My research is focused on creating
a model of a platform for knowledge management and learning in organizations. Based
on my experience I am convinced that this platform should be a community
platform that integrates social commutation and community-oriented technologies.
Why do I want to create a model when there are commercial social media platforms
that are used by millions of people already? We have class or learning management
systems, we have open social networking sites (Facebook or Google+, “closed”
social intranet platforms that have been developed in-house, by open source
software developers or by companies such as CISCO, Microsoft, Google, Jive, ThoughtFarmer and others that have been used by organizations as a
part of a social intranet. I feel there is a need for the model because, as a
social scientist, I know that a lot of these platforms are not based on
holistic or a systematic approach to creating effective and sustainable learning
and workplace for organizations. During my extensive literature review, I also
found that not a lot of qualitative or quantitative studies have been done on
the phenomenon of virtual communities of practice inside organizations, so
software developers have to rely on fragmented and incomplete research data.
Many businesses, which invest in social
communication technology for their employees, buy or design an in-house software or
a platform for the formal structures and offer their informal structures to
utilize the same platform. As a starting point, it is useful to understand the
difference between informal organizations (parallel structures, communities of
practice, distributed networks) and formal organizational structures. Do we
have the same processes there? Are their organizational needs the same? My
next post will be about the differences between a specific type of informal organization,
a community of practice and a formal organization.
Olga,
ReplyDeleteNice job on the blog and your concentration area of interest. I wish you well with both.
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ReplyDeleteWell, great idea Olga. I hope you be able to progress on that idea. Would really be helpful and handy. If you need help or information about intranet, consult simmplr (http://www.simpplr.com/). They'd love to here from you!
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