Since I recently took on new responsibilities I begun to realise how much the information balance is so critical in a business environment, it make the difference between good and bad decisions, which inevitably have knock-on effects and repercussions. The company I joined have tried to be innovative and are using some cool web2.0 technology, (wikis) to help the info-flow, however this is only half the solution (or problem as you may choose to consider it). Since, the company has not just one centralised wiki, but at least 4 different wikis to consult to gather the required information. Not only that they have numerous networked drives that contain solution descriptions, sales proposals, etc. A wealth of valuable information spread across multiple access points. The second part of this problem is functional silos. Whilst the information appears to be shared, it is still created and stored in modes that replicate zones of competence and relevance. This may seem appropriate to the individual, but it is not practical for the organisation. My role is one of Business Consultant, which means I have to draw on all sectors of the company for the relevant information, so if my role is reflective of the organisations need for the right information, most of the time is spent searching, validating and absorbing. I agree with most people that information should be a free commodity, yet to be efficient it must be arranged in some way that the right information can be found quickly.
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August 11th, 2008 at 2:19 am
Hi Phill,
I think that you are spot on with you comment on sharing information. However this phenomenon has been in the world of information for some time and I was wondering if you have considered different approaches to a solution to the problem. Surely you can hire an information exchange expert at an outrageous cost to define a “new” intranet to be used, but how do we change an organisation to be more effective without loosing our creativity by imposing uniformnes on everybody?
Looking forward to you thoughts on this.
Regards
Dan
September 4th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Thanks Dan for the comment. You are right, the way to solve this problem is requires a two-fold approach, the first as you quite rightly put it is the technical part, delivering an effective and efficient solution, the second pertains to the organisation that uses the technology. Most companies have a global presence now, which also makes handling of information difficult, as corporations traverse cultural boundaries. The best way to approach this is to review the corporate culture and the local culture. Obviously this takes time and coordination, commodities which are often a luxury in todays fast-paced info-community.
What we are faced with is that technologies evolve quickly, whilst cultures change slowly, but there are ways to nurture this change.
Thanks for the comment,
Phil