Companies with existing networks are best placed to set up intranets. But no firm should rush the process, and once in place, it will also take time for staff and outsiders to learn to use the system for maximum benefit. National Semiconductor technicians Mary Holland and Jannell Picard took a while to get the nod for their proposed intranet at the U.S. multinational. An employee who wastes time surfing is his manager's problem, just as if he were taking too many coffee breaks. Likewise, if he views or downloads porn, he should be disciplined in the same way as if he had pornographic material in his cubicle.
Asian companies face the same issues.
Even before selling the idea of a network, many Japanese info-technicians need to show the need for PCs. Large high-tech corporations like NEC and Hitachi are the typical intranet users in Japan, as well as conglomerates or utility behemoths such as Tokyo Gas and Taisei, a construction firm. Computer giant Fujitsu has company phone directories, corporate information and e-mail on its intranet. That of SeaGia, a hotel operator, links several websites that provide outsiders information on events, room availability, and sports field bookings. They completely change the model of how people deal with information within companies.