Now It Is the Collaborative Enterprise
April 30, 2010
A bit of clicking around surfaced “The Collaborative-Ready Enterprise.” The write up focuses on the benefits of “communication, coordination, communities and social interaction facilitation”. The idea is that video conferencing, instant messaging, similar functions allow a business function like customer support to reduce cost and improve customer satisfaction.
A conversation at breakfast this morning took a different approach. The topic was the downside of collaboration. Three points surfaced.
First, collaboration can create a false sense of confidence in the value or accuracy of a particular item of information. In a collaborative space, two or more people can embrace an idea and move forward. What could be more efficient than trusted users converging on a consensus.
Second, collaboration could become the shortest distance between two points. One point is the need for actionable information and the second point is a path that leads through old fashioned research and analysis. The woods, however, are lovely, dark and deep. The short path may be a nifty short cut that is just easy.
Third, the notion that enterprises need to be collaborative. Perhaps certain tasks can be performed using collaborative methods? Other tasks should not be shifted to the collaborative space. Maybe a single worker performing a specific task does not need any type of collaboration?
The shift to collaborative services is underway. My view is that collaboration will have significant effects on how individuals obtain and think about information. I also have a nagging thought that collaboration raises some hurdles for security, efficiency, and business processes.
I have pointed out that in the present economic climate “Enterprise 2.0” chatter does little to address the problems generated by “Enterprise 1.0” companies. Now the chase is on for the “collaborative enterprise.” Last time I checked in Louisville, Kentucky, there were office vacancies galore, increasing pressure on small businesses, and a heck of a lot of people without much hope for employment.
Buzzwords are useful, but I think more is needed.
Stephen E Arnold, April 30, 2010
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2 Responses to “Now It Is the Collaborative Enterprise”
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Stephen, thanks for sharing. Sounds like the kind of discussion one would have with Martin White!
In terms of “efficiency”, there is research that shows that novice groups take longer (less efficient), but are more likely to have breakthrough ideas (more effective). Non-novice / established groups take a shorter amount of time (more efficient), but are less likely to have breakthrough ideas (less effective IF the environmental factors have changed).
So … choose what you want / need / desire, and implement accordingly.
M.
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