Creating Social Networks Part 2
Posted in Service Management Update on Jun 3rd, 2009 No Comments »
Part 2 of 3
Implementing social networks into a business context requires building on three concepts: participation, identification, and creativity. But why would a company be interested in this approach.
The answer is simple – to encourage collaboration and innovation. In what depends on the network, the strategic objectives of the company, and the participation in the network. Some benefits from such networks can range from finding huge savings in how business is done to consistent and effective communication of critical issues. Some of the more prominent benefits are:
- Quicker and more effective decision making
- Developing new capabilities
- Identifying and using best practices
- Standardizing services
- Increasing talent
- Avoiding mistakes
A more restrictive implementation of the social network is the community of practice. A concept from knowledge management, a community of practice specifically focuses bringing people together who have similar goals while reaching for those goals. The primary difference between the concepts of communities of practices and social networks is how groups are created. Communities of practices are typically created administratively through the identification of a business need or existing group. The decision to create the community is made through management.
Social networks may start as communities of practice, but eventually the power to create a group lies in the participants, not management. With this ability, a participant can create a group and start encouraging other individuals to join.
