The author taps into a common problem: departments that operate independently tend to remain insular, and staff within those departments remain unaware of the nature and work of the other department. The solution proposed - job shadowing, wherein an employee from one department shadows one from another department for a day or so - is less satisfactory. It takes too much time and is too disruptive, with too nebulous a gain, for most employees to contemplate. It seems to me that, rather than mandating direct personal instruction (which is what job shadowing amounts to), a combination of online strategies would be more appropriate. Personal blogs, unregulated cross-departmental mailing lists and instant messaging could all be used to bring staff from different departments closer together. Ah, but the design of such communication is another matter, and convincing departments to work openly an art in itself.
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