2. SUMMARY
BASF is very much a knowledge-intensive company, but it was hampered by the
absence of an information system that enabled efficient global management
decision making, collaboration among professional employees, and convenient
sharing of knowledge. This impacted the company’s ability to create and deliver
leading-edge chemical products and services. It was very difficult to manage the
firm on a global basis, or to bring together teams located in distant time zones.
BASF management decided that the best solution was to deploy recently
developed social network technologies to move from a static corporate
knowledge and work environment to one in which actively engaged employees
and enabled them to obtain more knowledge from colleagues. The company
implemented IBM’s Enterprise Social Network platform as an enterprise-wide
platform for collaboration, management, knowledge acquisition, and
knowledge transfer. It took advantage of the software’s new “social” tools to
increase employee collaboration and engagement. BASF now relies on its
internal enterprise social network for much of employee learning and problem
solving. BASF managers developed a management philosophy of voluntary
participation in the network’ It created an implementation team at the top and
middle of the firm, and slowly spread the word to corporate entities around the
globe through webinars, learning events, and internal counselling.
3. 1.How did using single enterprise social network platform
change the way was performedat BASF ?
BASF is the largest chemical company in the world. It has nearly 400
production sites around the world.
As a diversified chemical company, BASF supplies chemicals, plastics,
catalysts, industrial coatings, crop technology, and crude oil and gas
exploration for a wide variety of industries.
With existing information technologies it was difficult to create a single
global BASF culture, to coordinate initiatives and employees across so
many time zones, to collaborate in real time, and to allow employees to
participate in decision making.
So the company used a social business platform called connect.
BASF. The platform is based on the IBM Connections enterprise social
network platform, which operates in the IBM Cloud environment.
By using this platform users are encouraged to build communities of
practice, online spaces where employees with similar professional
backgrounds can share ideas. The implementation team used a
multifaceted set of tools such as to attract employees.
The enterprise social network provided faster access to company
experts, higher employee productivity, and better flow of knowledge
through-out the firm.
Younger workers in particular are attracted to the network, and more
comfortable with using it.
The use of email and the extensive overhead in systems and employee
distraction has been greatly reduced.
4. Managers have also had to learn new styles of management suitable to
an online social environment as opposed to relying solely on traditional
face-to-face interactions with employees.
The experience of BASF illustrates how much organizations today rely on
information
5. 2.How are collaboration and employee engagement keeping
BASF competitive?
◉ BASF is very much a knowledge-intensivecompany, but it was hampered
but it was hampered by the absence of an information system that
enabled efficient management decision making, collaboration among
employees and convenient sharing of knowledge.
◉ This impacted company’s ability to create and deliver leading edge
chemical products and services.
◉ BASF managers decided that the best solution was to deploy recently
developed technologies to move from a static corporate knowledge and
work environment which actively engaged employees and enabled them
to obtain more knowledge from colleagues.
◉ The major reason is that the company implemented IBM’s Enterprise
Social Network Platform as an enterprise wide platform for
collaboration, management, knowledge acquisition and knowledge
transfer.
◉ It took advantage of the software's new “social” tools to increase
employee collaboration and engagement and relies on its internal
enterprise social network.
◉ BASF managers developed a management philosophy of voluntary
participation in the network.
◉ It created an implementation team at the top and middle of the form,
and slowly spread the world to corporate entities around the globe
through webinars, learning events and internal counselling.
6. ◉ The experience of BASF illustrates how much organisation’s today rely
on information systems to improve their performance and remain
competitive.
◉ It also shows how much systems supporting collaboration and team
work make a difference in an organisation’s ability to innovate, execute
and grow profits.
◉ To improve their performance and remain competitive, it also shows
how much systems supporting collaboration and teamwork make a
difference in an organization’s ability to innovate, execute, and grow
profits.
