Re: suggested assignment for students (#133510)
by Maarja Krusten on April 9, 2009 at 1:15 PM

Thanks for the nice response. One can talk to people about how a U.S. President use Cabinet meetings -- Eisenhower to hash out issues, other Presidents for more pro forma meetings with details hashed out elsewhere informally. But how much sense do they get of how decision making and deliberations work? And how personalities and character types affect them?

And why sunshine can be an aid or a hindrance, depending on the group dynamic, the issues under discussion, and so forth?

Web 2.0 provides wonderful opportunities for students to debate issues, collaborate on products (I should have mentioned Wikis as well), and to figure out what inhibits communications and what encourages it. What intimdates people. What makes them feel free to drop the masks and say what is on their mind, in a way that moves issues forward. What leads people to posture or grandstand and what minimizes such behaviors. How to handle dominant personalities in groups. How to make sure quieter voices are heard, not just the loudest ones. What is the value of safety valves and non-public means of venting. Why people look for workarounds and backchannels if they are restricted to certain means of communications. The same things come up in most workplaces, including within the White House. One can read about the Bush administration, the Eisenhower administration, whatever. But until the world of web 2.0, there weren't many ways to experience such things in the virtual world.

Posted on personal time