Customer Reviews

Collaborative Technologies and Organizational Learning (Series in Information Technology Management)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I liked the book, not so much for its evaluation of Lotus Notes, but rather for the perspective it brings to evaluation of information sharing. As a practical instantiation of qualitative research, Neilson has written an excellent style manual for research study design and reporting. Using "Collaborative Technologies" as a reference, and a model, makes the evaluation of other knowledge based tools or organizational learning situation much easier. I recommend it to students studying collaborative learning as a starting point for research. I also recommend it to company information managers as practical information as to the state of the art and expected return on investment from collaborative tools.

I found this book to be an interesting book to read, but challenging at first. I suggest that one starts with the appendix and then reads the book front to back. The first 72 pages "provides valuable sound bites," as David A. Wilson comments on the back cover, however previous knowledge of learning theory and organizational learning is required to understand these bites of information. "Theories examined in this section of the literature review include: double loop learning theory (Argyris, 1977, 1992, 1994)..." (pg. 21), the theories he discusses are many, and relayed so quickly to provide the foundation for the study that it may take awhile to engage your interest. If you need to find other reference material about organizational learning, this is a good resource, since he references so many in the first few pages. I also found value in the way he walks methodically through the research and case study process, specifically as it relates to Lotus notes and other collaborative database technologies. His discussion of the case was interesting to me from a process standpoint, however as a businessperson it was a bit too academic. It isn't until the last two chapters that the meat or content of the study is revealed.

Too much time is spent on giving the reader an understanding of the case study process, as a businessperson I want to know how did it work, right away. Therefore I found the "Summary: The `Top Ten' practice prescription" (pg. 109) steps in the last chapters were great! I also enjoyed the section that discussed the "relationship between prior training and intellectual material contribution rates, Myers-Briggs-Type Indicators (MBTI)." (pg.86) The correlations by personality types and learning styles are fascinating.

I found no new ideas here, however the way he brings together several areas of organizational learning and collaborative technology combined with a methodical approach are worth the effort to read this book.

Dr. Neilson's contention that technologies should and can be used as force multipliers is a positive message to the workforce of the future. As students and employees are expecteded to learn more,learn faster, and apply newfound knowledge to increasingly complex problem-solving situations, realistic and practical guidelines are needed for managers and learning specialists within organizations to facilitate effective applications of chosen technologies. First, technologies must be selected that are helpful to the user, then personnel have to be able to use those technologies to effectively address their job requirements. This book introduces strategies for technology insertion, reviews succinctly the various theories on learning organization and knowledge management principles, and uses a case study approach to show how these strategies can be utilized to successfully implement new technologies within an organization. Most importantly the book re-emphasizes that the human interface is the most critical component of successful technology application. Dr. Neilson's theories and guidelines have practical applications across any organization that is considering new technology solutions--because the focus is on the end-user, the learner; and although Lotus Notes is the case study technology in this book, the concepts discussed here and the recommendations for successful implementation are pertinent to any technology insertion program. I have already shared this book with my clients and intend to list it as recommended reading for executives and learning specialists alike. The straightforward approach, the easy to read format, and the concise summaries of multiple areas of research make this an excellent introduction to the fields of knowledge management, learning organization principles,and collaborative technologies.

Finally, someone has done the work in a realistic setting to explore the dynamics by which "groupware" does and does not get adopted within organizations. Most technologists lave now learned that "If you build it, they probably still won't come", but Neilson's book shows in detail how other strategies -- having a champion, having a compelling business reason -- can get over the "energy barrier" that keeps collaborative technology and organizations from forming a "solution".

This book produced no surprises. It is simply a report on a tedious academic study that produced very predictable results. The 100+ page book is summarized in one page where the author spits out the predictable results. I almost gave the book two stars based on the fact that it affirmed some assumptions my company is already making about collaborative technologies.

I found this book to be very rich in its coverage of the topic of collaborative technologies and its impact on organizational learning. It offers many practical solutions in how to utilize these technologies. It is also very rich in offering strong theoretical basis for many aspects of these technologies and learning processes.