INFORMATION AND TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT GROUP ASSIGNMENT1 (WIKIPEDIA CASE STUDY) DITAU K.SHAKONG M.MOTEBEJANE N.LEBEWANA E.PITSI N.W RAMPYAPEDI J.COETZEE T.RABOTHATA L.NGOBENI

ALLOCATION OF MARKS NamesStudent numbers Mark allocation K.SHAKONG M.MOTEBEJANE N.LEBEWANA E.PITSI N.W RAMPYAPEDI J.COETZEE T.RABOTHATA L.NGOBENI Percentage Mark Participated members Cover page with the name of the group Allocation of marks among group members 10%E.PITSI, M.MOTEBEJANE, N.LEBEWANA Give a summary of the case15%K.SHAKONG, E.PITSI, M. MOTEBEJANE,N.LEBEWANA Provide a problem statement10%K.SHAKONG, E.PITSI Answer all questions as per case20%K.SHAKONG,M.MOTEBEJANE, N.LEBEWANA What are the key learning's?20%E.PITSI, M.MOTEBEJANE, N.LEBEWANA How will those key learning be applied to a modern digital enterprise 15% Conclusion10%

 S UMMARY OF THE CASE STUDY  Wikipedia is a free live collaboration online encyclopedia which differs from the traditional reference sources in many ways. Unlike printed encyclopedias, Wikipedia allows us to continuously create and update information on articles from historic events and this information can then be shared within minutes, instead of months or years later.  Wikipedia information is free for anyone to use but specific permission or fee may apply in cases where people or organizations may use the information for profit or commercial advantage.  Wikipedia allows users to sign up, add information on any topic and edit entries on any topic. It provides /supports articles in different languages.  Wikipedia articles have hyperlinks that direct users to additional information, the hyperlinks may direct users to other Wikipedia articles or external sources.  There are policies and guidelines collaboratively written by users to provide standards for writing articles and rules of conduct for working with other users. Key standards state that an article must have a neutral point of view, include only verifiable information, cite sources, and must not include original research. (reference D-Lib Magazine: Using Wikipedia to Extend Digital Collections )  Teachers and learners in schools also reap the benefits of Wikipedia, as it may be used as a teaching tool where learners may be encouraged to write their own articles and publish them on Wikipedia or edit entries on any topic.  Wikipedia allows access and suggestions on subject matters that may be inaccessible or little documented. Historically, both encyclopedias and dictionaries have been researched and written by well-educated and well-informed content experts. The modern encyclopedia was developed from the dictionary in the 18th century.  Wikipedia had produced over two million articles in more than 80 Languages with content licensed under the copy left GNU free Documentation License. As of August 2009, Wikipedia has over 3 Million articles in English and well over 10 million combined in Over 250 languages.

 P ROBLEM S TATEMENT The advent of Internet commerce has brought about revolutionized traditional business models. The purpose of this theoretical study is to learn and understand the intricate details of the collaborative open content web business model by focusing on Wikipedia as an Enterprise. Emphasis is made on the advantages of the community model looking at measures taken to assure information validity.

 KEY LEARNINGS  Reliability and unreliability of Wikipedia arise because of its open and large contributor base that allows anonymous modification of information. The information may be provided by anyone at all from amateurs to qualified individuals.  Older information shared on Wikipedia tends to be more reliable, comprehensive and balanced as these information may have been well researched and elaborated over time, yet newly shared information maybe incorrect or misleading.  Wikipedia allows information to be posted by anonymous contributors (authors and editors) where their level of expertise and the accuracy of the entry may not be known.  According to Oakland University’s Kresge Library, there are five indicators for assessing information quality on the web (Authority, Accuracy, Objectivity, Currency and Coverage) but Wikipedia meets none of these indicators. Hence readers are advised to verify everything read on Wikipedia with other more reliable sources and not to use Wikipedia information in their work. (reference: ).  Wikipedia's lack of guarantee for accuracy leads to a question of trust in the work as a whole, as the information provided by “amateurs” may be perceived to have the same value as that provided by professionals.  People should be aware that not all information shared on Wikipedia is of encyclopedic quality, the information maybe incorrect or debatable. These information may starts by being incorrect and unreliable but matures overtime through inputs and modification by editors and others. Most articles starts by displaying one’s point of view and overtime through discussion, debate and reference an agreed point of view is reached. Editors keep track of recently added articles and then rectify them. Sometimes it may take longer, perhaps months to achieve a balanced view point of the subject because editors often contribute content for articles they find more interesting.  The question as to why is Wikipedia such a success and seem to have raised the public expectations inspite of all the warnings and risks is answered below.

 Q UESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT W IKIPEDIA : The strength and weaknesses of Wikipedia approach to knowledge dissemination. The key strengths of Wikipedia are the speed at which knowledge is freely disseminated, the large number of knowledgeable individuals collaboratively sharing information.Wikipedia has editors that keep track of recently added articles and rectify. It is also a helpful and user friendly learning tool. The weaknesses are the lack of central control, information accuracy and self regulatory policies. How Wikipedia compares with traditional encyclopedia. Traditional encyclopedia has set dates of release (e.g. Britannica 2009, 2009) whereas Wikipedia doesn’t follow any release pattern. Therefore, Wikipedia has speed advantage over encyclopedia. Encyclopedia has an editorial team of known contributors and Wikipedia has an online collaborative community of anonymous contributors. Encyclopedias are proprietary and inexpensive while Wikipedia is free and open access for all. Traditional EncyclopediaWikipedia Set date of release (e.g. Britannica 2009, Britannica 2010) Instantaneous release. Limited editorial teamOnline community Proprietary and expensiveFree and open-access Known contributorsAnonymous contributors. Prone to errors and omissionFaster correction of errors and constant update.

 Q UESTIONS AND ANSWERS CONTINUE: What we trust more as a source of accurate information, Encyclopedia v/s Wikipedia. Encyclopedia authors/contributors are educated, language specialists and members of the editorial team whose identity and level of expertise is known. This makes encyclopedia a trusted source of accurate information. Wikipedia’s openness to voluntary and anonymous contributors, the lack of central control, information accuracy and self regulatory policies makes it an unreliable source of accurate information. Should Wikipedia allow material to be posted by anonymous contributors? Anonymous contribution on Wikipedia makes it difficult to trace and verify the source of the information shared. The advantages and drawbacks of allowing anonymous contributors on Wikipedia The advantages of anonymous contributors on Wikipedia are: The anonymous contributor’s level of expertise is not known and this may protects anonymous contributors from having their credentials scrutinized by the more qualified or knowledgeable members before they could make inputs. This allows anonymous contributors to contribute without fear of victimization. Anonymous contribution deviates from the misconceptions and discrimination of the contributor’s information based on gender, race, age, qualifications and other factors. The drawbacks of allowing anonymous contributors on Wikipedia are: Not everyone has good intentions and some anonymous users may want to purposely mislead others or to mar valuable inputs by others. The accuracy of the posted information may not be known and this leads to a question of trust in the work as a whole.

 Q UESTIONS AND ANSWERS CONTINUE: It is not uncommon for knowledgeable individuals to disagree over the facts on certain subjects? It is common for knowledgeable individuals to disagree over the facts on certain subjects as each individual has a unique point of view. How does Wikipedia mediate disputes on sensitive or controversial topics? Editors must use their judgment on which information is most accurate and reflects the community's view. Disputes are handled via a series of discussion with the editors eventually taking a decision. Individuals who post sensitive comments may be blocked from accessible the article. Is mediation likely to yield unbiased results? The mediation unlikely to yield unbiased results and provides the most reliable way for a group of collaborating individuals to come to a mutually beneficial result. Wikipedia has an “unbiased point of view policy” that ensures that the judgment/results are fair and written from a neutral point of view. By the end of 2005, there were over 4,000 very active "Wikipedians" (those individuals who contribute 100 times or more per month) and 27,000 individuals contributing at least 5 times per month. What factors might explain the motivation and commitment of such a large group of volunteers? Anti-proprietary antics may play a major role in decisions to align with what is seen not to be controlled or owned by corporate. The appeal of community and that of belonging contributes to the phenomenal growth. The fact that Wikipedia’s success seems to have raised the public expectations in spite of all the warnings and risks. People seem to believe in other’s opinion and large community contribution

 H OW WILL THE KEY LEARNING BE APPLIED TO A MODERN DIGITAL ENTERPRISE ?

 C ONCLUSION Wikipedia is good to provide information to users who need it. However, people must not only rely on Wikipedia for accurate information. All points that has being discussed are aimed to lighten the users of this tool to get a better understanding on what Wikipedia is, how it works and how reliable it is. Users of this tool may consult other tools for information comparison and this will make individuals to understand a subject even more. Let Wikipedia give you a light or a frame of what you are looking for. Wikipedia helped may people worldwide in information mining and it’s available to anyone who has access to internet. It is a tree of information.

????????????  According to ??? Encyclopedia that gathers experts to write and print information from all divisions of knowledge for a particular content and waits for the next edition to update it. Unlike Encyclopedia, Wikipedia articles incorporates overview of a summary and uses Wikilinks for extensive details of full articles, and can be updated around the clock to stay abreast of the latest updates.  One needs to know how to use Wikipedia because newer articles may contain misinformation so recently added information needs to be avoided. For referrals, Wikipedia has links to featured articles and good articles which can be used. Bad edits will always be there hence editors keep track of recently added articles and rectify them  Wikipedia aims to be a neutral compilation of verifiable, established facts hence allowing anyone to edit their articles because what is contributed is more important that the contributor and no one is wrong. Contributors know that their contributions must fit within Wikipedia policies and guidelines and must not edit anything without attributing their opinions. Editors work together, in an extensive research, to arrive at an article that fairly represents the current editor’s opinion on the subject.