CASE STUDY 2: SHOULD COMPANIES EMBRACE SOCIAL BUSINESS?

Question 1: Identify the management, organization, and technology factors

affecting adoption of internal corporate social networks.
 Management: When considering management factors it is evident that
the managers of each respective company were imperative to help their
employees find motivation to use these new networks. It is up to the
management of these businesses to decide how these social networks
can positively impact their managers and employees. A successful social
business strategy requires leadership and behavior changes, which
means that the manager must demonstrate full commitment to this new
workstyle, while providing the employees with incentives to open up
these networks. Management also needs to make sure that the social
networking efforts of the company are providing genuine value to the
business.
 Organization: The organizations that are encouraged to install these
systems into their routine have found that many firms are not
compatible with this style of work. Many surveys found out that the
internal corporate social networks do not have a direct correlation with
increased retention, or decision making of an employee. Therefore, the
adoption of enterprise social networking also depends on the
organization’s culture and the compatibility of these tools with the firm’s
business processes and business purpose.
 Technology: Contents on the networks needs to be relevant, up to date,
and easy to access; users need to be able to connect to people that have
the information they need and that would otherwise be difficult or
impossible to reach. Social business tools should be appropriate for the
task on hand and the organization’s business processes, and users need
to know how and why to use them.

Question 2: Compare the experiences implementing internal social networks

of the organizations desribed in this case. Why were some successful? What
role did management play in this process?

3
allowed employees the
capability to participate
internally in groups and user
forums to discuss
ongoing NASA projects within
the agency. This network was
abandoned because the
organization's culture and
politics were never considered
throughout the development of
the
software.
Hawk Ridge Systems
Hawk Ridge Systems adopted
a cloud-based tool known as a
‘Glip’ which was made for 200
employee users located across
15 offices in Canada and the
United States. Glip’s features
include
real time messaging, group
chat, video conference calls,
shared calendars, task
management, and
file sharing all in one place.
This helped the manager of
Hawk Ridge Systems reduce
his email
count from 200 to 30 in a day.
This reduces the risk of app
fatigue because employees will
no
longer be overwhelmed by an
immense amount of emails.
BASF
BASF, one of the world's
largest chemical producers
with subsidiaries and joint
ventures existing
in over 80 countries,
prohibited employees from
using their emails as they
believed that it would
encourage employees to
embrace the newer methods of
technology.
Covestro
Covestro is known as a leading
global supplier of coatings and
adhesives, polyurethanes, and
high impact resistant plastics.
Covestro successfully
implemented social networks
by making the
tools more accessible.
Covestro highlighted the
importance of these tools in
pilot projects,
employing a reverse mentoring
program for senior executives,
and trained employee experts
to
spread awareness and know-
how within the company.
Covestro’s efforts are clearly
paying off as
50% of their employees are
routinely active in their social
network. As a result of their
efforts,
the employees benefit from
increased knowledge flows,
efficiency, and lower operating
costs.
Modcloth
Modcloth is an online
company that is noted for its
fun and engaging shopping
experiences. This
company heavily relies on
their social media ties with
customers as they play a large
role in their
growth. It is because of this
that the company eagerly
adopted Microsoft’s Yammer
as their
social business tool for internal
communication. This service
caught on quickly with the
employees and soon enough,
was being used by over 250
employees across 4 offices in
the
United States. Yammer is
known for helping new
employees quickly learn about
their coworkers
and company. It is also very
efficient as it saves teams from
duplicating work finished by
other
groups already.
 The experiences implementing internal social networks:
o NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center: is known to have used their
own custom built enterprise called Spacebook. This social media
tool was used to help facilitate group collaboration and allowed
employees the capability to participate internally in groups and
user forums to discuss ongoing NASA projects within the agency.
This network was abandoned because the organization’s culture
and politics were never considered throughout the development
of the software.
o Hawk Ridge Systems: adopted a cloud-based tool known as a
“Glip” which was made for 200 employee users located across 15
offices in Canada and the US. Glip’s features include real time
messaging, group chat, video conference calls, shared calendars,...
This helped the manager of Hawk Ridge Systems reduce his email
 count from 200 to 30 in a day. This reduces the risk of app fatigue
because employees will no longer be overwhelmed by an imaense
amount of emails.
o BASF: one of the world’s largest chemical producers with
subsidiaries and joint ventures existing in over 80 countries,
prohibited employees from using their emails as they believe that it
would encourage employees to embrace the newer methods of
technology.
o

3
allowed employees the
capability to participate
internally in groups and user
forums to discuss
ongoing NASA projects within
the agency. This network was
abandoned because the
organization's culture and
politics were never considered
throughout the development of
the
software.
Hawk Ridge Systems
Hawk Ridge Systems adopted
a cloud-based tool known as a
‘Glip’ which was made for 200
employee users located across
15 offices in Canada and the
United States. Glip’s features
include
real time messaging, group
chat, video conference calls,
shared calendars, task
management, and
file sharing all in one place.
This helped the manager of
Hawk Ridge Systems reduce
his email
count from 200 to 30 in a day.
This reduces the risk of app
fatigue because employees will
no
longer be overwhelmed by an
immense amount of emails.
BASF
BASF, one of the world's
largest chemical producers
with subsidiaries and joint
ventures existing
in over 80 countries,
prohibited employees from
using their emails as they
believed that it would
encourage employees to
embrace the newer methods of
technology.
Covestro
Covestro is known as a leading
global supplier of coatings and
adhesives, polyurethanes, and
high impact resistant plastics.
Covestro successfully
implemented social networks
by making the
tools more accessible.
Covestro highlighted the
importance of these tools in
pilot projects,
employing a reverse mentoring
program for senior executives,
and trained employee experts
to
spread awareness and know-
how within the company.
Covestro’s efforts are clearly
paying off as
50% of their employees are
routinely active in their social
network. As a result of their
efforts,
the employees benefit from
increased knowledge flows,
efficiency, and lower operating
costs.
Modcloth
Modcloth is an online
company that is noted for its
fun and engaging shopping
experiences. This
company heavily relies on
their social media ties with
customers as they play a large
role in their
growth. It is because of this
that the company eagerly
adopted Microsoft’s Yammer
as their
social business tool for internal
communication. This service
caught on quickly with the
employees and soon enough,
was being used by over 250
employees across 4 offices in
the
United States. Yammer is
known for helping new
employees quickly learn about
their coworkers
and company. It is also very
efficient as it saves teams from
duplicating work finished by
other
groups already.
 Why were some successful? What role did management play in this
process?
Some companies were more successful than others because of their
adaptability and openness to these new networks. Social business
requires a change in thinking, which not every company can induce in
their workers. Some companies use internal social networking
successfully because they have program to train their employees to help
their employees understand the benefits of new technology and how to
use it. Besides, these new internal social networks are appropriate for
the purpose and process of each business, which can help them reduce a
lot of costs and improve efficiency.
The managers of their respective companies are imperative to this
process as they must understand their workers and be open to listening
to their thoughts and opinions. This allows a greater flow of
communication in the workplace which allows them to utilize this aspect
of social networking to its greatest potential. The managers are involved
once again as it is up to them to use a pull approach to best engage their
employees, offering them a better style of working. Once managers take
measures such as determining how these social systems will improve the
workplace, their employees will find it much easier to understand how
the network works. Managers who do not consider this aspect are
putting their employees in a position of being unable to use social tools
properly. Overall, success with social networks is heavily influenced by
 the managers ability to understand and collaborate with employees. If
they do not provide the employees with proper leadership, their firm
will not prosper.

Question 3: Should all companies implement internal enterprise social

networks? Why or why not?

Internal social networks are a

great way to improve many
aspects of a given company,
such as
communication, effectiveness,
efficiency, etc. These aspects
all go hand in hand, meaning
that
one may not be possible to
achieve without another. It is
very influential in driving a
business to
success as employees from
different areas of the world can
all connect and share ideas and
strategies with each other,
while also allowing upper
management to coordinate
with the
employees as well. As
technology continues to
develop in the world, this only
offers more
opportunities for businesses to
take advantage of. There are so
many new and advanced
options
available for various
companies to utilize in order to
further a business’ name and
reputation. As
new technology is being
discovered every year, it is up
to the workers to adapt to these
new
changes in order to keep their
company in contention for
business. Therefore, yes all
companies
should implement internal
social networks as it is very
influential towards success in
today’s
society
Internal social networks are a great way to improve many aspects of a given
company, such as communication, effectiveness, efficiency, etc. These aspects
all go hand in hand, meaning that one may not be possible to achieve without
another. It is very influential in driving a business to success as employees from
different areas of the world can all connect and share ideas and strategies with
each other, while also allowing upper management to coordinate with the
employees as well. As technology continues to develop in the world, this only
offers more opportunities for businesses to take advantage of. There are so
many new and advanced options available for various companies to utilize in
order to further a business’ name and reputation. As new technology is being
discovered every year, it is up to the workers to adapt to these new changes in
order to keep their company in contention for business. However, social
networks may not fit with some companies’ cultures or politics. Social
networks may not provide benefits for some companies. For example, a
company may be too small and they can use an available social network
instead of creating a new one, which can save costs for them. Implementation
costs may be too high for some companies.
Therefore, not all companies should implement internal social networks but
many should as it is very influential towards success in today’s society.