Social software i organisationer
Har netop sat prikken over i'et for 2½ års kandidat studie på IT-Universitetet i København ved at forsvare mit speciale om social software i organisationer med titlen: Læring og vidensdeling i wiki-baserede praksisfællesskaber.
For en hurtig introduktion til specialet og dets resultater kan specialets abstract læses herunder. Over de næste par uger vil jeg tage udgangspunkt i specialets temaer og perspektivere dem i forhold til hvad der sker i verden med hensyn til undersøgelser og udtalelser om socialt software i organisationer.
Abstract - IT University of Copenhagen, March 2007
Authors: Per Meyler & Jesper Johan Bille Edsberg
Keywords: Organizational learning, informal learning, social software, wiki technology, Connectivism, Communities of Practice, Knowledge Management.
Target groups: Chief Information Officers (CIO), head of departments, e-learning consultants, social software consultants, e-learning companies.
One of the most significant characteristics of our present society might be the rapid haste in which everything changes. We have arrived at a point in our technological development, where the growth and flow of information has reached such immense proportions that it’s almost impossible to be continually up to date.
Organizations therefore need to re-evaluate their knowledge resources and rethink their ways of learning to keep up with and adapt to these changes. The main subject of this thesis is organizational learning, where we have examined what it takes for organizations to become more adaptive and learning in relation to the demands of the global information overload. More precisely it focuses on how social software, especially wiki software, can support organizational practices, informal learning and knowledge management.
The problem formulation for this thesis is therefore: How can organizations utilize the possibilities of the wiki technology to support their communities of practice, informal learning and knowledge management ?
The main theorists of this thesis are Etienne Wenger and his theory of Communities of Practice and George Siemens new learning theory for the digital era Connectivism.
The thesis is based on the findings in two case studies of two organizations. One of the organizations has already been using a social software suite since 2004 while the other organization just started (Nov. 2006) integrating it into their work practices. The findings of this thesis can be summarized with the following points:
For en hurtig introduktion til specialet og dets resultater kan specialets abstract læses herunder. Over de næste par uger vil jeg tage udgangspunkt i specialets temaer og perspektivere dem i forhold til hvad der sker i verden med hensyn til undersøgelser og udtalelser om socialt software i organisationer.
Abstract - IT University of Copenhagen, March 2007
Authors: Per Meyler & Jesper Johan Bille Edsberg
Keywords: Organizational learning, informal learning, social software, wiki technology, Connectivism, Communities of Practice, Knowledge Management.
Target groups: Chief Information Officers (CIO), head of departments, e-learning consultants, social software consultants, e-learning companies.
One of the most significant characteristics of our present society might be the rapid haste in which everything changes. We have arrived at a point in our technological development, where the growth and flow of information has reached such immense proportions that it’s almost impossible to be continually up to date.
Organizations therefore need to re-evaluate their knowledge resources and rethink their ways of learning to keep up with and adapt to these changes. The main subject of this thesis is organizational learning, where we have examined what it takes for organizations to become more adaptive and learning in relation to the demands of the global information overload. More precisely it focuses on how social software, especially wiki software, can support organizational practices, informal learning and knowledge management.
The problem formulation for this thesis is therefore: How can organizations utilize the possibilities of the wiki technology to support their communities of practice, informal learning and knowledge management ?
The main theorists of this thesis are Etienne Wenger and his theory of Communities of Practice and George Siemens new learning theory for the digital era Connectivism.
The thesis is based on the findings in two case studies of two organizations. One of the organizations has already been using a social software suite since 2004 while the other organization just started (Nov. 2006) integrating it into their work practices. The findings of this thesis can be summarized with the following points:
- Social software, here among wiki software, can support informal learning processes and communities of practice, since social software delivers more varied and flexible means of communication.
- Social software creates a greater transparency in organizations making it easier for employees to monitor at contribute to the work- and business- processes in their own but also in other departments.
- Wiki software also supports knowledge management since it makes it easier for organizations to share, change and keep their information and knowledge up to date.
- We have also found that a sustainable adoption of social software involves consideration for intrinsic motivating factors.
