Implementing Second Life Proposal- Option #1

Team 2:
Allan Hanson
Hadiyyah Clark
Lauren Anthony
Michael Berkebill

Communication 310

Virtual Lab 2- Option #1

Implementing Second Life Proposal

In the initial stages of familiarization with Second Life, it seemed as though we had discovered a clever way in which to communicate. Like most things, the more time we put into researching Second Life, the more we discovered. As we pushed on with Second Life and began to uncover its capabilities, it became clear to us that Second Life could be a useful tool for communication in a variety of company settings. We believe that after careful consideration, Second Life would be a very constructive program to implement at We Energies.

It is not a new idea that Second Life can be beneficial to an organization’s communication. A large and active education community is engaged in Second Life. Major universities such as Harvard, Texas State, Stanford and others have set up their virtual campuses in Second Life where students can congregate. Even classes take place on Second Life, where meeting in this virtual setting is a lesson in itself (http://secondlifegrid.net/programs/education/). It’s not surprising that as students at UWM, we are now using Second Life as a tool in which to meet and discuss group projects, as opposed to meeting face to face. The reason why Second Life is a valuable substitute to meeting face to face is that you gain convenience, and do not lose much in terms of media richness. The media richness is similar to face-to-face interaction, with the ability to respond immediately to fellow Second Life residents, and residents are even capable of displaying emotions.

Because of Second Life’s media richness we believe it can be useful not just in the university setting but also in the setting of a major corporation such as We Energies. Second Life is a way in which We Energies can do training on a large scale, as the online setting can fit much more people than a conference room. Also, Second Life could be used a recruiting tool in which to reach new candidates that, because of geographical location, might have been a challenge previously. We have spent enough time discovering Second Life to know that, because of the richness of media, it can be a valuable tool for both universities and corporations alike.

Productivity is the bottom line at any company. If there was software that could increase productivity, creativity and flexibility wouldn’t a corporation want it on all of the computers in the company right away? Second Life is the new age software that any company would like to use and should not be without. It can be used as a communication medium for employees to complete all work tasks whether it is considered ambiguous or very clear. It takes communicating to a whole new level.

Not only are schools and universities using Second Life but several companies have already implemented this program into their work practices and are expanding their networks. Manpower, a local employment service company, just had their one-year anniversary using Second Life and could not be more pleased. CEO of Manpower, Jeff Joerres stated "The World of Virtual Work is morphing into something that will become very productive and an integral part of how companies get work done, and we are excited to be at the forefront, defining this new frontier” (PR Newswire, 2008).Second Life has over a million people that are tapped into the network and that are utilizing and benefiting from their services. We Energies can benefit from Second Life’s features as well.

Second Life offers a whole different perspective on many of the day-to-day tasks that We Energies already has in place. This program takes a new spin on flexible work schedules, meetings over the phone, conference calls, etc. The first step is to create an avatar that would represent the employee while on Second Life. The avatars are unique and custom made to move, appear and act like a human. Another feature in Second Life that We Energies could utilize is the audio function where employees can verbally communicate with others. It would be perfect and very simple to use for any of the activities that employees use the telephone for or if they need to talk face to face but are unable to meet physically. The instant message attribute on Second Life is neat because employees can save the chat logs from their meetings instead of someone manually writing everything down by taking minutes. Employees that are privileged to have remote access to their email at home will appreciate Second Life’s ability for them to connect to the office with way more options to choose from.

Many employees spend a significant amount of time commuting to service centers or to the corporate office for interviews, meetings and training. Although employees receive auto reimbursement for mileage, traveling can still be very time and money consuming. It would be very simple to connect online in Second Life without having to leave the office at all. Each business unit and service center could have an island in Second Life for meetings, communicating and conducting business.

For instance, the Staffing division of the Human Resources department could have their own island to post positions that We Energies is looking to fill, screen resumes and conduct interviews. The Human Resources department taking part in Second Life will expand their recruitment base by tapping into a network of more than one million people from all around the world. Manpower also states that Second Life offers a new world of opportunity for job seekers and for companies looking for a cost-effective, innovative and environmentally friendly way to recruit talent from around the world (PR Newswire, 2008).

With these key features and attributes that We Energies can utilize to enhance their business, why wait any longer to implement Second Life? Phillip Rosedale, founder and chairman of Linden Lab mentioned that "the virtual world is changing the way business is done -- from recruiting to conferencing to market research -- and Manpower's success in-world is a testament to the growing importance of Second Life to the enterprise” (PR Newswire, 2008). Other local companies are becoming known internationally and reaping the benefits from Second Life. We Energies should be too-download Second Life today!

We realize that there will be a few changes that will have to take place in order for the Second Life program to work, but you can work slowly step by step, and we are also willing to help out in anyway we can.

According to Connor and Lake (Miller, 2006) and their model of planned organization, first we need to recognize the adjustments that are going to have to be made. There are a few adjustments that will take place. First being change with the completion of individual tasks by employees: employees will have to be dedicated to being available on line more often. For some people this might be a challenge but for others it will work out great. Also, as an individual employee, mobility will be better. If an employee is unable to come into the office and needed to complete a work task, no worries, they can log into second life and upload it right there!

The second adjustment would be the changes among the organizational forces. The major thing here is that the Second Life program will be enforced company wide to full effect and work in full force. You could try to use it as an optional application among specific people or departments, but we suggest using it company wide to fully benefit from all of its assets.

In regards to the strategic direction, even though we will go through some changes as a company, Second Life is going to cater to the needs of every employee in the company. As mentioned before, this is going to be something new and wonderful for meetings. No more having to spend money flying at expensive rates for just a night or two, you can just log into Second Life and still feel like you are meeting face to face. Second Life is going to do a great deal to the organizational culture of the company as well. All company wide documents, hand books, rules and regulations, and even to get more specific bulletins among departments could be posted here. Everything is going to be in one place where everyone can find it. It will be panned out so every employee knows where everything will be at all times.

Among adopting Second Life and getting acquainted with the program, you are going to see tremendous changes that will happen from individual employees to the whole company. Communication in general is going to be much more efficient and for that matter more fun. This is going to help the employees be more excited for the meeting at 4:00 every Wednesday afternoon. This will possibly change some office hours (for the better) for some people such as begin able to work from home, the coffee shop, or being able to access work on the weekends if needed. You are going to find that employees are going to become more connected with each other and possibly get to know each other better.

Some people are thinking that this just sounds way to perfect and great. Well it is great, but with all change in any circumstance you are going to find some challenges along the way. Though challenges may come about we have some suggestions to help. Some challenges that the company might experience are similar to Covin and Kilmann’s (Miller, 2006) theories: staff not willing to participate, in the beginning stages there can be some possible miscommunication, you are most likely going to find some sort of technical problems at one point or another, lastly staff might get easily distracted by the fun and features in Second Life. Departments should first have a meeting among all staff for a trial run with second life. In the meeting employees can learn about all the features in Second Life and test it out for the day so that they can get interested and understand using it. Management staff (managers and supervisors) will have to instill the requirements for using Second Life with the managerial accessibility within Second Life or having authoritative power, they can monitor employees, track chat logs, etc. It will be helpful for everyone to have a place or a bulletin where everyone can write and express their likes and dislikes, problems and issues with Second Life as well. This will help us keep improving the process as we go and help stay productive. Also state a plan the present to everyone in the company so they are aware of what’s going to be happening. According to the Organized Change Consultancy (Chaudron, 2003) we want to make sure to review these key points for a major decision such as this:
• Levels, goals and strategies
• Measurement system
• Sequence of steps
• Implementation and organizational change

The communication strategy that We Energies’ leaders would recommend for a successful change is “Tell and Sell”. This strategy offers for managers to select certain issues addressed by workers of the organization and for the to address the company and “sell” the reasons to the workers for why it will be successful to Second Life. This strategy will help the management of We Energies address the problematic issues of workers in the organization.

We believe that Second Life will be a cure for the organizational issues that have been existent throughout the organization for an extended period. One example of how “tell and sell” will help We Energies is that management will address the issue raised by employees of bad communication with other departments. Employees have raised the issue that they feel their department does not communicate well with other departments or their communication is inefficient. This is where management can sell to them how Second Life will eliminate those issues. It will bring efficient communication and overall will offer a more successful tool for the organization.

Management can sell Second Life to the organization by ensuring employees how communication and conventional meeting will be held more regularly and efficiently. Second Life will also be more successful for the organization because it is richer than regularly held phone calls and flights being caught. Second Life can save the organization a ton on communication expenses. It will eliminate the traveling expenses and allow for different departments to communicate on a first hand basis more often. With Second Life every department of We Energies can communicate in a way that makes sense to them. As stated by Steven Tomasco, an IBM representative "Each team uses the environment in the way that makes sense to them," (PM Network22, 2008). By adopting the “tell and sell” strategy, employees will realize how important the problems We Energies are experiencing really are. This will result in Second Life being a resolution and will help the organization reach its maximum potential.



References

Chaudron, D. (2003). Organizational change, strategic planning, planning, organization development. Retrieved December 16, 2008, from http://www.organizedchange.com/

Shields, J. Retrieve December 13, 2008, from an online book: http://books.google.com/books?id=U4944JHEGaIC&pg=RA1-PA206&lpg=RA1-PA206&dq=%22tell+and+sell%22+strategy&source=web&ots=AVPKjTdjye&sig=8QJ1HuGSU6GbfVjdaTd9MpQfxUk&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=10&ct=result#PRA3-PT1,M1

Miller, K. (2006). Organizational communication: Approaches and processes. Boston, Ma: Wadsworth Cengage Learning

PR Newswire. (2008). Manpower Inc. celebrates their first anniversary in second life: Event convenes second life gurus to discuss opportunities to further real life responsibility efforts in virtuality. COMTEX. Retrieved December 13, 2008, from http://www.manpower.com/investors/releasedetail.cfm?releaseid=324821

Second Life. (2008). Retrieved December 14, 2008, from Second Life Grid: http://secondlifegrid.net/programs/education

PM Network 22. (2008). The Second Time Around, 9 (12). Retrieved December 19, 2008, from
http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com.ezproxy.lib.uwm.edu/hww/results/results_single_fulltext.jhtml;hwwilsonid=OFU0M4ETJHFO1QA3DIMSFF4ADUNGIIV0