Chapter II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Foreign Literature
Description of Intranets
Holtz, Shel (1996). “Intranets: What’s All the Excitement”. Communication World.
Holtz’s article embarked upon the intranet phenomenon in the late nineties. In his article, he stated that the technology of intranets has made the cover of Business Week, and was number three on Fortune magazine’s top-10 list of technology trends. (Holtz, 1996) It has also led to an alliance of Microsoft, MCI and Digital Equipment Corporation. It is the subject of conferences and workshops. According to Forester research, the majority of U.S. companies has it, plans to get it or is studying it. Moreover, the author stated that Netscape claims it is selling more of its wares for it than for the Internet.
The author defined the technology as a duplicate version of the Internet that operates within an organization — an employee communication tool unlike any other. (Holtz, 1996) She further stated that Intranets provide organizations with unprecedented ability to communicate, but they don’t use a traditional model. While one can publish old-fashioned employee information on an intranet, the system empowers employees and departments themselves to become publishers and communication facilitators. An intranet allows anyone in the company to tap into the entire organization’s intellectual capital, rather than the limited circle of fellow employees with whom most employees have day-to-day contact.
In addition, she also affirmed that Intranets could improve productivity and save money:
“ They can speed up projects and enhance quality. They can facilitate two-way and multidirectional communication. They can improve existing processes and simplify workflows.”
(Holtz 1996: p12)
On the other hand, the author also discussed the manner in which the technology works. She stated that at least one of the computers on the organization’s network needs to play the part of a Web server — the machine that accepts requests for Web pages from employees’ individual workstations and dishes those pages out to the requesting employees’ desktop computer. (Holtz, 1996) On the server, one can store web pages of every kind, along with programs that allow employees to use Web pages to interact with databases.
Moreover, she stated several practical uses of the said technology. The author stated that one no longer have to print an employee handbook or manual that is likely to go out of date the instant it rolls off the press:
“Instead, one can store the manual on the intranet, where employees can find just the information they need in a flash, without having to study an index or a table of contents — simply type in a key word, and all matching entries are suddenly a mouse-click away.”
(Holtz 1996: p28)
It could make sure that the information is always current. Another use of the intranet is thought the employee phone directory. It could now be interactive — and far more useful than it ever was on paper. One can look up employees by name, department or geographic location. When one finds an employee, you not only get the data you would have found in the old book, but links to the employee’s profile, information about his or her department, and a link that, if one clicks on it, allows one to instantly send an E-mail message.
Likewise the article stated that organizational documents such as organization charts could be up-to-date (and never printed again), and includes links to phone directory listings and other pertinent information. The author stated that:
“Employees can get information on their benefits and participate in the annual benefits enrollment, all from their desktops; the interactive capabilities allow employees to produce various benefits scenarios and explore the associated costs before making a final decision.”
(Holtz 1996: p34 )
Intranets also can allow you to browse internal job openings and submit their applications. In both cases, information input by the employee goes directly into the appropriate database, eliminating data entry chores for the benefits and recruiting departments. Moreover, company advertisements from around the world can be viewed, enabling employees to see how the organization and its products and/or services are being positioned in different environments as well as contracts and other customer-related information can be stored in searchable databases, allowing customer service representatives to find information and answer customer questions far more quickly than had previously been possible. (Holtz, 1996)
The article also stated that the technology of intranet allows one to archive any organizational information, from product descriptions to sales results, from back issues of employee publications to technical specifications, so that employees can find the information they require quickly and easily, and adapt it to whatever format they need. In addition, the author stated that:
“Managers unable to attend the quarterly manager’s meeting can view a video of the entire proceeding, or select only those elements of the video that interest them.”
(Holtz 1996: p40)
They can copy charts and graphs that were used to explain issues to their own computer, where they can adapt them for communication to their own employees. Likewise, employees can listen to the president’s address to shareholders live, or call it up later when they have time. They can listen to the entire speech, or select segments that interest them.
Furthermore, departments can make information available about their efforts, their schedules and the services they provide. Likewise, project teams can post their objectives, progress and results — for one another or any other employee with an interest. (Holtz, 1996) Newsgroups can also be established in which employees with specific interests can engage in discussions, ask questions or provide answers to other employees asking questions. An engineer in California, for example, can submit a problem she’s encountering on a project and an engineer at the company’s Chicago facility can read it and post a solution. The posts of newsgroups can be archived and made searchable.
The author further argues that if information exists in an organization, it can be made available via the single, common, graphical, multimedia, point-and-shoot interface of the Web. (Holtz, 1996) Some fear that such a wealth of information at employees’ fingertips will result in information overload. However, Holtz stated that
“…in a society that craves information, we want all we can get about topics and issues that are important to us. Information overload occurs when we are faced with too much information that doesn’t satisfy our needs. Thus, an eight-page newsletter that contains only a single article of relevance to a given employee will cause more overload than the entire intranet, which the employee can use to hone in quickly on exactly what he or she is looking for.”
(Holtz 1996, p64)
She also affirmed that the power of the Internet is the wealth of information that is provided by individuals and institutions that never before had the resources to publish, and the fast and easy access to that information by individuals and institutions that previously could turn to limited information resources. (Holtz, 1996) She however acknowledged that this strength could also be the intranet’s greatest weakness. There is the possibility that employees may find information they need notwithstanding the fact that they could also get lost, confused, overwhelmed by the information that they acquire. Likewise, there is also the predicament on how the organization conveys important messages when employees can customize the information they get.
In addition, the article also posited that an effective intranet couldn’t be the sole responsibility of either employee communications or the information technology department. It requires a common effort, a partnership between the two functions that results in an intranet that would be able to function correctly and offers a high degree of interactivity (the information technology role), and provide easy access to information in ways that make sense to employees in that particular organization, maintains fresh content and facilitates the flow and exchange of information (the employee communication role). (Holtz, 1996)
Moreover, the author suggests that one way to use the intranet, as a component of a strategic communication effort is to publish as much detail as possible on it for employees to find when they need it. Likewise:
“When one produce information on a different medium — print or video, for example — it will carry an air of importance because you will have reserved its use for special messages and information that begs to have attention drawn to it.”
(Holtz 1996: p 68)
Similarly, the more one let employees provide information to one another, the more it will be able to concentrate on those important messages that still require a top-down communication strategy –messages that address organizational strategy. (Holtz, 1996)
Effects on Organization
Hinzman, Kay W (1999). Intranets: How Organizations Use Web Technologies To Manage Internal Information And Communications. Marshall University Graduate College.
Hinzman’s work tackles the use of web technologies of organizations in order to effectively manage its internal affairs. According to her observation, Intranets have the potential to reshape organizations by shifting the control of information down the corporate ladder. (Hizman, 1999) Moreover, it has created an upheaval in the flow of information and communication within organizations. Information Technology professionals, who are accustomed to working with inorganic technologies, are particularly challenged by the human aspects of Intranets.
“Corporate management, traditionally the controllers of information, is challenged to accept a technology that does not follow top-down rules. However, if it is implemented incorrectly, Intranets could be as disruptive as any technology ever introduced.”
(Hizman 1999: p13)
Hizman (1999) describes intranet as a network based on Internet technology that is placed on private servers within an organization — a site intended for the exclusive use of members of the organization. An organization that has a local area network in place can create an Intranet by implementing the TCP/IP protocol, adding a Webserver (a server that supports I-ITTP) and installing a browser on each member’s desktop. (Hizman, 1999) Intranets are distinguished from local area networks by the presence of Web technologies and a high degree of interactivity among users. She likewise stated that Intranets originally started in organizations as an outgrowth of the Internet. (Hizman, 1999) The earliest Intranets were unofficial, formed by small work groups for their own use, often without the sanction of management. In large organizations, it was common for a number of Intranets to exist with no common planning or standardization. That approach led to information chaos: a patched-together Intranet with clunky navigation, information gaps and redundant, conflicting, unreliable or outdated content.
The author backed-up her arguments further by noting several studies related to her topic. She noted the study made by Jim Canterucci, of Transitional Management Advisors. According to her, he found that people favor Intranets over traditional information channels because information that is more timely and updated more frequently. He also found that an Intranet’s effectiveness is hindered when it is viewed as management propaganda. (Hizman, 1999)
Likewise, she noted Kathleen Kotwica, a researcher for CIO’s Cyber Behavior Research Center, who found that people view Intranet structure as hierarchical, and navigates it as if they were exploring the branches of a tree. Her survey revealed that relatively few organizations allow members to freely post material to the Intranet; content approval by a review committee is most often required.
“Survey results indicate that users consider virtual communities to be a significant function of Intranets. Respondents to her survey indicate that the quantity and quality of communications increased within their organizations because of an Intranet.”
(Hizman 1999: p18)
Moreover, a survey conducted by Kim, Chang and Yoo of Yonsei University in Korea confirms that information needs differ according to organizational level (top management, middle management and line workers) and Intranets should be designed according to which group(s) they will serve. (Hizman, 1999) All organizational levels agree upon the importance of some Intranet functions. These ‘unanimously preferred’ functions should be top priority for Intranet developers. The research team developed a tool called the Analytic Hierarchy of Intranet Functions to identify unanimously preferred functions. She found that nearly all middle-sized and large organizations, and about half of small organizations, have Intranets. Respondents to her survey reported that most members of their organization are satisfied with their Intranet, use it several times each day and feel that the Intranet has changed the way their organization communicates. Only one-third reported that their Intranet has been involved in office politics and/or power struggles. The most popular materials to be found on Intranets were Employee Directories, Policies and Procedures, commonly used forms, personnel information, newsletters, training, technical support, group calendars and job postings.
The author asserted that Intranet professionals must pay close attention to organizational dynamics. The author added that
“They must design Intranets to accommodate the management style, reflect the social structures, and enhance the communication systems of organizations. Failure to do so will result in resistance and possible failure of the Intranet project.”
(Hizman 1999: p24)
According to her the technology could bring payback in terms of enhanced knowledge sharing, any-to-any connectivity, enhanced enterprise communication, fresh and updated information, collaboration among users, quick deployment, integration with legacy systems, immediate cost saving, minimal software investment, standard client reduces maintenance and training, multiple data format (html, text, applications and multimedia). (Hizman, 1999)
Lai, Vincent S. (1998). A Study on the Utility of Intranets in Hong Kong. Department of Decision Sciences and Managerial Economics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T.
Lai’s work evolved around the use of Intranets in Hong Kong. It is a relatively early study of the status of Intranets’ utilization in the former British colony. According to him, the Intranet is a private corporate network based on internet’s protocols and technologies, including Transport Control Protocol/Internetworking Protocol (TCP/IP), HyperText Transport Protocol (HTTP), Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP), Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME), and HyperText Markup Language (HTML) (Lai, 1998). At the foundation of the intranet is a Web server, which is used as a central, internal clearing house to manage and disseminate information within the organization. Using a standard Web browser as an interface, employees can exchange corporate information seamlessly without the concern of heterogeneous computing environment.
In his study, he noted a recent survey conducted on Fortune 1000 companies indicated that twenty-two percent of them were already using Web servers for internal applications; while another forty percent were considering the implementation of intranets to make their information more readily available (Lai, 1998). Another survey conducted in 1995 also reported that the sales of web servers for intranet use has exceeded those sold for Internet use. The survey also projected that the sales of intranet server will continue and is expected to account for more than ninety percent of all web servers sold in the year 2000, indicating a rapid adoption rate of this new information delivery paradigm among businesses in the next few years.
As stated in his argument:
“In order to reap the full benefits of intranets, organizations are extending their intranets to reach their key customers, suppliers, and/or trading partners.”
(Lai 1998: 28)
Some organizations even move a step further and implement intranets to support team-oriented collaboration, including file sharing, information exchange, document publishing, and group discussion. He further stated that So far, intranets still have significant limitations, such as limited integrated databases, few integrated applications, and lax security, in supporting collaborative computing. (Lai, 1998) However, their intrinsic advantage as a powerful and cost-effective approach to support internal and external applications for both internal information sharing and external marketing on the Internet will give them an edge over groupware, which are purely an internal application. Recently, there have been signs indicating that webware and groupware technologies are starting to merge. This suggests that in the future webware will also support the functionalities of today’s groupware. This will enable intranets to better serve team collaborations.
However, the author also recognizes that business managers in a number of industries are beginning to identify strategic opportunities for using intranets to shift the balance of power and competitive position of their organization. Some are thinking of adopting intranets as a tool to unify their geographically dispersed work force, empowering them (especially telecommuters and sales forces on the road) with a complete communication tool for collaboration, interaction, and real-time sharing of information across functional boundaries and organizational levels. This new form of distributed information infrastructure may even enable corporate managers to redefine their computing strategy and organizational control to better accommodate the challenges of managing speed and complexity in today’s business environment. (Lai, 1998)
Lai, Vincent S. (2001) “Intraorganizational Communication with Intranets,” Communications of the ACM, Vol. 44, No. 7.
Another study by Lai (2001) likewise tackled the use of intranets for intra-organizational communications in Hong Kong. He stated that since most studies of the intranet have been more on the theoretical side, his article is based on empirical data collected from the 500 largest organizations in Hong Kong where the overall goal was to gather information about five aspects of Intranet use in these organizations. He noted the five aspects as the reasons for intranet adoption and diffusion, the problems and benefits related to the use of intranet, the effect of organization size on the use of intranets, the extent of intranet use and application performance, and the collaboration with intranets and overall business performance. (Lai, 2001)
The study found out that of the 500 companies that were surveyed, surprisingly, only 8% had already adopted intranets but 90% were potential adopters with the majority planning to evaluate the option. (Lai, 2001) For the organizations that were already using the intranet in their organization, the main reasons for adoption were open standards (such as TCP/IP, HTTP, and HTML), ease of use and multi-platform compatibility and support. These organizations were looking for a way to improve their internal communication and the adoption of the intranet was apparently more appealing to smaller organizations that have less of a budget dedicated to sophisticated network and IT projects. Obviously, intranet implementation has a strong impact on any organization’s process for handling data and documents.
“A number of business applications were checked and the results showed that there were areas of use that were more common than others. In Human Resource arenas, more than 80% application rate was found. HR was able to put corporate documents, guidelines and manuals on the Web instead of printed material that was sometimes distributed to every individual employee.”
(Lai 2001: p5)
This not only supports a paperless environment, but also leaves more time for employees to invest in employee development and productivity. Another significant application was in the sales and marketing arena (~70% use) where on the low end of application use, manufacturing and product development was around 20%.
According to the respondents, the use of intranets as a tool for communication among the organizations has brought about several benefits. The author stated that the general consensus among IT managers is that the intranet relieves communications bottlenecks. (Lai, 2001) Additionally, in further detail, there were four main factors that were seen as benefits of the intranet: data access, cost savings, communication and management. The data access and cost savings were the major benefits but it was also found that the intranet also improves communication especially among companies that had a high geographical dispersion of employees.
“It also facilitates organizational learning and bonding and improves collaboration opportunity. On the management side of things, the study showed that managers saw a great benefit out of the intranet due the improvement in a number of areas: ability to be proactive, customer service, intellectual capital and decision quality.”
(Lai 2001: p23)
On the other hand, the main issues that were associated with the intranet were management of intranet contents, design of intranet pages, performance of networks, coordination of different intranet workgroups and finally, the security of intranets. According to the author, all are self-explanatory. (Lai, 2001)
Moreover, the study also pointed out that one of the key factors here is obviously getting the employees to use the intranet. (Lai, 2001) The study investigated 3 areas: business process reengineering, employee collaboration and overall organizational performance. The results showed that in terms of reengineering, there was a significant change in the document management process plus additional processes related to data management, communication and business processes in general. Regarding employee collaboration, the study found that the intranet did not foster more employee cooperation perhaps due to the lack of knowledge pertaining to the technology’s capabilities or a lack of incentive. Finally, the research found that the intranet allows employees and organizations to perform better due to the technology infrastructure that brings employees closer to decision processes /support and interaction.
Likewise, the author also stated that:
“Although there are other file-sharing, information exchange and group discussion applications (such as Lotus notes), the survey respondents reported that they preferred to use the intranet over other applications. The only issue found here is getting Web pages to be redesigned to support more collaboration, which is successful only in large organizations that have the critical mass needed to realize the benefits.”
(Lai 2001: p 30)
The article finished affirming that intranets are turning out to be alternate technologies/means for organizational communication and information management. (Lai, 2001) By investing more resources toward intranet implementation, companies will quickly find that it is a cost-effective and efficient approach to promoting organizational business strategies and enhancing overall competitiveness.
Ward, Toby (2002). Measuring the ROIs of Intranets: Mission Possible? Prescient Digital Media. Toby Ward ~ Page of stuff, http://www.intranetjournal.com.
The article of Ward revolves around the manner on which intranet technology’s return on investment is measured. Ward (2002) asked two-hundred and seventy-five (275) survey participants to rank in order of importance almost 70 different intranet investment benefits organized according to 12 broad categories including Hard Costs, Sales, Communications, Competitiveness, Application Access, Infrastructure utilization, Collaboration, Time To Market (Cycle Time), Customer Service, Human Resources, Procurement, Content management.
According to the author the findings were somewhat surprising:
“… softer, harder to measure benefits such as competitiveness, communications and content management (the big ‘C’s’) were rated the most important.”
(Ward 2002: p9)
Traditional areas of focus for ROI benefits, including procurement, sales and time to market were rated among the lowest benefit categories. Most important benefit categories includes enhanced competitiveness 90%, content management 87%, enhanced communications 87%, hard cost reduction 86%, and enhanced customer service 85%.
On the other hand, the respondents stated that the least important benefit categories includes enhanced procurement (eProcurement) 63%, reduced cycle time (time to market) 71%, enhanced infrastructure utilization 75%, enhanced human resources 77%, and sales process enhancement 81%. (Ward, 2002) Moreover, when survey participants were asked to rank specific line item benefits (almost 70 in all), access to and increased sharing and accuracy of information led the benefit parade. The lowest ranking benefits related to procurement and time to market.
Similarly, the most important ROI benefits includes improved information sharing (customer svc.) 97%, enhanced communications and information sharing (communications) 95%, increased consistency of info (customer svc.) 94%, increased accuracy of info (customer svc.) 93%, reduced or eliminated processing 93%, easier organizational publishing 92%. (Ward, 2002)
The author concluded that:
“The specific benefits relate to customer service, communication and content management – access to and accuracy of information. (Ward, 2002) While the results may be somewhat unexpected given the emphasis on softer benefits, the results were appreciated by some of the experts.”
(Ward 2002: p29)
Thannickal, Jolly Joseph (2002). Intranets for Knowledge-Based Organizations. Transversal e Networks Private Limited, India.
Thannickal’s study is all about the employment of intranet technology in knowledge-based organizations. According to the author, Intranets are effective platforms for knowledge management and people development. (Thannickal, 2002) Intranets help in creating boundary-less organizations by connecting all the stakeholders.
He also pointed out that intranets have also emerged as platforms for e-learning, virtual collaboration, and for integrating other applications like e-business and customer relationship management. He coined these integrated systems as Enterprise Information Portals. In addition, he summarized the uses of the intranet into the several factors. He stated that:
“The intranet makes it easy for employees and other stakeholders to get the required information, thereby empowering them to take decisions and solve problems. Likewise it seeks to improve communication and collaboration.”
(Thannickal 2002: p16)
It also allows the employees to share best practices and avoid duplication of efforts as well as to capture and disseminate knowledge among employees and other stakeholders. And lastly, he stated that intranets are capable of integrating applications like e-learning, e-business and customer relationship management. (Thannickal, 2002)
Thannickal (2002) also pointed out that Intranets come in different forms and sizes, starting from a 10- minute download to a 10-month project. Nonetheless:
“There are certain functionalities, which can be mentioned as the hallmarks of a good intranet system. In this light, he presented several requirements for a good intranet system.”
(Thannickal 2002: p16)
He stated that a system must have personalization of information presentation and intranet tools to meet individual needs. (Thannickal, 2002) Likewise, it must also have a single login access to various modules and services as well as an integrated communication and collaboration tools. A proper intranet system must also have authoring and publishing capabilities for creating departmental web pages as well as a stress-free customization and extensible repository for documents.
In addition to meeting the above requirements, a good intranet system will score high on other parameters such as security, usability, maintainability and ease of administration. He also noted that
“Security is often ranked highest in priority among these requirements. According to the author, in most cases one would already have the hardware and network required for an intranet.”
(Thannickal 2002: p26)
What is additionally required is to meet the costs of the intranet software, customization, training and support. Good planning and meticulous implementation can ensure that there are no budget overruns. The cost of a software (for that matter other products and services as well) is not just the cost of initial purchase. What you need to consider is the total cost of ownership (TCO), which includes the cost of maintaining the system and running the services. That means you need to ask questions about maintainability and reliability. You will also have to consider the skill requirements for using and administering the system. If the system is complicated and you end up spending additional amounts on training or wage bills, the TCO increases considerably. Another factor to take into account is whether the proposed intranet uses proprietary technologies, which limits your options for upgrades or inter-operability with other software systems. Proprietary technologies often increase the TCO in the long run.
The study also placed great importance on the technology’s return on investment on the organization. The author asserted that ROIs are often inflated because they do not take into account the costs of maintaining the system over the long term. (Thannickal, 2002) More conservative estimates put the figure at 40% to 60% ROI over one year. Even with these estimates, it is clear that an intranet is a wise investment for any organization. In calculating ROI, it is easy to quantify the hard returns such as the savings in communication costs, printing and stationery, travel, etc. Especially in cases where information content has to be frequently refreshed and distributed widely, the cost savings can be substantial, running into millions of dollars per year. Several studies have reported productivity increase through faster access to information. The harder part to quantify are the soft returns, such as better teamwork, improvement in the quality and timeliness of information and increase in competitive advantage through identification of new growth opportunities, reduced time to market, etc.
Thannickal (2002) concluded that:
“There is so much that an intranet can do for your organization, that it will virtually be impossible for one to tap its full power right from the beginning. To get started one does not have to wait for the ideal intranet that meets all the requirements of the organization.”
(Thannickal 2002: p39)
Take into account the objectives and broad requirements of the corporate intranet, and then define the scope of the intranet project within the given budget and timeframe. When one adopts this approach, ensure that the underlying technology used for the intranet enables addition of new modules and is scalable to meet future requirements.
Pros and Cons
Foust, Courtney M. (2000). Organizations of All Sizes Should Be Using Intranets. http://filebox.vt.edu.
Foust’s work dwelled on the drawbacks that Intranets provide in organizations. In her article, she stated that the use of computers by organizations has become increasingly widespread. (Foust, 2000) Organizations that do not utilize computers are considered to be the minority in today’s technologically advanced society. The author defined an intranet as an internal corporate network that utilizes Internet technology. Employees within an organization can utilize the intranet for purposes of communicating, collaborating and coordination. To illustrate, the author provided scenarios such as in employees in a large consulting firm might access an intranet to determine future job assignments or to obtain various forms needed on an engagement. Rather than having to contact various individuals to obtain this type of information, employees can do so on their own and save a lot of time and effort.
She also stated that the intranet is a spin-off of Internet technology and spending on intranets is projected to be 10 times greater than money spent on the Internet by the turn of the century. (Foust, 2000) Likewise, she also affirmed that although there are an abundant number of benefits associated with intranet use, they might not be suited for all organizations. More specifically, she stated that intranets are very useful tools for large organization but a cost benefit analysis may show that intranets are not suited for all small and medium size organizations.
She argued that despite the fact that the costs associated with intranet use are relatively inexpensive, there are various other aspects of intranet use that can become very costly to a small or medium sized organization. (Foust, 2000) For companies with an established network infrastructure, intranets are very inexpensive to build and run. While there is a vast number of organizations that use computers to run their business, there are still a great number of organizations in the United States and the world that do not utilize computers. For these organizations, it can become very costly to establish a computer system to support an intranet.
She further discussed that before an intranet can be established, the organization will have to make substantial changes to their organization in order to adapt it for computer use. Alone, this reengineering and planning is very costly. (Foust, 2000)
“On top of these costs, the organization will have to take on additional costs to purchase and implement a computer system suitable to the organization. Additionally, the organization will incur costs associated with computer maintenance and replacement as systems become outdated.”
(Foust 2000: p2)
In some instances a new employee will need to be hired in order to provide system support and to maintain the organization’s intranet. Employee training may also be required because not all individuals are computer literate. Employees will have to be trained on how to use the new system and every time an update occurs, additional training may be necessary.
In addition, the author believed that an intranet alone is too limiting therefore it is necessary for and information system to complement an intranet network. (Foust, 2000) Intranets exist as pre-designed screens of information and if an employee wishes to access information for which there is no pre-designed screen then the information is not accessible via the intranet. She stated that if organizations need also to implement information systems in order to have an efficient network than costs can really skyrocket.
Moreover, the possibility for hackers to cause destruction increases significantly. (Foust, 2000) Because intranets are usually connected to an Internet, security becomes a serious issue of concern. Organizations employing an intranet connected to the Internet will have to take into account the various security issues and take the necessary precautions. She also noted that the use of firewalls to protect intranets does keep nonmembers out of the intranet network, but it does not protect the system from internal employees who are connected to the network. Hostile employees should become a concern to organizations when utilizing an intranet. It becomes very easy for employees with access to the system to cause damage. If an employee has access then he/she has easy access to implement viruses that can cause serious damage. Organizations implementing an intranet should closely analyze employee turnover rates to determine if this is a serious threat or not. The higher the turnover rate, the more serious the issue becomes and proper security measures need to be implement.
Furthermore, she argued that Intranets are installed for the purposes of sharing information within an organization. (Foust, 2000) She as well stated that people are naturally inclined to share information. However, her article stated that while this is generally a good thing, it could seriously undermine efforts to regulate access to internal information. As intranets increase the sharing of information within an organization, the possibility exists that more trade secrets with be shared and possibly with the wrong person.
The author pessimistically stated as well that it has become very common for outsiders such as suppliers to have access to corporate intranets for purposes of obtaining information as needed. (Foust, 2000) While this is an efficient way of dealing with suppliers and consultants but it also leads to outsiders discovering information that may be secret information that should not be shared.
She also acknowledged the fact that the purpose of intranets is to create an environment for employees within an organization to exchange ideas, share information, and work together on common projects and assignments regardless of their physical location. (Foust, 2000)
“For large organizations this works out great because employees are disbursed around the world and the intranet offers a simple and efficient means for various employees to communicate and share ideas. For smaller organizations, on the other hand, the implementation of an intranet may lead to more individualism and less employee face-to-face interaction.”
(Foust 2000: p12)
Utilizing an intranet to solve problems by seeing how other employees solved a similar problem eliminates the need for face-to-face interaction and the potential arises for small close-knit organization to lose its closeness.
It is therefore her stand that the sharing of information is generally easy in small organizations therefore the implementation of intranets is not always cost beneficial. (Foust, 2000)
Higgins, Cynthia (2000). Organizations of all sizes should be using Intranets. http://filebox.vt.edu.
Higgins (2000) defines intranet as an in-house Web site that serves the employees of the enterprise. Although intranet pages may link to the Internet, an intranet is not a site accessed by the general public. Similarly, she defined it as a private network inside a company or organization that uses the same kind of software that you find on the public Internet, but this is only for internal use. The author stated that the main purpose of an intranet is to share company information and computing resources among employees. An intranet can also be used to facilitate working in groups and for teleconferences.
The primary thrust of her paper is to provide several disadvantages of the said technology specifically in terms of information dissemination, cost, security, productivity, maintenance, accessibility, and cost.
According to her:
“The technology has the possibility to provide information overload. She mentioned that predominantly outdated information stored on the Intranet. Similarly, there would be an increase in the number of information that is irrelevant to the employee is published on the Intranet.”
(Higgins 2000: p3)
On the other hand, the author also acknowledged the possibility of the technology affecting the productivity of the employees. She stated that there is a hidden cost involved in Intranet specifically, the loss of productivity due to poorly organized Intranets. (Higgins, 2000) Moreover, the author stated that the technology quickly gathers dust when curiosity runs out. Likewise, with access to the Internet, employees begin “surfing”.
Furthermore, the article as well noted the drawback in terms of maintenance. The author stated that:
“The Intranet “techie” does not collaborate with the user therefore users do not see the information that they need or require. Likewise, a small company many not have the personnel to update their Intranet on a routine basis not to mention the limited bandwidth for the business.”
(Higgins 2000: p7)
In terms of security, the article stated that there might be potential security risks if sensitive information is not restricted. (Higgins, 2000) The author describes not restricted if the secure servers, firewalls and passwords are not utilized for protection as well as the unavailability of physical security.
In terms of accessibility and cost, the article questioned the accessibility of computers to employees. (Higgins, 2000) The author presented a predicament concerning the lack of computer units to cater the number of employees in a company. On the other hand, the issue of costs was presented through the expounding of potentially difficult and expensive to integrate data resources from different platforms into corporate LANs. In view of this, she presented alternate means of communication, such as mail, phone, fax machines, and e-mail, that may be used instead of Intranets. However, they may not be the best means of communicating for the company or the user. Yet, they are typically low cost.
The author thus concluded that she feels most organizations can increase the communication between employees and customers by implementing an Intranet. (Higgins, 2000) Nonetheless:
“The issues concerning the size of the company and the company’s needs will have to be considered before implementing an Intranet. In many cases, implementing an Intranet may hinder the growth of your company.”
(Higgins 2000: p19)
Arya, Anubha. (2000). Organizations Of All Sizes Should Be Using Intranets. http://filebox.vt.edu.
The article of Arya (2000) dwells also in the use of intranets by organizations. In this article he discusses his own definition of the said technology and presented several practical aspects of it. He defined the technology as a network of computers, software, documents, and databases, which generally works just like the Internet except that it is only accessible to employees and selected guests. Because of this access restriction, an INTRANET can be used to publish information that is proprietary, confidential, under development or otherwise not ready for public viewing by customers and competitors.
The author also described the composition of an intranet. He stated that an INTRANET uses local area networks (LANs), connections between LANs, and other means to connect the same Web, FTP, News, and other servers as seen on the Internet, but will restrict usage to internal users only. (Arya, 2000) The author stated that most medium sized or large sized organizations have accumulated a variety of computer systems as computing technology has evolved. Mainframes, minicomputers, workstations, and PCs often are linked together via a potpourri of operating systems, application programs, and user interfaces. Many corporate workers have become so sick of new systems and new applications that they are openly revolting and failing, or sometimes even refusing to use new software systems. Comprehensive training for such diverse systems is nearly impossible. The amount of information available has expanded tremendously. It is not unusual to have large organizations having millions of documents and pieces of electronic information that required many more million dollars to produce.
In this light, the author suggests that the corporate intranet, more than any other concept since the invention of a computer, makes it possible to easily and economically put this information in front of people who need it without requiring impossible amounts of training. (Arya, 2000) He noted that:
“The World Bank was a pioneer in using the Internet to realize its twin organizational goals of supporting developing countries and reducing poverty.”
(Arya 2000: p13)
Today, the World Bank has full TCP/IP connectivity for every worker and every PC in its head quarters, and many of its offices located throughout the world.
According to the author, the Bank maintains an online directory of all personnel, searchable by phone extension, location, unit, first or last name, email address, and other common variables. (Arya, 2000) The directory includes up-to-date information on every staff member, including security ID photos. One can obtain this information in about 15 seconds.
SOURCES:
Hinzman, Kay W. (1999). Intranets: How Organizations Use Web Technologies To Manage Internal Information And Communications. Marshall University Graduate College.
Lai, Vincent S. (1998). A Study on the Utility of Intranets in Hong Kong. Department of Decision Sciences and Managerial Economics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T.
Lai, Vincent S. (2001). “Intraorganizational Communication with Intranets”. Communications of the ACM, Vol. 44, No. 7.
Thannickal, Jolly Joseph. (2002). “Intranets for Knowledge-Based Organizations”. Transversale Networks Private Limited, India.
Foust, Courtney M (2000). “Organizations of All Sizes Should Be Using Intranets”. http://filebox.vt.edu.
Holtz, Shel. (1996). Intranets: What’s All the Excitement. Communication World.
Ward, Toby. (2002). “Measuring the ROIs of Intranets: Mission Possible?” Prescient Digital Media.
Toby Ward ~ Page of stuff, http://www.intranetjournal.com. .Higgins, Cynthia. (2000). “Organizations of all sizes should be using Intranets”. http://filebox.vt.edu.
Arya, Anubha. (2000). “Organizations Of All Sizes Should Be Using Intranets”. http://filebox.vt.edu.
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
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