Comments on: For the greater good or saving money, you choose

By: Cody

Cody — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 17:28:53 +0000

Great observation. I don’t work day to day in higher ed like I used to, but it’s really shocking how much resources are wasted on things like this.

One approach that I’ve seen work is to get upper management buy-in then just dictate that we are now using XYZ solution. People get pissed, but 90% of the time it’s for their good.

Although, it seems like an opportunity for someone to develop some kick-butt solutions for these common problems.

By: matt

matt — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 19:17:16 +0000

Yeah you added some good points. One main one I forgot to mention “silos” if we have learned anything from web 2.0 it is that silos are bad. Leaded to duplication facebook, myspace, etc,etc, etc.

By: Drew

Drew — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 19:14:59 +0000

Well said. It’s a “look at what I can do” attitude vs a “look at what WE can do” attitude.

Another word I’ve seen used to describe the situation is “Balkanized”.

“the organizational structure, tenure system, compensation models, and budgeting in academia often promote internal competition”

“Also, the existence of subject- or discipline-specific areas within an institution often contributes to the building of “silos” that don’t share information or communications with each other. What results, says Sametz, “is a lack of shared vision and a disparate array of fundraising, admissions, outreach, and media relations-with different looks and messages. The big-picture result is an undervalued, disjointed view from the outside, lower brand awareness, and less bang from every communication buck expended.”

He’s mainly talking about brand/marketing but the same applies to IT and Web Development. 30 people sitting in offices around campus, all working isolated on the same problems, independently. It can be a wasteful situation.