I was having a sweet dream when I was awaken by the noises that wiki enthusiasts are making over their wiki site. They kept on praising wiki because of the “good things” that it could bring to organizations. Furthermore, they compared the wiki with other online tools so that they could emphasize how great it is. Their conversations irritated me so much and I could not contain them anymore. My blood boils whenever they mention the good things that organizations will experience once they use wikis. At the same time, I also feel anxious. I am afraid for the changes that may take place when wikis enter organizations. Therefore, ladies and gentlemen, let me present to you my arguments that will support my stand, i.e. organizations should not use wikis.

Wikis, by definition, are real-time editable website. They allow users to add, remove, edit, or change available online content. So what are the problems with this type of online tool?

First of all, it keeps things organized and easy to monitor. Organizations have been accustomed to the traditional ways of communicating. Employees are already immune to the sight of papers, memos, and letters that pile up on their desks. The entrance of wikis in the picture will only change the things that people are used to. How is this so? Let me quote another enemy of mine, Ms Adriana Beal. She said that

“In a well-structured wiki, project stakeholders simply have to go to the main page to easily find the information they are looking for. As the requirements are being developed, the BA can create links between different articles – for example, from a page reproducing interviews with stakeholders to functional and non-functional requirements contained in separate wiki pages. Through the links between the different wiki pages, traceability is established automatically. Non-existing pages are highlighted by the wiki, allowing BAs to keep track of which artifacts still have to be created. Attributes can be added to enable (semantic) search to generate different views of the requirements documentation via the retrieval of these attributes.”

When I heard her talking about that, I couldn’t help but shake my head and I thought, “Man, this is so, so bad.”

Second, it facilitates collaboration. Wikis make it easy for organizations to share, co-create, and cooperate with each other even if they are separated by distance. Because of that, communication, especially for multinational organizations, becomes efficient and effective. Teamwork is developed. Relationships among employees get better and eventually benefit the bottom line. Collaboration also makes organizational processes easier and less-toxicating.Everytime a work is accomplished, my dreams are shattered. Collaboration is killing me little by little.

Third, it makes the world of information flat. My dear friends, information must always be top-down. It’s a manifestation of power. But the wiki wants to democratize the world of information by allowing people to participate, voice out their opinions, and to even modify or change what the managers or supervisors say. Using wiki will givepower to the people at the bottom of the organizational hierarchy. Because of that, they will be more motivated and inspired to communicate.

Fourth and last, it allows for efficiency. Instead of spending too much time and other resources on disseminating information and doing other things via the traditional ways, (e.g. meetings, memos, letters, conferences) organizations can save much by using wikis. Also, it is hassle-free and cost-effective. I remember how IBM took pride in the success of their first international meeting via wiki. All offices of IBM, from South Pole to North Pole, participated in the said meeting and they were all praises for wiki. That was the worst nightmare I’ve ever had over the centuries that I have existed.

As you can see, the wiki is a very bad thing. If organizations will adopt it, then it will result in the death of mybarkadas—mess, centralization of information, delays, budget deficit, and unmotivated employees. The deaths of my barkadas will lead to mine. The wiki is a criminal. It wants to kill us, the ones who have been faithful to organizations all our lives.

Have mercy on me, my dear friends. Don’t let this happen. Don’t use wikis. Defend the status quo.

I am counting on you.

*This is a speech delivered by Mr Organizational Inefficiency y Fall. He is very loyal to organizations. He has been with them for centuries and does not have any plans of retiring. He believes that he must be immortalized.

Now, should he be saved from demise or not? 🙂