Illinois State University How Does IBM Do It Social Networking Case Study Please answer the questions (1 to 3) for Case Study 4-2 found on Page 98.For each

Illinois State University How Does IBM Do It Social Networking Case Study Please answer the questions (1 to 3) for Case Study 4-2 found on Page 98.For each question please write at least 3 sentences. 98
Digital Systems and the Design of Work
Before TWPS installed the GPS system, the drivers of his 37 front?loaders clocked in approximately 250 hours a week
of overtime at one and a half times pay. Once TWPS started monitoring the time they spent in the yard before and after
completing their routes and the time and location of stops that they made, the number of overtime hours plummeted to 70
per week. This translated to substantial savings for a company whose drivers earn about $20 an hour.
TWPS also installed GPS receivers in salesmen’s cars. Andersen was not surprised to learn that some of the company’s
salespeople frequented The Zone, a local bar, around 4 p.m. when they were supposed to be calling on customers. Andersen
decided to set digital boundaries around the bar.
Understandably, the drivers and salespeople aren’t entirely happy with the new GPS?based system. Ron Simon, a TWPS
driver, admits: “It’s kind of like Big Brother is watching a little bit. But it’s where we’re heading in this society. . . . I get testy
in the deli when I’m waiting in line for coffee, because it’s like, hey, they’re (managers) watching. I’ve got to go.”
Andersen counters that employers have a right to know what their employees are up to: “If you come to work here, and
I pay you and you’re driving one of my vehicles, I should have the right to know what you’re doing.”
Discussion Questions
1. What are the positive and negative aspects of Andersen’s use of the GPS?based system to monitor his drivers and salespeople?
2. What advice do you have for Andersen about the use of the system for supervising, evaluating, and compensating his
drivers and salespeople?
3. As more and more companies turn to IS to help them monitor their employees, what do you anticipate the impact will
be on employee privacy? Can anything be done to ensure employee privacy?
Source: This is a fictitious case. Any resemblance to an actual company is purely coincidental.
? CASE STUDY 4?2 Social Networking: How Does IBM Do It?
IBM’s award?winning developerWorks site was established in 2000 as a technical resource repository for the company’s
global development community. Designed to share knowledge and skills related to IBM products and other key technologies, it has been a solid success. The site attracts about 4 million unique visitors a month—including students, professionals, and developers from almost all the world’s countries—who search its library of 30,000 articles, demos, podcasts,
and tutorials. developerWorks is available in eight languages, including Russian, Chinese, and Spanish, and about 70% of
its visitors come from outside IBM.
My developerWorks, a social networking function, was added to the repository platform in 2009 to allow developers to
connect, communicate, and collaborate on projects. Soon the network had added more than 600,000 user profiles as well as
numerous blogs and forums. In addition to allowing established business, start?ups, and partners to collaborate, it has also
helped users find answers to support questions that would otherwise go to IBM’s call centers and help desks, thus saving
the company an estimated $100 million.
Alice Chou, Director of IBM developerWorks, carefully monitored the number of My developerWorks profiles and the
volume of traffic to the site. She looked at unique visitors, developer demographics, time spent on the site, and patterns of
page views. She created a reward and recognition framework so that when users contributed a highly regarded article or
blogpost to the site, “they got the kudos they deserve.”
Discussion Questions
1. How might My developerWorks leverage changes in the way people work?
2. Why do you think Alice Chou carefully monitors the My developerWorks site? What would be an example of an insight
she would gain from the data she’s collecting?
3. Why do you think Alice Chou thinks a rewards program is necessary for My developerWorks because so many profiles
have already been developed. Do you agree that a reward would be necessary?
Sources: IBM, www.ibm.com/developerworks (accessed April 17, 2012); Ellen Traudt and Richard Vancil, “Becoming a Social Business: The
IBM Story,” IDC White Paper #226706 (January 2011), 1–14 (quote on p. 6, developerWorks at http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/).
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