After researching and creating a presentation on the subject of collaboration technology while working in a group, I have learned of the many benefits that current collaborative technologies can provide to a business. Globalization and business travel have made group-work in a business setting a difficult task due to communication barriers; but some new technologies have been created to solve such problems. For instance, using a program like Google Wave has the potential to strengthen business communication internally as well as externally through its design.
Internal communication within any business setting can vary greatly in channels and often times becomes confusing. Between the use of emails, memos, phone calls, text messages, and other forms of communicating, internal dialogue can become jumbled and made confusing. A program like Google Wave allows the members of the wave, i.e. (managers and employees), to hold an entire conversation in one central place with a small number of threads. The program allows users to make posts, comments, questions, answers to questions, etc. and it all stays available in hopes of minimizing confusion and keeping the desired goal in mind. Programs like these also help to strengthen external communication through its accessibility. So much business takes place between corporations existing on different continents and in different countries that a technology was needed to communicate effectively while minimizing travel and meeting the demands of different time zones.
New technology is created almost every day to make networking and organization easier and more effective. While some technologies catch on better than others, the purpose of their creation is parallel. Eliminating the back-and-forthness commonly associated with business communication is an objective that will soon be achieved through advances in technology and the creativity of computer programmers and software engineers.
