Blogs in Organizations: Advantages and Disadvantages

In this next post, I will be discussing the use of blogs in an organization including their advantages and disadvantages. An example of using a blog in an organization may include renewing blogs daily. The purpose would be to inform workers of the changes being implemented or specific tasks that must be accomplished for the day. It may also include relevant information for the day, which would reduce the amount of questions being asked. Frequently asked questions take up a lot of time and require someone to constantly be responding.

Advantages of having this blog are that people are allowed to voice their opinions and in doing so, new relationships take place within the company and trust is formed, leading to new business opportunities. Not only do companies form relationships within their companies but also outside, with their consumers. If consumers read your companies’ blog, they will feel connected and like they have a part in it, making their customer loyalty stronger.

Some of the disadvantages of blogging in corporations are that employees may be fired by what they write, even though we have freedom of speech, we still have to watch what we blog about. When blogging, you must also be careful about writing any secrets or confidential information about your company that competitors may find out about. An advantage of blogs is that they are easy to make, but they are hard to maintain and take up a lot of time. With that being said, even though they are cheap, time still means money, making them quite expensive.

Sources:

"The Benefits of Blogging for Media Organizations." MovableType.org - Home of the MT Community. Web. 07 Apr. 2010. http://www.movabletype.org/documentation/business-blogging/benefits-for-media.html

"Blogs and Blogging: Advantages and Disadvantages: August 23, 2004: New Thinking by Gerry McGovern." Top Task Management for Websites: Customer Carewords: Gerry McGovern. Web. 07 Apr. 2010. http://www.gerrymcgovern.com/nt/2004/nt_2004_08_23_blogging.htm

Biometric Devices: Disadvantages

This is an image of a dirt-proof biometric scanner. One of the disadvantages of biometric devices is that it can easily get dirty in certain industries such as in the chemical industry. This device hopes to change that disadvantage.

As mentioned in my earlier post, biometrics have many advantages, but there are also disadvantages that come with any new product. Some of the disadvantages are that they require a lot of information on every person who uses it. Even after getting all this information which takes a long time, humans may slightly change (with age, or if they are sick), which can throw off the whole system. Not only that, but not everyone will agree with the idea of having all their information in the open, some are concerned with privacy issues and are against the idea of using biometrics.

In some industries, the use of biometrics is not the best idea. For example in the chemical industries, fingerprint biometrics would not be effective, as workers hands are dirty, which would lead to malfunctions with the system as they will not be able to read fingerprints clearly and accurately.

In different types of biometric devices, there are certain problems which pertain to each of them. For example, with the iris scanner, some disadvantages are that eyelashes, lenses, and eyelids can easily come into conflict with the scanner, producing the wrong results (denying you of access). Facial scanning devices also have their disadvantages which are that the face can be misread easily by hair getting in the way, wearing glasses or scarves, aging, and even if you have heavy makeup on your face.

As you can see biometrics are not perfect as they can be easily imprecise as humans change over time, and also that they can be distorted by reflections, dirt and other bad conditions.

For more information about the pros and cons and applicability of the most important biometrics, click here

Sources:

"WikiAnswers - What Are the Disadvantages and Advantages of Biometrics." WikiAnswers - The Q&A Wiki. Web. 07 Apr. 2010. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_disadvantages_and_advantages_of_biometrics

"Biometrics FAQs." Buildings: Facilities Management, Commercial Buildings, Institutional Buildings, Government Buildings. Web. 07 Apr. 2010. http://www.buildings.com/ArticleDetails/tabid/3321/ArticleID/4938/Default.aspx

"Lumidigm Venus Series | Lumidigm Venus Series Biometric Fingerprint Sensors | Multispectral Imaging Technology | IP6 | Waterproog Fingeprint Sensor, Outdoor Fingerprint Scanner | Lumidigm Venus IP65 Outdoor Waterproof USB Fingerprint Scanner." 360 Biometrics - The Biometric Solution Provider. Web. 07 Apr. 2010. http://360biometrics.com/fingerprint-scanners/Lumidigm_Venus_IP65_Waterproof_USB_Fingerprint_Sensor.php

"Future Lab - Pros and Cons of Biometrics - Page 4." Future Lab. Web. 07 Apr. 2010. http://thefuturelab.com/FutureLab/Templates/Page2Cols____294.aspx