Collaborative Strategies [On-Line Self-Assessment]

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On-line Self-Assessment

Almost every organization today uses collaborative tools. The goal of this assessment is for you to determine where your organization is today around collaboration based on your point of view. Please choose a department, team, group or organization you want to evaluate. Please answer the following questions by clicking on the appropriate score on a 1-10 scale for that specific characteristic. We will weight your scores based on our 20 years of experience with organizations all over the world. Once you have completed the questions for all 4 scales hit the “submit score” button at the bottom of the page. We will score your responses and provide you with a short, high-level evaluation of where that particular organization is based on your view of them. This short response (by e-mail) will also look at some of the current ramifications of collaboration for your organization at your score level.
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Please note:

Questions 1,2,5 and 6 must be answered and you must provide a response to either question 3 or 4.

1. What level of collaboration technology does this organization have? (Scale 1-10)

Lowest (1) – Classic collaboration, e-mail still predominates, phone and fax are also used widely, IM not heavily used or supported and little or no social networking.
Highest (10) high speed network allows employees to connect both to the collaborative infrastructure inside and outside the firewall. Liberal use of SaaS (software as a service) for specific applications and functions, virtual team spaces, videoconferencing or Telepresence, and unified communications are all available and used regularly.

2. Does this organization’s culture support collaboration? Are there collaborative behaviors such as information sharing, consensus-based decision making, support for teams, and the ability to fail and learn?

Lowest (1) A “feudal” organization, very siloed environment, often there is a strong manager for the group that deals with all external group interactions. There are strong and competitive boundaries between this and other groups in the organization. You are told, “Keep your nose to the grindstone, and don’t worry about anyone else, do your work!”
Highest (10) A “familial” organization with open sharing of information, a commitment to transparency and participation (Web 2.0), open discussions or forums for both those inside and outside the fire wall (trusted partners, professionals, consultants and regulatory agencies). Often there is community consensus on a decision before any action is taken.

Note: only answer either question 3 or question 4 (not both) based on the type of organization you are evaluating (commercial or government/non-profit).

3.For a commercial organization what financial or economic impact does collaboration have?

Lowest (1) Collaboration has no financial impact on current organizational goals and objectives. No real metrics are used, nor is there an attempt at quantification or ROI. The idea is that we have done this well without collaboration (i.e. social networks) and don’t really understand or need it to be successful in the future.
Highest (10) Collaboration has an enormous impact on our organization, and we could not run it without the collaboration tools we currently have. Interactions with our customers, suppliers and partners (value network) are encouraged and believed to be of great economic and financial benefit.

4. For government, public sector or non-profit organizations, what impact does collaboration have on achieving organizational goals?

Lowest (1) Collaboration has no impact in meeting our stated goals and objectives, and we should probably continue to work as we have. Collaboration also has very little effect on me as an individual in meeting my goals.
Highest (10) Collaboration is required to meet program goals. We know we can do it better, faster, more efficiently if collaboration were better. Collaboration is critical to a group, program or project, as budgetary constraints will eliminate them if our goals are not met.

5. What impact does collaboration have on me personally? How does organizational collaboration help me to meet my ideological and financial goals?

Lowest (1) Collaboration has little effect on my meeting my goals, salary, bonus or stock options. I am not acknowledged for my innovation and contributions.
Highest (10) – Collaboration has a great effect on my realizing my personal and financial goals in this organization.

6. What is management’s attitude and behaviors towards collaboration?

Lowest (1) Management gives collaboration “lip service” but does not really believe it will help, they don’t readily participate in any Web 2.0 tools and don’t understand how this technology will make a critical difference to the organization.
Highest (10) Management not only believes that collaboration is critical to the organization but they also model collaborative behaviors, participate in a variety of forums and conversations as well as espousing collaboration to their partners and suppliers.

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