MCKI Assignment 2: Social Networking Media for Managing Communication, Knowledge and Information in Business more information.

Overview
The focus will be the use of social networking media to improve information systems, knowledge management and networking in small or medium businesses. Basically, you will be required to develop, document and present a company project for managing communications, knowledge and information within the context of your chosen company. Social Networking Media and MCKI for Business The use of social networking media, tools and techniques for managing communication, knowledge and information in the business arena is a new and still developing subject area. This assignment will be used as a method of exploring the issues and possibilities that have emerged (and are still emerging). This will be done by using your company as a practical tool to explore the issues and possibilities. We will do this within the framework of the main learning outcome and assessment criteria of the MCKI unit. Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, LinkedIn, Xing, Moodle, MySpace, Blogs, etc have revolutionised the ways individuals and groups communicate and interact. These changes then flow on into other social activities and doing business is a very social activity, especially at the level of the small and medium business enterprise.

General and Specific Questions

So, the general question we are asking is: What will be the effects of social networking media and practices on small and medium businesses? The focused question for each group is: How can social networking media and practices be used to improve the management of communications, knowledge and information within the company my group are looking at? Think about Facebook in terms of communication, information management and (personal) knowledge management because you are practising each of these when you use Facebook. Communication you are communicating with people, some you know very well, some less so, some maybe not at all. You are MANAGING your communications and also you are networking. Information management you are organising and managing the information in your Facebook pages how, why? Knowledge management conversations with friends often involve tacit and implicit knowledge. Whats the difference? How can this feature be used for KM in business? Workshop 8 presentation topics Read the extract from Lets Talk (and the full paper from Moodle) and especially John Jantschs Hierarchy of social marketing. Give a presentation on your ideas of how the items in this hierarchy might be used for

any aspect of managing communications, knowledge and information in your chosen business i.e not just marketing.
Activities: 1. Discuss your individual experiences in using social media. Which media (e.g. Facebook, YouTube) have been used in your group? 2. In week 1, you were asked to find out about the differences in using information and media between your generation, your parents generation and your grandparents generation. Discuss your findings in your group and draw up a table comparing education, work, and leisure activities for each generation.

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In your groups, discuss the question How can social networking media and practices be used to improve the management of communications, knowledge and information within the company my group are looking at?Make a list of as many points as you can think of (at least 8 points). You can use the assignment 2 criteria below as a guide, but feel free to come up with original ideas. In all cases, be prepared to feed back to the class.

Assignment 2 presentation criteria Section 1: Assess information and knowledge needs of your chosen company
Example factors: a) Discuss the range of decisions to be taken b) Examine the information and knowledge needed to ensure effective decision taking c) Assess internal and external sources of information and understanding d) Justify recommendations for improvement

Section 2: Be able to create strategies to increase personal networking to widen involvement in the decision-making process
Example factors: a) Identify stakeholders for a decision making process b) Make contact with those identified and develop business relationships c) Involve those identified in decision making as appropriate d) Design strategies for improvement

Section 3: Be able to develop communication processes

Example factors: a) Report on existing processes of communication in an organisation b) Design ways to improve appropriateness c) Implement improvements to ensure greater integration of systems of communication in the organisation d) Create a personal plan to improve communication skills

Section 4: Be able to improve systems relating to information and knowledge

Example factors: a) Report on existing approaches to the collection, formatting, storage and dissemination of information and knowledge b) Carry out appropriate changes to the collection, formatting, storage and dissemination of information and knowledge c) Implement a strategy to improve access to systems of information and knowledge

Ray Webster, November 2011