Problem-solving by total productive maintenance swift teams: communication network structure, media choice and team effectiveness

PurposeThis study aims to look at the performance, communication structure and media choice for swift teams (STs) formed with the purpose of recovering from operational emergencies in manufacturing. The problem-solving process associated with these ad hoc teams include an early stage, where the main goal is to restore the process to working conditions, and a later stage, longer in duration, where the root cause of the problem is found and eliminated.Design/methodology/approachBased on field data from an industrial manufacturing operation, the authors test hypotheses by means of regression models.FindingsIt was found that in the evolution from early to later stage, media usage shifts from highly synchronous to asynchronous and the structural characteristics of the teams' collaboration networks mutate as well. These effects are different when comparing high- vs low-performing teams.Research limitations/implicationsThe study contains data for only one company, limiting the external validity of the conclusions. The sample was predominantly male. Participant attrition and other potential covariates not included in the study can be additional limitations.Practical implicationsMore successful teams adapt their communication patterns more rapidly, going from an initially decentralized organization to a more centralized one. These changes in network patterns open a new view of ST’s success, based on network characteristics rather than on aggregate measures. The conclusions yield insights for interventions that may increase the success rates of these teams and reduce production line downtime.Originality/valueThe two stages in the operational emergency problem-solving process have to the authors’ knowledge not been addressed simultaneously in previous research, which is attempted in this paper as its main theoretical contribution. Moreover, previous studies dealing with ST’s success have only looked at aggregated measures impacting effectiveness and never to how their communication networks evolve along the path to problem resolution. The network view of the evolution of the ST from a relatively disorganized impromptu agglomeration of individuals to an effective problem-solving organization is to the authors’ knowledge first presented.

Motivations

News consumption requires motivation. This chapter aims to understand user needs and expectancies as motivational factors behind the consumption of mobile news. The three identified motivations of mobile phone use—sociability, entertainment, and surveillance—reveal the underlying reasoning of Asian college students about the mobile phone as an all-in-one media choice that is essential to socialize, entertain, and stay informed. Moreover, surveillance as a civic motivation is positively related to expectancies of mobile news as being interactive and personally valuable. These motivations sought from mobile phone use and usability attributes of mobile news, both civic and practical, manifest the desire of Asian college students to access news on their phones for intentional and active consumption.

Media Choice and the Polarization of Public Opinion About Covid-19 in Brazil

Brazil is one of the countries most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Yet, while rates of contagion and deaths increase over time, polls show that opinions about the pandemic become less concerned about the virus and less supportive of mitigation measures. According to observers, a key factor in this process is President Bolsonaro’s denialist stance. In this paper, we show that patterns of media choice help explain how Bolsonaro influences public opinion over time. Using three online surveys conducted at different stages of the pandemic, we show that the divergence in views about the pandemic is driven largely by Bolsonaro supporters who prefer to consume news online. The findings have implications not just for understanding the politicization of the pandemic in Brazil, but also for the relationship between populism and mass communications in the social media era.

The Influence of Regulatory Focus on Media Choice in Interpersonal Conflicts

People’s choices of (electronic) communication channels are central to the quality of communication—and sometimes detrimental to their actual communication goals. However, while factors influencing media choice are abundant, potential means to intentionally influence these choices are scarce within computer-mediated communication research. We explore the role of regulatory focus as one possible factor to understand and influence media choice in interpersonal conflicts. Regulatory focus theory proposes two motivational systems, promotion (i.e., needs for nurturance and growth) and prevention (i.e., needs for safety and security), that account for differences in preferred strategies for goal-pursuit. In a vignette-based study, we manipulated the situational regulatory focus (promotion or prevention) and surveyed participants’ preferred media choice for a hypothetical conflict scenario. Our results show that the induction of a dominant prevention focus (vs. promotion focus) leads to a shift in preference towards leaner communication media and channels that establish a higher subjective buffer between sender and receiver (e.g., text-messaging over calling). We elaborate on how these findings contribute to the understanding of media choice in interpersonal conflicts and point out potential ways to influence behavior through the design of communication technologies. Limitations of the present study and future research opportunities are discussed.

Perancangan Buku Ilustrasi Sebagai Media Informasi Tentang Stres

Mental health has become a big problem in Indonesia. Adolescents are a category that is prone to stress, and is often handled inappropriately by themselves, relatives, or parents. Stress is still considered a trivial matter for most Indonesians. In fact, stress is one of the triggers for various kinds of physical and psychological ailments. The lack of interesting reading for teenagers about stress makes this phenomenon still difficult to get the first treatment before it continues to an undesirable stage. The purpose of this design is to create an illustrated book that discusses stress information with the content as simple as possible and attractive so that it is easily understood by adolescents. This design uses themethod design thinking in order to get the right problem-solving solution in designing the work. There are two media in the design, namely primary media, illustrated books, information about stress and secondary media, namely x-banners and merchandise. By designing this illustration book, it is hoped that it can become a new media choice as informative reading about stress.

Perancangan Buku Interaktif Cerita Rakyat Lombok “Monyeh”

Folklore is an oral cultural heritage that needs to be preserved because folklore is part of the cultural wealth of Nusantara. However, the lack of publications makes many folk tales still unknown to the public, especially children. One of the folk tales that are less well known to the public is the folklore from Lombok entitled monyeh. So it is necessary to have a publication media to introduce this folklore, one of which is through interactive books that can attract children to read, so they do not get bored while reading and are more informative.This interactive book of monyeh folk tales is designed using the design thinking method to get the right problem-solving solution in designing. There are two media in the design, namely the primary media of interactive folklore books, monyeh and secondary media, namely x-banners and merchandise. By designing this interactive book, it is hoped that it can become a new media choice to introduce the Lombok Monyeh folklore.