THE Malaysian Institute of Management has decided to utilise                                                                                          
information technology (IT) to extend its reach by setting up                                                                                         
its own intranet network called the MIM Global Village.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
According to MIM, there are two objectives behind the Global                                                                                          
Village. The first is to bring MIM to homes or offices of its                                                                                         
members, saving them from the trouble of having to travel to                                                                                          
its premises in Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur. Secondly, it                                                                                              
intends to make its resource centre a "virtual library" for                                                                                 
the benefit of its members.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
This task is being undertaken by MIM's management information                                                                                         
systems department which is headed by Tom Loh, the MIS                                                                                                
manager.                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
Loh has 13 staff working to develop hardware and software                                                                                             
applications well as other MIS duties.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
He said the services currently available at the Glo bal                                                                                               
Village are library sources and programme information.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
General library resourc es include titles of management books,                                                                                        
full text articles, and MIM members' activities.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
Programme information meanwhile, lists out all the programmes                                                                                         
such a degree and diploma courses being conducted and offered                                                                                         
by MIM, and related information.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
"This intranet service is for MIM members only and is                                                                                            
absolutely free. Every member is given access. by way of a                                                                                            
password. However, their subscriptions must be up-to-date Once                                                                                        
the membership expires, the service is auto matically                                                                                                 
terminated," Loh said.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
MIM currently has 9,000 active members and about 500 of them                                                                                          
have been accessing the Global Village regularly.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
Its intranet houses a selection of 11,000 books and journals                                                                                          
on management from both local and foreign sources.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
The information covers titles, authors and synopsis of texts                                                                                          
and prefaces. For certain periodicals and journals, the full                                                                                          
text articles are available.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
Journals and library materials are converted to the digital                                                                                           
format for storage in the Global Village.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
Eight personal computers (PCs) are networked to the Global                                                                                            
Village for use by members at the resource centre.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
There are another eight PCs in the MIS office for a dial-up                                                                                           
service which is available round the clock.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
However, the materials cannot be downloaded and users,                                                                                                
therefore, need to take notes.  Loh sees no problem in this as                                                                                        
members are accessing the Global Village from their own                                                                                               
premises.                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
MIM has developed an interesting service on the Global Village                                                                                        
for students who are undertaking the degree and Master's in                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
Business Administration programmes. Under this service, the                                                                                           
students can access certain protected sites where they can                                                                                            
view sample project papers written by past students.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
So far, seven protected sites have been set up on the Global                                                                                          
Village for this purpose.                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
Loh has plans to incorporate elements of electronic commerce                                                                                          
(e-commerce) in an attempt to expand the Global Village from                                                                                          
the current service oriented environment to become a virtual                                                                                          
bookstore.                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
"Members can then just key in the code number of a management                                                                                    
book they wish to purchase and the transaction can be                                                                                                 
conducted on-line. Video-on-demand, using the same concept, is                                                                                        
also in the pipeline," he explained.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
There are also plans to include on-line registration for                                                                                              
membership and courses conducted by MIM.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
Loh's current project is to set up a video-conferencig                                                                                                
facility for staff at MIM branches in Penang and Johor Baru in                                                                                        
order to improve communications.  This is expected to be                                                                                              
completed by the end of this year.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
"A more ambitious plan is for MIM to connect all members                                                                                         
through video conferencing and also to conduct courses via                                                                                            
video conferencing," Loh said.  "We hope to make this a                                                                                     
reality students in three to five years' time."                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
A scaled down version of the Global Village providing                                                                                                 
information on the MIM can be found on the World Wide Web at                                                                                          
http://www.jaring.my/mim.