Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 6
Sharing Information
In This Chapter
• Examining the value of communications mechanisms
• Detailing common communication mechanisms in the enterprise
• Considerations for groupware combinations of communication
streams
The sixth-century military strategist, Sun Tzu, identified communica-
tions as a critical factor in successful conflict engagement. The tools avail-
able in his time may have been somewhat primitive in comparison to
today's globe-spanning Internet, but their application reflects the same
value now. Sun Tzu noted: “At night, use torches and drums; during the
day, use flags and pennants. Drums, gongs, flags, and banners unite men's
eyes and ears.” Just as in the sixth century, different means of communi-
cation can unite people around a common task or goal today. Combining
these means into a cohesive collaborative solution can aid an organization
in defining and implemented directed action across widely distributed
operations, just as drums and flags did on the sixth-century battlefield.
Technology-mediated communication extends throughout the mod-
ern network enterprise, providing synchronous and asynchronous modes
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