新科技對小團體決策之影響：從電腦中介傳播談起

Abstract

電腦中介傳播因其溝通成本低、效率高的優點而被引入組織，使得工作小團體利用網路傳播進行決策的機會大增。本研究以決策功能論的觀點，從電腦中介傳播之特性探討在不同傳播情境下，小團體決策的有效性及小團體成員對於此決策工作看法的評估。依據相關文獻，本研究做出五個假設：(1)團體成員對於決策過程中時間壓力的感受，網路同步討論與面對面討論應無明顯差異；(2)使用網路進行溝通之團體，成員的討論參與程度均較面對面討論為高；(3)對於決策工作複雜難解程度的看法，面對面團體與網路同步團體相似，而網路非同步討論團體對決策工作最能充份瞭解；(4)小團體成員的決策有效性滿意程度，面對面團體與網路同步討論團體的滿意程度相似，而網路非同步討論團體較低；及(5)小團體成員對決策過程的滿意程度，面對面與網路同步討論團體沒有明顯差異，而網路非同步團體的滿意程度最低。 本研究以實驗法來驗證以上五個假設，設計出面對面、網路同步及網路非同步討論等三個決策討論情境，每一情境使用三人小團體各15組，共進行45組實驗；以後測問卷對小團體成員對決策過程與結果的感受進行評量後，再做統計分析。主要研究結論如下：(1)網路同步與面對面討論在時間壓力方面並沒有明顯差異，顯示電腦中介傳播在此方面並不會影響決策討論的進行；(2)三個傳播情境在決策參與程度方面沒有明顯差異，電腦中介傳播並不如想像中可以鼓勵小團體成員參與討論；(3)在本研究中，即使網路非同步傳播使小團體成員得以掌握所有往來訊息，也不能增加對決策工作的瞭解；(4)有經驗的網路使用者進行網路同步討論後，對決策結果滿意程度與面對面討論者並無差異；網路非同步討論之溝通不連續性使得受試者對決策過程及決策結果的滿意度皆較另兩個傳播情境低，且可能未達真正共識；及(5)網路同步與面對面討論在傳播過程滿意度方面的差異甚少，顯示足夠的網路使用經驗可幫助受試者在進行決策討論時發揮傳播功能。

As the population of Internet users grows, the likelihood that this technology is applied to decision making is greatly enhanced. This study investigates this issue by comparing the decision making of face-to-face communication with that of computer mediated communication. Forty-five three-person groups were recruited by this study, which were assigned to the three conditions, face-to-face communication, computer mediated communication with synchronous interactions, and computer mediated communication with asynchronous interactions. The differences of the three types of decision-making groups were compared in terms of the perceptions of group members' (1) time pressure, (2) degree of participation, (3) comprehension of the group task, (4) satisfaction of the group's effectiveness, and (5) satisfaction of the decision-making processes. The majority of the findings show no significant differences between the face-to-face groups and the groups of computer mediated communication with synchronous interactions. However, many significant differences were discovered between the face-to-face groups and the groups of computer mediated communication with asynchronous interactions. More detailed discussions of these findings were in this thesis.