<s>
An	O
electronic	B-Protocol
meeting	I-Protocol
system	I-Protocol
(	O
EMS	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
type	O
of	O
computer	B-Application
software	I-Application
that	O
facilitates	O
creative	O
problem	O
solving	O
and	O
decision-making	O
of	O
groups	O
within	O
or	O
across	O
organizations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
is	O
synonymous	O
with	O
group	O
support	O
systems	O
(	O
GSS	O
)	O
and	O
essentially	O
synonymous	O
with	O
group	B-Application
decision	I-Application
support	I-Application
systems	I-Application
(	O
GDSS	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Electronic	B-Protocol
meeting	I-Protocol
systems	I-Protocol
form	O
a	O
class	O
of	O
applications	O
for	O
computer	B-Protocol
supported	I-Protocol
cooperative	I-Protocol
work	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mainly	O
through	O
(	O
optional	O
)	O
anonymization	O
and	O
parallelization	O
of	O
input	O
,	O
electronic	B-Protocol
meeting	I-Protocol
systems	I-Protocol
overcome	O
many	O
deleterious	O
and	O
inhibitive	O
features	O
of	O
group	O
work	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Similar	O
to	O
a	O
web	B-Protocol
conference	I-Protocol
,	O
a	O
host	O
invites	O
the	O
participants	O
to	O
an	O
electronic	O
meeting	O
via	O
email	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Electronic	B-Protocol
meeting	I-Protocol
systems	I-Protocol
need	O
to	O
be	O
distinguished	O
on	O
the	O
one	O
hand	O
from	O
classic	O
groupware	B-Application
,	O
on	O
the	O
other	O
from	O
web	B-Protocol
conferencing	I-Protocol
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
main	O
difference	O
from	O
groupware	B-Application
is	O
the	O
intensity	O
of	O
collaboration	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Lubich	O
's	O
classification	O
,	O
groupware	B-Application
supports	O
collaboration	O
within	O
groups	O
where	O
the	O
individual	O
contributions	O
remain	O
identifiable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
business	O
process	O
,	O
groupware	B-Application
and	O
electronic	B-Protocol
meeting	I-Protocol
systems	I-Protocol
complement	O
each	O
other	O
:	O
Groupware	B-Application
supports	O
teams	O
when	O
researching	O
and	O
creating	O
documents	O
in	O
the	O
run	O
up	O
to	O
an	O
EMS	O
session	O
or	O
when	O
implementing	O
the	O
results	O
of	O
such	O
a	O
session	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Web	B-Protocol
conferencing	I-Protocol
systems	O
and	O
electronic	B-Protocol
meeting	I-Protocol
systems	I-Protocol
complement	O
each	O
other	O
in	O
the	O
online	B-Protocol
meeting	I-Protocol
or	O
workshop	O
:	O
EMS	O
extends	O
the	O
web	B-Protocol
conferencing	I-Protocol
system	O
by	O
providing	O
interactive	O
tools	O
for	O
producing	O
and	O
documenting	O
group	O
results	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
other	O
hand	O
,	O
web	B-Protocol
conferencing	I-Protocol
systems	O
complement	O
EMS	O
with	O
the	O
screensharing	O
and	O
voice	O
conferencing	O
functionality	O
required	O
in	O
synchronous	O
online	B-Protocol
meetings	I-Protocol
and	O
not	O
present	O
in	O
EMS	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
limitation	O
to	O
local	O
(	O
"	O
same	O
place	O
"	O
)	O
meetings	O
,	O
the	O
substantial	O
infrastructure	O
requirements	O
and	O
the	O
complexities	O
of	O
controlling	O
the	B-Application
software	I-Application
prevented	O
widespread	O
adoption	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
yaM	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
pure	O
HTML	O
options	O
position	O
their	O
products	O
as	O
integrated	O
tool	O
kits	O
for	O
everyday	O
online	B-Protocol
meetings	I-Protocol
and	O
workshops	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
asynchronous	O
work	O
of	O
virtual	O
teams	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
electronic	B-Protocol
meeting	I-Protocol
system	I-Protocol
is	O
a	O
suite	O
of	O
configurable	O
collaborative	B-Application
software	I-Application
tools	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
create	O
predictable	O
,	O
repeatable	O
patterns	O
of	O
collaboration	O
among	O
people	O
working	O
toward	O
a	O
goal	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
an	O
electronic	B-Protocol
meeting	I-Protocol
system	I-Protocol
,	O
each	O
user	O
typically	O
has	O
his	O
or	O
her	O
own	O
computer	O
,	O
and	O
each	O
user	O
can	O
contribute	O
to	O
the	O
same	O
shared	O
object	O
(	O
session	O
)	O
at	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
a	O
group	O
or	O
a	O
group	O
's	O
host	O
deem	O
it	O
appropriate	O
,	O
people	O
can	O
contribute	O
anonymously	O
to	O
most	O
electronic	B-Protocol
meeting	I-Protocol
systems	I-Protocol
tools	O
:	O
this	O
allows	O
the	O
group	O
to	O
focus	O
on	O
the	O
content	O
of	O
ideas	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
their	O
sources	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
also	O
differ	O
in	O
the	O
degree	O
of	O
interoperability	O
with	O
web	B-Protocol
conferencing	I-Protocol
systems	O
for	O
screen	O
sharing	O
and	O
voice	O
conferencing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
this	O
,	O
synchronous	O
meetings	O
usually	O
require	O
support	O
by	O
a	O
voice	O
conference	O
for	O
oral	O
interaction	O
within	O
the	O
group	O
and	O
screen	O
sharing	O
by	O
web	B-Protocol
conference	I-Protocol
for	O
presenting	O
non-EMS	O
content	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Electronic	B-Protocol
meeting	I-Protocol
systems	I-Protocol
have	O
been	O
designed	O
to	O
enhance	O
group	O
effectiveness	O
,	O
efficiency	O
and	O
satisfaction	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
the	O
traditional	O
cultural	O
barriers	O
to	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
technology	O
in	O
meetings	O
have	O
been	O
overcome	O
through	O
the	O
general	O
familiarization	O
of	O
users	O
with	O
telephone	O
and	O
web	B-Protocol
conferences	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
