Managing with Web 20 - Research Paper Example

Managing with Web 2.0 Web 2.0 can be defined as a set of technologies and applications that have the ability to support online participation. The adaptation of this technology is based on the fact that it can be adopted at a very little cost and also require less technical skills as users broadcast to many other users. (Hoffman, 2009) Example of Web 2.0 applications include blogs, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and wikis like Wikipedia. This tools are aimed at enhancing creativity, information sharing, collaboration and functionality of the web. Web2.0 tools are now not only used by people for their leisure time, but also by employees in corporations for improving communication and enhancing productivity. (Girrell, 2010) How Web 2.0 helps on knowledge management, work coordination & decision making. The application of Web 2.0 tools and applications can help companies and organizations in knowledge management, work coordination & decision making. Web 2.0 tools help companies manage knowledge, coordinate work and enhance decision making in a number of ways. Blogs, wikis and social networking help companies and their employees communicate and boost productivity. After all, blogs can provide information to users in a less formal way yet attainable form and grant readers the opportunities to respond to the writer, ask, questions, comment, etc. This interaction bridges the corporate users and the readers/customers or potential customers and builds relationships. (Johnston, 2010) Since Web 2.0 tools are user friendly, communication and knowledge creation are easy. For instance, for the workforce, wikis serve as a “blackboard” a space in which corporate workers and an increasingly mobile workforce can communicate with each other, formalize projects and the components thereof, document progress and do so in a less costly manner. After all, wikis, like most Web 2.0 tools contain costs. This is especially true since Web 2.0 tools do not require IT department implementation. (Johnston, 2010) Blogs, wikis and social networking tools solve the problem of individual emails, IMs and the creation of numerous emails conveying information, raising questions or documenting progress. Web 2.0 solves the problems of connection across a large company or department and provides the users with flexibility. It offers the manager or creator the opportunity to post the information and the other workers or users with 24 hour viewing from anywhere they can log into such platforms. For this reason, all parties have a sense of autonomy and connectedness despite virtual connectivity. Therefore companies could benefit from using Web 2.0 tools internally because wikis could provide departmental or store information, convey opportunities for employees and/or connect efforts across the company locations. Wikis can also provide researchers with the space to play with ideas and or work on projects hence due to their nature, the progress would be documented and would be accessible to all with permissions/access. Therefore, Web 2.0 could prove invaluable internally. (Jones, 2008) Therefore, with the application of Web 2.0 in management, the company’s formal software documentation can be collaborated on materials related to meetings, developing presentation, project plans and reports. Team work communication and supervision can be initiated through the use of wikis by project team members to information and post the progress of their projects. Also, supervision of projects and their status in a different office locations via a single wiki page can be done a time-efficient way. Lastly, information on management can be availed easily i.e. Materials and progress of projects can be stored in the company’s network and social networking tools can help the process of recruiting and making sales contacts more efficiently.(MacMillan, and Conlin, 2009) Management problems that can be solved by Web 2.0 Less paper work and cost reduction The usage of Web 2.0 tools by an organization will lead to less paper required hence saving on the costs that could have been incurred. For instance if the company’s operations and activities are documented on a ‘Wiki’ will mean less paper is consumed. This therefore means that the company adopts an environmentally friendly business management environment hence a better corporate image. (Jones, 2008) Efficient and faster information flow The use of Web 2.0 tools like blogs, Wikis, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and online portals leads to better and faster communication in work between team members. This is possible and important to management since flow of information is instant hence making it easy for managers and team leaders to pass information and instructions very easily and faster. This makes management faster, better and easier. (Jones 2010) Less office rental expense The application Web 2.0 tools and applications makes it easier for an organizations office to be managed and operated remotely. The functions of an organization only need to stick to a central district office and can be removed to sub-urban area or run as a home office. This therefore reduces the financial burden for the expenses used to rent an office. (Hoffman, 2009) Facilitation of easy recruiting The use of social media networking tools to search for potential candidates and promote sales contacts makes it easy for managers to get the right candidates to drive the company forward and also as easy way of marketing the company’s products. Finally, these social networking tools within the company enhance the social communication among staff hence better interworking relationship hence improved growth. (MacMillan, and Conlin, 2009) How a company can be benefit internally from the use of Web 2.0 Reduction in Traffic due to mass email The adoption and use of mass email in business communication is disadvantageous since they are very hard to organize and collaboration against others. Therefore, the use of Wikis and blogs to replace mass emails among project teams make it easy for organization and collaboration with others. (Jones, 2008) Increase Enterprise Knowledge Capturing & Retention The use of Web 2.0 tools and applications like idea banks, weblogs and wikis help in increasing the enterprise knowledge capturing and retention. This is done through easy sharing of information between team members in team projects through the use of wikis, sharing of the staff’s experience and business knowledge through use of weblogs and sharing and collaboration of innovational ideas through use of idea banks. (MacMillan, and Conlin, 2009) Centralized Corporate Intelligence and Storage The use of wikis and blogs leads to a unified repository. This leads to a structured and organized enterprise document management hence facilitating faster search of information leading to faster business processes. Also, the use social network tools like tagging leads to a centralized material linking on specific issues hence faster decision making from the management. (Johnston, 2010) Improved teamwork, communication and collaboration The use of weblogs and wikis within an organization ensures better interworking relationship among project team hence increased collaboration. Communication between among employees is an important management tool and can be improved and increased with the adoption social networking tools such as instant messaging, video conferencing and calendar sharing. (Girrell, 2010) Provides a common place to information access The management of an organization can be made easy when the subjects have easy access to information. This can be done through embracing Web 2.0 tools i.e. rss feeds, mashups and dashboards in company web portal. This merges all updated information into a single page and provides a summary with contextual visualizations. (Hoffman, 2009) Little training and cost support required The application of Web 2.0 tools and applications provides a wide-range of tool selection to support different purposes. This tools are user-friendly hence little training and cost support is required. Challenges & concerns of managing with Web 2.0 Application of Web 2.0 tools and application in management comes with a lot of challenges. This include convincing workers to embrace Web 2.0 technology. The issue of regulating the use of Web 2.0 and the rules of privacy, respect, and confidentiality in its corporate code of conduct are of major concern. (Hoffman, 2009) Lastly, there is a challenge in controlling the quality of information being passed through the Web 2.0 tools and applications. Therefore, the management should ensure no anonymous online communications should be allowed and also authorization of any sensitive information need to be done. (MacMillan, and Conlin, 2009) Works Cited Girrell, Kris. "10 Tips for Managing Web 2.0 Projects - IT Management." Enterprise Technology News and Opinions on Storage, Security, Business Intelligence and IT Management for CIOs. CIO Insight, 14 Apr. 2010. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. Hoffman, Donna L. "Managing beyond Web 2.0 | McKinsey & Company." McKinsey & Company | Home Page. July 2009. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. "How Do Web 2.0 Tools Help Companies Manage Knowledge, Coordinate Work and Enhance Decision Making? - College Essays - Kentroamerica." Study Mode. 1 Jan. 2011. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. Johnston, Rick. "Knowledge Management in the Web 2.0 AgeAssociations Now Magazine Resources ASAE: The Center for Association Leadership." The Center for Association Leadership. 2 Jan. 2008. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. Jones, Kim. "Financial Times." Managing a Web 2.0 Strategy. Sun Microsystems, 4 July 2008. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. MacMillan, Douglas, and Michelle Conlin. "Web 2.0: Managing Corporate Reputations - BusinessWeek." Businessweek.com. Bloomberg, 20 May 2009. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. Read More