Meetings as a Site to Negotiate Mobile Control

When mobile devices entered organizational meetings, there was a flurry of responses that sometimes resulted in misunderstandings. Olivia is a manager who’s trying to adapt to her vice president’s strict rule of “no thumbs under the table.” But her direct boss keeps bugging her while she’s in other meetings. Cedric is a mid-level manager in a global advertising firm who is confident his constant BlackBerry use conveys how productive he is; but the president thinks mobile use in his meetings hinders listening. Four key findings emerge: (1) some managers establish meeting ground rules, while others are not so clear; (2) subordinates using their mobiles in meetings are often oblivious as to how they’re being judged; (3) people often multicommunicate in meetings to essentially be two places at once; and (4) concertive control puts a normative pressure on groups that practically forces them to agree to be always reachable.