Collaborative Technologies and Organizational Learning (Series in Information Technology Management)
Editorial Reviews
Educational Technology & Society Journal, Volume 2, Number 1, January 1999
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In Collaborative Technologies & Organizational Learning, Robert Neilson reports on a case study conducted at the National Defense University involving collaborative technologies. The central research question was: How is organizational learning advanced by transferring intellectual material via collaborative technologies?...Neilson defines such technologies as a set of tools which support two or more people to achieve common objectives, with groupware such as LotusNotes as an example. Groupware is networked computer software and hardware that enables synchronous (real-time) and asynchronous (delayed-time) collaboration.
Neilson incorporated three distinct groups and approaches to using LotusNotes in his study. The approaches were (1) Field of Dreams, which he described as "if you build it they will come," (2) Champion, which used a group member other than group leader in a pivotal role, and (3) Business Reason, which required the use of groupware as an integral part of everyday business. To further tease out interrelationships surrounding the transfer of intellectual material using collaborative technologies, a series of eight propositions were advanced to address information exchange, technology use, and learning. Neilson describes each proposition in detail with an excellent review of literature that makes the study even more insightful.
For corporate trainers preparing to initiate collaborative technologies, Neilson's results provide a starting point for designing similar projects. For one thing, his study indicated that relying solely on a Field of Dreams approach does not work. Obviously, just because a company spends the time and money to install elaborate groupware resources does not mean that employees will be enticed to participate freely on the system. Also he found that even while initial training in using the groupware product is important, it alone is no guarantee that the trained individuals will contribute more than others....The study also indicated that respondents who have had prior negative first-hand experiences with collaborative technologies will continue to have negative reactions to these technologies regardless of training and peer pressure. These findings seem to indicate that groupware projects must be introduced carefully, leaving very little to chance...This research illustrates that a complicated web of relationships exists, and much more needs to be learned. Neilson stresses that additional proposition development and testing needs to grow from his study. Companies can not just install collaborative technologies and simply think that employees will use it. The results of this study show that corporations must put many resources into implementing these new technologies, and then learn from failure and successes.
Book Description
Collaborative Technologies and Organizational Learning provides new insight from a longitudinal study of a public sector organization's experience with implementing a specific collaborative technology, Lotus Notes. The book includes a discussion of theoretical bases for organizational learning as well as practice prescriptions for those interested in installing or using Lotus Notes to leverage the intellectual capital already existing within an organization. From a theoretical perspective the book discusses a multiplicity of theoretical bases underlying organizational learning including single and double loop learning, expectancy theory, experience curve theory, reciprocity theory, coordination theory, open systems theory, optimal curve theory, and need-pull theory. Tom Davenport, a well-known management "guru" recently lamented that "if you can find a case in which Lotus Notes has fundamentally changed the organizational culture and dynamics of information exchange, I'll waterski from Boston to Nantucket in January." This book addresses some of Davenport's concerns by focusing on the all important first step in implementing a collaborative technology--determining what implementation approach(es) work best in a given organizational environment. Large scale organizational investments in collaborative technology have skyrocketed. However, little empirical evidence exists to justify large expenditures on these technologies and associated training and operating costs. Collaborative Technologies and Organizational Learning is intended for readers seeking greater understanding in how collaborative technologies such as Lotus Notes helps foster organizational learning
Collaborative Technologies and Organizational Learning (Series in Information Technology Management)
Collaborative Technologies and Organizational Learning (Series in Information Technology Management),Robert E. Neilson,Idea Group Publishing,187828939X,Business / Economics / Finance,Career/Job,Computers,Corporate & Business History - Strategies,Human Resources & Personnel Management,Information Technology,Management,Management Information Systems,Microcomputer Database Management Software,Organizational learning,Training,Information management,Lotus Notes
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