Office Automation & Intranets

Clarke, R. J (2001) L909-07: 1

Office Automation & Intranets

BUSS 909

Lecture 7Internet, Intranets and Extranets:

Definition, Analysis and Design

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Agenda

Basic DefinitionsCommunicative DefinitionsStructure in CommunicationDesign Issues

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Basic Definitions

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Basic Definitions (1)Origins of the term ‘Intranet’

the term ‘intranet’ was used by Amdahl to describe their own internal network:

“An intranet is a private computer network uses Internet standards and protocols to enable members of an organisation to communicate and collaborate more efficiently with one another thereby increasing productivity.” (Hills 1999 in Greer 1998, 2)

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Basic Definitions (2) Internet versus Intranets

Intranets employ net-aware technologies within organisations- the prefix ‘intra’ means ‘within’

confusingly, the prefix ‘inter’ means ‘between’ yet the Internet provides net-aware technologies to entities in the environment

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B: Organisational

Organisation

Organisational Boundary

Public or Marketplace

C: Applied Technology

Intranet

Internet

A: System Theoretic

Boundary

Environment

System

Basic Definitions (3) Physical Boundary between Inter/Intranets?

this suggests that a physical boundary is being used to distinguish between these realms (see SL-00.PPT)

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Basic Definitions (4)Inter/Intranets: Zone not Physical Boundary

even this simple view can be disrupted by considering firewall deployment to protect intranets from internet attack

A: Applied Technology

Intranet

InternetInternal Firewall

Large number of internal requests

Some requests are rejected at IF ‚but others are passed onto EF ƒ

Trusted Requests from EF enter the Intranet via IF „

External Firewall

Large number of external hits …

Many requests are rejected at EF †, but some are passed onto IF ‡

Trusted Requests from IF enter the Internet via EF ˆ

B: Demilitarised Zone (DMZ)

DMZ

IF

EF

‚

ƒ„

…†

‡ˆ

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Basic Definitions (5) Communicatively defined Zone ...

intranets are usually separated from the internet by a Demilitarised Zone (DMZ)- not a single ‘physical’ boundary: although the DMZ concerns technical issues

(IP packets etc.), it is defined communicativelyit involves a telecommunications security

policy executed using hardware and software (firewalls and proxy servers

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Basic Definitions (6) … Communicatively defined Zone

but behind this technical policy is a social process which decides about audience classification- who constitutes an

appropriate organisational member (exclude messages from unknown agents)

if a message is sent by an external known agent can it be judged as trusted or useful

should specific organisational members have access to particular sites

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Basic Definitions (7) Intranet/Extranet Relationships

from a technical point of view you need all the functionality that intranets provide in order to set up an extranetin this way extranets are thought of as an

extension or option to an intranetthe difference is ultimately about

recognising that an individual or group has special privileges compared to the rest of the public or market

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Basic Definitions (8) Extranets are communicatively defined ...

extranets are communicatively defined- relating to audience with respect to their membership to the organisationin addition to audience, trustworthiness,

usefulness etc...the very definition of what is inside or outside

the system is defined according to the kind of communication agents do or can enter into at a particular point in time

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C: Internal ClientB: External Entity

Organisation

External Entity

Organisation

A: Traditional System

Organisation

Environment

A': Applied Technology

Intranet

Internet

C': Active Extranet

Internet

Extranet

B': Passive Extranet

Internet

Extranet

Basic Definitions (9) … Extranets are communicatively defined

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Basic Definitions (10) Extranets: Significance of the Definition

the issue of how to correctly theorise internets, intranets and extranets by means of communicative distinctions between them- is very important

this issue is becoming more important for information economies with the rise of virtual organisations- these can only be sensibly defined in terms of human communication

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Basic Definitions (11)Similarities between Extranets and EDI ...

EDI is limited to B2B transactions, however extranets and Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) share many similarities:extranets are now becoming the main way of

implementing EDI and as most EDI is conducted using SGML, extranets and EDI share some technical similarities as well

analysis aspects of establishing extranets are very similar to those of EDI

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Basic Definitions (11)… Similarities between Extranets and EDI

Commonwealth of Australian (1992) Speaking EDI- Video 2 : Case Studies ISBN 0642 176558 6view a case studies video of successful EDI

implementation in Australian businessremembering that today EDI (that is B2B

transactions) are very likely to be conducted using extranets and associated technologies

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Communicative Definitions

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Communicative DefinitionsSignificance

the case studies reveal not just the importance of standardising data for its exchange between organisations, but also ...

... the importance of human communication, during development of these technologies, and for specific types of organisational purposes

we can use human communication as a means of defining the terms intranet, extranet and internet

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Communicative DefinitionsPrinciples, Features, Application

we will first consider some principles of human communication as distinct from machine communication

then describe some features that can be analysed in human communication,

attempt to tentatively apply these to determining what is an intranet, an extranet and the internet

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Communicative Principles (1)Communication is about meanings

communication is about meanings (social positioning of sender and receiver, information- statements about the world, cultural attributes)

need to look at actual or expected patterns of communication (production and consumption of meanings)

communication never involves ‘just’ individuals expressing their meanings (always socially and culturally formed)

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Communicative Principles (2)Not about sharing- its about differences

communication is not just about sharing- societies and organisations always consist of multiple social and cultural groupings

interactions between them involve contradiction and contestation as much as sharing

therefore, the processes of communication are likely simultaneously to be based on difference and the ‘resolution of differences’

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Communicative Principles (3)Communicative Practices, Cultural Literacy meanings associated with human communication

must be understood as being produced in specific national and /or organisational cultures

communicative practices : the ways in which these systems of meaning are negotiated by users in a culture

cultural literacy: knowledge of meaning systems and an ability to negotiate them in different contexts

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Communicative Principles (4)Traditional IS theory inadequate

the (above) principles are completely absent from the Shannon & Weaver model of communication used in IS:the relationship between communication

and culturethe idea that meaning and communicative

practices are context specificthe existence and importance of cultural

literacy

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Communicative Principles (5)

if we want to understand the differences between Intranets, Extranets, and the Internet, weneed to look at the communications that are occurring between and within the organisation

we cannot understand these communications or conduct an analysis without being familiar with organisational cultures that make certain meanings possible of impossible

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Communicative Features (1)

the unit used here to define organisational communication (within/between) is confusingly called a text a product (document)- in that it is an output, or object

with an analysable structure a process- social and interactive writers/readers and

speakers/listeners are interpreting meanings completed act of communication in any medium (exhibit,

rock concert, films etc) defined in relation to its social context- must do so in

order to make any sense

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two types of context recognised by the theory (after Malinowski) Situational Context which

provides secific situational ‘values’ to the text

Cultural Context which provides a pattern or template that is portable across different situations within a national or organisational culture

Language

Cultural Context

SituationalContext

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situational context (register) includes the following features which can be analysed in a text: field: social actions and activities- the topic or focus of

an activity- lexical items or indexical lexical items (reception, priest, bands, ‘I do’)

tenor: social role relationships played by interactants affects how language is used (customer/slaesman)

mode: the role language is playing in the interaction these features influence each otherand also influence

the genre

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cultural context (genre) : describes the structural arrangement of a text

type according to genre elements which are functional linguistic categories used to describe the purpose of a stretch of a text (see in T909-02).

genre elements do nor represent an IS process- closest to this social activity defined by field; nor do they represent data- closest to this is mode; not do they represent turn taking because they are functional not personal

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Communicative Application (1)

defining the differences between Intranets and Extranets using this theory is straightforward, but: conducting an analysis of these technologies,

involves analysing actual texts associated with there use

in the case of designing new extranet functionality need to identify the kinds of communication that are likely, treat these as texts and analyse them appropriately

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Communicative Application (2)Defining Extranets

new activities will be given new indexical lexical items

where the same workpractice exists using different names a new common naming convention may be adopted by both organisations/units, or

the more powerful organisation/unit may insist on there existing naming convention

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Communicative Application (3)… Defining Extranets ...

changes may occur to the naming of job positions, and shifts in role relationships between two organisations and units

shifts in the kind of language used to accommodate external members in the environment who are now part of the organisation

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Communicative Application (3)… Defining Extranets

more explicit descriptions of tasks, functions etc.:

because external extranet members/organisations will not share the same cultural literacy as members of an organisation!

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Social Context and LanguageIn General...

every text refers to its social context- it must do in order to make any sense

must do so in order to be meaningful that is to communicate something to someone

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Social Context and LanguageRealisation

in order to show the relationship between language and social context we use concentric ovals (see next slide)

one semiotic system (language) is a realisation of another more abstract one (social context)

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Structure in CommunicationExample 1: Buying Bread in Australia

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Contextual Configuration (CC)

specifies the values or options of the field, tenor and mode for a given context of situation

using CC you can ‘predict’ (Hasan) what is likely to occur (in general terms) in the text

need to specify CC before collecting texts

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Contextual ConfigurationBuying Bread

Field (economic transaction) purchase of retail goods, perishable food

Tenor (agents of transaction)hierarchic: customer superordinate and

vendor subordinate; social distance near maximal

Mode (language role)ancilliary; channel: phonic; medium:

spoken with visual contact

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Example 1: Buying Bread (1)Hypothetical Transcript (Australia)

This type of text is so familiar to us that we can even tell who said what and when

Buying Bread Text

Who’s next?I think I amCan I have a loaf of bread please?Yes, anything elseYesI’d like a cinnamon donutWill that be all?Yeah, thanks.That’ll be $1.850 [hands over $2.00 coin]10 and 5 is 15, thanksHave a nice dayThanks

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Example 1: Buying Bread (3)Turn Taking

In this text their areonly two participants,a Buyer and a Seller of Bread

The numbers indicate turn-taking between the participants

Buying Bread Text Buyer Seller

1: Who’s next?2: I think I am

Can I have a loaf of bread please?3: Yes, anthing else4: Yes

I’d like a cinnamon donut5: Will that be all?6: Yeah, thanks.7: That’ll be $1.858: 0 [hands over $2.00 coin]9: 10 and 5 is 15, thanks

Have a nice day10: Thanks

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Example 1: Buying Bread (4)Linguistic Stages in the Text

But there is more than just participantstaking turns. Their is a familiar linguisticstaging of events in the transcript.

Each stage is called agenre element. Each genre element is functionally defined.

Buying Bread Text Buyer Seller


Can I have a loaf of bread please?3: Yes, anthing else4: Yes



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Example 1: Buying Bread (5)Genre Elements

Buying Bread Text Buyer Seller Genre Element


Can I have a loaf of bread please?3: Yes, anything else4: Yes



Sale Compliance (SC)

Sale (S)Purchase (P)

Finis (F)

Sales Initiation (SI)

Sale Request (SR)

Sale Request (SR)

Sale Compliance (SC)

Purchase Closure (PC)

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are functional linguistic categories used to describe the purpose of a stretch of text

created as needed and should represent a unique purpose for a text

created when there is a change in field, tenor or mode

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do not represent a process as per IS- closest analogy is social activity as in field

do not represent data as per IS- closest analogy is that of language mode

do not represent turn taking because genre elements are functional not personal

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are negotiated between participantstherefore there is no guarentee of the

successful completion of an elementalso embody ‘error correction’

protocols in language

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Example 1: Buying Bread (9)Genre Sequence

The sequence of genre elements forms the genre sequence for the ‘activity of buying bread in Australia’

it is an example of a service encounter genre (just like buying a railway ticket, buying a shirt etc..)

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Design Issues

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Designas a ‘Black Art’

the design of actual Intranets and Extranets is a black art- there are no hard and fast rukes

generally the web-based components are incrementally added as the scale or size of increases: web servers discussed last week firewalls and proxy servers described next

week

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DesignSmall Internet S/W Company (1)

small company = <1000 employeesfirewall is loose- does not restrict any outward bound

connectionsinbound connections blocked except for incoming e-

mail, news feeds, web

Requirements:proxy server is used to conserve bandwidth to the

external networkfiltering of requests is not required because the

firewall is loose

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DesignSmall Internet S/W Company (2)

users can unset proxy server in the client software and bypass the proxy server

as a consequence no authentication needed

Implementation:single proxy server (128MB RAM; 2 GB cache)cron job rotates logs once per weekno secondary failover proxy as organisation is

encouraging open use

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Links

Amdahl Corporation http://www.amdahl.com/

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Readings

Relevant readings are provided in the BUSS909 Reader (#24 & 25): Lodin, S. W. and C. L. Schuba (1998) “Firewalls

fend off invasions from the Net” IEEE Spectrum February 1998, 35 (2), 26-34

Oppliger, R. (1997) “Internet Security: Firewalls and Beyond” Communications of the ACM May 40 (5) 92-102

Documents

Office Automation & Intranets