Showing posts with label Collaboration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Collaboration. Show all posts

Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything

1 comments Posted by Jenny Friedman at 1:26 PM

Can you think of examples of innovation we have discussed in class that could have been improved or weakened based on the environmental elements of the context?

In one of my classes, The Management of Teams (MHR 401), we are discussing creativity in teams. One of the most important factors for accomplishing effective creativity is the environment in which teams operate. Although it is not a new concept for firms to be interested in innovation, growth, and high performance, many companies are beginning to go about such success in a different manner: collaboration. Regardless of the individuals, resources, and tasks, it is difficult to effectively and efficiently collaborate without a supportive environment.

In New Product Development, we frequently discuss examples of innovation that may seem a bit out of our reach at the moment, but collaboration within the business environment is something that should be of interest to everyone with previous work experience or in the midst of a job search. If you're interested in learning more about different tactics companies are using to generate teamwork and collaboration in the business environment, check out "Wikinomics: How mass collaboration changes everything" (http://www.wikinomics.com/book/).

 

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Tenth Anniversary of Wikipedia

3 comments Posted by b.schwinden at 2:03 PM


Jimmy Wales, one of the co-founders of Wikipedia talks in this video about the last ten years of Wikipedia and the growth he expects to see. It's an interesting and enlightening interview that sheds light on new projects like opening a new office in India. One thing I found very interesting was explaining how he believes Wikipedia formed because of the dotcom crash of the 1990s. I never thought about how consumer innovation really started to blossom from this event. Check it out!

 

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Why Open Source is Good for Business

1 comments Posted by Dave at 9:36 PM

After completing the open-source case on Linux last week, I discovered this article which features an interview with Dries Buytaert, the founder of the open-source software project, Drupal. The volunteer project has grown immensely since its beginnings in 2000 and is used by big names such as The White House, Harvard, and MTV.

Towards the end of the article, Mr. Buytaert addresses the issue of commercialization within the open-source community. Obviously we have discussed this topic in class and it was interesting to get an outsider view on the matter. Mr. Buytaert explains that by ensuring that the leadership and decision-making parts of the project are not influenced by commercial interests, the project remains in a healthy balance. The project is driven commercially, but directed democratically. Open-source companies struggling with commercialization may want to start taking notes...

 

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Collaboration and Co-Creation Here to Stay

2 comments Posted by Kelsie at 9:12 PM


Customer collaboration and co-creation are relatively new ideas. However, as we have seen in class and through readings, more and more companies are taking on these practices and many new companies are solely based off these practices. Gaurav Bhalla, a strategy, innovation, and marketing professional with global experience, examined how customer collaboration and co-creation are becoming mainstream business practices. The ideas are being featured in many conferences around the world with companies like Local Motors being in the spotlight. Further, nonprofit organizations and government agencies are taking advantage of these strategies. See Global Pulse 2010, which was put into place after Obama's speech delivered to the Muslim world in Cairo. It was "a 3 day online collaboration and global conversation" attracting participants from over 155 countries resulting in about 10,000 ideas and opinions. We see here that this idea of collaboration and co-creation can span across cultures. The best part about it- all of us can contribute in any which way. Raj Shah, a key organizer of Global Pulse 2010 quotes, "By listening to each other and collaborating, each of us can become an agent of change and contribute to innovative and sustainable solutions to local and international challenges."

 

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Co-created Story

3 comments Posted by Aric Rindfleisch at 2:57 PM

Today in class, we engaged in a collaborating exercise by co-creating a story about our class. The inspiration for this was Penguin Publishing's A Million Penguins initiative (in Spring 2007). Here is what each section produced. What do you think?

Section 1 (11:00)
Marketing 440 is an undergraduate marketing class taught at the Wisconsin School of Business. This class consists of lots of interesting case studies about new product development and is taught by Aric. He likes to enhance our learning by blasting music before class using Wisconsin favorites such as Teach Me How to Bucky. Aric is also a closet Packer fan. Today we are discussing collaboration, and it is difficult for me to understand because we keep talking about aliens. What the hell is that about? Now Aric is claiming to be an expert on Extra-Terrestrial life, which he is!! What's next? Is he an alien? Is that how he is such an expert? His hair is definitely out of this world... I don't believe anyone would question the expertise of a man wearing a flannel. One time, I was walking to class, and to my surprise, Aric was on crutches claiming he "hurt" his knee playing basketball...but we all know that he hurt it climbing out of his spaceship. He keeps saying that he goes to these conventions to lecture but how do we know that he is not flying off to his homeland to deliver the news to his alien comrades that he has successfully convinced his human students to believe that he too was a human just like them. Stupid University of Wisconsin students... Now that he has accomplished this step, he must next get the students to love the Packers. Now back to the beginning. One day, the unassuming Aric was ghost-riding his whip to class when, all of a sudden, he realized he doesn't know what ghost-riding is.

Section 2 (1:00)
Marketing 440, aka Venture Creation, is an undergraduate marketing class taught at the Wisconsin School of Business. MKT 440 uses real world examples and does not depend on text books. We watch videos of bisson, Aerosmith, and UFO conspiracies. YouTube has been a stand-in "text-book" for the class. These videos have shown us that Aerosmith and Run DMC were leading the way which "tinkering," one of the many co-creation techniques we've been learning about. Other than watching videos we also do some exercises in class, which enables everyone to get involved while creating user innovation. These exercises might not seem like homework, but somehow they also tie into what we are learning. So far, we have contributed to MyStarbucksIdea.com, submitted photos to Jones Soda, and made our own Lego designs. One other requirement of the class is to analyze and write about one of four case studies presented in class. Case studies focus on companies including InnoCentive, Threadless, Local Motors and Linix, all of which rely heavily upon user innovation in their business models. Along with exercises and cases studies, we will also have the opportunity to interact with new innovative ideas and companies in a group project. As a class we will create something new using a MakerBot, a 3D printer. Right now we are watching a video of Yochai Benkler! His beard is out of control! This guy has one of the most boring voices ever. He sounds almost like the guy from eye drops commercial--Ben Stein. We should teach him how to Bucky.

 

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Est. 2008 | Aric Rindfleisch | Wisconsin School of Business | Banner Image by Bruce Fritz