ABSTRACT
Essentially, a group of subjects were allowed to pass messages among themselves to solve a series of problems. Subjects' choices of comnunications channels were constrained to disallow certain selections. All processes are described in terms of message sequences. The message identification data are used to accurately define the setting, timing, and place in sequence of any message. The content of the message is divided into three portions: the task process content, the change in task process content, and the non-task-oriented process content. In fact, there are powerful analytical procedures in the management sciences for planning such processes. Social processes, especially those involving interacting persons, are more difficult to describe because the states and actions to move between states tend to be more ambiguous, less orderly, more contingent upon previous states and action, more involved with other processes, and more subject to abrupt alterations. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
