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Kristy Long

Collaboration tools are anti-knowledge sharing? - 7 views

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    The goal of many intranets is to centrally store corporate information so that all staff can share information across divisions, access it and use it to make work-based decisions. This article argues that while there are many organisational benefits that occur from introducing collaborative tools to an intranet, if they are not managed properly they can create information silos, and therefore become tools that support anti-knowledge sharing. The article says the strengths of collaborative tools can also become their weakness. It starts with staff forgetting to publish outcomes or finalised documents produced in a 'locked down' collaborative space to the published area of the intranet. This then potentially causes hundreds of small collaboration spaces containing important and useful corporate information that hasn't been shared with the wider group. It is this fragmentation which makes it hard to find anything. The article argues, "This is the lesson we didn't learn from Lotus Notes and we are repeating it now." (J. Robertson, 2007) Even though some documents might be published to a broader audience, those who don't have access to the full collaborative space they were produced in may lack the context to understand what they are reading and how to use it. That is, the project plan might be a working document held in a permission only collaborative space, but the change management plan might be published. Both need to be read together to provide the user with richer context. "By 'locking up' the knowledge in these spaces, organisations make knowledge sharing harder, not easier." (J. Robertson, 2007) As an intranet manager and member of a professional intranet peer group, I have witnessed this happen in many organisations. These organisations are now spending lots of money and lots of time untangling their collaborative tools. In an unmanaged environment, not only do teams create information silos, but because of the nature of the collaborative too
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    This article emphasises some weaknesses of using collaboration tools in an organisation, such as unmanaged content misplaced in the system, a lack of organizational context for new staff, and irrelevance of search results for staff. This can link to one of my selected article - Sign of the times: manufacturing and e-business blend as a digital enterprise - which mentions another weakness that is the new solution may not integrate with the organisation's existing system and the existing organisational knowledge may fail to exploit. Long (2011) comments that both organizational teams and the nature of the collaboration tools can create information silos in an unmanaged environment. I agree that no collaboration tool is perfect but I also argue that such tools become a competitive necessity of most organizations because they provide powerful service to simplify business process and reduce cost. As Toole (2000) mentions, a trend for most enterprises is e-business which combines Internet and information technology to manage organizational information and process business geographically. I believe that with the continuous development of information technology, those collaboration tools can be improved and offer better services. Furthermore, organizations need to provide professional staff training on using those tools and make sure everyone follows the same procedure to process information in an effective way. Toole (2000) claims the bottom line of using collaboration tools is that they can deliver "better innovation and lower costs with higher quality products and services". Reference Toole, P. (2000). Sign of the times: manufacturing and e-business blend as a digital enterprise. Design Engineering, 46(8), 12. Retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/pqdweb?did=374775371&Fmt=7&clientId=22212&RQT=309&VName=PQD Long, K. (2011). Comments on Collaboration tools are anti-knowledge sharing? Retrieved from http://groups.diigo.com/group/c
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    This article highlights the fact that whilst an organisation can implement collaboration tools there is more to collaborating that just implementing the technical solution and letting the staff collaborate without governance or guidelines (Till, 2005). The article raises that without leadership and guidance the tools that are designed to assist the business can actually work against it with multiple silos of content occurring, often with duplicate information which is not managed appropriately. For example the same piece of content could appear in more than one silo and be different as different teams are managing each of the sites (silos). Further, staff who are unfamiliar with a particular site are likely to create another instance of a site to avoid a conflict of an existing site. The article raises the issue of knowledge management at the corporate level being neglected and business risk that becomes a side effect of poor knowledge management. For many organisations, the intranet search engine is the quick win to locate information amongst multiple team sites however that is only masking the issue at hand (Brauns, 2004) and the information architecture of the intranet or sites needs to be addressed from an organisational wide approach and identify which information needs to be keep separate and implement a solution to meet the business needs. Reference Brauns, M. (2004). Moving Beyond Search. EContent, 27(7/8), S8-S9. Retrieved April 10, 2011, from ABI/INFORM Global database Till, J.G., (2005). Don't blame the technology. Information World Review, (213), 28. Retrieved April 10, 2011, from ABI/INFORM Global database..
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    The article argues that it exists some disadvantages with using those collaboration tools, while collaboration tools were introduced to an intranet of organization. The article argues that it could cause the unmanaged content misplaced, lacking of context, and create information silos as it is not widely used, and therefore, at the end the article gave the conclusion is that collaborate tools can result in anti-knowledge sharing during the daily collaborative work. In fact, when providing team members with some effective e-business collaboration tools and spaces to manage organizational information and communicate each other, team members are also provided with professional knowledge about how to use those tools and spaces in an effective way.(Toole,2000). Team members need actively know how to use the collaboration tools within the group of organization, and learn how to find the important information in the "shared context" and catch up with what's going on with updated context in collaboration spaces before members started using these tools and spaces.(J. Robertson, 2007) I don't agree with that collaboration tools are anti knowledge sharing. Each technological product has its own disadvantages a certain extent, but updated technologies have been improving better services. So, users need find ways to solve the problem with using those collaborative tools in effective ways, in order to achieve the successful collaborative communication among members in the group. Minimize the risk and maximizes the benefits are the key points in the organizations for a better collaborative results. Reference: Robertson, J. (2007). Collaboration tools are anti knowledge sharing? Retrieved from http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/cmb_antiknowledgesharing/index.html Toole, P. (2000). Sign of the times: manufacturing and e-business blen
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    Kristy I was taken aback by the article but it also reminded me of my time working in a construction company. Many large-scale huge projects require the joining together of organisations (designers, architects, constructors) and professionals who previously competed for construction work. That is why there is much hype around creating a knowledge-sharing culture. This is described as making knowledge sharing a 'norm' (Gurteen, 1999), which means it is an accepted and agreed upon practice in the collaboration of any kind that things are disclosed and not hidden. We know this of course sometimes for politics or self-gain does not work. However, as construction clients do demand many firms to complete a project, knowledge sharing tools must not be anti-knowledge sharing. I will give you an example, which is in the public domain, of an example. I found on one project the issue of context that Robertson (2007) talks about in his article to be important for the sharing of records. The project I did ended up being published, but the situation was the sharing of important construction data. Each manager kept records of materials used on their own laptops and PC's as spreadsheets. No wonder there was confusion when they were told to merge them to share what had been done. They referred to it as 'Spreadsheet Culture' (Nycyk, 2008). They simply did not want to share how much material was being used. Although that suggests a culture issue, Excel can be a collaborative tool but it is obviously anti-knowledge sharing if every manager uses it differently. This is what they did, hence why the simple use of this tool in the wrong way prevented not only a sharing culture to develop but resulted in top management writing into their duty statements they had to use the new central database. References Gurteen, D. (1999). Creating a knowledge sharing culture. Gurteen, Retrieved April 15, 2011 from http://www.gurteen.com/gurteen/gurteen.nsf/id/ksculture Nycyk, Michael (200
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    The article described collaboration tools obstruct knowledge sharing if organisations do not manage tools well. I am interesting in this article as theme of the article is an alert for me. There is an association between collaboration tools and knowledge sharing. They work as train and rail. The knowledge needs collaboration tools such as Intranet, Internet or other systems share them to most of user. Trains need rails for running. Thus collaboration tools are rails and Knowledge is trains. They cannot work appropriately once they miss each other. However, railway requires particular planning before it builds up and maintenance after railway is running. The planning ensures railway is working efficiency and safety. Collaboration tools also require particular planning. Robertson (2007) mentioned in his articles, collaboration tools can be anti-sharing once tools are without management, planning and maintenance. Suarez (2006) argue in his blog that e-mail is not a powerful collaboration tools. I think what he argued is about how people using e-mail tools. E-mail is not a powerful collaboration tools because no one performs collaboration function well from e-mail. This is the same logic as collaboration tools. Collaboration tools can be an issue of knowledge sharing once on one control or manage tools. We should make sure collaboration tools are not only store all the knowledge only. Reference Robertson, J. (2007). Collaboration tools are anti knowledge sharing? Retrieved from http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/cmb_antiknowledgesharing/index.html Suarez, L. (2006). Email: The Good Enough Collaboration Tool - Is It Really? Retrieved from http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/elsua/email-the-good-enough-collaboration-tool-is-it-really-11473
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    This article emphasises some weaknesses of using collaboration tools in an organisation, such as unmanaged content misplaced in the system, a lack of organizational context for new staff, and irrelevance of search results for staff. This can link to one of my selected article - Sign of the times: manufacturing and e-business blend as a digital enterprise - which mentions another weakness that is the new solution may not integrate with the organisation's existing system and the existing organisational knowledge may fail to exploit. Long (2011) comments that both organizational teams and the nature of the collaboration tools can create information silos in an unmanaged environment. I agree that no collaboration tool is perfect but I also argue that such tools become a competitive necessity of most organizations because they provide powerful service to simplify business process and reduce cost. As Toole (2000) mentions, a trend for most enterprises is e-business which combines Internet and information technology to manage organizational information and process business geographically. I believe that with the continuous development of information technology, those collaboration tools can be improved and offer better services. Furthermore, organizations need to provide professional staff training on using those tools and make sure everyone follows the same procedure to process information in an effective way. Toole (2000) claims the bottom line of using collaboration tools is that they can deliver "better innovation and lower costs with higher quality products and services". Reference Toole, P. (2000). Sign of the times: manufacturing and e-business blend as a digital enterprise. Design Engineering, 46(8), 12. Retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/pqdweb?did=374775371&
Shan Shan Cheung

Informal Workplace Learning and Knowledge Sharing - 3 views

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    The article emphasise knowledge is the asset of organisations. Although knowledge is virtual object, but its benefit for organisations cannot be avoidable. Knowledge benefits organisations enhance their profit making because it increases employees' productivity (Caruso, 2010). Therefore, we should consider how to share knowledge in efficient and low costly approaches. I agree with Caruso (2010) that informal learning experience is an important way of employees acquires their knowledge. Formal learning is not the majority part of knowledge sharing in organisations because of large human and financial resources consumption. On the other hand, informal learning is a helpful way. We could not ignore people share their knowledge among their daily conversation. Moreover, social networking tools such as blogs, wikis are helping informal knowledge sharing. Thus, organisations should think about how to well use these kinds of informal collaboration tools. In my opinion, well use collaboration tools not only ensure employees share their knowledge. In addition, we have to ensure knowledge is practicing and keeping in organisations. Difficult to keeping knowledge in an organisation is the main issue of informal sharing. It is because the knowledge exists and absorbs with an individual. Organisations lose the knowledge once the individual leave the organisations (Caruso, 2010). Besides that, once employees get the knowledge, how do organisations ensure employees apply the knowledge within organisations is the other issue. If employees have not use their knowledge, it does not have any benefit to organisations. Reference Caruso, S. (2010). Informal Workplace Learning and Knowledge Sharing. Retrieved from http://www.eadulteducation.org/adult-learning/informal-workplace-learning-and-knowledge-sharing/
Michael Nycyk

How organisations collect, manage and share resources through Internet and other Techno... - 41 views

Yes you do post comments on here but it has been made very difficult because there are two groups but just ignore that and post here.

collaborate; collaboration; collect; manage; information; internet; resources;organisation;

Mandy Burke

Four Trends in Enterprise Video Conferencing - 5 views

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    Due to the global financial crisis, companies globally have been finding ways to cut costs. Instead of staff travelling to attend meetings, businesses rely on methods such as video conferencing to assist in facilitating meetings with geographically dispersed teams. This article published on the technology blogging site Read Write Web discusses four main trends in regards to video conferencing. The four trends stated are consumerisation, mobility, interoperability and providing a social layer. Mobility and the social layer are interesting trends when thinking about collaboration via video conferencing. Smartphones being released are beginning to include video conferencing as a standard functionality. Through the use of smart phones, mobility allows team members to participate and collaborate whilst on the move. It unshackles team members from the restraints of being restricted to an office. For team members that travel regularly being able to videoconference from hotel rooms or other offices through their smart phone provides them with flexibility previously not seen. Social layers being added to software is becoming the norm (Flinley, 2010). The social layer extends video conferencing beyond just audio and video. By adding social layers to videoconferencing software, users are able to communicate in the one location rather than utilising multiple platforms. A social layer provides "social networking, instant messaging, voice and video into one system" also including the ability to share files. By encapsulating all means of communication in the one destination, team members save time and recording communication becomes easier. References: Finley, K. (2010). Four Trends in Enterprise Video Conferencing. Read Write Web. Retrieved on 12 April 2011 from http://www.readwriteweb.com/enterprise/2010/10/trends-in-enterprise-video-conferencing.php
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    I was interested in this article not only from a business perspective but also from an educational perspective. Video conferencing is something that we would like to use in the presentation of information literacy classes to off campus students in our library. The four trends that Finley (2010) discussed that of consumerization, mobility, interoperability and social layer are trends that will see video conferencing used much more in both business and educational settings (as well as for personal use of course!). Giesbers, Rienties, Gijselaers, Segers & Templeaar (2009) present an interesting case study of two virtual teams. One of the teams used video conferencing and the other team used online forums for their project work. The conclusion of this study was that there were no perceived advantages in the group that used videoconferencing. The debate then became about the advantages and disadvantages of asynchronous and synchronous communication. I for one am a reflective thinker - I like to be able to think things through and respond in my own time - so asynchronous communication suits me well. Synchronous communication such as videoconferencing can put more pressure on people to respond immediately. The key component in the videoconference group that stood out though, was the difference in leadership. It was more obvious in that group who the leader was and that seemed to make a difference to the group. Suduc, Bizoi, Filip (2009), conclude in their study that web conferencing requires much more leadership and organisation than other forms of collaboration. However, with that in place they say that there are many advantages to this type of collaboration, including, cost, time saving, reduction in travel and facility costs, improvement of decision making and communication. I definitely think that video conferencing will become more and more immersed in our day-to-day business and educational functions in the days to come. References: Finley, K. (201
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    This article introduces some video conferencing applications, such as Cisco, Skype, Nefsis Basic, BlackBerry Playbook, and Google Voice, and shows how they are used as collaboration tools in enterprises. Burke (2011) summarizes that the use of such tools helps to establish instant communication, save travelling time, and cut business cost. One of my selected articles, iManage Unveils the First Multi-Platform Collaborative Content Management Suite, announces a new Internet content management application suit called iManage WorkSite MP which is an online collaboration tool as well. Both video conferencing tools and Internet content management applications are network-based, so users' contributions will be available instantly, and shared information can be distributed globally. Both of them aim at improving business efficiency, reducing cost and resource, and finally developing organisational service and product quality. While video conferencing tools focus on communication by audio and video, Internet content management applications, such as iManage WorkSite, has more to do with information management, such as text, image, and spreadsheets. It can be said that online collaboration tools can facilitate meetings among team members geographically, provide access to shared knowledge and ideas, and manage organisational information effectively. I argue that the combination of both video conferencing and content management tools can offer a comprehensive service to an organisation to compete in the global economy. As Fedorowicz, Laso-Ballesteros, and Padilla-Melendez (2008) state, the development of online collaboration "will facilitate multidisciplinary innovation and reduce barriers and inefficiencies among people working together"(p.1). Reference: Fedorowicz, J., Laso-Ballesteros, I., & Padilla-Melendez, A. (2008). Creativity, Innovation and E-Collaboration. International Journal of E-Collaboration, 4(4). Retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com.
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    I was first interested in this article from personal, and educational experiences with one of the tools mentioned. (Skype) The article explores the idea that Video conferencing can be used to cut costs in this growing financial crisis. A family member of mine uses the tool to collaborate with business partners as it is a much cheaper and easier option than flying all over. It is also easier to quickly update somebody without the high cost of international phone calls. the article explores other benefits of using the tool for business, such as the ability to use it on the move and the ability to combine it with social networking tools. Through personal experience, having family that live in another country, the tool is helpful to share photos, information, and to merely see each others faces, something that is much more beneficial than a phone conversation. This then brought me to an article by Mark Blankenship, in which he talks about a skype lecture he gave to a group of undergraduates. He states "They listened, took notes, asked questions, and engaged in discussion. Except for the fact that I never shared a physical space with them, my experience with the students was remarkably similar to the experience I've had with students in the actual world" therefore perhaps developing a fifth trend in which users feel that video conferencing enhances the ability to act as a real face-to-face mechanism, in which the social element is not hugely different than that of a real social interaction. Also proving to be more than just a one-on-one tool, as it can be used to interact with a group of students to aid in learning where a guest speaker is unable to attend the physical lecture. References Blankenship, M.. (2011, March). How Social Media Can and Should Impact Higher Education. The Education Digest, 76(7), 39-42. Retrieved April 17, 2011, from http://proquest.umi.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/pqdweb?index=5&did=2253484511&SrchMode=1&sid=14&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VTyp
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    This article provides a high level overview on video conferencing in a corporate setting and discusses four main trends, such as consumerisation, mobility, interopability and the social layer. It discusses Skype and how quickly it is gaining a business market share in in comparison to other enterprise tools such as TelePresence and WebEX. The success of Skype is due to the fact that it is so easy to use and allows users to share desktops so they are "virtually" in the same room. Mobility is also a main driver for video conferencing. When we consider that every laptop has a webcam, the potential for mobile video conferencing is immense and not just limited to tools such as the iPhone using the Facetime protocol. Add to this that the workplace is changing with more people working remotely either from home or travelling on business and the potential for video conferencing is growing as we need to connect with colleagues and clients. In essence I think video conferencing is the way of the future, however interoperability with devices has the potential to create issues until a standard or protocol is defined much in the same way TCP/IP was defined as the global standard for web traffic in 1983 (Microsoft, 2005). Presently devices can "talk" to each other if they use the same protocol, however there are many protocols emerging at the moment and no industry set of rules that all protocols must adhere to. Reference TCP/IP background. (2005). Retrieved April 15,2011 from http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc775383(WS.10).aspx
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    This article introduces some video conferencing applications, such as Cisco, Skype, Nefsis Basic, BlackBerry Playbook, and Google Voice, and shows how they are used as collaboration tools in enterprises. Burke (2011) summarizes that the use of such tools helps to establish instant communication, save travelling time, and cut business cost. One of my selected articles, iManage Unveils the First Multi-Platform Collaborative Content Management Suite, announces a new Internet content management application suit called iManage WorkSite MP which is an online collaboration tool as well. Both video conferencing tools and Internet content management applications are network-based, so users' contributions will be available instantly, and shared information can be distributed globally. Both of them aim at improving business efficiency, reducing cost and resource, and finally developing organisational service and product quality. While video conferencing tools focus on communication by audio and video, Internet content management applications, such as iManage WorkSite, has more to do with information management, such as text, image, and spreadsheets. It can be said that online collaboration tools can facilitate meetings among team members geographically, provide access to shared knowledge and ideas, and manage organisational information effectively. I argue that the combination of both video conferencing and content management tools can offer a comprehensive service to an organisation to compete in the global economy. As Fedorowicz, Laso-Ballesteros, and Padilla-Melendez (2008) state, the development of online collaboration "will facilitate multidisciplinary innovation and reduce barriers and inefficiencies among people working together" (p.1). Reference: Burke, M (2011) Comment on Four Trends in Enterprise Video Conferencing. Retrieved from http://groups.diigo.com/group/cur
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    Video conferencing as one of online collaboration tools, able to change the way people communicate as well as their perceptions towards the work day in nowadays. Video conferencing has become a part of communication strategy, this article shows that about 37% of Skype users use the service for business purpose, which is they use Skype to make conference video that is more convenient and less traveling cost, users would be able to meet up without consuming traveling time which normally required in order to meet face to face. I found out this article are useful in terms of explaining the way video conferencing been used in business as well as introducing 4 new trends on how people use it, and as resources itself, it is credible enough, this article took from ReadWrite Enterprises web sites that mainly focusing on business purposes. By relating on my own topic, which is talk about the use and features of social bookmarking site (delicious), video conferencing as well provides specific features in order to facilitate the video conference, hence users would be able to use the features and communicating online, same as the way delicious using it special features, such as tags, where people would be able to collaborate their bookmarks as long as they are sharing and using same tags. As for value, this article shows and recommends how useful video conferencing is and there is multiple ways and benefits we could get by using it online. References: Finley, K. (2010). Four Trends in Enterprise Video Conferencing. Read Write Web. Retrieved on 12 April 2011 from http://www.readwriteweb.com/enterprise/2010/10/trends-in-enterprise-video-conferencing.php
Elin Frustol

IM [@Work] Adoption of Instant Messaging in a Knowledge Worker Organisation - 2 views

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    Instant Messaging (IM) applications, such as AOL Instant Messaging (AIM), MSN Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger, have become very popular in the last decade. This paper by de Vos et al. (2004) investigates the adaption of Instant Messaging (IM) by individual users and pairs of users within a mid-size organization. This paper is important as it examines employees' willingness to adapt to instant messaging tools within an organization. The findings from the research showed a fourfold increase in IM use after the introduction, both in terms of users and the number of conversations. The findings are interesting as it has been argued that the main problem companies experience when implementing online collaboration tools is the objections many employees have when introduced to these new tools (Foster, 2009). The main limitation of the paper is that the authors' research sample was restricted to only one organisation. The period of research was four months before and three months after introduction of IM in an organisation, thus the authors indicate that further research needs to be undertaken to see how usage patterns develop over a longer period of time. de Vos et al found that business mobile phones users don't seem to benefit from IM. However, this finding is not applicable anymore as smartphones with IM applications have been introduced after the paper was written in 2004. References de Vos, H., ter Hofte, H. & de Poot, H. (2004). IM [@Work] Adoption of Instant Messaging in a Knowledge Worker Organisation. Retrieved from https://doc.telin.nl/dsweb/Get/Document-30163/205610019a.pdf Foster, D. (2009). Collaboration Technology and Organisational Change. Retrieved from http://gigaom.com/collaboration/collaboration-technologies-and-organizational-change/
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    I think the rapid adoption of instant messaging software in the workplace could be due to the trend of consumerisation of products prior to businesses adopting them (Flinley, 2010). Many employees would have been exposed to instant messaging through Skype, Microsoft Messanger etc in their personal use of the Internet (Flinley, 2010). When businesses implement this software into the workplace, they are already aware of the benefits and they are familiar with the how the software is used so this would lead to the employee adopting this software quicker. Instant Messaging is also available in the free download of Skype. Skype provides users with the ability to instant message but also gives users the ability to videoconference, audio calls, file sharing and screen sharing. These are important factors when considering which program to download to implement instant messaging software. By providing staff with instant messaging software that can also provide a variety of tasks saves the company money and provides employees with a variety of ways to communicate and to collaborate with one another. One of the great features of Skype that was updated in their most recent version is screen sharing. Screen sharing is often restricted to the IT department of businesses but Skype gives this functionality to basic users. Allowing people to see each other screens, increases users ability to share information with one another. References: Flinely, K. (2010). Consumerization of IT: 95% of Information Workers Use Self-Purchased Technology for Work. Readwriteweb. Retrieved on 16 April 2011 from http://www.readwriteweb.com/enterprise/2011/03/consumerization-of-it-95-of-in.php Finley, K. (2010). Four Trends in Enterprise Video Conferencing. Read Write Web. Retrieved on 12 April 2011 from http://www.readwriteweb.com/enterprise/2010/10/trends-in-enterprise-video-conferencing.php
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    I think we should concern about is how to capture and manage the useful knowledge from Instant Messaging (IM). IM helps staffs share knowledge in organisations. de Vos et al. (2004) wanted to find out in the research that IM supports quick question and clarification, keeping touch with friends and families. This is a common situation nowadays. I have an experience that my friends at Hong Kong always discuss their questions of study or work with me with Windows massager. My friend who work at school library often ask me about cataloguing problem when she is working. IM not only allows transferring knowledge within organisations, it also allows staffs interacting with people outside organisations. Therefore, the first issue of manage knowledge is separated the useful message out. It is not useful of private message. IM sharing is not a formal knowledge sharing method. Nevertheless, it place important role in organisations. Caruso (2010) pointed out in his article that organisations must able to understand some of the tools that can utilize to knowledge sharing all among the organisation. Meanwhile, Caruso (2010) also indicated that "80 percent of organisational knowledge exists exclusively within an individual." Although IM is usual in the organisation, but the information is only store in staffs' brain, not in the organisation. We should think an appropriate way to manage the information in IM. Reference Caruso, S. (2010). Informal Workplace Learning and Knowledge Sharing. Retrieved from http://www.eadulteducation.org/adult-learning/informal-workplace-learning-and-knowledge-sharing/ Caruso, S. (2010). Informal Workplace Learning and Knowledge Sharing. Retrieved from http://www.eadulteducation.org/adult-learning/informal-workplace-learning-and-knowledge-sharing/
Kelly Kerr

How social networking increases collaboration at IBM - 0 views

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    Topic : How internet technology has shaped collaboration within organisations. How social networking increases collaboration at IBM http://proquest.umi.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/pqdweb?did=1930082361&sid=1&Fmt=3&clientId=22212&RQT=309&VName=PQD This article is an extract taken from a 2009 Melcrum Research report. The article focuses on IBM and how a social networking application has increased collaboration for its 365,000 employees around the world through the use of an application called the BluePages which has been loosely modelled on MySpace and Facebook. The IBM BluePages are accessed six million times each day by staff and contain basic staff information which is pulled from IBM's HR records, and includes information about reporting lines and where people fit inside the organisation. Staff can update their photo, and add specific information about themselves through the use of tags (keywords). Tags connect staff to others who might be using the same tags, in addition colleagues can add tags to another individuals page which further builds a relevant database of expertise throughout the network. IBM's BluePages also take search to the next level, whereby if someone is searching on a tag (keyword) that has been used by an individual, all people that have that tag will also be returned in the search results. "This development opens up semantic contextual information to the wisdom of the crowd." [Ethan McCarty] IBM also has a collaborative application called ThinkPlace where anybody in the company can post an idea. If the idea has merit, others can comment on it until the idea has developed into something that requires action. Another use of ThinkPlace has more of a social conscience whereby one employee noticed
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    Like IBM, I manage the intranet for an organisation where a significant percentage of our workforce work from locations other than work. This Melcrum article concentrates largely on social tagging and social bookmarking. Ethan McCarty, editor in chief of IBM Intranet believes " 'tagging' will be one of the most significant things to have happened on the internet." I agree with much of what McCarty says. Our organisation is moving from a fairly one-way push of information on our intranet to a more collaborative and activity-based platform. I was interested to read about IBM's BluePages, which seems to be an extension of a normal phonebook but connects people with other people's knowledge through social tagging. We are about to launch a similar application on our intranet that also has a self-editing system. This is an important first step in getting our intranet to become a place of collaboration. Hopefully the launch of this tool will allow management to see staff can be trusted to use tools correctly and self-edit and that 'social' networking concepts used on the internet can be translated into valuable internal tools. Tagging through the contact directory is also a feature of social networking that our management and culture would be comfortable with as a first step. In a fairly risk-adverse culture, many senior managers believe the use of 'social networking' tools in the workplace would open up a Pandora's box of problems. This article however, demonstrates that collaborative and networking tools in the workplace obviously have a valuable role to play. I think the words 'social media' and 'social networking' scare a lot of managers off right from the start.
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    For IBM, the social networking site is not only works well internally. They also use SNS as a way to build relationship to consumer. I personally use IBM as an example of online collaboration. They use Tumblr as collaboration tools to create conversation between company and their audience and users. http://smartercities.tumblr.com/ I saw this Tumblelog as a corporate social responsibility project to give back to consumers. They are trying to engage consumer with the smart way of living (mainly by using IBM product). In this Tumblr, consumer can contribute by sending an email about their smart way of living. They also can like or reblog the post from IBM that indirectly lead them to viral marketing. Relate to your article, for a big company such as IBM social network may become the best way to communicate with all employees. They can get a fast information and suggestion about the company. But the criticism is, for example, if they join the company group in Facebook it means they need to be conscious with what they put online. Their private life also can be seen by the company. They can say bad things about company that will make them risk their job. Because I heard this kind of story where people get fired just because they forget they are friend with their boss in Facebook. This is only my criticism.
Shan Shan Cheung

Email: The Good Enough Collaboration Tool - Is It Really? - 4 views

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    This is an interesting blog that debate e-mail is a powerful collaboration tool or not. I totally agree with Suarez (2006) that e-mail is a very powerful communication tool. We can receive every mail whether are junk mails or useful mails. Others could receive a mail within few minutes from someone who live at the other side of world. In addition, people receive wide range of information from e-mail. However, I am not completely agreed that we miss out the point of collaboration and knowledge management once we define e-mail is good enough collaboration tool. Suarez (2006) mentioned how people have managed e-mails. Although nine people read e-mails, only a person knows the content of e-mails, is able to trace out particular e-mails and uses e-mails. Thus e-mail is not powerful collaborations tool. My opinion is the argument misses the essential elements of knowledge sharing. It is human. No matter the knowledge sharing tools or other collaboration tools, they also require human's management. If no one sends mails in electronic format, e-mail would not be at society anymore. The nature of e-mail still is collaboration tools. Organisations should focus on human is well use e-mail system and the information that inside e-mail system. This is a human base procedure. Reference Suarez, L. (2006). Email: The Good Enough Collaboration Tool - Is It Really? Retrieved from http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/elsua/email-the-good-enough-collaboration-tool-is-it-really-11473
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    I was interested in this article as much of my research for the assignment has made the same argument that this article makes. And that is, Email may be great for communication but is most deffinately not at all useful for collaboration. As Luis Suarez states, most will file the email away and will be unlikely to find it later. He also states that new people to the project wont have those emails. The article by Stackpole (2008) talks about the use of wiki's as great online collaboration tools that help users to organise projects and separate them from eachother. Many of the points addressed in this article are almost exact responses to the issues with email. As stated above, those users who join a project late wont have the email. Stackpole (2008) explores this notion by talking about new members being able to catch up on the development of a project easily without having to sift through hundreds of emails. The wiki page will give the most current information as well as show the progress in a neat logical way. Saurez also states that the ability to find information/changes in emails is challenging as one has to search / sift through their emails. As stated above wiki's allows users to easily see these changes without having to try find the five or ten emails it was discussed in. Stackpole (2008) also notes that changes/updates/information and separate projects can all be kept in the one place. However, if one was to send an email to 10 different people, perhaps only some would actually click reply all (in which the response is sent to all recipients) therefore if one was to click just reply, only the initial sender would see the response, thus information is too scattered as some have less access. With a wiki it is all in one spot for everyone to reference. While reading Saurez's article I strongly agreed with his arguments, and Stackpole (2008) article backs up the notion that email is not a strong collaborative tool, that doesn't mean it is not a strong
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    I know someone who works in information management and, to prevent duplication, they have dedicated procedures, spelling out who is supposed to archive emails and documents. As I understand it, only the original sender submits a copy to the file, cc copies can be deleted.
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    Thanks Shan as I enjoyed reading this article. The question of whether the good old email is a good enough collaboration tool is an interesting debate. I beg to differ that email is not a powerful collaboration tool. I am part of an organisation where are main communication and collaboration happens through emails. We plan, organise, discuss and share documents through emails. I will list some functions vital to our organisation that email provides: 1. Organisation - You can track and organise responses through email by clicking on the latest responses. The latest email often contains the conversation from previous users as mentioned my Samantha in her response. Who said what and at what time can also be noted. 2. Document sharing - Just like any collaboration tool, you can attach and send any document in any format to the group in your network. The only area traditional email clients falls short is real-time editing. Google Gmail provides this function by incorporating Google Docs with the Gmail Service. This makes it a powerful online collaboration tool where content editing is incorporated into the email system. 3. Records - Like modern collaboration tools, emails can be archived and searched. Though we meet up on monthly basis, my organisation can be classified as a virtual team. As a virtual team, email is a powerful collaboration tool for us. Thanks once again, a great article related to my topic of collaboration within organisations.
Kristy Long

No collaboration without communications - 7 views

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    While web 2.0 technologies have been around for awhile now, many organisations are still in an experimental phase. There are all too often rare wins and rare examples of it being used correctly to fulfil a strong business need or solve a business problem. This article argues that organisational collaborative tools such as social intranets etc will not be embraced or used to their full potential if employees do not already communicate with each other - i.e. have a structure, management style or physical layout that supports them to communicate. As the article states, "The existence of collaborative tools does not automatically imply that people will collaborate or collaborate effectively." (A. Broomhall, 2009) This makes sense. In a working and professional environment, most staff are more guarded in their communication (depending on the culture of the organisation of course) and less reluctant to use collaborative tools like they might as strangers on the World Wide Web. If the fundamentals of communication are working well in an organisation and already exist (ie. people have met face to face, have already established communities, have trusted relationships where they share information) they are then more likely to collaborate online. There are several intranet features which can be used to strengthen these communication paths and employee relationships: - staff directory - news channels - social news sites. It is these types of technologies (available on most intranets) which can help encourage the development of communication networks, and in turn support the use of collaborative tools. Reference: Broomhall, A (2009) No collaboration without communications Retrieved from http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/cmb_nocollaboration/index.html
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    This was a very thought-provoking article and I was especially interested in how the author stated "The existence of collaborative tools does not automatically imply that people will collaborate or collaborate effectively" (Broomhall, 2009, para. 5). In one of the articles that I posted on wikis in education by Deters, Cuthrell, & Stapleton, J. (2010) they noted that without proper preparation of students and specific guidelines that the success of the wiki would be in doubt. I believe that this can be related to this article by Broomhall. Without proper preparation and planning online collaboration can fall flat and fail. I don't fully agree with Broomhall (2009, para.6) when she says "It is a simple concept, but if people are not already communicating with each other, then there is little chance they will feel comfortable enough to share their knowledge online." I believe that there are many instances where online collaboration between strangers can take place most effectively (not least of which is this exercise in learning on DIIGO!). Waltonen-Moore, Stuart, Newton, Oswald & Veronis (2006) concluded in their study on an online learning environment that it is possible for virtual strangers to collaborate and successfully complete their work. I would agree that it comes down to good planning, facilitation and monitoring of any online collaborative environment in order to make it successful. References: Broomhall, A (2009) No collaboration without communications Retrieved from http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/cmb_nocollaboration/index.html Deters, F., Cuthrell, K. & Stapleton, J. (2010). Why Wikis? Student Perceptions of Using Wikis in Online Coursework . Journal of Online Teaching and Learning 6(1). Retrieved from http://jolt.me
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    This article by Broomhall (2009) also explores the notion that, simply implementing collaborative software into an organisation does not necessarily mean that it will be used. Collaborative tools like wikis may seem easy to use by those that use wikis like Wikipedia, although it does not mean that everyone within the organisation will have the confidence or skills to use the wiki or understand the purpose of using the wiki for collaboration or communication within the organisation. This article is a small and easily understood article that is relevant to explain the main issues that may arise in an organisation that is using collaborative tools like wikis in content management and communication. This article compliments the articles like Clarke's article (2007) "Collaborative authorship with Atlassian Confluence" and Stackpole's article (2008) "Wikis that work: Four IT departments get it right" about wikis as it ensures, that when implementing a wiki the organisation understands the importance of ensuring that "the basics of communication are established" (Broomhall, 2009) and that "staff share a common understanding of the organisation, its functions, organisational structure and its role in the broader industry" (Broomhall, 2009). Staff that have an understanding of the role of the company will be more likely to understand how open collaboration can assist the organisation and how their use, can assist in creating communication between other departments and staff from other locations, thus breaking down silos that may exist and enable the promotion of a sharing culture within the organisation. References: Broomhall, A (2009) No collaboration without communications Retrieved from http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/cmb_nocollaboration/index.html
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    References: Clarke, R. (2007). Collaborative Authorship with Atlassian Confluence. GlinTech. Retrieved from http://www.glintech.com/downloads/Collaborative%20Authorship%20with%20Atlassian%20ConflueCon.pdf Stackpole, B. (2008). Wikis that work: Four IT departments get it right. Computer World: the voice of IT management Retrieved 13 April, 2011, from http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9118878/Wikis_that_work_Four_IT_departmdepa_get_it_right
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    Thanks Kristy for your article. When we talk about collaborations tools in organisations, we pay more attention on the collaboration tools more than human factor. What I found in my articles are focus on tools. My comments think about how to choose appropriate tools, how to develop and manage tools. However, we should not ignore the origin of knowledge sharing. It is base on people's communication. I agree with Broomhall (2009), if people are not already communicate with other, they do not feel comfortable share the knowledge online. It is like we do not borrow our money to stranger. Therefore, collaboration tools should work as communication tools at the same time. Tools are something which need human's practice, especially collaboration tools. If no one uses collaboration tools, we cannot see any collaborative activities inside. Tools are not collaboration tools anymore. Broomhall (2009) noted some channel of communication, such as intranet, staff directory. The channel which I am interested is social site. Social site is not a communication channel. I found that in my research is informal sharing place an important role in organisations. Organisations not only benefit from formal records or information. They can get more benefit from informal channel. Informal sharing should be part of collaboration tools have to concern. Reference: Broomhall, A (2009) No collaboration without communications Retrieved from http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/cmb_nocollaboration/index.html
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    Thanks for providing this article, Kristy. I agree with Broomhall that just because collaboration tools have been put in place, it does not guarantee that these tools will be utilised or even used in the manner in which they were intended. However I also don't agree that "if people are not already communicating with each other, then there is little chance they will feel comfortable enough to share their knowledge online." (Broomhall, 2009.) I think that Net 308's Blackboard discussion forums, although not extremely lively, are an example of strangers communicating with each other and sharing knowledge. Successful forums and even groups on Flickr are comprised of those that have not met in real life nor communicated with each other prior to utilising the collaboration tool they are part of. Although I will agree that successful collaboration required the right collaboration tool and proper facilitation of such, the main factor in success or failure of online collaboration comes down to common purpose or interest. Without that fundamental element, at least at the beginning, I believe success to be far fetched and difficult to achieve. I agree that a staff directory would aid in the success of collaboration in the organisation Broomhall refers to in this article. I feel that an ice breaker activity as outlined by Augar, Raitman and Zhou (2004.) of sorts would also benefit. References: Broomhall, A (2009) No collaboration without communications Retrieved from http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/cmb_nocollaboration/index.html Augar, N., Raitman, R. & Zhou, W. (2004). Teaching and learning online with wikis. In R. Atkinson, C. McBeath, D. Jonas-Dwyer & R. Phillips (Eds), Beyond the comfort zone: Proceedings of the 21st ASCILITE Conference (pp. 95-104). Perth, 5-8 December. http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/perth04/procs/augar.html
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    This is an interesting article that brings up some great points on the importance of communication regarding collaboration. I totally agree with the author, communication within an organisation is vital in order to collaborate effectively. The main problem companies experience when implementing online collaboration tools, is the objections many employees have when introduced to these new tools (Foster, 2009). Fear, uncertainty, resistance and concerns are some of the issues companies have to deal with as employees are asked to go from being a passive consumer of online information to becoming a creator of content by posting discussions, comments etc. that anyone can view. Foster (2009) suggests that businesses should spend more time thinking about the impact of these changes on their employees. In order to deal with the different issues employees may have, Foster suggests organisational change management. Like Broomhall, Foster (2009) highlights communication as the common element whether the change is coming from the top of the organization or from the bottom. The article is a useful resource for this project as it focuses on the importance of communication when organisations are implementing collaborative tools. Broomhall (2009) argues that employees need information about internal changes and external influences which may impact their daily work. As Broomhall points out, the existence of collaborative tools does not automatically imply that people will collaborate. References Broomhall, A. (2009). No Collaboration without Communications. Retrieved from http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/cmb_nocollaboration/index.html Foster, D. (2009). Collaboration Technology and Organisational Change. Retrieved from http://gigaom.com/collaboration/collaboration-technologies-and-organizational-change/
Ran An

Social Production, Information and Organisation Forms: Rethinking Collaboration - 0 views

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    This article brings some ideas about internet and social networks services. When I heard the word Social Production I immediately think of ownership. The fact is, for a truly collaborative effort to be made, ownership must be discarded, which is a very difficult concept for emotive based humans. There are also the other factors such as wealth that are the driving force behind online social networks. At the end of the day, it's not idealism that drives these infrastructures, but it may appear so in many cases that is a majority of them are driven for financial means. People don't seem to realize but websites like YouTube or Facebook were not created for the purpose of purely sharing information, providing a platform for people to gather and solve issues, in fact, they were created as a means of making money. A very smart way of making money, that is shaping the online world. For example, Facebook has very strong metrics that measure behavior and activities. Users willing to hand over their details maybe not fully realizing that their information is a commodity that will be sold to companies so their advertising department can target them. What I find amazing is the fact that many people are not willing to divulge information about themselves to a telemarketer on the phone or a strange on the street, but they are fully willing to divulge the name, interests and share photos with the world online. The Social Networking age of the internet is breaking down people's privacy and truly exposing a world in which everyone can know everybody. Reference: Kallinikos, J. (n.d).Social Production, Information and Organisation Forms: Rethinking Collaboration. Retrieved from http://www.dsp.unibo.it/seminari/Social_Production_Kallinikos.pdf
FARNAZ SHAMS

Article 4: Sign of the times: manufacturing and e-business blend as a digital enterprise - 13 views

ofcourese the advantages of e-business can overcome to its disadvantages and now most of the educated people prefer to as it as a beneficial thing.

collaboration; globel; network; enterprise; online; Net308_508; Internet; e-business; digital enterprises

Jiawen Lin

Article 2: iManage Unveils the First Multi-Platform Collaborative Content Management Suite - 7 views

My comment: Fedorowicz, Laso-Ballesteros, and Padilla-Melendez (2008) summarizes that a good collaboration tool is able to produce a faster time to market, increase business model innovation, red...

collaboration; organisation; online; Internet; business; software; Net308_508

Kristy Long

Communities of Practice: Knowledge Management for the Global Organization - 20 views

I read this article with great interest as I am about to establish a Community of Practice among intranet authors in my workplace. Our intranet authors are spread over many geographical sites and ...

communities of practice CoP intranet collaboration innovation community

Mandy Burke

Managing the Digital Enterprise in Digital Markets through the internet - 12 views

I think you are correct in saying that there have been great advantages (and many disadvantages) brought upon by the introduction of the Internet to society. For businesses it has made selling and ...

Rosanna Candler

Repression, Alienation, Information and Communication: the Liberating Effects of Commun... - 3 views

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    At first glance, Michael Rosenberg's paper is merely another insect in the swarm of academic opinion following Egypt's January revolution. But it is not. Published in September of 2010, Rosenberg unknowingly produced a fascinating body of work. Written mere months before Egypt's first political upheaval in 30 years; the research paper gives an honest and unaffected assessment of the influence of communication technologies in a country which was gearing up to undergo a groundbreaking Internet-charged revolution. The Guardian analyst Hossam el-Hamalawy asserts that, rather than coming from the blue on January 25, the Egyptian revolution is "a result of a process that has been brewing over the past decade- a chain reaction to the autumn 2000 protests" (el-Hamalawy, 2011). He believes that the 'key to it all' was the visual transmission of the protest to such a wide audience. A consideration with which Rosenberg would certainly agree. Perhaps many Australians saw the speed and mass delivery of the Egyptian revolution as a surprise on the front page of their morning newspaper; however Rosenberg's assessment of Egypt's history and present "environment of repression and alienation" shows us that the "aura of impending revolution" was long-standing. The 'snow-balling' social movements are due to the "ride and proliferation of information and communication technologies" (Rosenberg, 2010) such as the immergence of the Egyptian Movement for Change. In her book, R. Kelly Garrett analyses the role of information communication technologies in protest, concluding that they are "changing the ways in which activists communicate, collaborate and demonstrate" (Garratt, 2006). Rosenberg applies this technological shift to his incredibly accurate prediction that (with the exponential increase of internet users since 2000), "Things are finally looking up for the Egyptian people...the spirit of the masses finally has the power and the op
Kristy Long

Inside IKEA's Human Intranet Approach - 0 views

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    This article explores how a world-wide furnishing store (IKEA) used their already existing culture to guide the production and implementation of their intranet to ensure the technology was the right fit for them. With a very strong focus on teamwork, community and collaboration already recognised in the IKEA business-model, IKEA were well aware that a strong corporate culture does not guarantee user-acceptance of information systems. "Rather than forcing its corporate culture to bend to accommodate a technology-based system, IKEA used its firmly established culture as the foundation for its IT solutions." (P. Chin, 2009) And something must have worked. In 2008, IKEA Inside (their intranet) was listed in the world's ten best intranets by well-known user-experience research firm Nielsen Norman Group. IKEA were mindful of not letting the technology they introduce ruin an already well-established human focussed corporate culture. They said their culture gave them the framework to introduce new things to the business - including information systems and technology. As Beth Gleba, Internal Information Manager for IKEA North America points out, "Before, during and after [intranet implementation], our culture is our culture." In my experience as an intranet manager, I definitely agree that a company's already existing culture will influence the final state of a technology. In organisations that don't focus on people or put staff at the front, there will often be a "disconnect between the technology-based systems and the people they're meant to support." (P. Chin, 2009) It is because the people who've made the technology haven't taken into consideration the end-user, or worse, just don't care - and where that happens that attitude is often supported by the already existing corporate culture. Reference Chin, P (2009) Inside IKEA's Human Intranet Approach Retrieved from http://www.intranetjournal.com/articles/200908/ij_08_21_0
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    Thank you for this article. I leaned something very interesting. "I do a little, you do a little, and together we do a lot" (Chin, 2009) This could well be the mantra for IKEA. As a company with a strong brand identity and customer-focus, here we see how important it is for IKEA staff to have the right tools and platforms to allow them to find the information they need, quickly and easily. At the same time Beth Gleba, Information Manager of IKEA North America, is aware that tools are only part of the story. It is people who make IKEA what it is. It is a place where children are free to jump on the beds, while their parents browse. Part of the success of IKEA is it's strong brand focus and supporting charities is one very important way corporations are building on their social capital by bringing attention to issues close to the hearts of customers and staff alike. In one of my shared articles Mangold & Faulds (2010) point out "organisations can leverage emotional connections by embracing one or more causes that are important to their customers." Such practices give staff and customers a sense of 'belonging". Here IKEA goes one step further by not only providing products and issues to discuss but also provides them with the tools they need to do it. One interesting point I noticed was IKEAs use of Social Media tools to create employee profiles. This aids in fostering group cohesion and allow staff to get to know one another and feel a part of the IKEA family, which for a large firm, can be very difficult to do. They also make very nice meatballs! Reference: Mangold & Faulds (2009, July-August). Social media: The new hybrid element of the promotion mix in Business Horizons. 52(4) 357-365
Bianca F

Teaching and learning online with wikis - 0 views

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    Augar, Raitman and Zhou discuss the benefits of using wikis and online collaboration in teaching and learning. In this article, the authors describe what a wiki is, and how it is used. Originating from the Hawaiian word for quick, (Augar, Raitman & Zhou, 2004, p. 95.) wikis are fully editable websites where content can be edited and added by users. This can also be referred to as "open editing" (Leuf and Cunningham, 2001.) and is a great tool for online collaboration. Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia of information is a popular example of a wiki. It is possible for users to edit and add to the content of Wikipedia allowing knowledge and content to come from many sources. Augar, Raitman and Zhou provide a comparison of a few different wikis and their functionality, including the ability to upload images (not all wikis support this) and their method of tracking users and their contributions to the wiki. This particular function is useful to guage participation of students in an educational sense. As Augar, Raitman and Zhou have concluded through a survey of university students at Deakin, for one particular class, 50% of students were not satisfied with the completely online learning experience (2004, p.98) and in order to foster a more positive learning environment with a higher level of satisfaction for students, an ice breaker acitivity has been employed using an onine wiki to improve participation and collaboration. The ice breaker activity took place over two weeks and required students to answer a series of questions designed to help them get to know their fellow students on a more personal level and to introduce them to how to use the wiki properly. Augar, Raitman and Zhou claim the ice breaker activity was successful is accomplishing this. References: Augar, N., Raitman, R. & Zhou, W. (2004). Teaching and learning online with wikis. In R. Atkinson, C. McBeath, D. Jonas-Dwyer & R. Phillips (Eds), Beyond the comf
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    This paper articulates that Wikis are an excellent tool for collaboration in an online environment that any internet user can share and add content on the website. Wikis, as a useful tool, facilitate online education, which are reviewed to emphasize the features that make them became a valuable technology for teaching and learning online. This project uses a wiki to host an icebreaker exercise which aims to facilitate ongoing interaction between members of online learning groups. Some wiki projects illustrate how e-learning practitioners move beyond their comfort zone by using wikis to enhance the process of teaching and learning online. I think Wikis is a valuable online tool to improve students for participation and collaboration in an educational teaching and learning region. Its particular function is that users could add relevant information and knowledge to enrich the topic on Wikis website. However, this function also cause that the information Wikis websites are being provided with is not exactly correct enough with lacking of formal format and academic reference; therefore, I believe that Wikis is not an ideal online studying tool for those high education users. References: Augar, N., Raitman, R. & Zhou, W. (2004). Teaching and learning online with wikis. In R. Atkinson, C. McBeath, D. Jonas-Dwyer & R. Phillips (Eds), Beyond the comfort zone: Proceedings of the 21st ASCILIT
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    Wikis is a truly tools for online collaboration, whereas we as users would be able to visit the page we looking for, able to read it, re-organize and even update the structure or content inside, which is in other words, we would be able to collaborate each other in terms of creating one documents with contributing our thought and list out information inside. This article is one from a good example, it's really focus on how wikis can be use in terms of facilitating online education, the article itself I found it as a credible resource which is based on report from School of Information Technology, It is useful and really explaining on how wikis can be use as online education tools. By looking at the value for the project, we can use wikis as one of the online collaboration tools whenever we need to sharing contents as well as adjusting the content, hence we would be able to contribute our part equally and accessible at all times in any occasion. By relating this article with my article - which is talk about the use and features of social bookmarking site (delicious), wikis as well provides special features in terms of facilitating online collaboration which is same as delicious sites, it is useful, support communication and collaboration among users, accessible and convenient. References: Augar, N., Raitman, R. & Zhou, W. (2004). Teaching and learning online with wikis. In R. Atkinson, C. McBeath, D. Jonas-Dwyer & R. Phillips (Eds), Beyond the comfort zone: Proceedings of the 21st ASCILIT
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    Augar, N., Raitman, R. & Zhou, W. (2004). Teaching and learning online with wikis. In R. Atkinson, C. McBeath, D. Jonas-Dwyer & R. Phillips (Eds), Beyond the comfort zone: Proceedings of the 21st ASCILITE Conference (pp. 95-104). Perth, 5-8 December. http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/perth04/procs/augar.html
peter stanier

Text messaging for protest swarms - 7 views

Having focused on the impact that online political collaboration had in deciding the 2008 Presidential election, the gulf in class between the methods employed in protests regarding the conventions...

Kristy Long

A Global Innovation Jam - 2 views

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    In 2006, IBM was responsible for hosting possibly the largest online collaborative brainstorming session known as the IBM InnovationJam. The idea grew from earlier innovation jams held internally and hosted through their intranet. The first one held in 2003 focussed on the launch of new corporate values. The jams were driven by the IBM chairman "who personally participated by typing his thoughts into the jam forums and reading literally thousands of comments." (Transforming your intranet, 2008) This use of the tool and therefore public commitment from senior management to the jams would have undoubtedly helped with staff engagement and participation in the jam. Thousands of suggestions were received from staff covering IBM operations, workplace policies and how to improve relationships. Staff then voted for the best 35 ideas which were then implemented. (S. Musselwhite, 2007) The jamming sessions also sped up the implementation of ideas - partly because the consultation, staff buy-in and testing, and pre-socialisation have already been done. Interestingly, research showed IBM staff trusted the information on their intranet more than the information they got from their managers or even on the informal 'grapevine'. Similar to IKEA and their approach (see other article Inside IKEA's Human Intranet Approach), IBM used an already existing framework or business feature to help technology work. IBM capitalised on the trust in and use of intranet to host a 'jam' - a new medium IBMers created that went "beyond online communities, brainstorming sessions, or traditional suggestion systems." (A Global Innovation Jam, 2011) References: A Global Innovation Jam (2011) Retrieved from http://www.ibm.com/ibm100/us/en/icons/innovationjam/words/ Musselwhite, S (2007) Intranet Strategy and Management London: Ark Group Transforming your intranet (2008) Sydney: Melcrum Publishing
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    This article brings online collaboration to a new height. Without internet and intranet technology an event of this size spanning 104 countries would not have been possible. Imagine assembling 150,000 participants in a venue and being able to do something with all the information being passed back and forth. Not withstanding the cost to assemble an audience of this size, the level of moderation would slow the collaboration process down, thus reducing the effectiveness of the session. In contrast, the IBM Jam sessions are delivered via a web platform which allows for accountability through personalisation that self regulates what users will and will not post. It provides an audit trail and recognition of great ideas so even the most junior staff member can receive global recognition and kudos for an idea that might have otherwise been misrepresented. The Jams are an effective way of performing an organisation pulse check in a global setting in a very small amount of time as they move at such a rapid pace (Feder, 2001). Further they allow the employees to recognise and drive change from the bottom up instead of just top down as management recognises that you cannot force a "command and control" culture for a workforce. Reference Feder, B.J., (2001). I.B.M. Meets With 52,600, Virtually. Retrieved April 10, 2011 from http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F06E4DD143CF93BA15756C0A9679C8B63&pagewanted=1
Samantha Clews

Trading Files or Learning? Exploring the Educational Potential of Instant Messaging - 1 views

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    This is a study by Louis Chen and Mike Morin in which they examine the use of MSN to help organise and collaborate research in high school education. The students were asked to research a specific topic and where then put in groups to complete the assignment. One of the criteria was using MSN to help organise information and collaborate ideas. The study seems to focus on the positive merits of MSN. Chen and Morin believe that because of the use of short hand language, this makes conversations quicker and straight to the point. Which in turn saves time. Msn also allows students to share links, files and pictures, which are helpful in collaborating research and assignment work. The study found that students preferred this as trying to get together at each other's houses was less productive. The study also found that teachers were able to spend more time on other coursework as they spent time on their assignments out of class. Because of the synchronous nature of msn, it means that students are able to communicate in real time as though they were talking face to face. This means that there is no time delay in reciprocation. However what the article doesn't talk about is that this can actually be a weakness of the tool; If a user is not online, another user has no way to send them information unless they either wait (which seems quite irrational) or they use a different platform (say email) to send the information. However it seems that the positives greatly overshadow the negatives.
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    I found that article is very interesting and it is so true. I think by using msn to have a group meeting is more efficient, for example, people could share their information straight away via msn, also time of physical transportation have been reduced. More time could be saved for creating and prove reading the work, also more time for rests, which a better quality of work might be assumed. However, I have found a several problems with group chatting via msn. First of all, the stability of Internet connection must be ensured; otherwise, the fluency of group meeting would be disturbed. Furthermore, the level of concentration may be doubt, since every person in the group meeting is apart, and every attendants would be expected to have different distraction according to their surroundings, and therefore online group meeting is not only gathering group mates but also multiplied the level of distractions. Lastly, the creditability would be questioned, it is hard to prove that the person you are talking to is really the group mate; this would be an issue when it comes to a situation of dealing, for example you may have confirmed the job duty through msn, but your group mate would always have an excuse that some one was using their account or so.
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    In Lomas, et.al. (2008) article, they said that instant messaging service engage the sense of immediacy. It give easy communication way between students. They can have conversation with other about schools as long as they are still online and it's free to use (with internet access). It also diminished geographical boundaries so student can exchange their knowledge with people around the world. When the IM is incorporated with video and audio chat it adding another opportunity of enhance voice communication which is more engaging. Online collaboration tools can create new opportunity in education sectors. There won't be boundaries between student and teacher that will resulting a close relationship. Another type of collaboration tools that can be used is social media. The popularity of it among younger people give advantages to these collaborations tools. They feel like this tools is close to them so they will feel free to participate. Such as using Tumblr as the tool. On of the lecture in American University use Tumblr to collaborate with his teacher (Ackerman, 2011). He said that Tumblr is good for student to learn new platform, assignment submission (so the other student can get access and have peer review), easy to have collaborative feedback, easy to publish supplementing class info, and it engage open dialogue. In my opinion, with using these types of collaboration tools it can make students more engage with their school unit. They will do it with pleasant feeling. Ackerman, M. (2011). Mashable HQ: Why Using Tumblr For Class Makes Sense. Retrieved from http://ausmcedu.org/2011/03/15/test-post-2/ Lomas, C, et.al. (2008). Collaboration Tools. Retrieved from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI3020.pdf
Jiawen Lin

Article 1: The American Pain Foundation (APF) and The HealthCentral Network Collaborate... - 8 views

This news article announced the establishment of www.ChronicPainConnection.com which provides information on the topic of pain, including blogs written by professionals, feature video of personal e...

collaboration; pain; website; learning; online; Internet; Net308_508

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