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By: Roger W. Farnsworth
 a reply to Is IT Collaboration an Unnatural Act: Part 4by Roger W. Farnsworth on May 01, 2008 - 03:42 PM read 193 times Source: http://itorganization2017.wordpress.com/?p=237#comment-262 |
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Great discussion!
I think you’re correct to question the term “cognitive overload” as being a misnomer. People have the ability to process single streams of information at an incredibly high rate, so it’s unlikely that current network bandwidth or application data transfer from a single source would overwhelm someone.
At MIT, Brynjolffson and Aral have quantified a distinct inverted U curve that illustrates the impact of Web 2.0 technology on productivity. Not surprisingly, the introduction of new ICT tools helps workers multitask more effectively, leading to an initial increase in total productivity, but only up to a point. Increasing multitasking further results in increased errors, reduced efficiency and a negative impact on productivity.
Back in the 90s the cause of this productivity drain was more correctly identified as “cognitive switching cost” and is related to any environment where constant interruption and rapid change of task occurs.
A few weeks ago in my blog I highlighted some recent research at Oxford that shows that, contrary to popular belief, older workers might be better prepared to function in such an environment than their younger counterparts.
http://ciscoetl.wordpress.com/2008/02/25/hardhats-for-tomorrows-knowledge-workers/
The researchers said that younger workers (18-21) who are subjected to constant interruption exhibit symptoms similar to suffering a kick in the head and that older workers (35-39) fare much better under similar circumstances.
In any case, I firmly believe that technology must be properly combined with process and culture changes in order to result in successful adoption. Thanks for the thought-provoking discussion.
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