Articles

User-generated content platforms, open source software, crowdsourcing and knowledge markets these are all possible only because of the "social web," the interlinked virtual universe that to so many executives seems to offer the irresistible promise of providing something--ideas, work, decisions--for (almost) nothing, if only they could manage it right. Managing it right means understanding that even though the new platforms are all about harnessing crowds and communities, in the end those crowds and communities are nothing but a sum of individuals. And your company's social web efforts will succeed only to the extent that you are able to attract good individuals, motivate them to perform good work, and empower them to get to know and trust one another enough to collaborate toward the end goals of the community. The question is, How do you do that? The answer: by capitalizing on the motivational power of in reputation--that is, by designing and building an online reputation system that triggers and nourishes the kind of web community that will serve your company's needs. Using examples such as Amazon, eBay, Epinions and Yelp, the author describes how design choices of a reputation system can profoundly affect a community's culture, making an otherwise collaborative and cordial community into a competitive and even combative space.

An interview with Jim Fister, a lead strategist for Intel Architecture Digital Enterprise, by editor-in-chief Michael S. Hopkins. "The way that the younger workforce was educated, the way that they were trained and the way they want to come into the workforce is working naturally in a collaborative fashion. And they're doing it in ways that those of us who really were trained along the individual lines just don't understand. But we do understand the results of that, and by encouraging that collaboration, rather than trying to force people back through the exact same paths that we learned to become IT professionals or to become management professionals, if we can manage to actually adapt to their path, rather than having them adapt to our path, we're going to get results much greater, much faster, with a tremendous amount more passion, than we would have gotten otherwise."

An interview with Andrew McAfee, a principal research scientist at the MIT Center for Digital Business, editor-in-chief Michael S. Hopkins. One of the single biggest changes that I see coming is when you have this unbelievable amount of horsepower and a mass of data to apply it to, that lets you be what I would call a lot more scientific about things. You can be a lot more rigorous in your analysis. You can generate and test hypotheses. You can run experiments. You can adopt a much more scientific mindset. I think if you don't try to migrate your company and your decision-making in that direction, you're missing out on a huge opportunity, and you had better hope your competition is also not moving in that direction. Because when you compare scientific to pre-scientific approaches, there's one clear winner over and over.

The rising data flood and emerging tools for analyzing it are changing the ways innovation gets done.

Large, loosely organized groups of people can work together electronically in surprisingly effective ways.

Customer-centricity may sound like a good idea. But a new breed of companies focuses instead on getting the customer to comply with a company's systems.

What it means when people who grew up with technology in their hands become the heart of a workforce--and what it means if managers don't understand them.

Information technology matters when a company works backward from the value it wants to create.

In a global economy, sustained competitive advantage arises from tackling social, political and environmental issues as part of a corporate strategy.

Should coworkers have sex with each other? Should employers try to stop them? The answer to the first question is that the question isn't worth answering--because office romance is inevitable anyway. The answer to the second is more interesting. And due to recent shifts in the legal climate, for companies, it's also more scary. There is a misunderstanding at the epicenter of the office romance debate, even as it attracts increasing scrutiny due to famous examples such as the recent episode involving CBS's "Late Show With David Letterman" host. Contrary to some commonly misread signals, managers are not interested in stamping out employee dating. However, sexual relationships and romances change office dynamics in potentially problematic ways, presenting legal challenges such as allegations about sexual harassment and a hostile work environment, and those challenges need to be managed skillfully This article explores the changing legal and managerial landscape regarding office romance, and explains what practices companies should take to avoid trouble.