Capturing Stories in Organizational Memory Systems: The ... - CiteSeerX

Proceedings of the 28th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences - 1995

Capturing

Stories in Organizational Memory The Role of Multimedia

Systems:

V. Srinivasan Rao

Ricki Goldman-Segall

Division of Accounting and Information Systems University of Texas at San Antonio San Antonio, TX 78249

Multimedia Ethnographic ResearchLab (MERlin Lab) University of British Columbia Vancouver, BC V6T 122.

them captures the ambiguities characteristic of organizational situations, as stories do. A story is a narration of ‘a happening or a connected series of happenings’(Webster’s NewWorld Dictionary, 1986, p. 1405). The goal of a story is to convey the meaning inherent in the happening(s). Used in an organizational context, the term story would include any free-form account of a connected series of happenings. Reports, newsletters, memos and so on fall within this broad definition. Stories contain useful information (Spradley, 1980), and therefore constitute a useful component of OM. Stories provide a contextual shell for making sense of key components in many interactions. We argue that it is necessary to capture these stories as a part of any IT-based OMS. Stories may be captured in text or in multimedia format. The textual format, as is commonly used today for most reports, memos and so on, may be adequate in many cases, but there are instances when the richer multimedia format can be more representative of what transpired (GoldmanSegall, 1993). Favela and Connor (1994) also argue that systems should allow “...users to input data in formats that preserve their structure, such as audio, graphics and video.” (p. 186). In this paper, we begin with the definitions and goals of organizational memory to build a case for the capture of ambiguous stories as a part of organizational memory. We discuss the problems associated with the creation of such memory systems and discuss potential approaches to mitigate the problems. We describe ConstellationsTM, a video analysis tool, and discuss how it can be adapted for use in an OMS.

Abstract Most current conceptualizations of the use of information technology (IT) to capture, preserve and use organizational memory (OM) are based on hard data sources, such as databases and knowledge bases. Conceptualizations based on hard data sources are useful and necessary, but do not encompass the complete range of possibilities. ‘Stories’ constitute an important component of organizational memory. Multimedia technology offers a vehicle to capture stories in a rich format. In this paper, we begin with the definitions and goals of organizational memory to indicate how the multimedia story format fits into organizational memory systems (OMS). We discuss problems associated with the story format and potential ways of mitigating the problems. Then we describe ConstellationsTM, a video analysis tool, and discuss how it can be adapted for use as one of the components of OMS.

1. Introduction Organizational theorists tend to exclude files and archives from their conceptualizations of organizational memory (OM), ‘because the sheer volume presents a daunting task of interpretation..’ (Walsh and Ungson, 1991). Information technology (IT) makes the task less daunting. As Sandoe and Olfman (1994) point out ‘With its vast storage and rapid retrieval capabilities, information technology promises to be an apt vehicle for the capture, preservation and use of organizational memory.’ (p. 161). The use of IT to handle various subsets of organizational memory has been discussed by several authors. The subsets include meeting memory (Sandoe, Olfman and Mandviwalla, 1991), team memory (Morrison, 1993), information-sharing and expertise-sharing OMS (Ackermann, 1994), project memory (Favela and Connor, 1994), and knowledge bases (Chen. 1994). Each of these systems captures either data or knowledge or expertise, but none of

2. Embodiments Memory

of

Organizational

Researchers tend to discuss the embodiment of OM rather than what is OM. The exception is Krippendorf (1975) who offers the interpretive definition that OM is a concept that an observer

333

1060-3425/95$4.00 Q 1995 IEEE

Proceedings of the 28th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS '95) 1060-3425/95 $10.00 © 1995 IEEE

Proceedingsof the 28th Annual Hawaii International Conferenceon SystemSciences- 1995 invokes to explain part of a system or behavior that is not easily observed (Walsh and Ungson, 1991). Morrison (1993) dichotomizes the numerous embodiments into hard data sources (e.g., database records, standard operating policies) and soft data sources (e.g., stories, artifacts). An alternate way to classify them is to place them along a concreteabstract continuum (see Figure 1). Memory is termed concrete when it has formal, particular and precise qualities, and, abstract when it is informal, ubiquitous and equivocal (Sandoe et al, 1991). Raw data in databases constitute concrete information. Rules, standard operating policies, once stated, are concrete but are amenable to some degree of interpretation. On the other hand, stories are relatively abstract but reflect OM directly. Structure, culture and roles are aggregate embodiments of multiple learning experiences, and thus reflect memory in an indirect and abstract way. The position of each of the embodiments along the abstractconcrete continuum is not rigid, but can be said to approximately correct.

FORM Abstract Semi-abstract Semi-concrete Concrete

Figure

long time. Over time people may leave or stories may be forgotten or distorted. It is necessary to examine if there is a viable way to capture the stories using information technology for the organization’s benefit. We emphasize that each of the embodiments has a useful role to play in the preservation of organizational memory. Our goal is to attend to the embodiment that has been neglected so far by information scientists, i.e., capturing organizational memory as it is reflected in stories with the help of information technology.

2. Goals of Organizational Systems

Organizational theorists treat organizational memory as a construct. Their interest is to study the role that OM plays in organizational behavior (Walsh and Ungson, 1991). In this section, the roles of organizational memory are reviewed to infer potentially beneficial goals for organizational memory systems. The articulation of goals in this fashion allows designers of OMS to include features that are useful. Walsh and Ungson (1991) see three roles for OM in organizations: informational, control and power. Within each of these broad categories, OM serves several more specific objectives. In the informational role, OM can serve to reduce the phenomenon of ‘reinventing the wheels’, help avoid repeating past mistakes, to educate/inform new personnel on historical issues, and provide information for rewards and punishments. The control role is performed by monitoring current activities to ensure that past mistakes are not being repeated. Organizational learning draws on both the informational and control roles of OM. Learning occurs only if the necessary information is available in the memory. However, the information has to be applied to the current situation, which happens when current activities are monitored and compared against the contents of the memory. The power role of OM stems from the organization’s need to access organizational memory. Individuals in the organization who have the historical facts become central figures when such history is needed for current functioning. Ideally, an OMS will be directed at improving organizational performance. This would limit the roles that OM plays, to the informational and control roles. In particular, an OMS is not intended to either enhance or decrease anybody’s power base. Our argument for limiting the goals is this. Any attempt to capture memory is subjective and prone to errors and misinterpretation. Hence, the information in OMS has to be used carefully. When OM is used to

EMBODIMENTS Structure Culture Roles Stories Myths Knowledge bases Expert systems Std. Op. Procedures Data

1: Embodiments

Memory

of Memory

Each of these representations can be useful to the organization in different circumstances. As information scientists interested in preserving the useful elements of organizational memory, it is necessary to implement systems that allow the capture and retrieval of each of these embodiments. The technologies to deal with concrete embodiments (such as data bases) and semi-concrete embodiments (such as expert systems) of OM exist to a large extent. At the other end of the continuum, organizational structures, culture and roles are abstract embodiments and are not amenable to representation in information technologies. Stories, events and processes are semi-abstract embodiments and can be captured using multimedia technologies. Currently, embodiment of memory as stories is reposed in individuals who have been with the organization for a 334

Proceedings of the 28th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS '95) 1060-3425/95 $10.00 © 1995 IEEE

Proceedings of the 28th Annual Hawaii International Conference on SystemSciences - 1995

improve organizational decisions, the subjectivity and possible errors in the memory will reduce the efficacy of the decisions. When applied to reward or punish individuals, incorrect or biased memory could lead to injustice. Hence, OMS is best used as a repository for recall and to help with organizational learning. There is much debate about the effect of organizational memory on organizational effectiveness (Walsh and Ungson, 1991; Morrison, 1993). However, it is possible to envision how an OMS could assist in using historical information. New members can use OMS to familiarize themselves with historical information rapidly. If appropriate information retrieval mechanisms exist, then evidence of problems solved will be easily accessed preventing the reinvention phenomenon. However, the usefulness of an OMS in avoiding mist.akes similar to earlier mistakes will be difficult to ensure. Avoiding mistakes similar to those made earlier requires the user to infer lessons from historical information. The OMS provides the historical information, but the inference process is up to the user. Thus, for purposes of building an IT-based OMS, the OMS should serve as a repository for recall and a tool to enhance organizational learning. Recall serves to minimize the reinvention of wheels and to update new employees on historical information. Learning serves to avoid the repetition of mistakes.

3. Evaluating OMS

Contents

and Format

The embodiments of memory shown in Figure 1 range from high parsimoniousness to low parsimoniousness. At one extreme, OM embodied in structure/culture is very parsimonious (almost reductionist). For example, cultural values such as “the customer is always right” provide broad guidance, but do not help in specific instances when the customer becomes unreasonable. It is an instance of encased learning, which ‘..produces blindness and rigidity that may breed full-blown crises’ (Nystrom and Starbuck, 1984, p.53). A total reliance on such memory to guide future actions restricts the organization to react in set patterns, i.e., routine responses. Routine responses to non-routine situations is not desirable (Walsh and Ungson, 1991). The other extreme of embodying OM in the form of unanalyzed or unfiltered raw data (in text, numerical, audio or video form) is not parsimonious. The detailed nature of the memory makes the task of analysis very cumbersome. Representing OM in the form of standard operating procedures, expert systems, knowledge bases and so on, and in the story format are both parsimonious. In all cases, the parsimony comes at a price. Knowledge engineers distill the knowledge of experts to build expert systems and knowledge bases, and editors sift through irrelevant and redundant information to piece together a story. To ensure that rules are not being applied blindly, the OMS must require effortful use of the system (Walsh and Ungson, 1991). Expert systems and standard operating procedures codify the lessons from the past. Expert systems and standard operating procedures do permit discretion at the time of decision making, but the loss of contextual information over a period of time leads to the rules and procedures becoming hard and fast. The need for context is argued by Ackermann (1994). Stories retain some of the contextual information along with any lesson learnt. In other words, the use of stories is more effortful, not an automated application of rules or procedures. It can be argued that stories, therefore would prevent blind application of lessons. A second advantage of stories over standard operating procedures or expert systems is that it is a better vehicle to transmit history to newcomers. The disadvantage of stories is that the time and effort required to infer and apply lessons from stories is greater than the quick application of rules previously formulated. In sum, we argue that the story format should be included along with other embodiments of OM in OMS. The story form is relatively parsimonious, and can be rich in content and context. But the story form is not without problems.

of

Once the goals of an OMS are specified, the contents that are required can be inferred. Three primary goals have been articulated: (a) not to reinvent wheels, (b) not to repeat mistakes and (c) to update new employees on historical information. The first two goals require information on previous decisions, the reasons for the decisions and the outcome along with reasons for any deviations from expected outcomes. The third goal of updating newcomers requires all these and a record of salient acts, events and processes. The criteria for selecting the format in which these are to be recorded will be discussed next. Sandoe et al (1991) used three dimensions for classifying different methods of capturing meeting memory, i.e., completeness, accessibility and relevance. The dimensions can also serve as criteria for evaluating the contents and formats of OMS. We would like to suggest the replacement of ‘completeness’ with ‘parsimony’ and ‘representativeness’. Completeness, while desirable, is impractical. Parsimony is required for practical reasons, while high representativeness ensures that there is minimal distortion of the information.

335

Proceedings of the 28th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS '95) 1060-3425/95 $10.00 © 1995 IEEE

Proceedings of the 28th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences - 1995

4. The Format

Problems

with

the

Story

5. Chunking The concept of ‘chunking’ (Goldman-Segall, 1989) information offers a method to minimize the problems mentioned . A ‘chunk’ is a discrete amount of information that conveys meaning to the reader / viewer. It is not essential to store the original chunk. For instance, a video chunk can be summarized into text. However, it may be advisable to store information in the original chunk to avoid losing the meaning in translation.

The story format raises two issues. First, stories tend to have a single dominant theme that determines what information is significant enough to be retained. Second, stories are subjective interpretations of a set of events and thus potentially biased.

Single theme: Complex organizational

stories would be analogous to novels in that they would have multiple themes embedded in them. The simpler organizational stories would be analogous to short stories, and would have a single dominant theme. Good novels are carefully crafted works of art that take years of time. It is unlikely that complex organizational stories with multiple themes will be crafted. It is more likely that simpler stories will be with a singular theme will be crafted. The thematic nature of stories aids in the process of remembering a story and emphasizing the lesson to be learnt from it. But, the specific theme that would be useful will depend on the problem to be solved. A theme which is ideal to convey one set of lessons may be totally unsuitable for a different set. For instance, an organization may decide to capture the stories related to the launching of each new product. The story related to the launching of a product may include segments on test marketing, advertising (with further sub-themes as TV advertising, radio advertising and so on), key customers and so on. When a new product is to be launched, the format chosen to store stories of earlier product launches would be convenient if the decisionmaker needed to review the stories of how similar products were launched. It would be less than convenient if the decisionmaker needed to understand just advertising related issues. It would entail going through several stories as opposed to having an ‘advertising’ story for reference.

Chunking and multiple themes: The chunks of information (in video, or audio, or textual) will constitute a database. In effect, the database can be thought of as a set of interwoven stories. The user can retrieve and reorganize chunks to construct stories along a theme that is pertinent to the user. For instance, if the chunks are stored in sequence to tell the stories of product launches, it will be possible to retrieve just the chunks on advertising from all the products to create a story on advertising. The concept of using chunked data is currently being applied to ethnographic analysis (Goldman-Segall, 1990b) and to interactive cinema (Davenport, Smith and Pincever, 199 1).

Chunking

and point of view: Chunking has features that can either mitigate or aggravate the idiosyncratic aspects of certain points of view. Idiosyncratic aspects of a point of view are mitigated because the structure of the story is fluid and can be tested for alternate interpretations by the user. So, while it is true that the original author may have a biased perspective, subsequent users will be able to probe the story for biases. The idiosyncratic aspects of certain points of view may be aggravated or overemphasized by the chunking process in two ways. First, chunking involves isolating pieces of information. The isolated pieces of information taken out of context is subject to misinterpretation. Second, the sequencing of chunks can substantially alter the meaning of the event. The isolation issue is addressed by specifying guidelines for the creation of chunks. The guideline offered is that content granularity of a chunk must be such that it includes the context for the primary piece of information in the chunk. For example, if one were trying to capture a decision maker’s response to a suggestion, it maybe relevant to know more than whether the answer was a yes or a no. The primary piece of information may be the ‘yes’decision, but in a historical perspective, it may be useful to know if the decision was an enthusiastic acceptance or a reluctant acceptance of the suggestion. The chunk of information should provide this information also. The

Potential bias: Bias, deliberate or inadvertent, can result from the choice of acts to record, the sequence of recording, the editorial comments and so on. The potential for bias is independent of medium used to record the information, and is true of other fields attempting to summarize information, such as history, journalism, art and so on. It is necessary seek ways to minimize bias, (Goldman-Segall, 1994) although it may be necessary to accept that it is impossible to eliminate bias altogether. The problems of one dominant theme and potential bias can be minimized by the use of chunks and by appropriate annotations.

336

Proceedings of the 28th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS '95) 1060-3425/95 $10.00 © 1995 IEEE

Proceedings of the 28th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences - I995

authors concede that the suggested guideline is somewhat vague. More specific guidelines can be proposed only after extensive experience with creating organizational memories based on the intuitions of those creating the memories. The problems that can arise as a result of manipulating sequencing is described by Dancyger (1993). Dancyger cites a study by two filmmakers, Pudokovin and Kuleshov. The filmmakers ‘used the same shot of the actor juxtaposed with three different follow-up shots: a bowl of soup standing on a table, a shot of a coffin containing a dead woman, and a little girl playing with a toy. Audience responses to the three sequences suggested a hungry person, a sad husband and a happy adult, and yet the first shot was always the same.’ (p. 16). Once again, this illustrates the care needed to capture not just the meaning of an act, but the spirit of acts and events also. The appropriate balance on the issue of reflecting the idiosyncrasy in a point of view is difficult to assess. At one extreme is the attitude of some anthropologists to lay bare every potential source of bias. At the other extreme is the attitude of the propagandists, who make a deliberate attempt to convey a particular point of view. Anthropologists (for example, Geertz, 1973; Bateson, 1984) have long struggled with the issue. Anthropologists argue that any account of what is observed is biased by the goals, methodologies and opinions of the observer. Furthermore, they argue that the very act of observing alters the environment that is being observed. In an effort to put the interpretations in perspective and thus expose the possible effects of specific points of view, most modern anthropologists clearly describe their involvement in the cultures they study. Studies in film editing have shown that editing can be used to reflect reality or to distort reality (Dancyger, 1993). Film editors in the constructive editing school chose not only to tell stories but to interpret and draw intellectual conclusions. They felt their role was not to adapt, but to create a new reality, irrespective of the veracity of the new reality, such as is typical of propaganda. OMS needs to avoid both extremes. The extreme of including all information that indicate the potential for bias is impractical in a parsimonious system. The other extreme of creating a new reality at odds with known facts results in a memory that is likely to be detrimental to the organization. A flexible OMS that allows the user to examine the possibility of alternate explanations is a close approximation of a viable OMS.

Trigg, Suchman and Halasz, 1986). Annotations serve mainly to counterbalance bias. They are not useful or intended to create multiple themes. Goldman-Segall, basing her arguments on Geertz’s theory of thick descriptions (1973), sees annotation as the means to build a thick description of video data. Thick descriptions are descriptions that bring the reader or viewer as close to the spirit and intention of the event(s) being documented as possible without the reader / viewer actually being at the event(s). The argument that annotations can help in reducing bias can be extended to multimedia data. Each person viewing a chunk of data is able to include his/her interpretations in the system, thus leading to multiple interpretations of the same data. Deliberate or inadvertent bias in the interpretation by one of the annotators will be balanced by interpretations of other annotators. Thus anybody who views it later has the benefit of the multiple earlier interpretations in understanding the data. Trigg et al classify the substance of collaborative interactions into substantive (content of work), annotative (comments about substance) and procedural (comments about procedures and conventions). Conklin and Begeman (1988) discuss the issues associated with dealing with the three kinds of information in the IBIS framework. The main point being raised here is that multiple annotations of same data provide a mechanism to reduce the bias inherent in any mechanism to store historical information. Annotations allow alternate or complementary interpretations of data to be stored. An impartial user of the OMS is able to examine the multiple interpretations, and is thus less likely to be influenced by any one set of biases in the historical information available. 7. CONSTELLATIONSTM ConstellationsTM is a hypermedia tool designed primarily to analyze video data (for detailed description of earlier versions of tools, see GoldmanSegall, 1990a, 1990b). The original intent of the system was to develop a computer-based system to help conduct video-based ethnographic studies of the thinking styles of children. As such many of the features were aimed at helping researchers to select and organize video chunks, and then conduct analyses. The metaphor of ‘constellations’ was chosen in the context of the original domain (video data analysis in education). In the current description, we will continue to use the same metaphor to represent how stars (chunks) can be linked together to form constellations (stories). ConstellationsTM is basically designed to select, organize and navigate through a collection of video chunks. The features included in the system are

6. Annotations The use of annotations to clarify issues has been suggested by several authors (Goldman-Segall, 1991; 337

Proceedings of the 28th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS '95) 1060-3425/95 $10.00 © 1995 IEEE

Proceedingsof the 28th Annual Hawaii International Conferenceon SystemSciences- 1995 Most of the other options available to the users can be seen on the sample screen shown in Figure 2. In the top left-hand quadrant, the box for ‘topics’ allows the user to identify the potential areas of interest for analysis that the chunk may be relevant to. In the screen shown, the chunk of video is considered significant for the “gestures” that the subject, John, used during communication, for his explanations of what “energy” is and for a third topic labeled “connections”. A significance measure can be assigned to each topic that the chunk is considered relevant to. In general, the use of such significance measures is more useful, when there is a shared standard for rating each topic. The vertical bar with a sliding knob can be used to rate the significance of the chunk. Subsequent users can rate the same chunk on each of the existing topics or on new topics.

relevant to the video data analysis application. These will be described first and then scenarios for their use as an OMS will be provided. Finally, we will discuss the enhancements that are necessary for an effective OMS. Salient features of ConstellationsTM: ConstellationsTM includes features for (a) delineating segments of information to form chunks, (b) annotating, classifying and rating significance of chunks, (c) linking chunks to form constellations, (d) reviewing constellations, chunks and associated annotations, and (e) elaborating on existing constellations and adding annotations to existing chunks. The screen for the initial segmentation process to create the chunks (not shown) allows the user to select the type of data to be displayed (text, video, audio and so on), mark the segment to be included in the chunk, describe each chunk and rate the significance of that chunk.

Fig 2. Salient

Features

of

ConstellationsTM

338 Proceedings of the 28th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS '95) 1060-3425/95 $10.00 © 1995 IEEE

Proceedingsof the 28th Annual Hawaii International Conferenceon SystemSciences- 1995

8. Using a Video Analysis Tool as an OMS

The box for ‘annotations’ can be used to annotate the chunk. The box for participants allows the user to indicate who were the persons involved in the chunk. This may include persons who may not be represented on the chunk, e.g., person who was operating the camera or the interviewer. The box for ‘constellations’ allows the user to include the chunk in a new constellation or link it to other chunks in an existing constellation. The chunks are assimilated in a database. To retrieve chunks that meet certain criteria, the user can employ the facilities in the lower right-hand quadrant. The user can specify the author(s), the topic(s) and the participant(s) associated with the chunks of interest. The chunks meeting the criteria will be displayed in a table form in the lower left-hand quadrant. Note that the associated constellations and annotations are also listed. The chunk of interest can be selected for display in the upper right-hand quadrant. When this is done, information that relates to the displayed chunk will be shown in the upper left-hand quadrant. A new user can rate the significance of the chunks for topics of his I her choosing (new or existing), make annotations and add the chunks to existing or new constellations. In this way, the multiple perspectives associated with chunks are maintained. Also constellations are being created which reflect the multiple themes that are being created from the chunks.

The objectives of a video analysis tool and that of an OMS may be different, but the underlying activities are very similar. In analyzing video data, the researcher is seeking understanding of the phenomenon under study with a view to contributing to knowledge. The steps consist of capturing the information, filtering and condensing the information, dividing into meaningful chunks and annotating the chunks. The information being captured is a limited sample of a natural phenomenon or of a controlled study. The primitives for identifying chunks will be dependent on the research question(s). Multiple annotations are desirable to enrich the interpretation of data, i.e., to yield thick descriptions. The linking and re-integration of selected chunks is to highlight underlying themes. In using an OMS, the employee is seeking historical information that may bear on a current problem. The information that has to be captured is a near endless stream of ongoing activities. A constant set of primitives for classifying chunks of information will help the search process. This is evidently a difficult goal to accomplish, but one towards which we have to strive. Multiple annotations are necessary to ensure that any loss in context or any bias in recording is minimal. Linking and re-integrating selected chunks is an attempt to gain a better understanding of the events and even possibly discover cause-effect relationships that may be applicable to a problem on hand. The use of the video data analysis tool as an OMS can be visualized by comparing the needs of the OMS with the features of ConstellationsTM. The available multimedia data will be chunked by one or more authors initially to capture the essence of the dominant theme story (stories). There can and probably will be more than one story. For example, there may be a story with the dominant theme of launching a product, and a different story with the dominant theme of designing a nuclear reactor. The constellations will be the sub-themes put together by the users when they use the system. The scenario for using ConstellationsTM to retrieve stories would be as follows: a user of the system would first check if a constellation exists that reflects a story which is applicable for the purpose at hand. If yes, the user can review the constellation, and also explore the remaining chunks to construct new stories if necessary. If no relevant constellation exists, then the user will explore the database of chunks to create the necessary constellations. The user will annotate the chunks as appropriate.

Experience in video data analysis: It is appropriate to mention that from the research perspective, the selection of video chunks can be time consuming. In the particular use described by Goldman-Segall (199 1) using an earlier version of the software, some 80 hours of video were condensed first into about IO-hours of video, which was later condensed into six l/2 hour mini-movies. This whole process took about 6 months. Evidently, it is necessary to be able to create chunks in a reasonable amount of time. The process can be speeded up by (a) clearly defining the criteria for selecting information for inclusion in a chunk, and (b) by automating the process to the extent possible. Some work has been done on identifying what information needs to be saved (Sandoe ef al, 1991; Morrison, 1993) but further research is still necessary. Also, there is considerable work in progress for automating the process of logging, annotating and navigating through video data files (Booth et al, 1993; Harrison and Becker, 1992).

339

Proceedings of the 28th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS '95) 1060-3425/95 $10.00 © 1995 IEEE

Proceedings of the 28th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences - 1995

However, a more realistic implementation of the system would require further enhancements. Enhancements: There are potentially four enhancements that would increase the usefulness of Constellationsm in OMS. The first three enhancements relate to integrating the system with the diverse sources and formats of information that comprise an OMS. The fourth enhancement relates to time stamping video. The first enhancement desirable is to capture information from diverse sources, e.g., relevant logs from meetings using a group support system, voice mail, spreadsheets and so on. Second, since other embodiments of organizational memory exist, e.g., databases, expert systems, the ability to use the current OMS in conjunction with the databases and DSS is desirable. Third, there must exist means to integrate information into standard software packages. Our premise is that information stored in the OMS should not be manipulated further, i.e., the text cannot be edited, a spreadsheet in memory will be static, the video will not be edited further and so on. However, it may be necessary to allow the decisionmaker or the person analyzing the historical information to perform manipulations. For instance, the spreadsheet showing the budget may be a chunk of information in OMS, but because it is in the OMS, it should not be manipulable. But, the spreadsheet should be exportable to another active worksheet where the decisionmaker can manipulate it. The fourth enhancement desirable is the ability to time stamp to reflect the date and time of creation. This is particularly true of video. The goal is to indicate the points where video has been edited. Admittedly, all information is digitized and as such is not protected from tampering. Time stamping makes the tampering more difficult by creating yet another point that has to be made consistent to escape detection. Also, hopefully, the cadre of people with adequate knowledge to tamper successfully will be a limited number. In sum, a video analysis tool has the basic features necessary to capture, store, organize and retrieve the story component of organizational memory. A mandatory time stamping feature needs to be included. In the long run, it must be integrated with the other components of OMS to provide maximum effectiveness.

9. Limitations We have described a system that can potentially be used to deal with the story component of an organizational memory system. The viability of such a system in a real organization is subject to certain

limitations being overcome. We list some of the limitations. First, we have not addressed how these OMS will be populated with information. There is an implicit assumption that the necessary information can be captured. Evidently, capturing information in an organization is cumbersome now. But in a hypothetical organization of the future, where most interactions are electronically mediated (for example, videoconferencing, group support systems, electronic mail, telephone, voice mail and so on) , the information can be captured. Informal face-to-face meetings will not be captured, so participants will have to be encouraged to input data into the OMS at regular intervals. Second, the chunks that need to be stored have to be identified, logged and annotated. This editing process will require inordinate amounts of time and effort, if done manually. It is unlikely that any system relying on manual performance of these editing functions will be successful. Methods to automate these functions will have to be developed. Researchers are currently working on projects in-this area (Booth et al, 1994; Harrison and Becker, 1992). Third, current technology is inadequate to store the amount of information that would be necessary for an OMS to be useful. For instance, one second of high-quality 16-bit audio translates into 176.4 kilobytes (kB), while one second of moving images at 30 frames per second demands upto 27,648 kB (Cole, 1993, p. 32). Presumably, technological advances will lead to a practical multimedia system for OMS in the future. Current technology is adequate to demonstrate the concept and to study behavioral problems in the use of such systems. Fourth, there are no clear guidelines to indicate which component of OM is most appropriate to assist with a new situation. Each component is useful under different circumstances. For instance, where routine responses are needed for routine situations, a decision support system or expert system may be adequate, but when non-routine situations are encountered, an effortful search of the OMS may be needed. There are no clear guidelines to recognize a new situation as routine or non-routine. Fifth, there exists a potential for information retained in OMS to be intentionally or inadvertently biased. But, this is true of all historical archives. While OMS can be designed to minimize the possibility of bias being permanently encoded, it cannot eliminate bias altogether.

10. Concluding

Remarks

Organizational memory is embodied in many forms. Most designs for capturing organizational memory have focused on hard data sources. We have

Proceedings of the 28th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS '95) 1060-3425/95 $10.00 © 1995 IEEE

Proceedings of the 28th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences -

Goldman-Segall, Ricki, ‘Thick descriptions: A tool for designing ethnographic interactive video discs,’ SIGCHI Bulletin, Vol 21, No. 2, October 1989, pp. 118-122. Goldman-Segall, R., ’ Learning Constellations: A multimedia research environment for exploring children’s theory-making. In I. Hare1 (Ed.) Constructionist Learning. Cambridge, MA: MIT Media Laboratory, 1990a. Goldman-Segall, Ricki, ‘Learning Constellations: A multimedia ethnographic research environment using video technology to explore children’s thinking.’ Unpublished doctoral dissertation, MIT Media Lab, Cambridge, MA, 1990b. Goldman-Segall, Ricki, ‘A multimedia research tool for ethnographic investigation,’ In I. Hare1 and S. Papert (Eds), Constructionism, Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishers, 1991. Video Data: Goldman-Segall, Ricki, ‘Interpreting Introducing a “Significance Measure’ to Layer Description,’ Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, Vol 2, No 3, 1993, pp. 261-281. Goldman-Segall, Ricki, ‘Challenges facing researchers using multimedia data: Tools for layering significance,’ Computer Graphics, Vol 28, No 1, Feb 1994, pp. 48-51. Goldman-Segall,Ricki, ‘Whose story is it, anyway? An Multimedia, ethnographic answer,’ IEEE (forthcoming). Harrison, Beverly H., and Ron Baecker, ‘Designing video annotation and analysis systems,’ Proceedings of Graphics Interface ‘92, pp. 157-166. Krippendorf, K., ‘Some principles of information storage and retrieval in society,’ General Systems, Vol 20, 1975, pp. 15-35. Morrison, Joline, ‘Team memory: Information management for business teams,’ In Nunamaker, J. and R.H. Sprague (Eds) Proceedings of the Twenty-Sixth Hawaii International Conference in Systems Sciences, Vol 4, 1993, 122-131. Nystrom, P.C., and W.H. Starbuck, ‘To avoid organizational crises, unlearn,’ Organizational Dynamics, Vol 12, pp. 53-65. Sandoe, K., L. Olfmann, M. Mandviwalla, ‘Meeting in Time: Recording the Workgroup Conversation,’ Proceedings of the Twelfth International Conference on Information Systems, 1991 (New York), 261-272. Sandoe, K., and L. Olfman, ‘Organizations of memory: A simulation,’ In J. Nunamaker and R.H. Sprague (Eds.), Hawaii Proceedings of the Twenty-selfenth International Conference on Systems Sciences, Vol 4, 1994, 161-170. Spradley, J.P., Participant Observation, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York: 1980. Trigg, R., Lucy Suchman and Frank Halasz, ‘Supporting collaboration in Notecards,’ Proceedings of the CSCW ‘86, Austin, TX: 1986. Walsh, J.P. and G.R. Ungson. ‘Organizational memory’. Academy of Management Review, Vol 16, No 1, Jan 1991, 57-91. Webster’s NewWorld Dictionary, Second College Edition, Prentice Hall Press, New York: 1986.

discussed the need for OMS to deal with the story component of organizational memory. We have also discussed how a video data analysis tool can, with a few enhancements, serve as a part of the OMS. The video analysis tool has been implemented and has been in use for more than three years. The adaptation of the tool to serve as one component of an OMS is in the conceptual stage.

Acknowledgments 1. This research is partly funded by a Strategic Grant

from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada to Prof Kelly Booth and others on ‘Logging, Annotation and Navigation for Hypermedia Video Analysis Tools’. 2. Monika Marcovici, Lar Halff, and Scott Flinn are working Goldman-Segall on the latest version of ConstellationsTM at the MERlin Lab, the UBC Faculty of Education’s Ethnographic

1995

Research Lab.

3. The authors would like to thank anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments.

References Ackermann, M., ‘Definitional and contextual issues in organizational and group memories,’ In J. Nunamaker and R.H. Sprague (Eds.), Proceedings of the Twentyseventh Hawuii International Conference on Systems Sciences, Vol 4, 1994, 191-200. Arijon, Daniel, Grammar of the Film Language, SilmanJames Press, Los Angeles, CA: 1976. Bateson, M.C., With a Daughter’s Eye, Pocket Books, New York. 1984. Booth, Kelly and Others, ‘Logging, Annotation and Navigation for Hypermedia Video Analysis Tools’ NSERC Strategic Grant Proposal, 1993. Chen, H., ‘An algorithmic approach to building concept space for a scientific community,’ In J. Nunamaker and R.H. Sprague (Eds.), Proceedings of the Twentyseventh Hawaii International Conference on Systems Sciences, Vol 4, 1994, 201-210. Cole, Bernard, ‘The technology framework,’ IEEE Spectrum, March 1993. Conklin, Jeff and Michael Begeman, ‘glBIS: A HyperText tool for Exploratory Policy Discussion,’ ACM Transactions on Office Information Systems, Vol 6, No. 4, Ott 1988, pp. 303-33 1. Dancyger, Ken, The Technique of Film and Video Editing, 1093, Focal Press: Boston, MA. Davenport, Ci., T.A. Smith, and N. Pincever, ‘Cinematic Primitives for Multimedia,’ IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, July 1991, pp. 67-74. Favela, J., and J.J. Connor, ‘Accessing corporate memory in networked organizations,’ In J. Nunamaker and R.H. Sprague (Eels.), Proceedings of the Twentyseventh Hawaii International Conference on Systems Sciences, Vol 4, 1994, 181- 190. Geertz, Clifford. The Interpretation of Cultures, New York: Basic Books. 1973.

341

Proceedings of the 28th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS '95) 1060-3425/95 $10.00 © 1995 IEEE