Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Discussion Questions
1.
Besides using Microsoft products, P&G also uses soft-
ware and tools from other vendors for its Enterprise 2.0
investments. For example, P&G uses a product from Con-
nectbeam that works with Google search tools to allow
employees to share bookmarks and tag articles, pages, and
documents with descriptive words to make information easier
to find. P&G has launched a corporate social networking site
so that employees can let others know who they are and in
which areas of corporate activities they are involved. The goal
is to encourage employees to easily find others with expert
knowledge. All of these Enterprise 2.0 applications are
accessed through a unified portal that also includes RSS
feeds of business news.
P&G is serving as inspiration to other companies who are
developing an interest in Enterprise 2.0. Information systems
departments see Web 2.0 technologies as a chance to provide
real value to the organization. Bank of America, Boeing, the
CIA, FedEx, Morgan Stanley, and Pfizer are examining
Schueller's example. Motorola has also invested in Enterprise
2.0, with an intranet that includes 4,400 blogs and 4,200
wiki pages.
What methods does J.C. Penney use to create synergy
between its Web site and brick-and-mortar store?
2.
Why was J.C. Penney more adept at moving to the Web
than other retail businesses?
Critical Thinking Questions
1.
If J.C. Penney's online sales account for only 6 percent of
total sales, why is it considered so valuable?
2.
What other ways might J.C. Penney take advantage of its
Web site to boost its total sales?
Sources:
Berner, Robert, “J.C. Penney Gets the Net,” BusinessWeek, May 7,
2007, page 70; J.C. Penney Corporate Web site,
www.jcpenney.net,
accessed
May 7, 2008.
Procter & Gamble (P&G) owns a large portfolio of familiar
brands such as Pampers, Tide, Bounty, Folgers, Pringles,
Charmin, and Crest. P&G operates in more than 80 countries
worldwide, with net sales increasing continuously over the
past ten years to over $76 billion in 2007.
Procter & Gamble's CEO, A.G. Lafley, believes in commu-
nication and collaboration. He is pushing P&G IT Innovation
Manager Joe Schueller to find more effective and innovative
ways for P&G's 138,000 employees to collaborate online. Nat-
urally, Schueller looked immediately to Web 2.0 technologies
for ideas. When applied to an enterprise, Web 2.0 technologies
are referred to as Enterprise 2.0.
Schueller is not a fan of e-mail. He sees it as a barrier to
employees' use of more effective means of communication.
Replying to all recipients of a message ends up wasting the
time of people who do not need to receive, read, and respond
to the message. Instead Schueller has equipped P&G employ-
ees with easy access to a corporate blog. For some types of
group communications, Schueller finds blogs the ideal tool.
Information is not forced on people. Those interested can fol-
low the blog and post comments to add to the dialog.
Schueller is harnessing the power of the wiki as a content
and knowledge management system. Members of the orga-
nization who have valuable knowledge about P&G topics can
post articles and advice. That helps corporate knowledge stay
within the company, even when knowledgeable employees
leave.
P&G banked on Microsoft products to provide most of its
Enterprise 2.0 functionality. Microsoft Live Communications
Server provides instant messaging, unified communications,
and presence—the ability to access communications services
from any location. Live Meeting provides Web conferencing,
and SharePoint provides a platform for content management
and collaboration. Roughly 80,000 P&G employees use cor-
porate instant messaging tools.
Discussion Questions
1.
What qualities of Web 2.0 applications are appealing for
enterprise use?
2.
Why might a company not want to use Web 2.0 applica-
tions?
Critical Thinking Questions
1.
How can each of the five Enterprise 2.0 applications used
by P&G help its employees be more effective and efficient?
2.
Compare and contrast e-mail, IM, and blogs as tools for
effective communications.
Sources:
Hoover, Nicholas, “Beyond E-Mail,” Information Week, June 25, 2007,
pages 29-30; Procter and Gamble Corporate Web site,
www.pg.com/en_US/
index.jhtml,
accessed May 7, 2008.
Questions for Web Case
See the Web site for this topic to read about the Whitmann
Price Consulting case for this chapter. Following are ques-
tions concerning this Web case.
Whitmann Price Consulting: The Internet, Intranets,
and Extranets
Discussion Questions
1.
Why do you think it is easiest and most economical to de-
velop custom-designed applications using Web standards?
2.
What additional security concerns arise when providing
access to private information over a wireless public
network?
