IT and Entrepreneurship - Issues Relating to Intranet - Essay Example

?IT & Entrepreneurship Table of Contents Introduction 3 Discussion 4 Problems Relating to Intranet 4 Suggestions 6 Features 7 Conclusion 11 References 12 Introduction The World Wide Web (WWW) is considered to be a prime facilitator of free speech for many people. With the growing competitors and the escalating technological purview, the internet has emerged as a powerful tool that not only helps a business to complete its task efficiently but also facilitates an individual to keep a track of what is happening around. It also provides the facility of connecting to people located anywhere in the globe with minimum cost (Bertucci & Alberti, n.d.). However, it has been viewed that with the growing competition and globalisation, large business houses are implementing strategies that not only aid them in making a business process more effective but also enable them to decrease various operational cost by a considerable extent. In this regard, intranet is considered to be one of the most common forms of computer network that is observed to be applied in many organisations to make the entire working process more efficient. It is a form of computer network that implements Internet Protocol (IP) technology to spread data, operating systems or computing systems within an organisation. In general, Intranet is a process through which all the computers within a defined area are connected using networking technologies in order to facilitate a smooth flow of communication amid individuals or group of individuals within an organisation (SlideShare Inc., 2011). The main objective of this study is to evaluate the basic notion of intranet along with its key features. Additionally, the study would also provide a few of the best features that can be built into an organisation’s intranet that would help the entire set of employees to learn and mutually inspire each other to work better. Discussion Employees within an organisation are considered to be one of the most valuable assets as they are responsible for conducting activities that would aid the organisation to achieve its pre-set goals and objectives. However, in many aspects, it has been viewed that improper construction of the organisation’s intranet at times fails in motivating to learn and inspire employees within the workplace (Weidenhammer Systems Corporation, 2013). A few of the facets that results in establishing such aspects within an organisation are stated hereunder: Problems Relating to Intranet Organisations At Times Ignore End Users: It has often been viewed that organisations often put business needs in-front of end user needs. However, it can be proclaimed that end-users do not see value in portals that directly do not help them in completing the assigned tasks lucidly (Prescient Digital Media Ltd., 2013). Change in the Working Process: With the growing literacy rate around the globe, it has been observed that individuals who have just come out of colleges or universities are being recruited as they are viewed to be more active and equipped with modern organisational needs. However, it has been determined that this group of individuals are most active and work in the process they think is the best suited for the completion of the assigned tasks (Prescient Digital Media Ltd., 2013). Organisations Underestimate the Cost and Complexity of Redevelopment of the Portal: It is predicted that the aspect of rapid change in the technological aspect would continue forever. Thus, organisations often are not able to update the intranet in accordance with the recent developments made for high cost which results in ultimately stopping the working process (Prescient Digital Media Ltd., 2013). Intranet At times Lack Fresh and Relevant Contents: Creating content or updating the intranet within an organisation is very essential as things go on changing rapidly. However, it has often been viewed that the network lacks proper updating of data that would aid employees to complete their tasks efficiently. This ultimately results in demotivating the individuals to learn or get inspired to work better (Prescient Digital Media Ltd., 2013). Organisations Do Not Follow A Proper Governance Model: Allocating ownership of the intranet network to an employee within an organisation is measured to be one of the basic problems. The main reason behind this is that individuals at the higher level at times think it to be a task full of complexities as they need to update the database continuously in order to provide current data to their subordinates. Additionally, input of wrong data in the database may at times result in the creation of wrong projects and improper use of knowledge banks which may harm the organisation by a considerable extent. Moreover, no proper governance model is basically followed which often hampers the entire working process (Prescient Digital Media Ltd., 2013). Suggestions It has been recognised that with the increase of competitors and the rising cost of operations, organisations irrespective of their size are implementing the aspect of intranet as a way of managing findings and publishing vital information about the company along with keeping a track of the current activities that are being conducted within the departments in the company. Moreover, one of the prime advantages of intranet it that it helps in keeping a track of all the activities and provides guidelines to implement strategies accordingly (Lester, 2005). According to a study conducted by CIGNEX Datamatics (2013), some of the basic features that employees accept from an intranet include: 1. Easy discoverable information. 2. Themes that would help in motivating an employee. 3. Interactive hub for easy chare of information. 4. Smooth content management. 5. A computer network that would help in building a separate profile for both personal and professional lives. 6. Employee directories as this would help in communicating with the co-workers at any time. 7. Provides the facility of mobility. 8. Integration with best applications that would facilitate in making the working process more easy (CIGNEX Datamatics, 2013). Features In accordance with the above depicted problems and information evaluated, a few of the features that can be built in an organisation’s intranet that would help in motivating employees to learn more along with attaining the organisational goal efficiently are stated hereby: Integrating Tools Integrating vital corporate information such as companies form, corporate level documents and policies in the intranet which can be accessed any time can be a vital proposition. This would not only help in reducing the time for searching, but it would also facilitate in producing better performance along with projects as the employees would be able to get all the vital information within a fraction of second. It is worth mentioning that the intranet should also identify different procedures regarding how contents are created in well-known organisations and how content management plan approaches can be implemented to resolve the problems by a significant extent (Prescient Digital Media Ltd., 2013; Intranetconnections, n.d.). Establishing Collaboration Integrating task based tools in an intranet to help employee to do their job efficiently would enable to develop the facility of social networking amid the employees. This would help as a collaboration tool to promote knowledge, exchange vital information and endorse participation. This would in turn aid in developing a close relationship amid the co-members which would ultimately result in in increasing the performance level of the employees. Additionally, organisations can hire information architect, who excels in the aspect seasonally to update basic features which are in trend as this would help in speeding up the working process within the association. Furthermore, addition of features such as categorising schemes and view of content structure of the intranet would also help in establishing collaboration amid the employees within the organization (Yale University Press, 2012). Integrating the Aspect of Information Silos It is said that when an employee leaves an organisation he/she carries all the information and knowledge that he/she has learnt during his/her employee life-cycle with the corporation. Considering this aspect, information silos can be built in the intranet that would allow the users to store vital work related information. The users can also provide additional suggestions that would help in making the working procedure easier if implemented. The administrator would allow all the users to access the data that has been stored in the silos. This would enhance the intranet quality and would help the employees to tackle any possible barriers that might hamper their performance without wasting their time in asking suggestions from their superiors. Moreover, this would also help in uplifting the practise of governance model which at times acts as a barrier in an employees’ course of work (SlideShare Inc., 2011). Improving the Aspect of Internal Communication It has been stated by management guru’s that keeping employees aware of the current scenarios in the business world and all such factors that may affect the functionality of the organisation in the long run is a good practice to develop employee motivation and morale. Therefore, implementing tools that would help in establishing a sense of social collaboration amid them would help the entire set of employees to gather information about their competitors and certain other pertinent factors. It would also provide them the opportunity to rectify any mistakes that could hamper the project if no proper measures are taken. In this regard, approaches can be taken to improve all the procedures that are related with the job roles, along with integrating a list that would track any major events that are being conducted within the corporation. Moreover, approaches may be taken by the administrator to highlight new documents that might be useful for the employees such as successful sales proposal or business cards. Furthermore, listing topics of discussion and case studies to highlight the importance of effective collaboration can also facilitate in learning. This would also mutually inspire the employee (SlideShare Inc., 2011; Intranetconnections, n.d.). Other Aspects In response to the above stated solutions steps such implementing a single-sign in process for the intranet so that employees do not have to remember another set of credentials can be deceives approach. This would not only make the process simpler and effective but would also aid the management to monitor the usage of the users and eventually implement steps to motivate them accordingly. The strategy can be developed by all the administrators of the intranet to measure success along with determining the improvement and developing the intranet accordingly. Aspects like making the intranet as the basic homepage would enable each member to perform a more personalized action. Furthermore, the administrator should also offer the facility of providing feedbacks from the users end as it would help in developing the intranet effectively to suit the needs of the users. It would also encourage staff to contribute contents along with encouraging them to develop them as well which would facilitate in enhancing the technological know-how of an employee (Ward, 2013; SlideShare Inc., 2011; Intranetconnections, n.d.). Conclusion In the present day organisational context, every organisation is viewed to be implementing policies and strategies that facilitate them to gain competitive advantage over their competitors. In this regard, the facet of intranet can play a vital role as it is recognised to be a critical determinant for building employee coordination. Intranet is observed to be an approach that is being adapted by a number of organisations irrespective of their size. It is considered to be a process where employees within a defined area get to interact and view all the vital aspects that would help an individual to develop strategies accordingly. However, it has often been viewed that the intranet project in many organisations often fails resulting from unclear objectives, low budget, impractical timescale, ineffective implementation of proper project management techniques and support from the higher level authorities. However, it has been evaluated that there exist certain ways that would help in mitigating this issues and would also help an organisation to flourish amidst its competitors. With reference to the discussion and the replicated solution, it can be asserted that that if the above mentioned solutions are implemented effectively, the issues can be mitigated to a great extent resulting in motivating the employees to learn and mutually inspire each other to work better. Mutual sharing of knowledge by employees can provide the organisation a decisive edge over its competitors as it would enable the company to remain abreast with the evolving scenarios effectively. References Bertucci, G., & Alberti, A., No Date. Globalization and the Role of the State: Challenges and Perspectives. United Nations Public Administration Network, pp. 1-26. CIGNEX Datamatics, 2013. 10 Must Have Features for your Enterprise Intranet. SlideShare Inc. [Online] Available at: http://www.slideshare.net/cignexglobal/10-must-have-features-for-your-enterprise-intranet [Accessed December 04, 2013]. Intranetconnections, No Date. Intranet Ideas. 101. Lester, S., 2005. Novice to Expert: The Dreyfus Model of Skill Acquisition. Stan Lester Developments. SlideShare Inc., 2011. What Makes a Good Intranet and why Intranet Fail. Contents. [Online] Available at: http://www.slideshare.net/warrenj3967/what-makes-a-good-intranet-final [Accessed December 4, 2013]. Ward, T., 2013. Intranet Planning: An Intranet Model for Success. The Process of Planning an Intranet, and the Role of Executive Management and End Users in Developing the Plan, Determines the Potential Success of an Intranet. [Online] Available at: http://www.prescientdigital.com/articles/intranet-articles/intranet-planning-an-intranet-model-for-success [Accessed December 4, 2013]. Weidenhammer Systems Corporation, 2013. Intranet Solutions for Human Resources. Overview, pp. 1-5. Yale University Press, 2012. Chapter 1. Process, pp. 1-21. Read More