hall 2009
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Q2 – How can you use collaboration systems to improve
team communication?

Virtual meetings don’t require everyone to be in the same place at
the same time.

Conference calls – can be difficult to arrange the right time

Multiparty text chat – easier to arrange if everyone has mobile texting

Videoconferencing – requires everyone to have the proper equipment



Email – most familiar but has serious drawbacks in content
management
Discussion forums – content is more organized than email
Team surveys – easy to manage but don’t provide very much
interactive discussion
© Pearson Prentice Hall 2009
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