Second Life

I enjoyed Anima's Web poster not only because it was informative, but also because it was a demonstration of the concept of virtual worlds. The idea of a second life holds a lot of promise in different spheres of activity. I can absolutely envision its usefulness in areas such as product development, modeling, and education. I also appreciated the acknowledgment of its limitations outlined in the text. One of my issues about technology was humorously illustrated by a TV ad: the camera pans over a reenactment of a 1950's auto show, and lingers over Jetson style "cars of the future." Meanwhile, the voice over asks: "Where are the cars we were promised?" I think of this ad as the server goes down at work, the Website I was looking for has been taken down, the FAQ's on a Web page don't address my question, and I loose my wireless connection at home computer - all things that have happened to me in the last 2 weeks. My point is that the promise of seamless, integrated technolgy has yet to be delivered in first, or second life. Message to tech companies: promise less, deliver more.

Interactive Frustration

I am well aware of the imperative to save money, especially during the current financial downturn, but would really appreciate some attention to customer service. I would think that when business is slow, companies would pay special attention to differentiating themselves from the competition by being attentive to customers. Apparently that is not the case. I recently received a bill for a purchase made four months ago. When I went on line to pay it, I was not able to access my account due to "Error code 205" - whatever that was. When I tried to contact the company, I became frustrated by endless voice mail options and long hold times. I finally tried to pay on-line one more time only to have the system take my credit card number, but then respond with another error message leaving me to wonder whether my card had been charged or not. Technology needs human support for good customer service.

Technically Speaking

I work for a nationwide company, that has offices in over 60 cities. We all perform almost identical functions, but we use four different platforms and at least that many software systems to accomplish related tasks. I remember the roll-out for one of these systems; managers had to drive to a far away facility to attend an elaborate presentation by the vendor and company executives. When the system went "live" a number of problems began to surface, as the system was sometimes unreliable and did not provide the level of detailed information that is often required. Use of the system was monitored by the corporate office, and I soon received a call asking why our facility was not using the system consistently. I explained the situation, and they responded by sending a team from the vendor to essentially make another sales pitch. I explained what the issues were and provided examples, only to be assured these were temporary issues. Five years later the problems are not entirely resolved, but with a long term contract in place the vendor does not have much incentive to improve. I think the corporate executives who make important purchasing decisions should solicit feed-back from staff member before making expensive, long-term decisions.

To Team or Not To Team

One defining aspect of contemporary organizations is teamwork. Whenever I hear about a team being formed, whether it is at school or at work, the first thing I listen for is wheter the teams will be self-constituted, or by assignment. Teams that emerge because members have a desire to work together can function extremely well - you can almost feel the excitement and energy of a group that's really "working" together. New ideas are generated spontaneously because everyone has a desire to contribute. Conversley, you know the group will not work well if your first thought is about how you are going to do the extra work to cover for the slacker s. Soon everyone in the group begins to feel resentful and begins to take a prioritary stance toward their "own" ideas. I think managers should take more than a passing interes in how assigned groups function, to head off any surprises for projects on a tight deadline.

Spin(ing) Out Of Control

The importance of organizational communication has grown over the years, and it is easy to see why, in and out of this election season. While political speech is often inflammatory to the point of being tuned out by many constituents, subtle strategies require more careful analysis. One humorous radio ad a few years illustrated the point by "deconstructing" celebrity infomercials. While a prototypical ad played in the background, the announcer/narrator provided an alternative interpretation for the hype; "media personality" became "has-been out of work actor" and the "miracle" product became "left over seconds from the Home Shopping Network." A careful reading of today's most common buzzwords: opportunity, choice, challenge, responsibility, to name a few, can provide surprising alternative meanings in alternate contexts.

ID In and Out

In the course of my readings on organizational identity, I noticed a theme: the idea that organizational identities emerge as a result of interaction between internal and external constituents. I agree with this perspective, but not to the degree hypothesized by organizational scholars. At the risk of taking an essentialist stance, I thought about my current work situation. Employees at my facility are anxiously awaiting news about its imminent take over by another company, while management's lack of communication has added fuel to the fire. Many customers have asked questions that employees cannot answer leading to vague speculation on the part of internal and external constituents. These "doubtful" interactions however are limited to personal contact and go unacknowledged on the facility website or external publications. By virtue of the fact the official versions of identity are more widely disseminated, I feel the effect of personal interaction is limited.