Group Research Paper- Online Platforms Essay

t bothy to Thompson realistic team up is each task-foc social functiond group that meets without all in all members necessarily being physically present or escapeing at the same time (Thompson, 2011 p.). According to the oblige, The Knowledge usefulness of Virtual Teams Processes Supporting Knowledge Synergy, it has been previously argued that practical(prenominal) teams emerged as a new organizational form of working together apart. However, their nicknack has been attributed to the use of technologically advanced conferences rather than to their organizational properties (Ratcheva, 2008). Therefore, we hindquarters see the importance of having a good programme the Ford society Virtual Team Communication.As a team, we review five online course of studys of our superior that we believed could be used for Ford Comp any(prenominal) realistic team to cash in ones chips with their worldwide divisions. The team came together and created a grading platform ground on the following six criteria Technology Features Offered, Design and Customization, Security and gravel for (Global/Region Capabilities), Viewing and Moving Content, Accessibility and User Friendly. Each standard was out of five points for a total of 30 possible points. I believe that Ford party should use the platform because the team considers all possible features when creating the grading platform. We review and discuss what features would be guideed in order for a global team to function intimately without any difficulty. The following are the advantages and disadvantages of each of the online platforms that could be used by the virtual team and the team valuation of each platform and the reasons for the ratings.Microsoft panoramaAccording to the official sites of Microsoft, lookout man is a personal information managers and the software program is in stock(predicate) as a part of the Microsoft Office. The software is used as an electronic mail application. It includes a c alendar, task manager, contact manager, none taking, a journal, and web browsing (Microsoft Corporation.com/ Outlook). The hold, Information overload, rationalizes that Outlook does have powerful features, such as sacramental manduction of workgroup calendars, and as it is the standard, you go out find add-on programs like NEO a brilliant application that organizes Outlook mailboxes the way they should have been by Microsoft, and makes scrutinizing so much easier. However, the article explains that Outlook can also be hazardous for your data because the PST files into which Outlook bundles telecommunicate, appointments and contacts go forth corrupt once they contract beyond 2GB. The article explain that it can be repair, but you will lose at least some and if you are unlucky, all of your data. Therefore, Outlook has it advantages and disadvantages.The Team rate outlook as the least favorite and it veritable an 18 out of 30 because Microsoft Outlook is great for email, cal endar events, and send enrolments. There is no chat feature or face-to-face pickaxe and it may be hazardous for your data. Since, Ford Motor Company need this platform for it virtual team to communicate with their worldwide divisions the team will need to used some time of chat, face-to-face options therefore Outlook is non the right choice for the union. FacebookAccording to the official website of Facebook, the company relegation is to make the world more open and connected. In addition, the site explain that people use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, to discover whats release on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them (Facebook Newsroom Key-Fats, 2013). Facebook Platform enables developers to build loving apps that enable people to connect with their friends, whether it is through playing a game, honoring a movie, sharing their favorite restaurant, or listening to a var. (Facebook Newsroom Platform, 2013). Based on the Team grading platform Facebook received an boilersuit 19 out of 30.The Team make up that Facebook is great for colloquy and perhaps sharing documents but the site is not built for professional conference since there seems to always be hackers breaking into the system. Therefore, the team feels that for business communication Facebook cannot be trusted. According to the article, Contextual gaps concealing issues on Facebook, Facebook present large privacy issues for their users, the article analyze two of Facebookss features, Applications and News return Offline, it was found that contextual gaps are at the root of many of the sites privacy issues. In addition, the article explains that the application, which nearly invisibly shares not just a users, but also a users friends information with third parties, clearly violates standard norms of information flow. Furthermore, the article concluded by facial expression that many of the privacy issues on Facebook are primarily design issues, w hich could be ameliorated by an interface that made the flows of information more transparent to users (Hull, Lipford & Latulipe, 2011).Additionally, this article tiles, Facebook & Your Privacy. (cover story) explains that Facebook collects and shares data in ways that the consumer is often unaware, such as third-party applications, associate from other web resources, and facial recognition software for shared photographs. Threats pose by Facebook use include threats and harassment by other users, hacking, and observe of personal data by employers, college admissions, or insurers ( 2012). Therefore, the team concluded that Facebook was not a viable option for Ford Motor Company team communication platform. LinkedInAccording to the officials sites of LinkedIn, LinkedIn is the social network for work professionals created by Reid Hoffman in 2002 and currently the network has about 161 million professionals worldwide. In addition, when individuals joined LinkedIn, they get access to people, jobs, news, updates, and insights that help them be great at what you do (LinkedIn about us, 2013). Based on the Team grading platform LinkedIn received an overall 22 out of 30.The reason for this is because LinkedIn is more or lessly for tele band line seekers and to connect with other professionals. According to this article, LinkedIn Corporation, The firm operates an online professional network knowing to help members find jobs, connect with other professionals, and locate business opportunities (LinkedIn Corporation). Therefore, it does not have all the necessary tools needed for Ford Motor Company team communication. Microsoft SharePointAccording to the article, Enhancing Project Management with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, Microsoft SharePoint is a technology platform that can be configured and customized to play a number of roles in an organization. The advantages of this platform are numerous because the software provides an surround for have manag ement since a project manager can use the software to manage his team collaboration, control project documents, structure project workflow, manage risks, track projects progress, or share information with the stakeholders (2010). In addition, as a company grows so does the amount documents the company has, therefore, it become difficult to keep track of the increase documents and their locations. SharePoint defeat this by allowing users to store and share files in a central site.The team rating of Microsoft SharePoint was 25 out of 30 it was the second favorite because of all the features it has. However, it accredited the software allows users to share documents but there is no interactive feature. Furthermore, the article The Disadvantages of Microsoft SharePoint 2007 as a Document Management System, explains, that One of the key features most DMS/CMS systems offer are document level options like redaction and document mark-ups. SharePoint does not provide this functionality as i t relies on its Microsoft Office suite for document manipulation (Steward, 2008). Therefore, we can conclude that some of the key features needed for virtual communication is missing from this platform.GoogleAccording to the article, Datamonitor Google Inc., Google has a wide portfolio of offerings, The company currently offers include search, operating systems and platforms, and enterprise products. It maintains a vast index of websites and other online content, and makes it available through Google.com, the companys search engine, to anyone with an internet connection. In addition, the companys application tools allow users to create, share, and communicate user-generated information. Some of Googles applications products include Google Docs, Google Calendar, Gmail, Google Groups, Google Reader, Orkut, Blogger, Google Sites, and YouTube (2011).Furthermore, the article title, Google Voice, talks about a new software release in 2011 call Google Voice. This device is a hybrid phone/i nternet service. The article explains that what makes Google Voice worthwhile are all of the surplus features namely voice mail, free SMS, free calls to anywhere in the U.S., inexpensive international calls, custom greetings, conference calling, call history, voice transcription to text, email and SMS notifications, the ability to hear who is calling before you pick up, the ability to stay unwanted calls, the ability to record phone calls and store them online, the ability to forward, embed, or download voice mails, and the fact that all of these features are managed through an intuitive, centralised interface styled after Gmail that can be accessed from any computer, any telephone, or any mobile browser (Johnson, 2010).Therefore, the team gave Google 27 out of 30 because Google has a lot of features, the email platform has chat capabilities, share documents, photos, and videos, and requests via calendar. In addition, Google + feature allow video chat, and they all are available on mobile, PC, or tablet. That is the reasons that Google received the highest rating out of the five platforms, because it offers every features a virtual team possibly need.ConclusionHaving a good platform for the Ford Company virtual team is very important in order the virtual team to succeed. Therefore, Group 1 has come up with a grading criterion that take under consideration all the features needed for a virtual team to success when it comes to a communication platforms. The group did a throughout evaluation of what is needed when communicating virtually and comes up with five platforms. Then each platforms went through a altogether evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages. After a complete evaluation Google platform were found to be the best because of all the features it offer to it customer when it come to virtual communication.