Who Knows Whom, And Who Knows What?
Vi segnalo un bell'articolo sulle reti sociali ripreso da Cio.com del 15 giugno 2005. Anche se dell'anno scorso rimane secondo me molto valido ed interessante. Di seguito alcuni stralci; per l'articolo completo fate riferimento a questo link: https://www.cio.com/archive/061505/km.html?CID=6956
Employees' personal connections can be as valuable as their individual knowledge base. Social network analysis, or SNA, helps maximize a company's collective smarts.
John Helferich, senior R&D vice president for Masterfoods USA, says Mars has used the SNA results to sort out relationships among key researchers. The company has determined, for instance, which scientists were overburdened (too many people were going to them for help) and is working on eliminating the need to go to senior people to get approval for things. "This speeds up innovation," Helferich says.
Companies that have been frustrated by traditional knowledge management efforts, such as Mars, are increasingly looking for ways to find out how knowledge flows through their organizations. Looking at the company org chart, it turns out, often doesn't tell the real story about who holds influence, who gives the best advice and how employees are sharing information critical for success. This all takes on greater urgency as millions of baby boomers prepare to retire over the coming decade. Social network analysis provides a clear picture of the ways that far-flung employees and divisions are working together, and can help companies identify key experts in the organization.
"SNA identifies the go-to experts and can help companies find the technical knowledge within their organization needed to develop a new drug, launch a new product and stay ahead of the competition," says David DeLong, author of Lost Knowledge: Confronting the Threat of an Aging Workforce and a researcher at MIT's AgeLab.
Social network analysis provides a clear picture of the ways that employees and divisions are working together, and can help companies identify key experts in the organization.
At Mars, the SNA project uncovered a lack of good communication between the snack food division in New Jersey and the food division in Los Angeles.