The Use of Wikis Within Organizations

A website that can easily be edited online is what is referred to as a wiki. Wiki allows users to modify the web content and save the new version to be used by others. According to Grace (2009), wikis are easy to edit and users must not know HTML language in order to use them. In addition, wikis contain links to other websites that allow users to effectively understand different terms mentioned in them. Wikis can also track changes made by uses, and create a built-in search function. Modern organizations now use wikis due to the significant benefits that they generate (Grace, 2009).

A wiki assists a company to organize and store relevant information by creating an active repository where members’ contributions are captured. Additionally, a wiki enables an organization to distribute and share information among its members. This promotes organizational learning and improves decision making. Furthermore, an internal wiki can help members of an organization to collaborate and influence successful launch of an external wiki. Generally, a wiki enhances organizational performance by promoting information sharing among members and by improving decision-making process (Grace, 2009).

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One of the products that allow a person to create a wiki is Wikipedia. When one types “how to create a wiki page” in the search bar, additional information on how a wiki can be created is obtained. Creating an account is the first step towards creating a wiki such as Wikipedia. In the second step, one must select an appropriate topic for the wiki and to ensure that the topic chosen is suitable for the website. The third and final step involves starting the wiki with an article wizard. When adding content to the wiki, users are advised to obtain information from reliable sources.

One organizational goal that would be supported by Wikipedia is information distribution among all members of the company (Grace, 2009). As members of the organization put up their articles and suggestions on the wiki, other members can edit the added content and even obtain clarifications from other websites using the links provided. Effective information distribution among members of an organization assists an organization to receive numerous ideas that can help in problem-solving and decision making (Grace, 2009). For instance, the company that I currently work for is a counseling firm which greatly relies in information obtained from its members in decision making. A wiki will be very beneficial to this organization because it will allow clients to view information posted by the firm on the wiki. Moreover, detailed information about the company’s mission statement, counselors, and support groups can easily be obtained from the organization’s wiki.

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A wiki for a counseling firm needs to have a number of features to assist the organization achieve its goal of information distribution. For instance, hyperlink features that direct users to webpages of professional counselors, accredited counseling organizations, and community health centres will be include in the wiki. Additional hyperlink features that direct users to books that can be read to obtain useful counseling information will also be added to the wiki.

The learning objective for this module is to understand how people can improve their work through the use of technology. By examining the organizational benefits of wikis, it becomes clear that wikis are valuable source of information for organizations. This is because, wikis allow people to add and edit useful information that can improve decision-making process (Grace, 2009).

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