Practical Connection Assignment

Case Study on the Use of Information Technology to Improve Business Processes in an Organization:

Collaboration Tools/Enterprise Social Media

Imagine that your boss requested a proposal on how collaboration can be improved in your organization. (If you prefer not to use your current organization as an example, you can use a previous organization you have worked or participated in, including volunteer organizations.) You have started learning about enterprise social media and other technology-assisted collaboration tools and would like to consider how these technology tools can improve and strengthen collaboration in your organization.

Consider the following aspects of organizational collaboration and technology that assists us with collaboration in your proposal:

• What are the current, most common ways to collaborate in your organization?

• Does most of the collaboration occur in face-to-face situations or with the assistance of technology

(such as email, web meetings, discussion forums, document repositories, instant messaging/chats,

video calls, and enterprise social media)?

• What technology tools are available for collaboration in your organization and which of these

tools are commonly used?

• Can you envision how collaborative processes can be improved – both through process

improvement and through better use of technology?

• What changes in work processes will drive better collaboration and increased efficiencies for the

organization?

• Do you think existing collaborative technology tools you already have available in the

organization can play a significant part in improving collaboration? If so, explain how the tools

can help. If not, explain why you think the tools cannot help with improving collaboration.

• Are there additional technological collaboration tools your organization can invest in, that can be

part of the process to improve collaboration?

• If you could invest in only one additional technological collaboration tool, what would it be, and

what is the value you expect it to bring to your organization’s collaboration?

• What do you expect to be some of the challenges in introducing this new collaborative tool and

getting everyone to incorporate it into their work processes? How can you plan to address these

challenges?

Create your response as a proposal you will submit to your boss. Document the current collaborative approaches in your organization. Provide a new strategy that will address current issues and aim to provide improvement to organizational collaboration. Explain the potential risks as well as pros and cons of your strategy.

Format your response as an APA paper and include a bibliography with references/sources you have consulted in preparing your proposal.