End-User Information Systems: Implementing Individual and Work Group Technologies 2/EElizabeth A. Regan and Bridget N. O’Connor ISBN: 0-13-018264-8

A dynamic hypertext document with imbedded links to Web sites about future trends and directions in information technology and digital networks.

PART VI TRANSFORMING LIFE AND WORK IN THE DIGITAL AGE

At this point, we invite you to reflect on how information technology has affected business, education, and many other aspects of society and culture and then to look ahead to see in what direction they are moving. Predicting the future is always risky business. In today’s fast-paced, Digital Age, it is more challenging than ever. Despite the challenges and pitfalls, however, the need to understand the implications of evolving technologies and set directions for the future is critical for business leaders, especially in the field of end-user information systems.

The challenge to business managers and IS specialists is twofold: It is essential not just to keep up with the unrelenting pace of technology but, even more difficult, to recognize the implications of evolving technology for the workplace and the marketplace. This dual challenge has been a theme throughout the text, and in looking to the future, this final chapter addresses both of these perspectives.

Because this is such a dynamic topic, we’ve elected to take this chapter online in order to capitalize on the dynamic nature of the Web. This final chapter makes use of a “drill down writing style” with successive levels of detail and links to other resources and web sites. In this way, the chapter will be constantly changing and updating. Every day, new Web sites are created, existing ones are changed, and still others cease to exist. Consequently, although we will be monitoring the site on an ongoing basis, you occasionally may find that a URL referenced here has changed or no longer is valid. If you desire, we would welcome emails to the text website mailbox (http://www.prenhall.com/regan) to alert us to any changes or problems we may not yet have noticed. We would also welcome suggestions about other resources you feel would be helpful to textbook adopters.

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Chapter 17Trends and Directions: Transforming Enterprises for the 21st Century

1. Introduction 2. Technology Trends 3. A Globally Networked World 4. E-Culture Organizational Models 5. Shifting the Emphasis from Technology to

Transformation6. People Skills: Communication, Collaboration,

Learning, and Performance Support7. Summary

Click here for other sources that publish information technology trends.

Try a new collaborative approach to problem solving: Click here for Instructions to a “Connected Intelligence Workshop.”

Learning Objectives Identify major trends in business and information technology and discuss how they interact. Understand the transformational potential of information technology and digital networks. Assess problems and opportunities related to global digital networks. Become familiar with a wide variety of resources about future trends and directions in

information technology, digital networks, and their cultural implications. Describe various scenarios for the 21st century workplace and how today’s choices may

influence tomorrow’s directions. Identify and describe new e-business models Identify ethical issues related to the growing reliance on information technology and digital

networks, and discuss their implications. Identify the soft skills that must be honed if one is to be an effective user of electronic tools. Discuss how organizational culture impacts the effective use of individual and work group

technologies. Suggest approaches for supporting collaboration and creating community in the digital

environment. Summarize the potential of the Web as a learning portal.

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17.1 Introduction

As we move into the Digital Age, struggling to wrest ourselves from the vestiges of a 20th century industrial economy, information technology has turned a significant corner. The emphasis has shifted from tactical to strategic. No longer is it a question of whether an enterprise should or shouldn’t use technology. The issue now is how to transform our enterprises—or how to invent entirely new ones--to capitalize on the power of information technology and digital networks. How do industry leaders and employees, who have grown up in an industrial world, come to understand the transforming power of digital networks so that they can successfully integrate information technology into the workplace?

Transforming an organization takes a great deal more than technology savvy. This is a reality that enterprises quickly discover as they undertake initiatives to move into the globally networked world. Transformation is very complex. It must be addressed on three levels: the organization, the work group, and the individual level. Whether the enterprise is a large business, small business, not-for-profit organization, academic institution, or government agency, the issues are the same; only the context is different. It takes sound insights, a clear vision, and the right solutions.

Many sources worldwide publish information related to trends and directions in information technology and digital networks. These sources include a wide range of scholarly societies, research institutions, consulting firms, market researchers, technology vendors, publishers, and individuals. If you want more information, click here for a cross section of the variety of available resources that may be helpful for further study or strategic planning. Doing a web search on “information and technology and trends” will literally turn up thousands of references. You can survey recent technology headlines at 1st Headlines http://www.1stheadlines.com/technology1.htm.

This final online chapter explores a number of themes related to integrating technology into the workplace and transforming how business is done. Key themes you will explore include technology trends, a globally networked world, e-culture organizational models, the shifting emphasis from technology to transformation, and 21st century workforce skills. Because this chapter is online, you will have a number of options. Thus you will interact with the content in a somewhat different manner depending on your own interests and experience. As you explore, challenge yourself to think about the possibilities for the future –both desirable and probable directions—and how you, as an IS professional, might be able to influence those directions.

17.2 Technology Trends and Implications

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Technology continues to evolve at a pace that exceeds the ability of most people and enterprises to absorb and apply it. Although the rate of technology innovation and diffusion has increased in recent decades, statistics indicate that the average time from invention to practical application is still 15 years or more. The telephone, for example, invented in 1887 by Alexander Graham Bell, didn’t gain widespread use until well into the 20th century. A few years ago, the bulk of the traffic on telephone lines was voice. Today more than half the traffic is data. Although the first electronic digital computer was built in 1937, the first commercial version wasn’t introduced until 1951. You can find an interesting time line of the milestones in computer history at www.scsite.com/tdc/ch1/timeline2.htm.

If you would like to learn more about technology innovation and diffusion, click on the following articles to read more on the topic: “Catch the Wave,” The Economist, February 18, 1999, for a discussion about how the long cycles of industrial innovation are becoming shorterhttp://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=186628

Robert Mittman, The Diffusion of Technology Innovations, Menlo Park, California: Institute for the Future (iftf), December 1999, SR682b.http://www.iftf.org/html/membershipprograms/outlook/researchexamples/neweconomy.html

“Networks, Not Pipelines,” The Economist, February 18, 1999, for a discussion about how new ideas travel in round about ways.http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?Story_id=186639

“Leaps of Faith: Innovators Break All the Rules. Trust Them.” The Economist, February 18, 1999, http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_id=186650

“Adopting Orphans.” The Economist, February 18, for a discussion of how to avoid letting overlooked ideas slip away. http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_id=186664

Andrew Hargadon and Robert Sutton, “Building an Innovation Factory,” HBR 99504 May-June 2000.

In this section, we highlight key technology trends that have far-reaching implications for the workplaces of the future.

17.2.1 Computers: Small, Powerful, UbiquitousOver the next decade, the cost and complexity of computing will continue to decline rapidly. PCs and portable computers will continue to become smaller and cheaper. Complexity will be moved to the network, and near universal access will be provided through standard, low-cost computing devices.

Mobile hand held devices will continue to proliferate. Personal digital assistants (PDA’s) have evolved remarkably over the past few years. In the future, they are likely to morph into new configurations that integrate the functionality of the telephone, faxes, Internet device, media players and today’s PDAs. For example, some new digital phones now play CD music.

Visit the Palm Pilot site (www.palm.com) or the Visor site (www.visor.com) to explore some of the many software options and examples of PDA applications. On the Palm Website, under “Enterprise,” for example, you will find a number of interesting case studies under the headings of “industry solutions” and “success stories.”

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Systems will continue to become more customized to individual and work group needs. From portals on the Internet to desktop, laptop and handheld devices, users will have more options for tailoring a computing environment to meet their specific needs. The software will “know” you and the data and the software for which you and your work are authorized. Knowbots, research templates, online libraries, and warehouses of forms, manuals, and databases are all quite reasonable predictions. The desktop will also be a major delivery vehicle for electronic learning materials.

Information Appliances. William J. Murphy, Director of Internet Marketing at Hewlett-Packard (www.hp.com) predicts that most computers will evolve into information appliances—devices that are dedicated to a particular task, and whose usage seems quite natural to ordinary people. “We imagine very powerful optimized processors that support rich sets of user interface technologies, such as speech recognition and synthesis, gestures, handwriting, and intelligent cooperative agents. As the heart of portable appliances, there will be power-rich intuitive interfaces that use recognition technologies.”1

17.2.2 Mobile and Wireless NetworksMobile and wireless business applications are growing rapidly, but the technology still has its weaknesses as well as its benefits. According to a recent study by Gartner (www3.gartner.com) in Stamford, Connecticut, statistics show a growing interest in wireless business applications. Gartner predicts that by 2004, 65 percent of Global 2000 companies will provide their mobile workers wireless access in order to perform critical applications. Both businesses and consumers interested in wireless, however, currently face many hurdles that include security concerns, spotty coverage across the country and a tangle of technologies that make choosing devices and standards a complicated guessing game. Despite many promising success stories, wireless technology is still considered by most industry watchers to be in its infancy. All that may be changing, however, with new technology on the horizon.

According to a recent industry report by abcnews (http://abcnews.go.com/sections/scitech/DailyNews/wireless_asia010226.html), the arrival of so-called third-generation, or 3G, mobile phone technology has created both rational and irrational exuberance across the globe. The 3G standard is designed to offer high-speed access and “always on” mobile Internet links. Current plans call for transmission rates of up to 2Mbps by 2003, in comparison to today’s digital cell phones, which access data at 9,600 to 24,000 bits a second, a fraction of the speed of broadband or even the average dial-up modem.

In essence, third-generation mobile phones will be handheld computers: They will be capable of making phone calls, sending e-mail, broadcasting movies, playing video games, and taking digital photographs. Thus a tourist on the Great Wall of China can snap a digital photo of herself, send it via e-mail to her father in Chicago and then call to confirm receipt—all with the same device. She can also use it to ask directions to the Starbucks cafe in Beijing's Forbidden City.

Telecommunication firms are spending billions on 3G technology in the race to market. Some analysts worry, however, that 3G specifications are not yet final, and not all countries will support exactly the same specifications. For instance, 3G's chances of becoming dominant may be hurt by Japan's popular "i-mode" phones. Moreover, many telecommunications companies are currently upgrading networks to a steppingstone system, known as Global Packet Radio Service (GPRS), which is designed to transmit data four to six times faster than the current standard, or about as fast as a 56K modem on a personal computer.

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According to Steven Yap, director of communications at iamasia.com, a Hong Kong-based Internet research company, "Wireless technology is probably better positioned to be rolled out in Asia. . . .There's greater standardization in Asia than the U.S. or in Europe." According to the abc news report (http://abcnews.go.com/sections/scitech/DailyNews/wireless_asia010226.html), “Asia has the advantage of having the world's newest digital phone networks, which will be cheaper and easier to upgrade than those in Europe and North America. In the United States, 3G services will likely be two to three years behind Asia because of its severely fragmented wireless market."

Among wireless local area networks (LANs) the dominant standard is IEEE 802.11b, also known as WiFi. This open standard connects PCs and PDA’s to networks via an “access point.” Current connection speeds are 11 Mbps, which is comparable to many Ethernet LANs now in use and seven times faster than T1 connections (1.544 Mbps). Maximum distance from an access point is currently about 100 meters. Major advantages of wireless include easy set up and inexpensive maintenance. Although the PC network cards required for connection are relatively expensive, prices are expected to fall rapidly as both supply and demand increase.

In the meantime, a newer standard, confusingly called 802.11a, is on the horizon. This new standard promises rates up to 54 Mbps, which some industry analysts believe will make it an ideal channel for streaming content. It holds interest especially for consumer electronics firms, and is expected to be incorporated into Internet-ready televisions, stereos, and other consume-electronics equipment. Unfortunately, however, the new standard is incompatible with WiFi.

There is also the Bluetooth (http://www.bluetooth.com) wireless standard for personal handheld devices. Bluetooth transmission rates can reach 720 Kbps on the same 2.4 GHz band used by WiFi. Bluetooth’s range, however, is limited to 10 meters. Although this is not a problem for its intended use as a replacement for the cables that link PDAs, cell phones, and PCs, it does limit Bluetooth’s networking potential.

The battle over wireless standards likely will continue to rage for years to come. However, wireless may ultimately outpace wired communications. Firms, such as Motorola, are launching major low-orbit satellite services for voice and data transmission. High-speed satellite services will put pressure on land-based services. Emerging countries and companies are increasingly turning to wireless, leaping into the information age without the investment in physical plant.

Explore some of the following links to find out more about wireless technology:

Gartner’s research on mobile and wireless can be found at http://www3.gartner.com/Login?redirectTo=Registration&r=0.20263934178972065

The CIO Wireless Communications Research Center (http://www.cio.com/forums/communications/) provides a useful reference for exploring wireless technology in more depth.

For a listing of wireless resources with additional links, click here.

17.2.3 Internet UtilityIn the future, the Internet is expected to take on the characteristics of a utility, replicating the delivery model and distribution economics of telephony and broadcast television. There will be more network bandwidth at far lower cost with universal availability.

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Network computing is the model for the future, according to Raymond J. Lane, President and Chief Operating Officer at Oracle (www.oracle.com). This network computing model will work on the same basic concept as the Internet and the Web. It will use the same standard Web browser software, and network configuration will be based on Internet standards. Anyone with access to the network will be able to create and store work files, exchange information, and communicate with anyone else on the network. Data and applications will be securely stored on powerful servers—connected to the network—and served as users request it. The user’s computer can be a desktop PC, a diskless network computer, a powerful workstation, an Internet-enabled TV, or even a handheld device. The only requirements are a standard browser, sufficient computing power to download and display Web pages, and a network connection.

In an Internet utility environment, the user will get all the power of a typical desktop PC, but will be freed from dealing with application upgrades and other complex maintenance chores. They can access corporate applications, corporate databases, personal files, or the Internet itself. Software developers use open Internet standards and open tools like Java, to create programs that can be accessed by any Web-enabled device. The user’s computer runs simple-to-operate programs such as Internet browsers and Java viewers. Economically, for users this translates to a few hundred dollars versus a few thousand dollars, with the cost falling fast.

For interesting discussions about the implications of ubiquitous digital networks for business and society, refer to books such as those by noted author and consultant Don Tapscott (http://www.dontapscott.com/presentations.html.) Recent publications include Blueprint to the Digital Economy (http://www.dontapscott.com/thebooks_blueprint_intro.html), The Digital Economy (http://www.dontapscott.com/thebooks_digiecon.html), and Growing Up Digital (http://www.dontapscott.com/thebooks_growing.html.)

17.2.4 IPv6 Expansion of Original Internet Address ProtocolsOne consequence of explosive Internet growth is that the original communication system designed with a capacity of 4.3 billion addresses will soon be inadequate. In addition to the rapid growth in World Wide Web users, there has been an explosion of portable digital devices such as cell phones, pagers, global positioning systems, and in the near future appliances that can be connected to the Internet. Today’s capacity does not even accommodate one device for each of the world’s 6 billion residents. Projections indicate that in 7 to 10 years down the road, Net users could easily require 10 addresses each to connect their gadgets to the Internet.

Market forecasters predict that within the next decade or two, cable television boxes, refrigerators, even electric meters will be hooked to the Internet. Mobile devices will be able to handle streaming video and multiplayer games, and cars will commonly come with Internet road maps. Email, instant messaging, and Web access will be as ubiquitous as today’s telephone. To accommodate the anticipated demand, however, the Internet address system must be expanded.

In response, the Internet regulating body has developed a new system that will support more addresses. The current Internet protocol, IPv4, uses a 32bit addressing scheme. The proposed new IPv6 uses a 128 bit scheme (see Figure 1).

Figure 1 Internet Addressing ProtocolsADDRESS CONFIGURATION TOTAL POSSIBLE

OLD 302.154.141.890 4 subsets of three numbers 4.3 billion

NEW 2001:200:0:4819:280:ADEF:FE71:81FC 8 subsets of numbers & 340 trillion trillion

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letters trillion

To implement the new address protocols will require considerable effort and expense. Equipment and software used to route Internet traffic will need replacement, and operating systems and applications will require updates. Not everyone supports the move to the new protocols, but a number of major vendors have already moved to incorporate the new standard. Cisco, the leading maker of routers, announced IPv6 software in May 2001. Microsoft will ship Windows XP and a Web browser with IPv6 starting in Fall 2001. Sun Microsystems’ latest version of the Solaris operating system also supports IPv6.

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17.2.5 Multi-media, Virtual Reality, and VisualizationMulti-media technologies, such as streaming video, virtual reality, 3D, simulation, and visualization, will become increasingly mainstream as bandwidths and computing power continue to increase. These technologies are finding increasing application in business, science, engineering, education, medicine, the arts, and many other areas. In education for example, visualization is being used to teach concepts that are difficult to learn from a textbook. For example, in chemistry, reading about the relationship and the forces on a molecule is not nearly as clear as watching the relationship dynamically develop. Reading about the Louvre (http://www.smartweb.fr/louvre) is not nearly as informative as taking a virtual tour of the various galleries, viewing works of art, and zooming in for a close up look at those of interest. In engineering, cars and planes are now designed and tested in 3D virtual space. Boeing Aircraft estimated that they took years off the design and construction of the new Boeing 777, which was the first aircraft designed completely by computer. By Boeing estimates, design errors were reduced by 50 percent or more, and the company realized significant cost savings.

“Visualization is the use of computer-supported interactive visual representations of abstract data to amplify cognition. Whereas scientific visualization usually starts with a natural physical representation, Information Visualization applies visual processing to abstract information. This area arises because of trends in technology and information scale.”2 Information Visualization meets a growing need for computer-aid in finding and understanding information.Xerox PARC User Interface Research (UIR) Group has created a set of new interactive visualizations for hierarchical information (cone tree, Hyperbolic Tree, Spiral Calendar, Disk Tree), linear information (Perspective Wall), matrix information (Table Lens), information space x time (Time Tube), document visualization (Document Lens). They have also created new substrate components for 3D camera (point-of-interest flier), 3D object movement (3D object mover), scheduler (Cognitive Co-processor). The UIR Group is particularly interested in Information Workspaces (Rooms, Information Visualizer).

The Xerox PARC UIR group has co-started a new company, Inxight, to market the results of this research. Their research results have been part of a number of products, including Rooms, Visual Recall, Tab Works, Hyperbolic Tree, VizControls, Table Lens, Microsoft Site Analyst, Virtual Integrated Technology, ComShare, Smart Patents, Soft Quad). Visit Xerox PARC UIR to find out more and view examples of these technologies. If you select “publications” from the menu, and list the publications by Project, you will see several articles about information visualization.

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Discovery Learning: Click here to experience examples of virtual reality.

17.2.6 E-books (E-publishing) and E-learning TechnologiesElectronic books are already a reality and use is growing rapidly. According to statistics published by USA Today, sales of electronic books grew from $41 million in 2000 to $131 million in 2001 and sales are expected to grow to $2.4 billion by 2005. An Internet search on “electronic books” turned up over two million reference citations.

E-Books are not just electronic reproductions of their paper cousins. They are a whole new genre that continue some traditions, modify others, create entirely new ones, and in many ways create a new paradigm for publishing. E-books are multi-dimensional and non-linear and call for new writing styles.

E-books are much lighter and more durable than laptops, and they specialize in doing just one thing. In some respects, they approximate conventional paper-based books, substituting the screen for a page. Readers can “turn” the pages, but they can’t physically earmark them or lay pages side by side. However e-books offer many new features that offset the loss of the familiar look and feel of paperbound books, such as bookmarking, searching, and cross-referencing. The reader can also personalize the data by making notes, changing fonts and font sizes, or choosing alternative paths through the content. Electronic fiction can be programmed with non-presumptive branching so that readers can easily determine the turns of plot as well as a book’s ending. E-books can also incorporate multi-media and associated links. And this is where the very nature of book reading may change, as individuals begin to read and think associatively rather than sequentially.

E-books have many implications not just for readers, but for writers, publishers, libraries, businesses, and schools. For example, one could foresee the day, where grade school students will each be issued an e-book the first day of class, which will be customized to their grade level with all the content and supporting materials needed for their required curriculum for the semester or year. Teachers will pick and choose from a wide-array of materials that can be downloaded, for a fee, directly from publisher Websites to customize the e-book for a specific class or even, potentially, for each child within that class. These e-books might also include writing pads, notebooks, dictionaries, spell checkers, e-mail, and Internet access. This is just one of many possible scenarios.

Discovery Learning:To find out more about e-books refer to the following Websites or do a Web search on “e-books.”

An Overview of E-Books and Their Future in Academic Libraries. A report prepared by the University of California “to evaluate academic libraries' experiences with electronic books (e-books), investigate the e-book market, and develop operating guidelines, principles and potential strategies for further exploration of the use of e-books.” This site also includes links to multiple other sites. http://www.dlib.org/dlib/july01/snowhill/07snowhill.html

Evolution of Portable Electronic Books An interesting article by Ruth Wilson chronicling the history and development of portable electronic book hardware; includes other references and links on e-books. http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue29/wilson/

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EBooks Explained. News, announcement, FAQs, and commentary. http://www.adkline.freeuk.com/

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eBookAd.com. E-book news, with hardware and software information. Also includes an aggregate e-book store. http://www.ebookad.com/

eBook Connections. Extensive news about the electronic book industry. http://www.4ebooknews.com/

17.3 A Globally Networked World

Chapter 2 of your textbook discussed the widespread changes occurring in the workplace as a result of the growing use of digital networks. Although the impact has already been far-reaching, futurists believe that we are just beginning to experience sweeping changes that will far surpass those brought by the Industrial Revolution of the past century.

17.3.1 GlobalizationAccording to the Digital Planet 2000 report published by World Information Technology and Services Alliance using data provided by the International Data Corporation (IDC) (c November 2000, WITSA, http://www.itaa.org/news/pubs/form.htm), information and communication technologies (ICT) are redefining the social landscape and building the first truly global economy. According to WITSA statistics, use of the Internet increased from 33.4 million devices in 1996 to over 260 million in 1999. Usage at the end of 2000 exceeded 300 million, which is expected to double by 2003.

“The U.S. contains the world’s largest installed base of PCs, with 177.4 million units on the job, in the home and at school.” However, the U.S. compound annual growth rate of 17.3 percent (1992-1999) is lower than all but two of the top ten PC users (Canada 15.2% and Australia 16.3%). China leads the list with a 42.7 percent growth rate.

The Digital Planet 2000 study forecasts a global market for information and networking technologies exceeding $3 trillion by 2004, a pace that exceeds general economic growth. Key factors to which WITSA attributes the accelerated growth rate for information and networking technologies include: Continued global expansion of the Internet, with new “on ramps” created using wireless

networks, high speed broadband technologies and a multitude of intelligent devices. Privatization of government-owned infrastructure and the opening of markets to international

investment. Transformation of business models and the global adoption of e-business based exchanges,

auctions, integrated supply chains and the like. Harmonization of international laws and regulations on policy issues like taxation, privacy

and security. Emergence of major new information and networking technologies markets on the world

stage, including China, India and Brazil.

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“In the daily lives of many of the world’s citizens, information and networking technologies plays a lead role in activities both quotidian and extraordinary—from mapping routes for family vacation trips to mapping the human genome and the history of genetic illness within families, from online shopping to online supply chain management, from the simplest email to the most complex international videoconferencing. So pervasive are information and networking technologies applications in many economies that it would be hard to imagine major advances in health, science, business or education that don’t have information and networking technologies at their core.” (Digital Planet 2000 Summary http://www.witsa.org)

“At the outset of the 21st century, the impact of information and networking technologies seems clear…A world moving ever faster into the realm of fingertip access to information. A society devising ever more innovative means to turn this information into knowledge. A civilization using this knowledge to fill gaps in understanding and build new bridges to the future.” (Digital Planet 2000 Summary http://www.witsa.org)

17.3.2. The New Economics of InformationAnother key theme of the 21st Century is the new economics of information. The scarcity concept of limited resources no longer applies. If I give you $100, you have $100, and I have nothing. If I give you information or an idea, you now have the information, but I also still have the same information. Moreover, as the idea is used, it continues to expand and multiply rather than being “consumed.” Most likely, I am enriched by the interchange as are others.

In their recent book, Blown to Bits, Philip Evans and Thomas Wurster, contend that the new economics of information is eliminating the trade-off between richness and reach, blowing apart the foundations of traditional business strategy. (Philip Evans and Thomas S. Wurster, Blown to Bits: How the New Economics of Information Transforms Strategy, Harvard Business School Press, 2000. www.hbsp.harvard.edu) The trade-offs used to be straight forward, they say: “Your business strategy either could focus on “rich” information—customized products and services tailored to a niche audience—or could reach out to a larger market, but with watered-down information that sacrificed richness in favor of a broad, general appeal.” Now, the spread of connectivity and common standards is redefining the information channels that link businesses with their customers, suppliers, and employees. Increasingly, customers have rich access to a universe of alternatives, suppliers are exploiting direct access to customers, and competitors pick off the most profitable parts of a value chain. Competitive advantage is up for grabs. Moreover, dealing with these changes require skills just the opposite of which most managers are trained to deal. Areas of divergence include the ability to empower versus direct workers, sharing information versus controlling it, and working collaboratively versus competitively. The authors go on to provide many examples of how richness and reach go hand-in-hand in an Information Age, and show how to build new strategies that make the most of the new forces shaping competitive advantage.

Discovery Learning:Other resources to explore on this topic include the following:Knowledge Management Magazine (www.kmmag.com) regularly publishes a column called “Knowledge Metrics” by Paul A. Strassman (http://www.destinationcrm.com/km/dcrm_km_article.asp?id=900), which deals with new economic concepts of the Digital Age. One concept gaining increasing attention, for example, is the concept of “Intellectual Capital,” which advocates accounting for the worth of intellectual capital on corporate balance sheets (http://www.destinationcrm.com/km/dcrm_km_article.asp?id=412). Another article on the concept is David J. Wallace, Brookings Researchers Try Accounting for Knowledge http://www.destinationcrm.com/km/dcrm_km_article.asp?id=219&ed=2%2F1%2F00.

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These are just a few examples of how the old rules and economic assumptions are changing. Many new dot.coms and business models are turning old economic assumptions on their ear. Thus it’s very important when transforming and inventing 21st century enterprises to carefully examine economic assumptions and test their applicability.

Betty--I moved these references about discovery learning to follow the discussion of that topic.Some interesting discussions about digital firms and virtual organizations can be found in the following articles: Venkatramen and Henderson, “Real Strategies for Virtual Organizing,” Sloan Management Review, Fall 1998.

DeSanctis and Monge, “Communication Processes for Virtual Organizations,” Organization Science, December 1999.

Clinton Wilder, “E-Transformation: The Fast Track to Becoming an E-Business,” InformationWeek.Com, December 13, 1999. http://www.informationweek.com/maindocs/index_765.htm

Bob Violino, “E-Business 100--The Leaders of E-Business: Innovative users of internet tools take charge of the New Economy,” InformationWeek.Com, December 13, 1999. http://www.informationweek.com/765/leaders.htm

Why the rapid pace of technological change poses new challenges to managers.Heather Green, “The Information Gold Mine.” BusinessWeek e.biz July 26, 1999.http://businessweek.com/datedtoc/1999/9930.htm

17.4 E-Culture Organizational Models

Information and networking technologies are transforming the dynamics of business, economics, education, and even international relations. Many long-held rules and models are eroding. Traditional business strategies are losing out to new unconventional tactics. Relationships among customers, suppliers, employees, and competitors are changing. At this point, there appear to be more questions than answers. To use the “P” word, the Paradigms are changing. This section discusses a number of themes that are emerging related to e-culture organizational models. The objective is to help readers gain insight into the likely impact of information and networking technologies on 20th century organizations and the implications for organizations of the future.

17.4.1 Virtual Organizations

The topic of virtual organizations was one of the key themes that emerged from the February 2001 Organization of the Future Conference, presented by The Conference Board and the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management and sponsored by Booz·Allen & Hamilton. http://www.bah.com/welcome_pages/0301/index.html. Among the conclusions, "as organizations become more virtual, with lean central leadership and far-flung partners and staff, they will require information transparency to ensure that the center and the periphery can communicate with one another."

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For weekly reports on developments in the fast-paced world of E-business, you can visit http://ebiz.businessweek.com. The site offers the latest news from CNET and the staff of Business Week magazine and Business Week Online. Check out topics.

17.4.2 E-cultureWhat is e-culture? How does it differ from industrial era brick-and-motor cultures? What distinguishes successful and unsuccessful e-cultures? These were just a few of the questions addressed in a recent study conducted by a team of Harvard University researchers led by Rosabeth Moss Kanter. From a list of 785 organizations of all types, the research team conducted 300 interviews in nearly 80 companies in North American, Europe, and Asia. The study produced in-depth case studies of over two dozen companies. The result of this study are discussed in Kanter’s latest book, e-Volve!: Succeeding in the Digital Culture of Tomorrow. Kanter contends that the Internet and its associated network technologies are both “the stimulus for a new organizational culture (making it necessary) and a facilitator of that same culture (making it possible).”3

Based on this research, Kanter prescribes four steps to successfully implementing an e-culture:1. Develop an e-strategy. Kanter likens e-strategy more to improvisational theater than

traditional strategic planning because it involves emergent strategies that must be made up as the enterprise goes along, i.e., it requires improvisation in response to opportunities.

2. Nurture networks of partners . In the new economy, according to Kanter, success will hinge on the ability to forge meaningful partnerships and working relationships both online and offline. Moreover, those partnerships increasingly will be worldwide.

3. Reconstruct the organization as a community . E-culture demands greater centralization in order for enterprises to present one face to the customer and to create seamless integration across all organizational functions. At the same time, it demands greater autonomy, empowerment, and diversity. This is one of the seeming paradoxes of e-culture that drives the need for enterprises to work together differently. More on community building in the next section.

4. Attract and retain the best talent . Both attracting and retaining new talent and retraining existing talent are critical needs to succeed in the new economy. Kanter argues that enterprises must learn “to treat people as volunteers who renew their commitment periodically through the three Ms of mastery, membership, and meaning.”4

17.4.3 Building CommunityIn her recent book, e•Volve: Succeeding in the Digital Culture of Tomorrow, Rosabeth Moss Kanter contends that one of the most essential things that enterprises must do to achieve excellence in the Digital Age is to “reconstruct the organization as a community.”

According to Kanter: The hidden paradox of the Internet Age is that rampant individualism destroys the potential to derive economic value from the technology. When members of a network do not cooperate, do not pass on information, the network itself slows down. . . .It is individuals-in-community that create the greatest value—strong individuals in strong relationships. The worst of individualism involves isolation and separatism that is dysfunctional for the wired world. The best of individualism involves strong individuals with a strong sense of responsibility to others in their community. . . . It is important to distinguish community as a label from the underlying principles that make community integral to e-culture: sharing of knowledge, mutual contributions, smooth coordination, easy border-crossing, and responsibility for a shared fate.5

Copyright 2002 by Prentice Hall, Inc. 15

The concept of community applies both online and offline. Online, community is a metaphor. Offline, the spirit of community is required to implement the changes that the Internet makes possible—to give customers more choices, citizens more voice, educators more capacity to improve children’s learning, and businesses greater market reach and internal efficiency.6

Community does NOT just happen in organizations, however; leaders must explicitly promote it.Just because people are better informed does not mean that they act on the information or work together effectively. The rapid growth of the concept of “knowledge management” coincides with this emphasis on collaboration. But as many firms are discovering, just creating databases of knowledge is not the answer. The hard part is fostering an active exchange of knowledge. So the real question is not how do we collect and organize knowledge, but how do we create a culture of collaboration and sharing of knowledge across all functions of an enterprise? How do organizations create a culture where it truly does benefit workers individually to collaborate in achieving organizational goals?7

17.4.4 Leadership and Talent in a Digital FirmAnother important theme is the changing face of leadership in the 21st Century Firm – and the word is leadership, not management. Projections indicate a severe shortage of top-level workers in the United States.

Much has been written about attracting new talent—the best and the brightest. To achieve excellence in the Digital Age, enterprises must attract and retain the best talent. Digital Age firms must “treat people as volunteers who renew their commitment periodically through the three Ms of mastery, membership, and meaning. Commitment involves a set of linkages between people and organizations that build on human capabilities.” 8

In recent years, the importance of retaining older employees has often been overlooked or even shunned. Change approaches, such as reengineering, even advocate strategies such as “carry the wounded and shoot the stragglers.” The prevailing wisdom seems to have subscribed to the old adage that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. However, recent evidence indicates that retaining older workers for their intellectual capital may be a far more prudent strategy than prevailing management wisdom seems to indicate. In fact, by looking for easy answers to gaining acceptance for change by sweeping out the old guard and bringing in the new, enterprises may be giving away much of their intellectual capital to the competition. “Paying experienced workers a premium to change rather than paying hiring bonuses to inexperienced new hires may be a more prudent approach in the long-run. Then you get all their wisdom combined with a new economy outlook. You can’t make a change in a company without a strong coalition of the old and the new.”9

Discovery Learning:

For more about leadership and talent in digital firms, you may wish to further explore the following sources:

Kayte VanScoy, The Hiring Crisis: How to find, keep, and motivate employees in the new economy—and steal the best ones from your competitors. Smart Business , July 2000.http://www.zdnet.com/smartbusinessmag/stories/all/0,6605,2577897-1,00.html

Copyright 2002 by Prentice Hall, Inc. 16

In her recent book, e•volve: Succeeding in the Digital Culture of Tomorrow, Moss Kanter contends that one of the four essential things that enterprises must do right in order to achieve excellence in the Digital Age is to attract and retain high quality talent. However, this is another instance where past practices must change. Attracting and holding good talent will require a different approach than in the Industrial Era. Kanter suggests that to succeed, Digital Age firms must “treat people as volunteers who renew their commitment periodically through the three Ms of mastery, membership, and meaning.”10

These references are among a growing number of sources that address changing workplace skill sets. For a variety of additional references about business leadership, explore the HBS Working Knowledge site and, from the menu, select the topic areas of “Leadership, Strategy & Competition” or “Innovation & Change.”

New work place skills are discussed in more detail in upcoming sections.

17.5 Shifting the Emphasis from Technology to Transformation

The key question for enterprises of all types is how to help individuals grasp the significance of rapidly evolving information technologies and networking so that they can assess the implications and chart appropriate courses of action. This question is critical because it will separate the winners and losers in the 21st Century. The changes will affect everyone. Those who see the opportunities and successfully transform their enterprises will be clear winners. Others will successfully follow, and the laggards will not survive.

In the past era, leaders often relied on mergers, acquisitions, downsizing, rightsizing, and “carry the wounded and shoot the stragglers” reengineering strategies. These slash and burn tactics will not do the job in the 21st century. Transformation in the Digital Age will require enterprises to capitalize on intellectual capital. Finding and keeping good talent will become increasingly competitive as the options and opportunities available to a more informed and mobile workforce also increase.

According to management guru Michael Porter, the question isn’t whether you should use the Internet or traditional strategies to compete, it’s how you can capitalize on the best of both worlds to your strategic advantage. http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/products/hbr/explore/mar01/strategy_internet.html

Additional perspective is provided by Rosabeth Moss Kanter, in e•Volve:“Constant change is built into the very nature of the e-world. The Web and associated network technologies are both stimuli for e-culture (making it necessary) and facilitators of e-culture (making it possible). It is like a spiral of increasing force: The more the Web is used, the more uses are identified, and the more it must be used to do more things. Change produces the need for more and deeper change. Mastering deep change—being first with the best service, anticipating and then meeting new customer requirements, and applying new technology—requires organizations to do more than adapt to changes already in progress. It requires them to be fast, agile, intuitive, and innovative. In change-adept organizations, people continuously learn and adapt, spread knowledge, and share ideas. By making change a way of life, people are, in the best sense, just doing their jobs.” (Kanter, p.231)

Copyright 2002 by Prentice Hall, Inc. 17

Author Don Tapscott suggests the emergence of both a new business model, which he refers to as the “business Web,” and a new form of digital capital.11

www.dontapscott.com/presentations.html As these sources and a growing body of other experience and research demonstrate, the major challenge of the Digital Era is in transforming business practice and individual behaviors. One lesson from the recent dot.com fall out is that not all things digital are successful! Transforming to an e-culture is not about creating a great Website, portal, or dot.com. It requires creating an infrastructure that transforms the way supply chains are managed, trucking companies operate, cars are built, teaching and learning take place, banking is conducted, and perhaps even the concept of capital. The focus must be on integrating technology, not just implementing it; and understanding the difference is paramount!

17.6 People Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Learning, and Performance Support

This section zeroes in on changes in the 'soft' skills that must be honed as a result of information technologies. The ways in which we communicate, work together, learn, and ultimately perform in our work roles are impacted by IT. Changes in each of these skill sets are overviewed here, followed by links and activities for you to follow to expand the depth or scope of this discussion.

17.6.1 CommunicationIt's ironic that most managers and executives spend a huge portion of their budget on communications bandwidth and hardware without stopping to think about their own communications skills or the quality of communication in their organizations. The act of communication is as important as the technologies we use to connect with each other.

Mary Boone

End users have an increasingly vital role in ensuring that technologies are used creatively and appropriately. Whether you're a member of the greatest generation, the baby-boomer generation, generation X, or generation Y, technology is impacting everything you do, how you do it, and how quickly and how well you do it. Technological terms are even metaphors for the way we think about concepts. Twenty years ago, Harvard Professor Sherry Turkle (for more information on Professor Turkle, visit http://web.mit.edu/sturkle/www/) was among the first to make the observation that computer technical terms were becoming common metaphors--students reported needing 'downtime' from their studies, worked to 'debug' relationships, and 'crashed' after a hard day of work. Take a look at the two columns below. Today, we link with friends and colleagues in our networks, we download content, we sign our “user name” more often than our legal name, and "going home" means going to our homepage!

Industrial Era Terms Digital Era Terms Relationship LinkCommunity NetworkLearning DownloadingName User nameHome Homepage

Copyright 2002 by Prentice Hall, Inc. 18

Just the title of Mary Boone's book, Managing Inter@ctively: Executing Business Strategy, Improving Communication, and Creating a Knowledge-Sharing Culture, speaks volumes on the impact of information technology on the desirability of using communications tools well. Boone offers examples of how managers are making things happen in an Internet-enabled world. Her emphasis is on the communications skills that support the creation of an organizational culture that fosters the development and sharing of knowledge. For more information on Mary Boone's work, you can link to: http://www.maryboone.com

Organizational culture is the set of behaviors that are widely practiced throughout an organization. A knowledge-sharing culture is vital to the success of any learning organization today. And as we look at communication patterns, we see a variety of communications activities that are vital to the work of the networked organization and e-culture: collaboration, learning, and performance support are but three.

17.6.2 Collaboration The ability to work collaboratively as a member of a group or team is a vital skill in most organizations. Teams are often referred to as the basic business unit of the global economy and teamwork as “the final ingredient that makes all the other parts add up to something greater than the sum of their parts” (O’Hara-Devereaux & Johansen 1994, pp. 138-139). Teams have advantages over traditional hierarchical organizational structures as teams can be flexible and respond creatively and quickly to changing economic and social forces.

In Teams & Technology: Fulfilling the Promise of the New Organization (Harvard Business School Press, 1996), researchers Don Mankin, Susan Cohen, and Tora Bikson suggested that names for this organizational structure vary, and include virtual, networked, lateral, boundaryless, flat, participative, learning, and horizontal. But no matter what term is used to describe this organization of the future, what they have in common begins with flatter hierarchies and fewer middle managers to translate or communicate from one level of the organization to another. Functional divisions are replaced by overlapping, continually changing categories of workers.

While at one time group or teamwork meant individuals who were working in the same space on a shared understanding of the problem, today the networked, global workplace means your colleagues may be down the hall or across the globe. The office is any time/any place, as workspaces are defined by where workers can best do their work of generating, processing, and communicating information.

However, teamwork doesn't just happen. David Armstrong, a senior consultant for Personnel Decisions International (PDI), http://www.personneldecisions.com, suggests that team leaders promote behaviors that ensure that everyone in the networked organization understands the purpose of the team, such as including each other in decisions. Other suggestions are to have face-to-face meetings from time to time, particularly in the team formation stage. Team members should be encouraged to talk about how they are communicating and set clear expectations for response times. He also suggested that a wide range of communication technologies be used: speaker phones, groupware, and videoconferencing. Look for Armstrong's work in which he details the use of these tools: Building teams across borders Executive Excellence; Provo; Mar 2000; David Armstrong

For more discussion about collaboration, read:

Copyright 2002 by Prentice Hall, Inc. 19

“Collaborative Business” by Paul McDougall, InformationWeek, May 7, 2001. (http://informationweek.com/836/collaborate.htm)

Chapter 4, Workgroup Technologies, described a variety of tools that can be used to support same time/same place, as well same time/different place or different time/different place meetings. Sophisticated tool kits such as those from groupsystems.com (http://www.groupsystems.com), support a variety of group processes, including brainstorming, voting, and group writing. Other meeting software such as NetMeeting (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/netmeeting/) supports same time communication, usually email or (increasingly) videoconferencing. A soft skill that is vital to the effectiveness of such tools is the ability for a group to either self-manage itself (self-managed work group) or be facilitated. Either way, there's a need for a new set of skills to run meetings.

Collaboration in an e-culture, extends far beyond the walls of the enterprise, however, to suppliers, distributors, customers, and partners.

Click here for recent articles on the topic of meeting facilitation.

Discovery LearningA process for collaboration developed at the Knowledge Media Design Institute, University of Toronto is called the Connected Intelligence Workshop. Click on this Connected Intelligence Workshop Link to learn more about this process and use it to complete a real assignment.

17.6.3 LearningIn times of profound change, learners inherit the earth. While the learned find themselves.

Unknown

Information technology has enabled education and training efforts to be learner-centered, continuous, and an anytime, anyplace activity. We may be moving toward an educational utility, whereby a learner will be able to access the best information and learning strategies at the click of a mouse on any topic under the sun. If you wanted to learn about the learning organization, you could tap into a lesson or course offered by Peter Senge. If you want to talk with users of a new technology, you could tap into the vendor's online discussion board. If you want to talk with others about how best to teach end-user information systems, you could tap into the Prentice Hall web site : http://www.prenhall.com/regan.

For more about the concept of learning organizations: The Learning Organization Homepage

(http://www-bus.colorado.edu/faculty/larsen/learnorg.html) Index of Links to Learning Organization Websites

http://www.city.grande-prairie.ab.ca/ccy_lo.htm#LO_Index Peter Senge, The Fifth Discipline A summary online of The Fifth Discipline can be found at

http://www-bus.colorado.edu/faculty/larsen/learnorg/senge.html

Copyright 2002 by Prentice Hall, Inc. 20

E-learning is catching on not only because the upcoming generation of users is comfortable using technology (which is a big push), but also because it is so downright useful (it can be used at the "teachable moment"), compatible with adult learning styles (individualized instruction, flexible times, patient), and cost efficient. Moreover, it is not just for formal learning situations as it supports self-directed and life-long learning efforts of all types, whether it be for learning a foreign language, to use the latest version of a software tool, to learn about the backroads of Italy in planning your next vacation--the ubiquitous Web and the myriad of communications tools it supports--e.g., information sharing, chat rooms, multimedia, videoconferencing-- is becoming a entryway to information, self directed learning, and lifelong learning in ways that we are just beginning to explore and appreciate.

A fast growing trend in e-learning and professional development is the concept of “corporate university.” Designed to meet the ever expanding education and training needs of today’s workforce, corporate universities use a variety of teaching and learning strategies. Online learning delivered any time, anywhere, anyplace is becoming an increasingly important part of the process. Some corporate universities operate as profit centers, offering training not only to employees, but to suppliers and customers as well.

The Corporate University Xchange, Inc. http://www.corpu.com/ is a New York City-based corporate education and research firm founded in 1997 by Jeanne Meister. The Xchange offers products and services to help training professionals optimize their organization's learning function. With a client base from around the world representing a broad spectrum of industries, as well as institutions of higher education, Corporate University Xchange considers themselves the specialist for corporate university development and management. In 2001, Corporate University Xchange joined forces with iUniverse.com, provider of the world's leading digital publishing infrastructure technology. This union gives providers of corporate education and training new capabilities for packaging and marketing their intellectual content - courseware, documents, workbooks, et cetera - to customers worldwide. Visit their Website to learn more about this fast growing trend.

Discovery LearningDiscover trends and issues related to e-learning from a European perspective. Do European and American approaches to e-learning differ? If so, how?http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/elearning/what.htm

17.6.4 Performance SupportThe power and speed of today's networked workstations provide the capacity for a kind of performance support not heretofore possible. Remember, learning is itself a means to the goal of performance. (O'Connor et al, Training for Organizations, 2002). Networks support just-in-time learning, including the ability to have online reference material or connections to "those in the know" at the click of a mouse. As part of a comprehensive knowledge management system, performance support tools can actually reduce the need for learning. As Chester Delaney suggested in Training for Organizations:

Copyright 2002 by Prentice Hall, Inc. 21

Think about how the alphabet reduced the need to memorize the tribe's stories and epics, because now they could be written down, read, and referenced when desired. The hand-held calculator has made memorizing the times table less a requirement than before. Similarly, multi-media workstations tapping into the information superhighway may make it less necessary to learn some of what has to be learned today. What will be critical will be to know how to access these reference tools that reduce the need to learn, just as library research skills were crucial for the paper-intensive knowledge worker of yesteryear. (p.185)

Keep in mind, too, that learners learn from each other as well as from an instructor or learning media, and the Web can support their communications. In addition to email, instructors and learners have a wide range of communications tools, including listservs, bulletin boards, discussion boards, and chat rooms. Comprehensive Web-based Training solutions bundle communications tools with multimedia instruction. In such cases, the Web serves as a distributor of instruction as well as a means to enable a learning community to stay connected despite platform differences, time differences, or location differences.

Knowledge management (KM), discussed in Chapter 5, can be thought of basically as an extension of peer learning. The concept essentially is to capture experience and knowledge and share and extend it through online collaborative environments. The rapid growth of the KM concept has been remarkable, and is likely to become an integral component of 21st century e-cultures. Multimedia tools, such as visualization, virtual reality, video conferencing, and others, will become an ever larger component. Ultimately, it will probably become as natural to use group video conferencing systems to collaborate with peers around the globe as it is today to meet in the conference room down the hall or to use cellular telephones.

For more information about knowledge management, refer to Knowledge Management Magazine, KMWorld, or the Harvard Business School Working Knowledge Website.

For an example of the KM concept on a national level, explore the PT3 Collaborative Exchange at pt3ce.org. This site sponsored by the U. S. Department of Education supports the Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to Use Technology (PT3) grant program.(http://www.pt3.org/). All 173 institutions participating in the grant program are linked through the Collaborative Exchange Website (www.pt3ce.net), which is used to share information across all projects and collaborate on Exchange Teams.

E-learning has been described as the "killer app" (application) of the century. Never before in education and training has there been such an opportunity to change the way learning takes place at all ages and stages of our lives. Technology is impacting the entire industry (including education from kindergarten through graduate work and workplace learning), and it has been suggested that those institutions that do not keep up with technology will falter (see Chapter 11 for the Coates Model of Technology Innovation). Perhaps the challenge of the century is determining how to develop appropriate instructional approaches that meet the needs of learners and at the same time influence the way that instructional providers (teachers, trainers, professors) view their role in the instructional process.

Copyright 2002 by Prentice Hall, Inc. 22

Discovery Learning: Visit the NYU Online education site (http://www.nyuonline.com) and the Morehead MBA site (http://www.morehead-st.edu/colleges/business/mba/index.html). Identify how these initiatives are impacting what we usually consider to be continuing education (the NYU site) and graduate education (Morehead). Who is the primary audience for each tool? Discuss the future of online education for business training and business education.

17.7 SummaryThis chapter identifies trends and issues that are expected to shape end-user information systems in the coming decade. The text provides pointers and links, and the reader is encouraged to explore topics according to their own interests and experience. The reader is also encouraged to participate in a variety of discovery activities. Thus, each reader will interact with the content of this chapter in a different way. The key themes of the chapter are summarized briefly.

The first theme is technology trends and implications. Over the next decade computers will continue to become smaller, more powerful, and ubiquitous. Complexity will be moved to the network, and access will become near universal. Wireless technology will continue to evolve rapidly, and mobile hand held devices will proliferate. There will be more network bandwidth at far lower cost with universal availability. Applications will become increasingly sophisticated with multi-media, virtual reality, and online environments, such as e-books and e-learning.

The second theme highlights the widespread changes occurring in the workplace as information networks become increasingly global. As enterprises strive to capitalize on the power of global digital networks, it is leading to many changes, both planned and unplanned. Implications of the new economics of information are also discussed.

The third theme explores new e-culture organizational models. Succeeding in an e-culture calls for different approaches and different skills than those associated with success in the past. Many requirements for success in an e-culture are counter-intuitive when viewed through the lenses of past practice and assumptions. The latest research and wisdom on what differentiates successful dot.com firms from their unsuccessful counterparts are discussed.

The fourth theme is the shifting emphasis from technology to transformation. Information technology is a given today. The challenge is in transforming business practice and individual behaviors. Enterprises must move beyond the slash and burn approaches of reengineering to create flexible, responsive organizational networks and communities that capitalize on the best intellectual talents of all workers. The focus must be on integrating technology, not just implementing it; and understanding the difference is paramount!

The final theme zeroes in on the “soft” skills that must be honed as a result of information technologies. Changing patterns of communication, collaboration, learning, and performance support are highlighted. The discussion shed lights on questions such as what skill sets will be in demand and what will it take to attract and keep talented workers.

One lesson from the recent dot.com fall out is that not all things digital are successful! This online chapter presented a number of issues intended to help readers gain a better understanding of the changing requirements for success in the 21st Century global environment.

Copyright 2002 by Prentice Hall, Inc. 23

Sources that publish information technology trends and directions

This section provides a cross section of the variety of available resources that may be helpful for further study or for strategic planning.

InfoTech Trends, formerly Computer Industry Forecasts, http://www.infotechtrends.com/Provides market data on computers, peripherals, software, storage, the Internet, and communications equipment. Details include forecast sales, forecast shipments, market share, installed base, and industry trends. You can search 1,000s of data entries abstracted from leading industry journals. Information Tech Trends has been publishing this information since 1984.

TechRepublichttp://www.techrepublic.comTechRepublic is designed to serve the needs of professionals in all segments of the IT industry. It provides information and tools for IT decision support and professional advice. According to their stated purpose, TechRepublic communities engage IT professionals in the ultimate peer-to-peer experience, providing actionable information, tools and member services to help members get their jobs done.

Amy D. Wohl’s Opinions http://www.wohl.com/issue.htmA weekly newsletter of insights about events, trends, and products in the information industries, told from the knowledgeable and opinionated point of view of industry veteran Amy Wohl.

Accenture Institute for Strategic Changehttp://www.accenture.com/xd/xd.asp?it=enWeb&xd=_isc\ischome.xmlThe Accenture Institute for Strategic Change was founded in 1996 and conducts original research focused on providing actionable insight and ideas into strategic business issues. Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the Institute for Strategic Change is made up of experienced management researchers working in concert with business educators and executives. The Institute for Strategic Change has a publications list in the hundreds with articles in Harvard Business Review, Sloan Management Review, CIO Magazine, and Information Week. The Institute for Strategic Change is often referenced in newspapers such as USA Today, Los Angeles Times, and Boston Globe. Institute researchers have taught at leading business schools including Harvard Business School, Tuck School of Management at Dartmouth College, Sloan School at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Graduate School of Business at the University of Chicago. Institute books are regularly published by Harvard Business School Press and other top-tier business publishers.

PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) http://www.pricewaterhousecoopers.com/gx/eng/ins-sol/main/index.html PriceWaterhouseCoopers is a major consulting firm with a focus on providing solutions to help clients succeed. The PWC Web site offers “Insights & Solutions” featuring regularly updated materials that are intended to be useful, provocative, and relevant. The scope is worldwide. The focus is business. The authors are among their firm’s and the world’s most accredited thinkers and doers.

World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA)http://www.witsa.org

Copyright 2002 by Prentice Hall, Inc. 24

The World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) is a consortium of 41 information technology (IT) industry associations from economies around the world. WITSA members represent over 97 percent of the world IT market. WITSA’s stated mission includes:

Advocating policies that advance the industry's growth and development. Facilitating international trade and investment in IT products and services. Strengthening WITSA's national industry associations through the sharing of knowledge,

experience, and critical information. Providing members with a vast network of contacts in nearly every geographic region of

the world. Hosting the World Congress on IT, the premier industry sponsored global IT event.

Founded in 1978 and originally known as the World Computing Services Industry Association, WITSA has increasingly assumed an active advocacy role in international public policy issues affecting the creation of a robust global information infrastructure, including:

Increasing competition through open markets and regulatory reform. Protecting intellectual property. Reducing tariff and non-tariff trade barriers to IT goods and services. Safeguarding the viability and continued growth of the Internet and electronic commerce.

Annual Review of Information Science and Technology (ARIST) http://www.asis.org/Publications/ARIST/statement.htmlThe stated purpose of The Annual Review of Information Science and Technology (ARIST) is to survey the landscape of information science and technology, providing the reader with an authoritative, analytical overview of recent trends and significant developments. The range of topics varies considerably, reflecting the dynamism of the discipline and the diversity of theoretical and applied perspectives connoted by the rubric 'information science and technology'. While ARIST continues to cover key topics associated with 'classical' information science (e.g., bibliometrics, information retrieval), the Review is expanding its footprint, prudently and selectively, in an effort to connect information science more tightly with cognate academic and professional communities. One volume is published each year.

The Implications of Electronic Information for the Sociology of Knowledge

Article by UCLA professor Richard Lanham which discusses how the current trend of text moving from paper to screen will force us to rethink literacy http://www.eff.org/pub/Net_culture/implications_of_info.article

Electronicmarkets (EM) Journal EM is a multidisciplinary journal whose audience of 3,000 readers worldwide, includes: scientists/scholars with an interest in the relationship between information technology, new forms of commerce, and social change; policy and decision-makers in government, industry and education; managers concerned with the effects of the electronic commerce revolution, organizations and society. http://www.electronicmarkets.ch

Integrated Business Information Systems IBIS http://www.ibisl.com/Founded in 1994 by Dr. Michael L. Schneider, IBIS initially focused on consulting. In 1998, the scope of the company was expanded to delivering a newsletter. Throughout its existence IBIS has worked with clients to

Copyright 2002 by Prentice Hall, Inc. 25

Manage their technologies Set strategic technical directions Define corporate computing and communications architectures. Identify areas where emerging technologies provide benefits to businesses Assist vendors in long term product planning Perform due diligence for investors and companies involved in mergers and acquisitions

IBIS performs these activities within a wide spectrum of computing technologies and products. Since managing technology investment has a direct impact on the bottom line, choosing the correct technologies, applying them throughout the corporation and supporting the most appropriate business objectives are critical to profitability.

RAND Corporationhttp://www.rand.org/RAND’s mission is to help improve policy and decision making through research and analysis. Among the many ways they do that is developing new knowledge to inform decision makers without suggesting any specific course of action. Often, they go further by spelling out a range of available options and analyzing their relative advantages and disadvantages. When RAND finds the analysis sufficiently compelling, they may make specific policy recommendations. In all cases, they strive to serve the public interest by widely disseminating their research findings. RAND is the first organization to be called a "think tank." They earned this distinction soon after their founding in 1946 from their original client, the U.S. Air Force (then the Army Air Forces). Some of their early work involved aircraft, rockets, and satellites. In the 1960s they even helped develop the technology you're using to view this web site.

Today, RAND's work is very diverse. They now assist all branches of the U.S. military community, and they apply their expertise to social and international issues as well. RAND has earned a reputation for high levels of quality, objectivity, and innovation in all their work-- hallmarks that have earned them a prominent reputation throughout the world. Their commitment to these standards continues to be a hallmark of their organization. Technology vendorsThe Web sites of major technology vendors offer many features of educational value including news, white papers, trends, research, and success stories. Vendor sites you will find informative include the following:

Apple Computer www.apple.comCisco Systems www.cisco.comIBM www.ibm.comMicrosoft Corporation www.microsoft.comSun Systems www.sun.com

International Data Corporation (IDC) http://www.idc.com/

Copyright 2002 by Prentice Hall, Inc. 26

IDC is a leading provider of technology intelligence, industry analysis, market data, and strategic and tactical guidance to builders, providers and users of information technology. Their customers comprise the world's leading IT suppliers, IT organizations, ebusiness companies, and the financial community. Their stated objective is to deliver dependable, high-impact insights and advice on the future of ebusiness, the Internet, and technology to help their clients make sound business decisions. They forecast worldwide markets and trends and analyze business strategies, technologies, and vendors, using a combination of rigorous primary research and in-depth competitive analysis. They provide global research with local content through more than 600 analysts in 43 countries worldwide.

Harvard Business Reviewhttp://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/products/hbr/mar01/R0103D.htmlListings and abstracts of articles published in the Harvard Business Review.

HBS Working Knowledgehttp://hbsworkingknowledge.hbs.edu/HBS Working Knowledge provides timely business information on 13 topic areas featuring writing on diverse management topics, interviews with Harvard Business School (HBS) professors and industry leaders, coverage of HBS campus speakers and conferences, book recommendations and Web site reviews. New features, book reviews, and Web site recommendations are added each week from September though May (biweekly June through August).

SummaryThis is just a small sampling of the available resources dealing with technology trends and directions. This section will continue to change and evolve. If you would like to share other resources or research about information technology trends and directions, contact us at the Web site email (link).

Copyright 2002 by Prentice Hall, Inc. 27

Connected Intelligence Workshop

Adapted from materials from the Knowledge Media Design Institute of the University of Toronto. Note: this workshop demonstrates the value of individuals to team goals. The assigning of specific roles within a group project often make decision making and communications more efficient….and effective!

Using any or all group communications tool available to you (email, chat room, listserv, GroupSystems, and the like), or as a face-to-face project, work together to solve this problem:

How can we initiate and support an ergonomics awareness program in our medium size organization? The overall goal here is to present a PowerPoint presentation on the content and implementation strategy for an ergonomics awareness program to your supervisor (instructor, in this case), as well as members of the other teams. All teams are working separately, but together (note the role of the Mover in this exercise).

Divide your group into at least three teams. As a team, decide who should play these roles:

Shaker: Someone who takes charge but not control of the group.The responsibility of the shaker is not to implement his/her own ideas, but to lead the group through the connected intelligence process. The most powerful ideas are most often the ones that have evolved through the group and that most team members have had a hand in reshaping. The Shaker must keep the group active and searching, hence the name shaker.

Mover: Someone who reports on what is happening in the other group.The Movers spend part of their time observing what is happening in the other group. They are allowed to contribute ideas to the other team, only when asked. They can come and go as they like.

Scanner: Searcher for useful information.The Scanner 's job includes finding pertinent information that could connect to and support this project. The scanner is a key worker both before and after the production process.

Doers: Representatives of the client organization who can assess the merits of a given direction and help promote its implementation at a later stage.Doers assess if ideas are doable, and are instrumental in influencing the implementation strategy. They understand the organization's culture and provide guidance on how to adjust the strategy so it will move the organization forward. For example, they might know how the chain of command works.

The Presentation Developer: Someone who is proficient with PowerPoint and can condense the ideas of the group to the audience.

The Presenter: Someone who has the talent to talk publicly and can make the final presentation attractive to the audience.

The Content Expert: Someone who contributes specifically because of their unique content understanding of a component of the issue being addressed.

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The Breakthrough Thinker: The person who possesses "out of the box thinking" and unique background, as well as experiences and understanding of the group.

After an appropriate time (could be a week or so if this project is done online; could be a couple hours if face-to-face), the Presenter should present the outcome in a face-to-face meeting of the group (or perhaps via the Internet, if the class is being held via distance learning technologies).

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Discovery Learning

Read recent articles on the topic of meeting facilitation, such as the following (available online through most university Web-searchable databases, such as ABI/Inform):

Schulte, Tom (August 1999). Facilitating skills: The art of helping teams succeed. Hospital Materiel Management Quarterly. and/or Niederman, F., and Volkema, R. J. (June 1999). The effects of facilitator characteristics on meeting preparation, set up, and implementation. Small Group Research; Thousand Oaks.Then, visit the homepage of groupsystems.com. (http://www.groupsystems.com) Note the facilitation seminar in which participants learn facilitation techniques appropriate to an electronic meeting. How would you anticipate facilitation skills to be the same in an online environment? How might they be different?

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Wireless Resources

Allied Business Intelligence (ABI)www.alliedworld.comFor research information on the wireless market, click on the wireless tab and you’ll find market data on the latest mobile trends, as well as in-depth studies.

GoAmerican www.goamerica.comGoAmerica is a national wireless Internet service provider. If you plan to wirelessly enable your notebook or personal digital assistant, this site will help you pick the right combination of hardware and software.

MobileInfowww.mobileinfo.comThis site is designed for IT professionals. It specializes in mobile computing information. The editorial crew prides itself on being wireless networking consultants first and journalists second. The site includes descriptions of real life projects.

Mobile Planetwww.mobileplanet.comEverything from removable media to notebook PCs is for sale here. The site also has guides that tell you how to wirelessly enable your personal digital assistant and notebook.

MobileStarwww.mobilestar.comThis site offers information on where to access a public wireless LAN and how much subscription fees will be.

IBM Wirelesshttp://www.clearlake.ibm.com/wireless/home.htmlIBM is a leading provider of end-to-end wireless e-business solutions. Their Wireless Web site offers a wealth of information, demos, cases studies and other links related to wireless technologies and its applications.

Thinkmobile.comwww.thinkmobile.comThinkkmobile.com is a “portal for the mobile community”. Resource lists and newsletter are the main draw of this site. Mobile topics include discussion of service providers, but the focus is on notebooks and laptops.

Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA)www.wirelessethernet.orgThe site has updated lists of WiFi certified devices as well as industry news about the WiFi wireless standard.

Wireless LAN Associationwww.wlana.orgThis site is a good primer on wireless networking products, trends, and applications.

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ZC/Net IT Resource Centershttp:// www.zdnet.com/ This site offers columns and news articles about wireless technologies, application service providers, extensible markup language, and just about everything else an IT manager could want in the way of information (ZDNet.com is part of CNET Networks).

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Selected Virtual Reality Sites

Take a virtual tour of the famous Louvre Museum in Paris. Visit the various galleries and enjoy some of the famous paintings and works of art.

http://www.louvre.fr/anglais/visite/vis_f.htm

A White House TourThe website tour highlights the rooms seen on the live tour and describes their functions and features. It also includes descriptions of a few areas not seen on the live tour but of interest to many. Theses include the Oval Office, Cabinet Room, the West Wing and the East Wing.http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/whtour/

Smithsonian MuseumThe Smithsonian American Art Museum offers online versions of a number of past and present museum exhibitions. These online versions, available indefinitely, complement and extend their gallery shows. http://americanart.si.edu/collections/online.html

Sheraton Center TorontoFor an example of virtual tours used in the tourism industry, take a virtual tour of the Sheraton Center Toronto Hotel. Go to http://www.sheratontoronto.com/ and click on “Virtual Tour.”

NASAVirtual Reality Tour of the International Space StationSee what the inside of the International Space Station looks like. Tour VR modules to see where the astronauts live and work. http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/vtour/index.html

NASA Education Resource Center Network http://spacelink.nasa.gov/Educational.Services/NASA.Education.Programs/Curriculum.Support.and.Dissemination/Educator.Resource.Center.Network.-.ERCN/

NASA Online Educational ResourcesNASA Spacelink is one of the Agency’s electronic resources specifically developed for use by the educational community. This comprehensive electronic library contains current and historical information related to NASA’s aeronautics and space research. Teachers, faculty, and students will find that Spacelink offers not only information about NASA programs and projects, but also teacher guides with activities, images, and computer software that can enhance classroom instruction. Spacelink also provides links to other NASA resources on the Internet. Educators can access materials chosen specifically for their educational value and relevance, including science, mathematics, engineering and technology education lesson plans, information on NASA educational programs and services, current status reports on Agency projects and events, new releases, and television broadcast schedules for NASA Television.http://education.jsc.nasa.gov/Resources/resources.htm

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PARC Palo Alto Research Center -- Information Visualization

The Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), the inventors of the graphical user interface, was formerly a division of Xerox Corporation, but became an independent corporation in 2000. They specialize in IT research, especially in the area of computer human interface. PARC defines Information Visualization as “the use of computer-supported interactive visual representations of abstract data to amplify cognition. Whereas scientific visualization usually starts with a natural physical representation, Information Visualization applies visual processing to abstract information.” Their site contains many publications and other information about information visualization and other research related to computer human interface.http://www2.parc.com/istl/projects/uir/projects/ii.html

Kraut, et al. “Coordination and Virtualization: The Role of Electronic Networks and Personal Relationships,” Organization Science, November-December 1999.

1 Don Tapscott, Alex Lowy, and David Ticoll, Editors. Blueprint to the Digital Economy: Creating Wealth in the Era of E-Business. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1998), 280. ISBN 0-07-063349-5.2 Xerox PARC User Interface Research Group (http://www.parc.xerox.com/istl/projects/uir/projects/InformationVisualization.html) accessed 9/8/2001.3 Rosabeth Moss Kanter. E-volve!: Succeeding in the Digital Culture of Tomorrow. (Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2001) p6.4 Kanter, p9-10.5 Kanter, p197.6 Kanter, p197.7 Elizabeth A. Regan. Doing Business on the Internet. Proceedings of the OSRA 21 st Annual Research Conference, February 2002, St. Louis, Missouri. (http://www.osra.org )8 Kanter, Rosabeth Moss. Commitment and Community (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1972).9 Kanter, Rosabeth Moss. Commitment and Community (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1972).10 Kanter, Rosabeth Moss. E-volve!: Succeeding in the Digital Culture of Tomorrow. (Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2001).11 Don Tapscott, Alex Lowy, and David Ticoll, Editors. Blueprint to the Digital Economy: Creating Wealth in the Era of E-Business. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1998), 280. ISBN 0-07-063349-5.

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End Notes

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