Times have changed, Organizational Communications have not
Despite all the changes in the environment brought by globalization, technology and other business catalysts, reality is that large organizations today remain awfully similar to the ones decades ago. Large hierarchical structures continue to be the norm and decision making power and resource allocations continue to be held by management. Companies and large Government institutions continue to be for the most part a copy of the companies, the church or the army.
The need to compete globally with a variety of rivals that do not necessarily share the same business model as you presents a formidable challenge to today’s companies. One very exciting possibility is to allow all of your employees to participate on the innovation of the company. Who cares if the latest product comes out of an idea from the chief scientist, a sales guy or a junior engineer? Everybody should be able to contribute to the organizational well being and the traditional model of heavily specialized work and its departamental silos have typically being in the way of that company wide collaboration.
Independent of the inertia of the past there are several factors that get in the way of allowing company-wide collaboration to actually happen: fear of losing control of the company information and the lack of tools to make company-wide collaboration effective.
