Internet review

Citation

McCourt Mooney, M. (1999), "Internet review", Journal of Management Development, Vol. 18 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/jmd.1999.02618eag.001

Internet review

Internet review

The development of teleworkers is a subject which appears to be in its infancy yet is increasing in importance. Some Web sites of possible interest are reviewed in this issue among others. First, though, a reminder of some useful sites on current issues in human resources (HR) generally.

Human resources

Management Expressis an e-journal accessed through: http://www.anbar.co.uk/management/express.htm Up to date and concise in its contents it also provides links such as the Asia Pacific Management Forum at: http://www.apmforum.com

This site focuses on the Asia Pacific region and not only provides news and details of trends, it also keeps visitors informed of current and forthcoming events on all aspects of management in the region.

For more general links to sites of interest it is worth briefly visiting Management Cool Sites at: http://www/anbar.co.uk/coolsite for a look at some topical issues.

A forum on HR hosted by MCB Press the HR Global Forum can be found at: http://www.mcb.co.uk/hr/ Links are provided to a variety of interesting pages including a new feature Spotlight which focuses on one major management thinker; for example, Warren Bennis was featured earlier this year. Information on conferences, journal contents and Anbar's Emerald Library services can also be accessed from this site.

The University of Pennsylvania offers access to resources through its electronic library: http://www.psu.edu/ur/libraries.html

This is a basic but efficiently organised site worthy of a visit.

Over the next few issues the Web based resources of a variety of universities and other organisations will be reviewed in order to gain a global picture of those available. Does your university or organisation have a special interest in Web-based resources? If so, please get in touch with the editor to arrange a review of the site (details at the end of the section).

Teleworking

Turning now to the subject of teleworkers, there are a host of sites claiming to be at the leading edge of teleworking. On further investigating the possibilities it becomes clear that there are a mixture of teleworking recruitment sites, those which offer a range of services to employers who want to establish teleworking and those which aim at employers, teleworkers and visitors with a general or research interest in the subject.

The most interesting and useful site visited is hosted by Gil Gordon in the USA, an authority on the subject, at: http://www.gilgordon.com Aimed at all interests the site is attractive, very easy to navigate and provides a wealth of information resources and some research evidence on all aspects of teleworking. Because it has a wide brief it could be used by employers to help prospective or existing teleworkers consider some of the issues.

Following one of the links within the site, for example, Work-Life led to an informative page of employee commitment and research that has been done with teleworkers to identify what, if anything, is different. Also some very useful tips and resources which can also be purchased via the site. Whether you want to be a teleworker, manage teleworkers or want to do research on the subject it will be worth visiting this site.

An Australian based site: Teletask the National Teleworking Taskforce can be found at: http://www.teletask.com.au/telework/htm

This is worth a brief visit if you are residing in Australia as it provides links and contact points for existing and prospective teleworkers. The content is light on how to develop teleworkers but does give useful basic information.

In the UK, the telecommunications company BT is taking the lead in helping organisations manage teleworkers and especially in the development of call centres for customer service. http://www.search.bt/com/

This site gives information on the services which BT can offer organisations and individuals. It has special packages of services for managers of call centres and, of course, BT's own centre provides evidence of its expertise.

BT's Workstyle Consultancy Group illustrates in an interesting few pages the changing nature of the workplace and some current trends. For example there is a suggestion that the concept of "Dress down Fridays" should be replaced with "Plug in Mondays" when people leave their cars in the garage and telecommute.

Some interesting snippets to start thinking about some of the issues. Prospective teleworkers may find this site more useful in terms of BT's telecommunications products and services. Those managing call centres might find this a useful site, especially for the research undertaken by BT.

Two sites of more general interest which appeared as links from some of these sites were firstly the highly accessible Women's Business Centre at: http://www.onlinewbc.org

Based in the USA, this site offers opportunities to network and make contact with local centres but that is not its main attraction. There are articles, questionnaires, items of news on all aspects of management and some on the management development in particular including mentoring, identifying training needs and motivating employees.

The Virtual University may be of interest to those interested in managing development of Internet research and writing. http://www.vu.org

An attractive site, it provides a mixture of information, advice, examples of work of former "students" and an opportunity to enrol on a course. Most courses last on-line for about six weeks and if there is not something of interest currently on offer there is an e-mailing list.

In the next issue sites which offer management development and learning on-line and related conferences will be reviewed.

If you host a site or have a particular favourite which you would like to be included in this section please let the Internet editor know by e-mailing her at m@mccourtt.co.uk or alternatively via the address on the inside front cover of the Journal.

Maggie McCourt Mooney