Use Of Intranet Research Articles

Intranets and Organizational Learning: A Research and Development Agenda

This article presents the outcomes of a technical symposium on the topic of the use of intranets as a tool for organizational learning, which was conducted at the 9th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, held in New Orleans, Louisiana, August 5 through 10, 2001. The objective of the symposium was to derive, based on the collective intelligence of experts, an agenda for research and development (R&D) concerning the use of intranet for organizational learning for the short, medium, and long term. Expert knowledge of this research area was acquired and assimilated through the symposium, which was composed of technical paper presentations and a full-day "white paper" session, as well as pre- and post-symposium survey dissemination and analysis. The current state of knowledge and resulting agenda for R&D are reported, and 4 critical areas are emphasized: organizational rules, norms and structures; changes in the nature of work; knowledge manipulation; and technology issues.

Connect & Develop Complements Research & Develop at P&G

OVERVIEW:Connections—both internal and external—are of increasing importance to innovation and business growth at Procter & Gamble. But the challenge of maintaining effective connections is a formidable one for a global corporation with over 8,000 researchers, 40 percent of whom work outside of North America. Consequently, P&G pursues a “connect and develop” strategy that involves the use of corporate intranet and “smart” reporting systems for knowledge sharing, communities of practice, technology entrepreneurs, joint technology development, liberal licensing of intellectual property, government and university capabilities, and a connection-making exposition held down the street from its world headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio. Together, they are seen as offering the company an unprecedented opportunity to enrich its innovation portfolio.

Corporate Environmental Reporting — The CLP Power Experience

CLP Power Hong Kong Ltd. believes that environmental reporting is a management tool and a means to keep track of and to improve performance. Although it is relatively new to Asian power utilities, external reporting on environmental performance is becoming an international norm. There are some notable leaders in this field including those in Europe and in Northern America. We issued our first external environmental report (which also included elements on safety and health) in 1997 which was the first of its kind by local companies in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Our report in 2000, known as Environment, Health and Safety Review 2000 was awarded the Best Environmental Report from the Hong Kong Eco-business Awards 2000. From our experience, external environmental reporting offers the advantages of maintaining good relations and partnerships with stakeholders, aligning with international best practice, improving environmental performance, and gaining external recognition. In this article, we will present our overall system on environmental reporting, share our experience in the production process of an environmental report with particular focus on the critical elements and considerations involved, and lastly discuss the benefits of environmental reporting to the company. The use of Intranet to facilitate reporting and the computerised information system in CLP Power are also briefly discussed.

Information technology, strategic decision making approaches and organizational performance in different industrial settings

The present study considers potential performance effects associated with the communication enhancing capacity of information technology. Enhancement of an organization's communication capabilities may influence performance through improved strategic decision making, better coordination of strategic actions and by facilitating learning from strategic initiatives. Accordingly, the paper investigates the effects of internal communication through use of computer networks, Intranet, and external communication via the Internet in association with autonomous and participatory strategic decision making approaches and strategic planning. These relationships are tested in two different industrial settings characterized by low and high levels of dynamism and complexity to assess possible environmental contingencies. In less dynamic and complex industries, the results show a positive association between Intranet use and innovation, while Internet use has a positive association to profitability and to innovation in organizations adhering to a participatory decision approach. In more dynamic and complex industries, Intranet use combined with an autonomous decision approach is associated with high profitability and sales growth, while Internet use combined with participatory decision making is associated with higher innovation. Hence, the study finds evidence that innovation relates to use of the Internet and participation across industries, and that economic efficiency relates to use of Intranet and autonomy in dynamic and complex industries.