Compliments on a civilized and constructive list. Please accept my
introduction and share LO's collective input towards my suspicion that:
"The learning organization is the key to effectively using the Internet
(e-mail, external web sites, Intranets) and that the Internet provides
powerful leverage towards becoming a learning organization."
For the last year and a half, my studies and employment have focused on
the Internet. This is an exciting time to be a doctoral student in
communications, blessed with a supportive doctoral committee.
My questions for the LO are:
How would a learning organization use a web site?
How would its use differ from a "non-learning organization"?
An October 21, 1996 Wall Street Journal story, 'Simplest E-Mail Queries
Confound Companies,' underscores the power of the Internet.
http://interactive3.wsj.com/edition/current/articles/SB845849931972546000.htm
Many companies seem to myopically expend time and money making the
Internet mimic other media rather than exploit the Internet's competitive
advantage over existing media. What the net does better than other media,
is create virtual communities, expand human to human interaction and offer
a wealth of information.
Marc Andreessen, Netscape's Chief Technology Officer and co-founder
believes that the "Web is a larger collection of information than has ever
been assembled in the history of the planet, and it is growing faster than
any other technological or industrial or social or business phenomenon
ever." Michael "Fuzzy" Mauldin, chief scientist of the Lycos search engine
estimates that "today about 10% of "Man's Knowledge" is available on the
world wide web" and this font of information will grow fivefold by the
year 2001.
And, this information is easier to access than at the library.
Interaction, a 90's buzzword simply means responding. With the net, not
only is the response fast, but oft there is a human -- not a computer --
responding.
Responding, evolving human communities cross geographical and time
boundaries almost seamlessly. Cyberspace communities, be they corporate
Intranets, listservs (i.e., LO), e-mail lists, chat-rooms or popular
web-sites underscore Metcalfe's law of networking.
"The value of a network can be measured by the square of its number of
users. Connected computers are better. Having the only telephone in the
world would be of zero value, but this value increases for each new
telephone it can call."
The most effective digital return is putting employees on-line first. Web
sites come after learning the on-line culture, not before. The Internet
is the hub that binds together and strengthens the company's learning
organization -- enhancing personal mastery, mental models, shared visions
and team models.
And the web's competitive advantages are information, interaction and
community -- what perfect tools for personal mastery, mental models,
shared visions and team models.
Is the above true and if so, how should learning organizations use this
new medium, the Internet?
thanks, jamie
Jamie Murphy
jbm4162@garnet.acns.fsu.edu
http://garnet.acns.fsu.edu/~jbm4162
--Jamie Murphy <jbm4162@garnet.acns.fsu.edu>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>