4235 Chapter 1-6 Essay
48. Provide an example of two companies that have built a strategic alliance. Briefly explain the benefits of the relationship.
We can take well known exampe of Hewlett-Packard and Disney . They are in strategic alliance, since 1938 . Some of the benefits of such type of relation are : increased knowledge and technology base , both companies can use each other expertise to produce a produt like When Disney saw a vision to develop a virtual attraction tool called Mission: SPACE, Disney Imagineers and HP engineers believed HP's IT architecture to develop Disney's most technologically and attractive feature.
46. How have hiring practices been impacted by IT?
Hiring and evaluation process has changed from time to time with new technology being developed. Now-a-days hiring process has been made easy like telephonic interviews and online video interviews. The world has become very small. We can give the interview from any place. Even the employers are encouraging this method because it's cost saving . Work space is being reduced and online jobs and work from home are being encouraged so that the work will be completed and at the same time cost can be reduced. Even though there are some disadvantaged with this , the method has been successful till date and the efficiency of the companies are increasing day by day with these type of steps taken.
49. Describe a business process by identifying the input to the process, some tasks associated with the process, the output of the process and a metric that could measure its effectiveness.
A process which shows the various steps of executing a task and which describes how the goal of a task is achieved is known as business process. For example if we consider a manufacturing industry , the resources and raw material used will be the input of the process. A supply chain which operates to manufacture the product and bring it to physical form and the marketing done for the product along with the various financing activities becomes the tasks associated with the process. The finishing of the product and successful delivery to the customer becomes the output of the process. The level of satisfaction from the customers and their reviews would be the metrics to measure it's effectiveness.
43. How does IS impact the 3 managerial levers: organizational, control and cultural?
Advancement of information system helps the organisation to achieve various objectives and to design their future goals in a much better way. Managerial levers using IS Organisational: Organising means arrangement of things and managing the same with precision and timely preposition. IS helps in integration of organisational elements and improves the visibility of the same. Organisational functions and objectives can be delivered and communicate properly through information systems like e-mails and telephone even if the manager is sitting far away from the team members.Organisational structure, representation delegation of work using PERT and project management principles using IS tools simplifies managing things according to organisational requirements. Control: Controling becomes much simpler trough transparency offered by IS tools . Reporting tools, message passing intra and inter communication networks. Collaboration and integration tools like ERP helps in controlling and managing the operations very efficiently. Cultural: Issue level addressing, conflict resolution, employee management system become much simpler through HR advanced tools. Communication portals, online training and development programs,online advt campaigns, employee engagement programs helps in nurturing and preserving the organisational culture.
48. What recommendations would you give a manager who supports a team of individuals with a multitude of cultural differences?
Always be open minded, share your views with them and try to understand their behaviour, how they work and how they communicate Try to avoid misconceptions. Due to language barrier, there may be problem in communication, therefore give your best to explain things to them , in whatever way you could make sure they do avoid errors, and follow rules and guidliness. keep a look at their work timingly As they havnt adpted your culture, there are chances that they might take hours to understand things , so dont expect on spot answers from them. let them know your what your needs are (expectations) take timely feedback from them. give them feedback about their work, and appreciate them so that they can work more happily try to be frank after office hoours, comunicate with them on social meadia tool, greet them on occasions. always be transparent towards your employees and napotasim should be avoided should encourage them to be in collectiveism. inspire them and motivate them by giving bonuses , free lunches etc as they give their 100% to work last but not least be a good manager by understanding thier every need, and react accordingly to that.
48. Why must an organization's IT architecture be based on an organization's strategic goals?
An organization's IT architecture must be based on an organization's strategic goals due to the fact that the IT infrastructure plays a significant role in the current organizations success The information provided by the IT infrastructure greatly determines the effectiveness of the both strategic and tactical decision made by the managers. If there is no sync between the organizational strategic goals and its IT infrastructure, then the IT used in the firm will not provide the desired inputs and information needed by the managers so that they can have the timely decision to fulfil the strategic goals.
44. As a small, newly formed organization, which IT architecture do you think you would choose and why?
As a small, budding organization, I would select a cloud-based infrastructure in order to be able to cater to the needs of the company as well as make the best possible use of the presence of factors which the cloud brings to the business functions. The reasons are as follows: 1. Cloud architecture is cheaper to implement and maintain for a smaller company as it involves no upfront cost implications that would have come with the need to purchase the hardware, software as well as running and maintaining the data center. 2. Reduces the need to have trained personnel and dedicated IT teams. 3. Has the benefit of not having to constantly upgrade the system when new technology and software are brought into the industry. 4. Has the benefit of scalability with the needs of the company. 5. Can be used on non-sanctioned devices which improves the functional aspect of being able to implement a system(though has security concerns).
44. Describe one job that once existed but today is obsolete (or is slowly becoming obsolete) because of technology.
Based on the my personal experience, due to the massive adaptation of Artificial intelligence and machine learning, call center agents are becoming obsolete. Because as of this writing, the utilization of AI in the aspect of tec-hnical support and navigation paved the way of using ChatBots and other related technology to provide real-time support to customers.
49. Is a company more likely to adjust its mission statement or its business strategy? Explain your answer.
Business strategy: Mission statement of any company decides its business strategy. How someone achieves its mission using its business strategy defines a company. If you're developing a business or organization, determining a direction and establishing goals is critical to your success. Creating a mission or vision statement that's specific to your venture helps your business or organization move forward. As your organization evolves, you might feel tempted to change your mission or vision. However, mission or vision statements explain your organization's foundation, so change should be kept to a minimum. Mission or vision statement should be well outlined and measure the value of company in far achievable goals so one should do enough research and see the counter big players of the market to form their vision and mission statement. Business strategy is nothing but the way you will achieve or touch your vision and mission. Time to time there might be a variation in the strategy to achieve interim goals but the vision and mission statements should not be change until you are stepping into other venture or changing the whole business. So, it can be conclude that business strategies might change over the period but the vision and mission statement should be well far sighted.
45. Explain how cloud computing services benefit from virtualization.
Cloud computing is nothing but providing hosted service through shared computer processing resources and data over the internet. With cloud computing, one can store and access data over the internet. The cloud computing is developed to help run the business successfully. It is known as on demand computing. It is internet computing which provide shared resources to the computers. There are cost benefits to cloud computing. They are: - It helps in minimizing the overall cost by minimizing the usage of power, air-conditioning, space etc. It provides maximum usage of computing power. Cloud computing helps the organization to focus more on business rather than infrastructure. It makes the applications to run faster. Anyone can use this technology so there is no need to have deep knowledge about the technology. It is a highly functional technology which requires less maintenance. Thus, thus cloud computing is cost beneficial and advantageous.
43. Why is it that more and more firms need to co-create their business and IS strategy?
Co-creating can be seen as the business strategy for value creation that can help in promoting and encouraging active participation from the other players in the industry or the customers to develop on-demand and made-to-order products. With the help of co-creation, it is possible for businesses to address the presented challenge and satisfy the needs of the customers. Thus, when the businesses co-create their business and IS strategy, this will enable the businesses to improve the services that they can facilitate to its target customers. There are many organizations for whom personal interaction is quite important with the customers as a part of their services and thus it is an important part of facilitating better brand experience. So, it can be stated that if the firm is able to co-create its business and IS strategy, it will be in a better position to address the requirements of the customers and gain greater market share through better satisfaction of the customers.
41. Cognizant moved to a matrix organization to "foster continuous operational implementations and better bottom-line results for clients." Explain how the change of organizational design allowed Cognizant to succeed.
Cognizant is an Information Technology company that work on different projects for the clients. The company provides different IT services to clients across the globe. The company has changed its organizational structure to the matrix structure. In a matrix structure, an individual employee coordinates with two different managers and takes orders from two managers. In such a case, the complexity of decision making will increase. the individual employee may get confused when two different reporting authority has different requirements. For example, a developer working on project A will have to report a development manager as well as a project manager. The requirements from both the managers would be different, and the developer has to fulfill the requirements of both the managers. On the other hand, decision making would be fast as the managers will work simultaneously. In the above example, the project manager and development manager will work at the same time, so they would be able to decide the work responsibilities and other requirements easily. The managers will use their expertise, so productivity and effectiveness will increase. Hence, due to the matrix structure, Cognizant would have fast and better decision making with effective and efficient project completion.
47. List the three categories of social business opportunities and give an example of each.
Collaboration —using social IT to extend the reach of stakeholders, both employees and those outside the enterprise walls. Social IT such as social networks enable individuals to find and connect with each other to share ideas, information, and expertise. Engagement —using social IT to involve stakeholders in the traditional business of the enterprise. Social IT such as communities and blogs provide a platform for individuals to join in conversations, create new conversations, and offer support to each other and other activities that create a deeper feeling of connection to the company, brand, or enterprise. Innovation —using social IT to identify, describe, prioritize, and create new ideas for the enterprise. Social IT offers community members a "super idea box" where individuals suggest new ideas, comment on other ideas, and vote for their favorite idea, giving managers a new way to generate and decide on products and services.
46. List one externally managed IT resource a company may use and how it provides a strategic advantage.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is an externally managed IT resource that any company can use and the strategic advantage that it obtains from this is maintaining the customer database easily and conveniently and this provides a competitive advantage over its competitors.
47. Data entry has always been a challenge in many business processes. There are technologies that have removed this challenge by allowing data to be captured at the time it is created, reducing the need for data entry clerks. List a specific example of this technology and the impact it has had on a particular industry.
Data entry is a crucial part and parcel of all industries be it maufacturing, IT,non IT ,hospital and banking etc.and it was the challenging job in business processes as it involves speed and accuracy both at the same time.Earlier there was the huge requirements of data entry clerks in every industry and sectors.But now a days because of technologiacl changes and adavancement has reduced the need of data entry clerks because of automated techniques like automated forms ,electronic health record, renowned Accuracy,advanced Scalability,click once and web-based scanning,front office document capture etc are few good eaxmples of such technology.
48. Dell's original business strategy was to only sell custom-built computer systems directly to customers. Dell now sells to major retail outlets such as Walmart and Best Buy. Which one of Porter's generic strategies was Dell exhibiting when only selling directly to the customer? And which one of Porter's generic strategies is Dell demonstrating today? Explain your answers.
Focus Strategy- first: Dell organization sells only custom-built computer systems directly to customers. This strategy is similar to the focus strategy of the Porter's generic strategies because they are concentrated towards particular section of the consumer base. second: Dell organization now sells to major retail outlets such as Walmart or bet buy etc. This strategy is also similar to the focus strategy of the Porter's generic strategies because they are concentrated towards particular section of the consumer base. (Changed approach not strategy)
50. What is alignment in the context of the Information Systems Strategy Triangle and why is it important for a business to be in alignment?
In the context of Information Systems Strategy Triangle alignment is the fit of the three strategies to enable an organization meet its goals and objectives. The triangle consists of three elements - information strategy, organizational strategy and business strategy. An alignment helps in answering the question - what IT architecture will allow the effective and efficient implementation of the business strategy of the organization. The IT architecture would include software, hardware and network capabilities. Alignment ensures that both organizational strategy as well as information strategy is being driven by the overall business strategy of the concerned organization. It ensures that information strategy not only fits with the business strategy but also supports it. This, eventually, results in the integration of the functional divisions of the organization with each other.
47. Explain why relationship skills are becoming more important to IS managers in today's economy.
In todays economy which relies on data and information for decision making, the role of an Information System Manager has increased. Considering that the data flows from the ground, into central processing and then after analysis the information is fed in to the leadership or management, the Information System Manager is supposed to interact not with the front end but also the back end team. So also, not only the junior staff but also the leadership and management team. Not only with just Sales department but also the Marketing and Finance and Supply Chai Departments. In todays economy, to keep the costs low and also to get a greater leverage, there is a greater colloboration amongst departments and also amongst the various units of an enterprise. So the Information Systems Manager, apart from his functional skills like technical and analytical skills, also must possess the below relationship skills : - Teamworking - Time Management - Interpersonal Skills - Communication Skills - Attention to Detail
45 Assume you are a manager of a local doctor's office. How could you use IS to help monitor the performance of the nurses and doctors? State the benefits as well as the challenges.
Information system halpes to analyse the data with respect to the hospital and plan for the operations that can reduce wastage of the resources, effective utilisation of the nursing time, utilities and serve the patients in a better manner to generate more revenue. The hospital can use or maintain the patient , doctors & nurses time and medical data that helps to manage the time and medical data for the purpose of serving, timely attending to the patients, effective management of the doctor & nurse timings, as well as proper billing for the patient services. The challenges are : Lack of proper knowledge to update the information system as the doctors & nurses may not be technical to update the data. Also the uniqueness of the patient data and situation may not apply in all the situations by using a erp. It needs lot of analysis and customisation which may not be viable to the small size organisation.
49. Provide an example of two companies that have built an effective co-opetition. Briefly explain the benefit of the relationship.
Microsoft and Apple are two organizations who possess and effective competition in the industry and because of the competition the consumers are actually benefitted as they get the best product at a better price. The organizations will not provide any opportunity to its competitor because that will be a blunder in the business as there are lot of organizations who are actually waiting for such and organization. Competition improves service, this term is true and justified.
46. List some examples of informal networking that occurs in organizations. How can management utilize informal networks to the organization's advantage?
Networking according to me has following threads: About exchanging information It is connection between resources. Now what is Informal network or networking? In any organization, the network flourishes spontaneously, mainly due to human nature, nature of work where they need to work together, mutual or self-interest sometimes even no one requires them. Now when these resources or people connects they share their interests and knowledge forms a network, and these network can vary from few to many colleagues in number. These network is also called as Grapevine network, it present in every organization, sometimes spreading rumors about company policy (their own version) , this network reflects people's knowledge their company and their desire to share what they know. These kind of network organizes and reshuffle themselves. Examples: WhatsApp groups, Social media group, Chat groups, informal parties, social gathering & community get together. How can management utilize informal networks to the organization's advantage? Though these network are informal but since they are within an organization, therefore an organization can harness its advantages like: Can use these network to send some information informally like downsizing, layoff to avoid panic among employee or avoiding news to come as shock to them. Managers can get to know the concern of team or individual which in general team doesn't speak openly. Knowing the information well ahead managers can stop spreading of wrong message or information, which can affect company brand and position in the market. Knowing the information about individuals in team , managers can plan task or growth plan of the team member in effective way. It increases the value of collaboration by reducing the cost needed for formal set up. Many agenda can be discussed over cup of coffee in very effective manner.
47. Explain what cloud service the New York Times successfully utilized and the benefit this solution provided.
New York Times has successfully utilised Amazon Web Services. New York Times needed a modernised and cost competitive Service provider for its mainframe to be adapted for more functionality and without affecting its business. The benefits and solutions provided are New York Times home delivery services are able to handle more business and provide results required for analysis. It also supports functions like data, billing and customer information management. Amazon Web Services has retained the existing features of NY times home delivery software platform and improved its performance with using more compatible computer programming languages, data storage and functioning .
52. Explain why installing an enterprise system often requires the redesign of existing business processes and the impact this has on the organization.
Reasons why installing an enterprise system often requires the redesign of existing business processes are as follows: • It provides real-time information and data to the organization that helps to redesign the existing business processes • The enterprise system motivates enhanced productivity by eliminating repetition in business processes using tedious manual tasks • The system helps to estimate and quote the business redesign by making it easier and customizable • The system offers a 360-degree evaluation of the existing business process and the flaws available in it. It helps in redesigning the existing business processes. • It ensures seamless integration of business design using a centralized database that supports the development of all the core processes of a business • It offers an improvement in customer service which helps to redesign the customer relationship process of a business • The enterprise system promotes cost-cutting operations which by reducing business labor and operational cost of existing business processes It has a positive impact on the organization. The system helps to improve organizational productivity by identifying the flaws in business processes which helps in restructuring business processes. Moreover, it eliminates all the additional repetitive activities for a successful business structure.
43. Explain how IS radically changed the paper maker's work at a paper mill.
Since 1960's we are witnessing a rapid development in the field of operations and management of paper mill's due to the evolution and application of different fields like computer science, management science, control theory, electronics, operations management, technology etc. This rapid development can be evidently observed through the history of pulp and paper industry. By the second half of sixtie's packaged computer systems were developed for making different subprocesses in the mill to improve its efficiency and productivity. This system was very successful and thus leads to a rapid increase in the number of process control systems in the pulp and paper industry. Some applications in this filed are stock preparation system, bleach plant control system, paper machine controls packages which includes maintaining its moisture and weight, digester control system etc. Through all these computer applications it was observed that these applications of infotmation systems are increasing the efficiency of work and reduces the work load of the workers which helps them to improve their productivity and effectiveness too. Now adays through the application of information system in paper mills provide new opportunities for effective automation, coordination and optimisation in all production operations takes place in the mills. Information system helps the paper maker's in every streams of their work including budgetting, inventory control, profit planning, financial analysis, wood procurement etc. The information system helps the paer maker's to integrate all the process that takes place in paper production and makes the work more systematic with improved productivity. Some impacts in paper industry due to the introduction of information system are as follows: The firm can be efficiently managed and control all the operation which simplifies the work load of paper makers compared to the past decades. Distributed Control System(DCS) and Quality Control System(QCS) perform realtime control of many factors of paper production process. The productivity of the employees can be analysed and measured in more simpler way than compared to the past and effective decisions and steps can be taken to improve productivity. Through the introduction of information system the paper maker's diagnose the process problems very fast and allows them a problem solving fast before they have an impact on quality and productivity, in past this process was very difficult for paper maker's sometimes they understand the presence of a problem after it badly hitting the business .
53. Explain issues companies have with one another when linking systems in order to participate in an integrated supply chain.
Some of the challenges that companies face when attempting to link systems with another company in order to participate in an integrated supply chain are : - Trust for designing an integrated supply chain for information sharing and collaboration is a major hindrance. Partnership mentality is low since competition perspective plays a major role. Lack of supply chain design talent and time taken to learn is a major obstacle. Regulatory and market conditions such as tariffs have caused complexity in supply chain network . The cost involved in building the IT infrastructure which links the supply chain systems of different companies is huge which is a major hindarance . Data security is a key issue as linking supply chain systems may compromise the data integrity .
51. Give an example of a company whose switching costs are too high, effectively keeping its customer captive. How is this company using technology to maintain high switching costs?
Switching costs are costs which a customer should pay to change a supplier or shift from a particular marketplace. There are companies or products which end up in high switching cost for the customers. The reason being, they are one of the very few providers of that particular service or product that is reachable to the customer. If the customer is willing to switch from one supplier to another then he or she might end up paying higher amount which is referred to as switch costs and therefore stays with the same supplier to save the cost. One example of this type of company is AOL (American Online). It is a service provider which provides dial up services and e mail facilities to its users. The switching costs for customers of AOL is high because they are given unique nos for their dial up services and also the email id created is unique. Therefore, customers would not want to change the number or the email id after using it for a certain period of time. By doing so, they would have to intimate all their contacts regarding the same. In order to avoid this, customers tend to stick with AOL even if their services are not great.
52. Explain how Zara has aligned its information systems strategy with its business strategy
The business strategy of Zara focuses on gaining competitive advantage over its rivals through integration of is production, manufacturing, logistics and customer handling staff that is its store managers. It is the performance of these key activities in the supply chain area that speeds up the turn around time of Zara's clothing from its manufacturing site to the stores within a matter of days while the normal delivery time for clothes from manufacturing facility to the point of sale is 9 to 10 months which makes it hard for its competitors to match to the positioning and branding strategy of Zara. Zara operates with a lean organizational structure, which emphasizes high performance. The lean organizational structure also works to reduces the number of managerial hierarchy levels and decentralize decision-making. This model limits the business's focus on redundant administrative procedures. The IT implementation of the OR models was relatively challenging, in that it required establishing dynamic access to several large, live databases (store inventory, sales, and warehouse inventory) to compute, under very stringent time constraints, many decisions that are critical to the company's distribution activities.Yes, these two strategies are aligned Because of proper alignment the company's growth has increased by 23% YOY. Zara has developed the ability to quickly react to the demands of the customer by combining information, organizational and business strategy. With this, Zara has successfully created a supply chain that moves quick enough to fully reload stock in about two weeks. It is obvious that Zara has attempted to gain advantage over its competitors by consistently having a new flow of products, especially those products in particular being limited in supply, and they were successful doing so because they aligned their information systems strategy with its business strategy. Zara recognizes the demand between manufacturing and distribution. This is excellent for the company because it quickly attracts customers to these limited products. If something is limited in stock, the customer will impulsively and quickly purchase it in case it does not come back into stock. Ultimately, the way that Zara's business strategy works has led to a rather loyal and satisfied customer.
51. Today's market place is considered to be a very competitive and dynamic environment. Explain what this means and give examples of this competitive dynamic.
The fact cannot be denied that today's market place is considered to be a very competitive and dynamic environment because we see that in any field there are a lot of options and alternatives today and even the price range also varies from very low to high providing a basket of opportunities to the consumers. If we look at the mobile phone industry we will see that there are international organizations like Apple, Samsung, Google, etc. which possess huge competition among them to get hold of the market and again there are small players too which are affordable for everyone like Kyocera, Huawei, Coolpad, HTC, etc. The competition is very high because there is very less chance of error as the competition is more in number and also the quality does not vary a lot therefore innovative and unique ideas are the key.
50. Outline how Zara demonstrates a strong sense of process perspective in comparison to other more traditional retailers who seem to have a silo perspective.
The sky high growth of Zara is because of their overarching strategy through diversification with vertical integrations. It can be evident from the fact that it adapts designs, manufacturing process, distribution system, and retails clothes within two weeks once original product gets launched and showcased on catwalks. This is way better than the industry average i.e., six months. Zara owns its own supply chain for fast exposure of product in the market and literally adopt the concept of fast fashion. Zara delivers fashionable and trendy products for variety of tastes using Just in Time production. Just in time is defined as controlled and integrated process. The company belives in in-house production and makes sure that it reserves 85% of its capacity for in-season adjustments. The concept of in-house production enables zara to be flexible in the amount, frequency, and variety of new products to be launched. Also, it relies significantly on advanced fabric sourcing, cutting, and sewing facilities in proximity to its design headquarters in Spain. The provide high wages to these European workers compared to other developing countries in a way to maintain best quality and keep the best workers.
47. Give an example of a tool or virtual community that enables a large, global informal network. What is its value to a participant and the participant's firm?
Virtual communities are group of individuals which are formed on internet or online. These groups are formed to discuss various topic of common interest, to share their experience regarding some events, to gain peace of mind by engaging with people facing similar health problems or simply just for chatting. These groups are generally formed across geographical boundaries thus encompassing people from various backgrounds. Facebook is an example of virtual community where people send friend requests to other people and once their request is accepted, they can engage in conversation or follow them. The value for participant is that he gets connected with likeminded people and could seek support from them. Participant can gain knowledge and engage in constructive dialogue on topics of his interest. Also, he could meet new people and share his own ideas. The value for company is that, the more groups are created on its website, a greater number of other companies will advertise there. Thus, creating profits for participant's firm.
50. List a Web 2.0 technology and how it benefits from the network effect.
Web 2.0 is the business upset in the PC business brought about by the transition to the web as a stage, and any endeavor to comprehend the standards for progress on that new stage. It's an essentially improved variant of the principal overall web, portrayed explicitly by the change from static to dynamic or client produced content and furthermore the development of online media. The idea driving Web 2.0 alludes to rich web applications, web-situated design, and social web. It allude to changes in the manners pages are planned and utilized by the clients, with no adjustment in any specialized determinations. Significant highlights of Web 2.0 permit clients to all in all arrange and discover dynamic data that streams two different ways between webpage proprietor and website client by methods for assessment, remarks, and surveys. Instances of Web 2.0 highlights incorporate person to person communication locales or web-based media destinations e.g., Facebook, online journals, wikis, folksonomies. Innovation offers various highlights including the accompanying: - Supports joint effort across existence. - Effectively available - Simple to utilize - Minimal effort (at times even free) - Doesn't need a lot of IT uphold - Almost no vacation - Cheap - Less danger - Mor test for some, associations is that they think that its exceptionally extreme to keep up the mind boggling IT foundation. Regardless of whether an association is little measured, it needs to give email and other IT instruments to its representatives. In any event, moving to an alternate programming variant turns out to be a significant errand for them. Web 2.0 offers devices that are a lot more straightforward. They don't need any upkeep from the point of view of the organization. - Another advantage that Web 2.0 offers is the minimization of personal time. Web 2.0 devices don't have any vacation. - The most significant advantage of web 2.0 devices is that it incorporates ease. Straightforwardness in keeping up it and the less vacation lead to bring down expenses. The cost engaged with actualizing a web 2.0 based email capacity is astoundingly lower and it requires zero specialized mastery. Web 2.0 encourages cooperation in an astounding manner. Web 2.0 apparatuses have natural coordinated effort abilities thus they incorporate report sharing devices, for example, Scribd and Google Docs alongside Wiki. A considerable lot of the Web 2.0 devices give systems administration and correspondence capacities. This empowers the documentation of when the common record was changed or altered. This is exceptionally significant for an association that is topographically scattered.
42. Why are teams using collaborative tools like groupware and wikis to coordinate their work rather than a communication tool like e-mail?
With distributed teams, located in various locations around the globe, using collaborative tools, such as wikis, instant messengers, video conferencing, etc., is a great way for the teams to stay connected. These tools allow the teams to interact frequently regardless of their geographic location. The team can use wikis to post their work and comment on each other's work, as well as keeping the team informed when changes are made by it generating automatic updated emails to the team. Instant messengers, such as google Chat and Yahoo IM, allow teams to communicate using their computers. It's similar to talking on the phone but just typing whatever the person says and they instantly receive the message. Video conferencing is used mostly in the business world to communicate with people so all participating parties can have the illusion of being in the same room although they may be hundreds of miles away or in another country. Using Groupware as a collaborative tool is essential when working in groups or teams. Working in teams can be difficult if there's no communication transferred between all members. Groupware gives the team the opportunity to interact regularly. Adopting the right Groupware software depends on the needs of the organization and the team that will use the software. Before a company purchases software for collaboration purposes, suggest they make a list of all the key functionalities they want the software to encompass. They need to determine what they are looking for, software that will manage calendars, emails, data storage, how much data will be stored, etc. After formulating this list the proper research needs to be taken to choose the right Groupware. Some of the key factors before adopting include, funding, take look at who will use the tools, how often, what kind of information will be stored, etc. If a team is really serious about working together effectively as possible no hesitation should be taken when trying to find the proper channels of communication.
