TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................ 2

Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 2

The Use of Technology: Groupware ....................................................................................................... 3

Groupware: Impact on Information and Knowledge .............................................................................. 3

Context .................................................................................................................................................... 5

Strategy ................................................................................................................................................... 6

Organisational Structure: ........................................................................................................................ 7

Roles: ...................................................................................................................................................... 7

Organisational Culture: ........................................................................................................................... 8

Conclusion: ............................................................................................................................................. 8

Recommendations: .................................................................................................................................. 9

References:............................................................................................................................................ 10

Information rules: a strategic guide to the network economy ............................................................... 10

Group dynamics for teams .................................................................................................................... 10

The new why teams don't work: what goes wrong and how to make it right ....................................... 10

Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science: Des-Lib ................................................................ 10

Knowledge, groupware, and the Internet .............................................................................................. 10

Executive Summary

Groupware software application have become the most widely used in organisations to cater
the flow of information however this is just another tool facilitating the storage and flow of
information. Technology can be helpful but it is not the answer to the all problems therefore
relying on groupware for information sharing does not guarantee success in management.
Inadequate information management directly affects the knowledge within an organisation.
Technology should be for people not the people for technology

Introduction

Data storage has been here since ancient times when it was recorded on any tangible form by
humans. Stone, wood, paper is just to name a few. These tangible forms were there to store
the data which can then become information for one set of individuals while it might mean
just nothing to others who are not aware of the modes used to record this information. The
interpretation of data into information solely depends on the abilities of individuals who are
dealing with it .More recently since the advent of technology there have been devices which
aid the storage of which most commonly are hard storage devices which can be represented
as information to individuals. It can also be transferred from one destination by many means.
In technological terms information can be anything which can be digitized and can be
encoded as a stream of bits .The idea is that human minds have unmatched ability to decode
and encode information. The primary focus should be on individuals using data and
information not on the way information is managed which should be secondary. The
technology should be there to help the individuals not vice versa.

“Does your team run your computer system or does the computer system run your team?”

(Robbins and Finley 2000)

As quoted above this has been the dilemma with the management of information in the
organizations where the emphasis is too much on the use of technology. Groupware is just
another information tool which can be helpful to a group or organization to manage the flow
of information. The key issues to be addressed are the impact of using groupware at
organizational level. This brings forward the strategy of the organisation into practice as well
plus to fully understand the potential of a groupware within a domain. Another important
factor will be the structure of the organisation which determines the flow of information
between individuals with different access levels due to their position in the organisation and
along with it goes the culture of the organisation in which the information is shared through
collaborative software.

The Use of Technology: Groupware

Groupware which is often also described broadly as software for collaborative work (Baecker
1995) hence termed as CSCW (Computer Supported Collaborative Work). It can also be
described as variety of software applications that provides the common ability to facilitate
and enhance electronic collaboration between two or more users in a shared environment
(Drake 2003). Again the emphasis is clearly on facilitating the users for whom it is made not
the other way around. Technology should just be considered as a tool to gather, store and
transfer information. Groupware consists of collaborative applications which can be used on
their own and in a shared environment.

Initially groupware addressed controlling workflow (process) and regulating the content
available for work within a group Groupware in terms of handling data can cater structured
and unstructured data such as messaging, documents, shared calendars and diaries etc which
should aim to provide the information for the purpose of collaboration. At software
applications level it refers to email, forums or discussion databases and user application
development tools (Mutch 2008). Whereas in recent years videoconferencing, web
conferencing and document sharing are just a few applications which act as a groupware
within an organisation these days due to high availability and use of internet. At hardware
level groupware is Client-Server network with the ability of automated replication.

Groupware: Impact on Information and Knowledge

The impact of groupware can be seen as the impact of technology on information and
subsequently knowledge. However there is no single definition of knowledge but in this
context, according to the definition of Oxford English Dictionary with respect to a particular
field knowledge is what is known in a particular field or in total; facts and information or
awareness or familiarity gained by experience of a fact or situation it can also be described as
expertise and skills acquired by education and experience. Information plays a vital role in
particular field to gain knowledge. Therefore if the information flow aided by groupware is of
no or little help to the users there is very little chance that it will yield knowledge for anyone.
However if the combination of a right proportion between technology and human resource
management is achieved it can works wonders for a team.

“Perfect combination of phones, faxes, computers, modems and group software products can
lift your team remarkable levels of achievement. But chances are you have got the wrong
combination in place.” (Robbins and Finley 2000)

As explained earlier the right ways to share information is directly proportional to the sharing
of knowledge among individuals. In terms of sharing information

Robbins and Finley comment that with the internet and wireless communications groupware
functions are all over the place. They have categorised it as following;

 Same Time / Same Place: this is referred to as conventional meeting between group
members in a meeting room which provides much more clarity
 Same Time / Different Place: such as videoconferencing, Tele conferencing shared
online chatting.
 Different Time / Same Place: the office environment itself which provides different
facilities.
 Different Time / Different Place: workgroup computing systems like Lotus Notes and
other planning and organisational tools like Microsoft Project.

Nowadays most global organisations find themselves dealing with the above four situations
depending on their operations the fact is there will be nothing more useful than having the
same time and same place scenario. But in a global organisation people have to deal with
other scenarios as well which cannot be that affective but can still work if properly managed.

When people work together information sharing among them is necessary to perform their
daily tasks as well as working as a team on projects. Information can be easily shared by
using groupware which provides a document management system such as Microsoft
SharePoint Portal. This is a different scenario with respect to emailing a document to an
individual or a group (Smith 2000). A groupware application providing document
management should give every contributor the ability to create documents and share it with
others.

The point is that groupware do posses a potential for storing data and information which can
be shared efficiently and can be productive but storing knowledge is a different matter.
Technology only helps in storing data as bits and pixels but they can’t store the human
intelligence which makes sense of the data or information stored coupled with an individual’s
willingness to part with the experience and knowledge. Moreover a person might look at the
same information at a different time in a different context can make a completely different
decision based on the information provided (Malhotra 2002).

High level of security also hinders in the way of information sharing. When a group of
individuals know that their shared work is being viewed by a higher authority in the
organisation they stop sharing freely. This creates an obstacle in sharing which will affect the
outcome as well as in the case of Unilever (Cibborra and Pattriota 1996).

Another example is of a Management consultant company whose Chief Information Officer

felt the need to implement Lotus notes. His decision was solely based on the fact that the
features provided by lotus notes suit the organisation. What happened now that the technical
staff used it in anticipation while most of the consultants refused to use it because they felt
that it was a way to govern their activities. Also the fact that their source of income heavily
relied on billing hours so they considered it just as a waste of time. (Orlikowski 2002)

Context

The key factors which come forward via the impact of groupware on information are

 The ability of technology to store data and information does not help individuals if not
properly managed.
 Knowledge cannot be stored or retrieved from an information system as it lies in the
minds of individuals and it is not transferable on to a storage system.
 Users of groupware should be the focal point of consideration when introducing it
within a team.
 A customised groupware for an organisation considering the above point
  Internet and other communication tools have contributed hugely towards the
expansion of information and groupware classifications.

Strategy

The strategy of an organisation should be to get most of their employees by helping them to
work productively individually and in teams. This is only possible if the interest of the
welfare of employees is put at highest priority. Technology should be introduced to make
things easier not difficult. Most companies nowadays bring technology just for the sake of
having it in the company. The belief that technology can solve the problems and make
everything right is completely wrong. The technology has been evolving for a long time it has
a lot to offer now as compared to a decade ago and maybe will provide more after a decade.
Technology is flexible enough to provide room for change but economic laws and principles
do not change (Shapiro and Varian 2000).

Currently information is available readily and inexpensively and people are no wonder
complaining about information overload. Too much of anything is not good as described by
Nobel Peace Prize winner Herbet Simon

“A Wealth of Information Creates a Poverty of Attention”

No wonder this is what our society is facing and consequently the organisation some of them
are obsessed with storing information which makes their employees less productive if they
are working on something redundant. People have taken a stance where nobody bothers about
the information too much. That’s where they lose the real information which is really needed
to perform and achieve success.

Every organisation has a different way of dealing with employees. Information sharing will
be influenced by the operational approach of the company. If the employees are rewarded by
their efforts of information sharing and exploring new ideas the results in terms of sharing
information among groups can increase considerably as compared to a punitive operational
approach which wants to keep check on employees every time they contribute or do
something wrong.
Organisational Structure:

The organisational structure of the company consists of the company hierarchy. The
departments are formed with set of individuals to work on certain tasks. This relates to the
different types of structures within an organisation. It can be bureaucratic, divisional or
functional. Whichever the case may be the problem with groupware is that knowledge
sharing of an individual can be affected by the level of supervision or authority it operates
under. Specially if there are too much specific roles assigned to the users with respect to their
role in organisation. This is a major hindrance in information sharing. The organisational
structure affects information flow and behaviour of personal (Drake 2003). In an organic or
contingency sector information behaviour will be flexible and creative as compared to a
mechanistic organisation which is based on a strict hierarchy where the information flow will
be static (Drake 2003).

Consider an example where a person uploads certain documents to a central SharePoint but it
will not be visible to the concerned department or individual until it is approved by its
supervisor. Now in this case information sharing is dependent on the authority of the
supervisor who will approve the document to be shared but the time which takes the
supervisor to log on to the system and approve is a waste of time which only helps to delay
matters. In this case the real purpose of sharing information is lost even before it can start.

Roles:

The organisational structure has a direct impact on the roles of individuals in an organisation
the roles of many individuals are different even some people from the same department have
different level of competency. If a new or existing technology is being used within a group it
is important that the ability of the individuals in the group meets the requirements. This can
be achieved by human resource management where the resources are assigned according to
their abilities. The recruitment should be on the same criteria as well where the personal
which are inducted in a team should have a standard level of competency in the required
operations. Similarly the training of individuals should be up to the mark where nobody
should fall behind in learning how to use the technological aspect of using a computerised
system. In this case groupware is relatively easy to learn but there should be an affective to
use it as collaborative software.

Organisational Culture:
It can be defined as

“The shared values, beliefs and norms of an organisation are known as its organisational
culture.” (Levi 2001)

The shared values, beliefs and norms can all be described at organisational as well as team
level. It manly addresses how committed the people are, the trust between them and the
accountability level (Levi 2001). These factors derive how a team communicates with each
other. Also how a team interacts with other teams. The personal likes and dislikes can
sometimes takeover. When communicating through a groupware it may come as an obstacle
of trust between them. This can also happen when the team has no trust in other team to share
ideas and information because communication medium is not as clear as the same time same
place scenario explained earlier.

The organisational culture can also be shaped by its structure as well. A flexible structure will
provide more room for employees to move about share and gain experience and knowledge
whereas a static structure might create abundant information but little knowledge.

Conclusion:

With many modes of storage available cheaply in huge amounts as well. Data and
information can be stored electronically in massive numbers nowadays. A computer at the
heart of every organisation is a key component to survive. But it is only a tool just similar to
what paper is on which the data or information is stored. Yes it provides many useful and
productive facilities to work efficiently but that doesn’t mean it is the answer to all solutions.
Data storage and information management are there for humans to use humans should not be
used for them. In case of groupware applications they have a massive potential which is not
fulfilled yet because of not handling it well there is nothing wrong in using the groupware but
only how it is used. Technology should help in making things easier not complicated.
Specifically in groupware the information sharing is vital because it poses a threat to
knowledge creation because in a particular field of work only information can act as the way
for knowledge to be gained. To have a successful groupware working within an organisation
it will be best that it comes in customised according to the roles, culture and environment of
the organisation.

It has been shown that when technology is introduced in a company without clear vision or
application it fails to do the job and in some cases becomes an overhead which was not
required in the first place. There seems to be a myth that technology is the answer to all the
problems and it will provide innovation for the better.

Using groupware just as a tool for information sharing will result in knowledge sharing as
well which is the sole purpose of information sharing in the first place. The write form of
information can provide experience and knowledge. Groupware is nothing without the users
which use them.

Recommendations:

a. The ease of information usage with respect to the people using it should be of the highest
priority
b. Technology should only be used a valid substitute not just for the sake of technology
c. The appropriate balance of technology, information and human resource management can be
very productive.
d. The culture of an organisation also plays an important role in information sharing
e. The roles of people within a structure of an organisation sometime disturbs the information
flow in a groupware
f. The training of people is essential to achieve a standard level of competence when using a
groupware
g. An organic structure within an organisation is essential for information and knowledge
sharing
h. Same time same place communication method is still the most effective it cannot be matched
by video conferencing.
References:

 Shapiro, C. & Varian, H.R, (2000): Information rules: a strategic guide to the network
economy, Harvard Business Press
 Levi ,D . (2001): Group dynamics for teams, SAGE
 Robbins,H. & Finley, M. (2000): The new why teams don't work: what goes wrong
and how to make it right
 Drake,M,A. (2003) :Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science, CRC Press
 Smith,D,E. (2000): Knowledge, groupware, and the Internet, Butterworth-Heinemann
 Malhotra,Y (2002) : Information Ecology and Knowledge Management: Avalaible at
www.brint.org/KMEcology.pdf