If you want be a Billionaire

Chapter 15: Creating Collaborative Partnerships

Teams,Partnerships,and Alliances

to be successful and avoid being eliminated by the competition an organization must constantly undertake new initiatives,address both minor and major problems,and capitalize on significant opportunities.
to support these activities an organization often will create and utilize teams,partnerships,alliances because the expertise needed is beyond the scope of a single individual or organization.
these teams,partnerships,and alliances can be formed internally among a company's employees or externally with other organizations.
the core competency of an organization is its key strength,a business function that it does better than any of its competitors.
a core competency strategy is one in which an organization chooses to focus specifically on what other specialist organizations to handle nonstrategic business processes.
information technology makes such business partnerships ans alliances easies to establish and manage.
an information partnerships occurs when two or more organizations cooperate by integrating their IT systems,thereby providing customers with the best of what each can offer.
the advent of the internet has greatly increased the opportunity for IT-enabled business partnerships and alliances.

15.1 : Teams,Partnerships and Alliances Within and External to an Organization

Collaboration Systems

a collaboration system is an IT-based set of tools that supports the work of teams by facilitating the sharing and flow of information.
collaboration solves specific business tasks such as telecommuting,online meetings,deploying applications,and remote project and sales management
unstructured collaboration(sometimes referred to as information collaboration) includes document exchange,shared whiteboards,discussion forums,and email.
structured collaboration(or process collaboration) involves shared participation in business processes,such as workflow,in which knowledge is hard-coded as rules.

15.2: Collaborative Business Areas

15.3: Typical Collaborative Business Functions

Knowledge Management Systems

involves capturing,classifying,evaluating,retrieving,and sharing information assets in a way that provides context for effective decisions and actions.

supports the capturing,organization,and dissemination of knowledge(i'eknow-how) throughout an organization.

consists of anything that can be documented,archived,and codified,often with the help of IT.
patents,trademarks,business plans,marketing research,and customer lists are all examples of explicit knowledge.
tacit knowledge is the knowledge contained in people's heads
shadowing and joint problem solving are two best practices for transferring or re-creating knowledge inside an organization.
shadowing less experienced employees examine more experienced employees to understand how their counterparts approach tasks.
joint problem solving a novice employee and an expert employee work together on a project

15.4:Key Reasons Organizations Launch Knowledge Management Systems

Content Management Systems

content management system provides tools to manage the creation,storage,editing,and publication of information in a collaborative environment

15.5: Common Types of Content Management Systems

Working Wikis

wikis are web-based tools that make it easy for users to add,remove,and change online content
business wikis are collaborative web pages that allow users to edit documents,share ideas,or monitor the status of a project.

15.6: Major Content Management System Vendors

Workflow Management Systems

workflow defines all the steps or business rules,from beginning to end,required for a business process.
workflow management systems facilitate the automation and management of business processes and control the movement of work through the business process.
messaging-based workflow systems send work assignments through an email system.
database-based workflow systems store documents in a central location and automatically ask the team members to access the document when it is their turn to edit the document.

15.7: Workflow Management System Features

Groupware Systems

groupware is software that supports team interaction and dynamics including calendaring,scheduling,and videoconferencing.

Videoconferencing: is a set of interactive telecommunication technologies that allow two or more locations to interact via two-way video and audio transmissions simultaneously.
Web Conferencing: blends audio,video,and document-sharing technologies to create virtual meeting rooms where people "gather" at a password-protected website.
Instant Messaging: email is by the dominant collaboration application,but real-time collaboration tools like instant messaging are creating a new communication dynamic within organizations.

15.8: Groupware Systems