The Water Cooler is Now on the Web
After reading the October 1st issue of Business Week Magazine, I found an important article that is currently facing the business world today. This article talks about companies and the apparent growth of importance of networking and the web. Many large companies have found that the next generation of workers is more computer oriented with blogs, wikis, and other social networks such as Facebook or Myspace. Not wanting crucial inside information leaking out, some firms have implemented social networks of their own designed to let employees network among the confines of their own company. Lockheed Martin and JPMorgan Chase are two of many large global companies that are trying to incorporate such social networks.
This type of web technology will allow companies to create more data mining from the provided profile information for in-company expertise, discover new recruits within the company, and allow information to be shared between different categories or groups within the company. In addition, with the global aspect of many companies, this technology can allow employees in different, diverse cultures around the world to share information and ideas for implementation that can also lead to competitive advantages in communication. These social networks can also be used to reduce the number of emails, like Lotus Connections, which is an IBM product that allows companies to share research, calendars, chat and blog from information from studies or meetings. This can reduce the time emailing other departments or anyone on email lists that don’t attend these such events.
This article pertains to human resource management because it focuses on ...