"Thriving in an Era of Rabid Collaboration"

This lecture was given at UC Berkley. Brad Wheeler, CIO and VP of Information Technology at Indiana University, talks about some of the efforts that are made to help enable collaboration, and what collaboration is. Collaboration is "an unnatural act." Given the choice, people would rather work on their own than to be dependent on other people.

"Collaboration means co-laboring." Co-laboring means working together with each other. It is important to note that collaboration is different from cooperation:

"Collaboration is not the same as cooperation. Collaboration requires alignment around a common goal. Collaboration is about doing something together. Collaboration only lasts as long as the alignment around common purpose exists."
-James Hilton, U. of Virginia

There are barriers to collaboration, primarily in the factors of cost. As the value or cost of a project increases a phenomenon called "slope of retreat" occurs. This means that when high value is placed on a project, failure can become very devastating. When faced with greater possible failure, benefactors would rather retreat. This is akin to the concept of "risk" in Finance.

Why should companies and collaborate then? What about the universities that wish to fund research projects? The answer to these questions is simple: The payoff can be greater than the risk involved. Even if there are setbacks, you will still end up better off than you were to begin with.

The increasing use of open source software plays a key role in collaboration. When companies and universities use open source software they can cut their costs dramatically. In the video, Brad Wheeler said, "This is not anti-commercial." It's a more cost effective way of accomplishing objectives.

Collaboration gives a competitive edge to companies that seek it out and use it efficiently. IT governance plays a key role in that aspect. Organizations must decide how to run their IT departments, as it will ultimately determine how "well-oiled" their "machine" is.

Cloud computing can help universities with certain Information Technology needs. Topics discussed in the video at [1:08:43] include: Commercial Sourcing, Institutional Sourcing, and Consortium Sourcing.

Applications of Neural Networks

Neural networks can be used in many different fields to solve complex problems beyond the scope of one person's thinking.

As stated in this website:

"Neural networks have been successfully applied to broad spectrum of data-intensive applications, such as:

* Process Modeling and Control - Creating a neural network model for a physical plant then using that model to determine the best control settings for the plant.
* Machine Diagnostics - Detect when a machine has failed so that the system can automatically shut down the machine when this occurs.
* Portfolio Management - Allocate the assets in a portfolio in a way that maximizes return and minimizes risk.
* Target Recognition - Military application which uses video and/or infrared image data to determine if an enemy target is present.
* Medical Diagnosis - Assisting doctors with their diagnosis by analyzing the reported symptoms and/or image data such as MRIs or X-rays.
* Credit Rating - Automatically assigning a company's or individuals credit rating based on their financial condition.
* Targeted Marketing - Finding the set of demographics which have the highest response rate for a particular marketing campaign.
* Voice Recognition - Transcribing spoken words into ASCII text.
* Financial Forecasting - Using the historical data of a security to predict the future movement of that security.
* Quality Control - Attaching a camera or sensor to the end of a production process to automatically inspect for defects.
* Intelligent Searching - An internet search engine that provides the most relevant content and banner ads based on the users' past behavior.
* Fraud Detection - Detect fraudulent credit card transactions and automatically decline the charge."

As you can see, there are many examples of how neural networks can be applied to different "fuzzy logic" questions. In my research of this topic, I have not been able to find many company-specific examples of neural networks in specific fields. Instead, there are many neural network software packages that provide suggestions on how to harness the power of neural networking.

One specific example on the neural networking software website says they used the technology to predict stock market trends, such as the next day's closing price and sensitivity analysis.

Getting Inspired

Companies cannot become successful merely by copying each others ideas. The video above talks about having the drive to succeed, pushing a company beyond what's "good enough" and into "inspired thinking." The tipping point is called the "Margin of Difference" (MoD) and companies should strive to achieve it.

By achieving the MoD, a company's products will improve, ideas will flow freely, and focus on objectives will improve.

Ability to achieve the margin of difference is based on the quality of:

1. Social Networks
2. Social Capital
3. Conversations
4. Engagement Process
5. Individual Thinking (the way an employer and their employees think & work)

Social networks connect you to the people and information you need. Contributors to a company's network can be unconventional; any stakeholder that has a vested interest in the business. Organizations that reach the MoD have inspired social networks.

Social capital is the reputation and goodwill within and outside of the workplace. It builds upon itself and is only obtained by building trust, respect, and building rapport.

Conversations within the organization must have strong purpose and convey meaning in an easy-to-understand manner. Rich conversation can stimulate innovation within an organization.

"Engagement process is all the activities and venues through which we interact." They can either have a positive or negative impact.

Individual Thinking is the foundation underlying the entire principle Margin of Difference. Inspired individual thinkers possess the drive to focus on their objectives, rather than their fears. These employees and individuals are crucial to helping achieve the MoD.


The bottom line:
Organizations that strive for excellence and that operate at the Margin of Difference will gain a competitive advantage, especially in their collective thought processes. Companies and organizations that operate at this level are constantly moving forward, rather than spinning their wheels in the same place.

Collaboration and Collective Intelligence

In this MIT lecture, many topics are covered such as: the commercialization of social media, collective intelligence in Second Life, and the power of Collective Imagination in children's media, such as Pokemon.

In the case of commercialization of social media, I learned that end-users are a captive audience. There are little to no exit-strategies that users can partake in. To leave a social network, like Facebook, would mean leaving your friends and networks behind. I am a Facebook user myself, and have often questioned the different things that the platform does with user content. There have been numerous times that I have disagreed with their practice and changes to the interface. One of the biggest objections I had to Facebook, was the addition of Facebook Ads. I believe that this is what Trebor Scholz was referring to in this lecture. Since there is great cost to maintaining a site like Facebook, there ultimately has to be some way to pay for it. Unfortunately, even though it is thought to pay the bills, companies like Facebook and MySpace that have chosen to profit off of their users. Trebor argues for a non-profit platform where users have genuine control over their content.

Second Life is a fascinating tool that can be used for collaboration and socialization. There are very many things that are built in the world, entirely by users or corporations, and often collaboratively. In the video, Cory Ondrejka mentioned an example of how Starwood collaborated with users who were interacting with Starwood group's hotel, which was built in Second Life. Starwood listened to users' feedback, and made changes to it's real-life model.

Collective imagination is why Pokemon became so popular and successful. Since there are so many different characters, with different personality types, players have an easy time of telling stories about their Pokemon and building relationships upon that. Collective imagination has less to do with collaboration, but in some way, it is a form of collaboration within a social network about a pre-defined characters with stories and personalities behind them. There is a Pokemon game series that even builds upon the stories behind the monsters, called Mystery Dungeon. It would not be farfetched to find Pokemon fans making up their own stories about their favorite characters.



Personal note:
I believe that Pokemon is not just for children, but for all ages. It is generally believed by mainstream media that Pokemon is generally a childrens' game. However, there are many layers of complexity to it, and the games can be enjoyed by all ages. This is why I refer to stories about Pokemon as "players stories," because anyone of any age could tell a story if they wanted to.

Zappos and delivering happiness

Zappos is a company that prides itself on providing the best customer service possible. The philosophy is to deliver happiness to every customer; they are even willing to direct customers to other websites that offer lower prices. This is because they know that, even though they may have lost a sale, providing a good customer experience will lead to one potential customer telling their friends about their positive experience. Having good customer service builds competitive advantage because customers are likely to remember the positive experience they had when speaking to a customer service representative. The customers, in turn for being treated well, respect and trust the company by recommending it to family and friends. This is an excellent example of increasing returns.

Delivering happiness is also ingrained in Zappos's culture. They want employees to be compatible with the company culture and employ their employees based on the compatibility of the culture, regardless of job performance. (You can learn more about their culture at Zappos's website.)

Some of their philosophies are based on books they have read such as Good to Great by Jim Collins and Tribal Leadership. They have a library at Zappos where they give books to employees. This is one way that Zappos is helping further educate their employees on some of the company's underlying philosophy. They also offer customers access to the Zappos Library, a further way to build customer relations and be innovative at the same time.

Knowledge Management and Healthcare Services in U.S.

The problem with healthcare these days is that hospitals are resistant to change. They could be more efficient and effective if they would stop using paper-based systems, and implement a good knowledge management system. With a good KMS, there would be less errors in prescriptions and doctors would be ensured that they don't treat the same patient twice, or have them fill out a form every time they enter the hospital. KMS enable doctors to make sure they get the right patient that needs the right procedure. This is a matter of life-and-death.

If doctors use collaborative knowledge management, such as wikis, they will be able to share their findings with colleagues and find cures for diseases faster. This is not only beneficial for building good practices, but it is also beneficial to society as a whole.

This doesn't come without a cost though, as healthcare is becoming ever more expensive due to Healthcare Reform and the baby boomer generation retiring. However, we may benefit from the bill passed by Congress not in the short run, but the long run. By creating better systems, we are ensuring that the job will be done more efficiently and effectively.

"Composing a Career and Life" Lecture

In the lecture by Linda Mason, she talks about how she decided to change her life and make a difference through philanthropy. She felt depressed that she had so much money and didn't know what to do with it. So, she started a humanitarian business and worked in Cambodian refugee camps. She found that helping other people is her passion and what she really wanted to do. The lesson is to find a career you really enjoy and build up your skill-set to support your career.

Personally, I have already been following this lesson. I realized that I didn't like Accounting and changed my major to something I will really enjoy, Computer Information Systems.

Knowledge as a Strategic Asset

The adage goes, "Knowledge is power." One can clearly see why this is true for companies. The more the company knows, the better it can compete with its competitors. For instance, if a company learns that their competitor is developing a certain type of product, they can in turn create their own product to compete with the other company's product. This is an example of how knowledge can be a strategic asset.

Companies must use knowledge as a strategic asset if they are to survive in the global economy. Knowledge can help companies get ahead of the competition, perform the job right, and help perform the job in the most efficient manner possible. What you don't know can serve as an advantage to your opponent, which can be all the way across the world. Therefore it is best to be prepared by being knowledgeable, making knowledge systems available to employees, and encourage active use of knowledge systems as a strategic advantage over the competition.

Concept - Increasing Returns

In knowledge management the concept of increasing returns basically means: The more Information Technology you have, the greater the benefits (return) will be. In diminishing return, a concept often found in economics, economies of scale will occur. These economies of scale are the exact opposite of increasing returns. When you have economies of scale, you get less as production increases. (Production will level off at a certain point.)

I think the concept of IR, when applied to Information Technology, is very interesting. In a way, it goes along with the concept of Moore's Law. The better knowledge management systems we have, including in numbers, the greater the amount of knowledge that can be shared.

Xerox & Eureka!

The Problem (and reasoning) behind 'Eureka!'

Xerox created a knowledge management system because solutions created by on-site engineers, in its customer service unit, could not effectively shared among engineers and customers. Solutions to problems were often not found in manuals, and rather were tacit knowledge. Tacit knowledge is the knowledge that's "in your head." Xerox wanted to capture the tacit knowledge of its engineers and turn those ideas into explicit knowledge (effective customer service solutions that could be accessed easily.)


How did Xerox achieve its objective?

They developed a knowledge system called 'Eureka!', which operates in conjunction with its other knowledge tool named DocuShare. The DocuShare system allows Xerox's research lab scientists to collaborate with each other.


What benefits does 'Eureka!' provide? 

The system enables engineers to log-in and document solutions to problems. This decreases the number of engineers that need to be on-site at different locations, thus decreasing redundancy in creating solutions to the same problem. Customer support is also able to provide more accurate and reliable information to Xerox's customers.


Difficulties with the new Knowledge System:

Initially, employees within the company were not ready and willing to accept the new knowledge system. they felt they didn't have enough time in their strict workday scheduling. As an incentive to get engineers to use the system, Xerox allowed their employees to attach their name to a solution, thus giving them full credit for their contributions.


What lessons did Xerox learn from developing a knowledge system?

• You have to get employees to use the knowledge management system and emphasize how much more efficient it can be in day-to-day operations.
• Knowledge Management Systems are only as effective as the managers that support them.
• Workers must be informed how to use the system the right way.
• Goals and objectives must be set for the creation and use of the knowledge system. These goals must be conveyed to the knowledge workers. The company must put these driving forces into terms the employees can understand.