Developing effective social structures using information technologies

The social architecture within the organization is best described as a university of shared realities, which contributes to a uniqueness of behavior expectations. People, who make up this structure, collectively provide value systems that help self and other organizational members understand what the organization holds as important. It also provides a basis for personal decision-making and behavior. Establishing knowledge processes in this regard would help to teach members of the organizations about what they should expect from others and what is likely expected from them. Sustaining this type of shared belief system requires the unconditional dissemination of information. One of the barriers in developing such knowledge processes for this type of system is that the social architecture in most organizations does not accommodate the unconditional dissemination of information. Since the implementation of modern information technology is changing the workplace and the nature of work itself, alternative social structures guided by these information technologies are needed. Using the classroom as a laboratory for addressing organizational social structure development, technology, and knowledge processes, students taking a course addressing behavioral issues for engineers provided a scenario-some true, some perceived of what they face in the organization and what they believe needs attention by everyone affected