MANAGEMENT GUIDE

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Critical Thinking Questions

1. Under what circumstances might non-employees work with employees in virtual organizations?
2. Do corporate portals facilitate upward, downward, or horizontal communication within the organization?

Management On the Web

What kinds of gripes are employees posting on the Working Wounded site (http://www.workingwounded.com/)? Browse the site and read through some of the requests for advice-and the responses-in the advice section (http://www.workingwounded.com/advice/advice.shtml).

1. What kinds of problems are being discussed? Should company managers periodically scan the Working Wounded site to get a sense of what concerns employees?
2. Why would employees use Working Wounded to air these complaints? Apart from corporate portals, how else might a company allow such complaints to be heard internally?

E-Business Case in Point: Softbank

1. Is Masayoshi Son creating a mechanistic or an organic structure? Why?
2. Does Son seem to be a transactional or transformational leader? What are the implications for his organization?

E-Business Case in Point: VHA Inc.

VHA Inc. (http://www.vha.com), which provides consulting and management services to a nationwide network of nonprofit hospitals, needed a corporate portal-stat. Robert Preston, the project leader for Internet development, remembers that "the marketing and communications people wanted more information [posted] on our intranet. They were screaming for information." Rather than starting from scratch to create a portal for its 1,000-plus employees in 29 offices, VHA hired Plumtree Software, a company that specializes in building corporate portals.

First Plumtree helped VHA officials determine what information should be available on the corporate portal. Then, using its own technology and a library of applications from other specialists, Plumtree designed a customized portal to meet VHA's unique needs. The corporate portal was up and running within a few weeks, saving VHA 18 months of development time and giving VHA employees instant access to all kinds of internal data, from phone lists to project details.

1. Was the decision to establish a corporate portal programmed or nonprogrammed?
2. Is VHA's corporate portal likely to support centralization or decentralization of decisions?

Source: Khanh T. L. Tran, "Plumtree Software Aims To Be Main Portal For Business," Wall Street Journal, April 6, 2000, http://www.wsj.com.

E-Business and Management/Human Resources E-Business Case in Point: Vignette High-tech recruiting methods are only one way Vignette, a developer of Web content management software, attracts skilled employees. The company, based in Austin, Texas, is growing extremely rapidly as demand increases. In line with its aggressive expansion plans, it wants to increase the size of its workforce from 1,200 to 2,500 employees in less than a year. To catch the attention of Web surfing job-seekers, Vignette uses Internet job sites and posts prominent links to job opportunities on its company Web site (http://www.vignette.com). Still, employee referrals account for three-quarters of all new hires. Vignette offers rewards such as cash, electronic gadgets, and trips to employees who refer successful job candidates. Once employees sign on, they generally stay, thanks to a generous benefits package plus stock options, chair massages, yoga classes, and a concierge service to handle personal tasks. Why would Vignette reward employees for making referrals instead of paying recruiting firms to find suitable job applicants? What other human resource issues is Vignette likely to face during its rapid expansion? Source: Kayte Vanscoy, "The Hiring Crisis," Smart Business, July 2000, 85-97. Current events news summaries: Many e-business start-ups lack the expertise to arrange the benefits they need to attract talented employees. That's one reason behind the growth of HR outsourcing. What do HR outsourcers do? http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,14551,00.html As long as the company's stock price is going up, stock options can help e-businesses attract and retain employees. But what happens to employee attitudes when the stock price plummets? http://www.smartmoney.com/misc/index.cfm?story=thousandaire Now any company that wants to set up a customized corporate portal can do so using the new Corporate Yahoo! service. What kind of features might companies want to offer on their private portals? http://www.ecommercetimes.com/news/articles2000/000629-1.shtml

E-Business and Management/Human Resources E-Business Case in Point: Circles With so many companies vying to recruit, retain, and motivate high-tech job candidates, benefits have become a key part of the compensation packageócreating a huge opportunity for e-business entrepreneurs. Circles is a Boston-based company that provides virtual concierge services to the employees of corporate clients. From finding a special gift to buying entertainment tickets to making travel reservation, the concierge service will do almost anything to get whatever the employees request. The cost is a flat yearly fee of $200 per employee plus an hourly rate to cover services over a preset level. However, companies see this as a good way to reduce employee stress and help staff members better balance home and work obligations. Once a corporation signs on, employees can log onto the Circles Web site (http://www.circles.com) to submit requests. Then Circles automatically routes the requests to the appropriate suppliers, who complete the transaction. As an alternative, employees can call Circles, but the concierge service prefers to do as much as possible electronically. In time, Circles hopes to learn so much about employees' preferences and lifestyle that its experts can actually offer suggestions rather than simply wait to act on requests. As an employer, how would you react to employees taking time from the business day to use the Circles service? As an employee, would the availability of Circles or a similar concierge service be an important part of your decision to accept a job with another employer? Source: Erick Schonfeld, "The (Electronic) Personal Touch," Fortune, March 20, 2000, 214. Current events news summaries: Outsourcing can be a good way to have experts handle specialized activities such as personnel benefits. What should companies consider before deciding to outsource human resource functions or other operations? http://cnnfn.cnn.com/2000/11/27/cashflow/q_outsource/index.htm Demand for top management talent is so strong in areas with a high concentration of e-businesses that more firms are turning to interim CEOs while they continue recruiting. What are the benefits? http://cnnfn.cnn.com/2000/10/17/cashflow/q_iceo/index.htm How do businesses recruit for e-business positions outside the United States? Here's a primer on what to do. What common missteps should U.S.-based e-businesses avoid? http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,18353,00.html More e-businesses are asking employeesómanagers, in particularóto sign employment contracts when they're hired. What does this mean for the new employee and the company? http://cnnfn.com/2000/11/28/career/q_contract Working in a start-up or a fast-growing e-business can be draining. How do e-businesses help their employees maintain a healthy balance between their work and personal lives? http://www.business2.com/content/insights/getalife/2000/11/17/22790