Regardless, if an organization is to succeed and thrive, a knowledge culture must develop to help it deal with its external environment. But organizational culture is hard to change in the best circumstances. Employees need time to get used to new ways of organizing. Defensive routines pollute the system, more often than not unwittingly—but on occasion quite deliberately, and undermine it.
The dynamics of culture change must be considered an evolutionary process at individual, group, organizational, and interorganizational levels, to be facilitated by psychologically attentive leaders who do not underestimate the value of selection, socialization, and leadership. People cannot share knowledge if they do not speak a common language. So there is a serious, oft-ignored need to root learning in human resource policies and strategies. Organizational cultures are created by leaders, and one of the most decisive functions of leadership may well be the creation, the management, and — if and when that may become necessary — the destruction of culture.
Observers recognize a correlation between the orientation of organizational culture and organizational learning.
Indeed, the inability to change behavioral choices is repeatedly cited as the biggest hindrance to knowledge management. A database of peer reviewers was set up. Handle with Knowledge planners showcasing 54 Knowledge Solutions each were printed for the years and Knowledge Primers —briefings on knowledge management and learning applications—were attractively packaged for interactive presentation and self-learning for action.
Beginning , Ahead of the Curve think pieces have been extracted from the Intersections. A fourth module on the subject of Learning in Partnerships was developed. Going over the main points, knowledge management initiatives stand a greater chance of success if they spring from, advance, or at least understand the primordiality of.
An immense and ever - increasing wealth of knowledge is scattered about the world today; knowledge that would probably suffice to solve all the mighty difficulties of our age, but it is dispersed and unorganized. We need a sort of mental clearinghouse for the mind: a depot where knowledge and ideas are received, sorted, summarized, digested, clarified, and compared.
The following summarizes what actions ADB took in — to advance its knowledge management agenda. To note, both explicitly and implicitly, activities were often driven by the imperative of organizational learning for change. Five years ago, ADB set a new strategic course to help developing member countries in Asia and the Pacific improve their living conditions and quality of life. Successful knowledge transfer involves neither computers nor documents but rather interactions between people.
Through its long-term strategic framework, —, ADB committed to become a learning institution and a primary source of development knowledge in Asia and the Pacific. The framework pursues two mutually supportive outcomes: i increased assimilation of and dissemination by ADB of relevant, high-quality knowledge to developing member countries and other stakeholders; and ii enhanced learning within ADB. In the context of the knowledge management framework of , ADB also established a Knowledge Management Center to coordinate and monitor all knowledge initiatives as well as the action plans that constitute it.
The store of wisdom does not consist of hard coins which keep their shape as they pass from hand to hand; it consists of ideas and doctrines whose meanings change with the minds that entertain them.
That year, given disappointing progress under Knowledge Management in ADB , a rapid review of the knowledge management framework generated a wish list of work packages for change.
The unspoken intentions were stirring a desire for knowledge knowledge pull and bringing it to bear knowledge push. Effective knowledge management can—in fact, must—help identify and put potential knowledge services and knowledge solutions to work through regional and country partnership strategies, investment programs and projects, and technical assistance and policy dialogue. Communities of practice are a potential instrument through which knowledge management is implemented in ADB, ultimately to the benefit of its clients.
The communities of practice keep know-how of a domain alive by sharing what they know, building on that, and adapting knowledge to specific sector and project applications. ADB introduced the concept of communities of practice in , when it planned a reorganization, and refined it in Knowledge networks facilitate information exchange toward practice-related goals.
ADB will need to further augment internal knowledge sharing through communities of practice by strengthening its knowledge networking and partnerships with external institutions within and outside Asia and the Pacific.
Through such external knowledge networking, ADB can share insights from its development financing practices with external partners and benefit from knowledge generated by others. Significantly, external knowledge networking enables ADB to serve one of its core roles as a multilateral development bank—to promote learning and innovation for the benefit of developing member countries.
The ability of ADB and all staff to learn is a precondition to the success of Strategy Engaging all staff in knowledge management is crucial to generating and sharing knowledge. Yet mainstreaming knowledge management takes time and resources. I love talking about nothing. I have always thought that one man of tolerable abilities may work great changes, and accomplish great affairs among mankind, if he first forms a good plan, and, cutting off all amusements or other employments that would divert his attention, make the execution of that same plan his sole study and business.
The Action Plan for Knowledge Management, — included a knowledge management results framework: it specified expected outcomes, useful results indicators, specific activity indicators, targets, and sources of verification with which to assess and improve performance and help identify problems and their solutions; it also formed the basis for reporting.
The framework helped to promote a stronger culture of results and performance for knowledge management in ADB. At quarterly intervals beginning July , ADB h tracked with ratings the progress of the 37 action points specified in the framework. The plan was successfully completed in July I have never yet seen any plan which has not been mended by the observations of those who were much inferior in understanding to the person who took the lead in the business.
Arguably, ADB i accomplished most under the second of the four pillars, aimed at empowering the communities of practice.
Communities of practice gather people who share a common passion for something they do and who interact regularly to learn how to do it better. They are peer-to-peer collaborative networks driven by the willingness of their members to share work-related knowledge, further develop expertise, and solve problems in a specific domain. They enhance learning and empower people in their work. What is more, the simple act of joining and being regularly involved in organized groups significantly impacts individual health and well-being.
The short-term and long-term value they can add is considerable. Communities of practice are groups of people who share a passion for something they know how to do and who interact regularly to learn how to do it better. Interventions ranging from budget increases to integration in ADB operations have helped affirm CoPs as the heart and soul of knowledge generation and sharing in ADB. Professionals working in a particular field often converge, hoping thereby to both impart and enrich their knowledge.
This is also true of ADB staff. That year saw the birth of 19 sector and thematic networks intended to promote cross-fertilization of knowledge across departments. However, in the first few years of their existence, the committees and networks were hampered by many factors, which included the following:. Mixed responsibilities—the networks not only provided think-tank type services in their respective fields but also performed executive functions such as trust fund management.
Weak committee chairing—even though they were not recognized champions in their field, staff were sometimes appointed as committee chairs. Inadequate resourcing—the networks were not given adequate budgets and the work of members was not recognized in staff performance reviews. Membership became voluntary, chairing of committees was based on technical expertise, and their functions focused mainly on sector and thematic work.
Naturally, the 10 CoPs progressed at different speeds, and the more sophisticated among them began to feed into debates on sector or thematic directions, offer advice on staff skills mix and competencies, and conduct activities on knowledge generation and sharing. The community stagnates without the impulse of the individual.
The impulse dies away without the sympathy of the community. A review of the CoPs revealed that they had traveled far, but not far enough. Resources were still meager. Things turned for the better, and at a much faster rate, when the empowerment of CoPs was specified as a pillar of the Action Plan for Knowledge Management, — The action plan committed results in four pillars:.
The second pillar highlighted CoPs as an instrument to promote knowledge generation and sharing in ADB. This first survey revealed that CoPs helped build relationships and benefited daily work.
The main interventions were:. They would increase further in CoPs as partners in recruitment Acknowledging that subject matter experts in CoPs best understand what skills are needed in their field, ADB has, since mid, arranged for CoP chairs, coschairs, and practice leaders to participate in screening and interviewing prospective international staff. Over the 2 years of action plan implementation, CoPs demonstrated they have become the heart and soul of knowledge generation and sharing in ADB.
Strengthening internal relationships Since late , the number of collaborative initiatives between and among CoPs have been increasing. They include joint knowledge-sharing events and joint knowledge products. At year-end gatherings, begun in , CoPs highlight their accomplishments, exchange lessons, and explore areas of collaboration.
The year-end gathering of would have them share lessons learned with one another. Building knowledge and expertise CoPs now help prepare key ADB documents such as the operational plans for education, food security, transport, and water.
In support, regional sector studies build the knowledge and expertise of their members. The CoPs themselves have also taken an active role in developing the technical capacity of members by conducting or arranging training courses tailor-made for them. Expanding outreach Outreach to stakeholders has greatly improved with CoP members providing advice on projects managed by their peers.
Moreover, they have shared good-practice studies on education, tool kits for urban transport development, e-newsletters and video documentaries on water, and other engaging and creative materials. Without a sense of caring, there can be no sense of community. The second survey of CoPs, undertaken in , revealed considerable improvements across the board.
Naturally, challenges persist. For example, CoPs might need to crystallize their functions better around filtering, amplifying, investing and providing, convening, community building, and learning and facilitating. CoPs can carry out several of these functions simultaneously but there are trade-offs: each function requires specific capacities, skills, resources, and systems.
Overlooking trade-offs can drive CoPs away from their original role. A community is like a ship; everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm. They can more decidedly. Promote innovative approaches to address specific development challenges. Develop, capture, and transfer good practices on specific topics by stimulating the active generation and sharing of knowledge.
Serve as an ongoing learning venue for staff and outside practitioners who share similar goals, interests, problems, and approaches. Respond rapidly to individual inquiries from members and ADB clients, audiences, and partners with specific answers. Source Extracted from ADB j. Since , fast advances in core knowledge activities instituted ADB-hosted communities of practice as the heart and soul of knowledge generation and sharing in the organization.
We will focus on developing, capturing, and sharing knowledge in all our work, ensuring that ADB serves an intermediary role for both financing and knowledge.
Tacit knowledge, specifically how to access and share it, offers a particularly complex challenge in pursuing any knowledge agenda; it needs special methods to transmit it. Therefore, the second pillar of the action plan emphasizes CoPs as a collaboration mechanism to generate and share knowledge.
CoPs were first introduced in during an ADB-wide reorganization. However, in the years after the action plan was introduced, they have grown swiftly as centers of expertise.
Since , they have variously enriched knowledge of sector and thematic issues, informed country partnership strategies and lending and nonlending operations, and contributed to human resource development and management ADB-wide.
What is more, CoPs empower people in their work: the simple act of joining and being regularly involved in such organized groups has significantly impacted individual well-being among ADB personnel. Delivering Core Knowledge Activities. To excel in their respective domains, ADB-hosted CoPs aim to identify, create, store, share, and use knowledge. All these are core knowledge activities that learning organizations align or integrate into business processes and balance according to the specificities of each.
Since , annual and triennial reports have helped define work programs and report on accomplishments in these areas. It is vain to talk of the interest of the community, without understanding what is the interest of the individual. Identifying knowledge Many CoPs now conduct surveys or interviews to help determine the knowledge products and services their members can create or improve on. Creating knowledge Many CoPs have published and produced documentaries to showcase initiatives, programs, and activities.
Storing knowledge ADB-hosted CoPs have become ubiquitous, thanks to the myriad means for knowledge capture and storage the digital world now offers. Because perceptions of information overload have less to do with quantity than with the quality by which knowledge is presented, many CoPs craft products that highlight achievements and outcomes.
Some CoPs, such as that for transport, also use YouTube to upload video footage. Sharing knowledge ADB-hosted CoPs bring a focus to bear on knowledge sharing through peer reviews, notably of country partnership strategies and lending and nonlending operations; c customized in-house and external training of members; regular meetings, seminars, conferences, and forums; d external knowledge partnerships; etc. These activities are not just an add-on; they are becoming integral part of daily work.
CoPs extensively use information and communications technology in support of knowledge sharing. Knowledge databases, discussion boards, blogs, and webpages were developed for this. A monthly internal e-newsletter dedicated to CoPs, i. It serves to aggregate information from contributors to enhance relationship building and networking. Specifically, i. Using knowledge ADB-hosted CoPs also draft operational plans in sector and thematic areas to refine the strategic directions that Strategy laid out.
In , ADB completed an operational plan for sustainable food security. A year later, ADB approved three more plans for climate change, sustainable transport, and education; another on finance was approved in The man who does not take pride in his own performance performs nothing in which to take pride.
To help CoPs reach optimal performance, ADB has since conducted biennial surveys in eight areas of inquiry:. The latest, a CoP on Operations, was established in to help address ADB-wide project k and portfolio management issues. It is mainly developed through interaction, debate, and trial and error encountered in practice. Source Extracted from ADB l. People are wired to tell and listen to stories. Yet institutions have largely ignored the power of storytelling in favor of official reports, formal speeches, and press releases.
Action and faith enslave thought, both of them in order not be troubled or inconvenienced by reflection, criticism, and doubt. The first product, the publication ADB: Reflections and Beyond , was an introspective look at ADB over four decades of development work, culled from the memories of past and present, senior and junior, and local and international staff. Reactions to the Yellow Book were overwhelmingly positive.
Readers pored over their copies and asked when the next volume would be released. The next volume, as it turned out, came in a hugely different format. ADB makes growing use of knowledge management tools, methods, and approaches but must better capture and store its wealth of tacit knowledge. ADB has insufficient means of capturing and storing its vast wealth of tacit experience. Coaching and mentoring are somewhat ad hoc; exit interviews are still cursory; the Critical Incident technique finds few applications; structured peer assists have not yet been introduced; knowledge harvesting is not practiced; after-action reviews and retrospects are more or less unheard of; and only a small number of weblogs exists.
In short, knowledge sharing is limited to small but rapidly expanding communities and networks of practice, meetings over coffee, or occasional exchanges in hallways. A particular concern is that senior staff do not often transfer their experience with audiences outside Management circles. ADB is both a repository of stories waiting to be told and an audience ready to listen.
Upon joining the Knowledge Management Center in September , he formulated an oral history project to create a means by which ADB might hear itself and learn from past and present experience. A scoping exercise soon confirmed that staffs were ready and willing to share their experiences with narrative techniques. It is not part of a true culture to tame tigers, any more than it is to make sheep ferocious.
It articulated a healthy blend of recollections—some fundamental, others more subtle. Accordingly, that would intersperse reminiscences of arrivals and early years, descriptions of ADB projects and day-to-day operations, reports of complex situations and tricky judgment calls, etc. Interviews with alumni, Management, and staff provided the most trying yet fulfilling moments. Storytelling was still new to ADB, even though some had used it in projects.
The Knowledge Management Center initially identified over 40 interviewees—a judicious mix of senior and junior international and local staff, alumni, and former members of the Board of Directors and Management. Can you tell me more? Others said they could only spare 30 min but reminisced for more than 2. A few were eager to be interviewed but hesitated—they felt they were not senior enough.
Two quickly said that interviews can preserve institutional memory and requested follow-up sessions. Poring over the material yielded by 33 interviews and making selections for the publication was not easy. But the greater challenge lay in transcribing spoken words into written language without losing vivacity. Dealing with these difficulties occupied the Knowledge Management Center in the second half of Culture is not made up but something that evolves which is human.
But, there was still a sense of uncertainty stemming from concerns over how the book should be launched, how staff would react to it, and what unintended effects it might have. The limited number of copies of the book placed on display at the launch were snapped up by staff as they arrived.
Every staff member received a copy of the book the following day. ADB: Reflections and Beyond is now given to each prospective staff. Reactions to the book were overwhelmingly positive. During the town hall meeting, staff who held advance copies began to flick through the book.
Reactions ranged from surprise to amusement to delight. When is the next volume coming out? They contrast sharply with the authoritative, yet distant voice of traditional ADB products. There is something to be said for positive deviance. As is the case for many radical innovation projects, starting small and flying below the radar helped get things done. Once personel see, recognize, and understand the benefits of approaches such as storytelling especially when products begin to take shape , demand for related initiatives typically increases.
Other departments are beginning to use the technique for training purposes. For example, storytelling is being used to develop a source book for country directors. As a postscript, the Knowledge Management Center later asked the interviewees how narrative techniques might be applied elsewhere. One suggested that ADB should consider capturing stories from its audiences, clients, and partners. Source Extracted from ADB e. In early , ADB embarked on a first organization-wide knowledge-harvesting exercise to collect a blend of recollections and reminiscences through storytelling.
It gave birth to two much-appreciated contributions that stimulated in-house appetite for use of narrative techniques in various contexts and applications. Hierarchical structures are well known for their limiting of knowledge exchange. Students might recall the impact of the knowledge chain, hub and web structures from Chapter 2. A problem-solving orientation also provides greater opportunity to draw on and apply knowledge into work-related contexts.
Organisations which encourage reflection and consideration of different options prior to taking action demonstrate a real commitment to knowledge management principles and values. The provision of effective communication channels also enables knowledge cultures to operate effectively.
Communication structures can include electronic processes such as , the website and organisational databases and more traditional channels, such as meetings, organisational record keeping and interpersonal communication. The recognition that communication is an important part of knowledge work greatly assists with the inculcation of an effective knowledge culture.
Another major form of structural support is to be found through the human resource management processes. HRM describes the major systems and processes which operate in the organisation.
They enable effective management of staff members from the time they are recruited for employment. This area is a critical aspect of creating an effective knowledge culture. The next session will focus on this important area. Enacted values describes the values which are demonstrated in everyday activities. They illustrate the degree to which knowledge cultures are allowed to thrive.
There are various elements which can contribute to effectively enacted knowledge values. One influential factor relates to how knowledge management principles are modelled throughout the knowledge community. The cues and messages which staff members see reflected in the actual activities of the organisation are critical models as to what is valued. This has important implications for leaders and supervisors: they cannot simply parrot knowledge management principles, but must, instead, model those principles through their own practices.
Leaders who have more senior roles are particularly critical sources of influence. They need to both demonstrate and espouse knowledge principles to members of the organisation, so that others feel assured that knowledge management is highly regarded and valued. Knowledge workers also need opportunities to enact those values. Collaboration requires time and opportunity.
People need time to work collaboratively. Workloads and roles should recognise the time needed to build relationships and to work across networks. This is important knowledge business which needs time to develop. Allied to this issue is the fact that employees need to be encouraged to collaborate.
This can preclude opportunities to collaborate, and can reduce the capacity to work across sections of the organisation. Collaboration is an investment in the future, but it takes considerable effort to build relationships and to connect with others in a fruitful and ongoing manner. Thus, enacted values provides strong messages as to the importance of knowledge management, and provide the opportunity to participate in the various processes which occur.
As noted in an earlier slide, the quality and focus of interaction with colleagues strongly influences cultural outcomes. Five areas can be identified as being particularly important. Quality of interaction relates to the experiences a person has, particularly with respect to the capacity to share knowledge. Employees need to build trust and faith in their co-workers.
They need to be confident that shared knowledge will be treated respectfully and appropriately. They also need to be encouraged to share their knowledge. If individuals experience denigration or lack of interest in their knowledge, they will reduce their efforts to share what they know, or to seek access to the knowledge held by other colleagues.
Another issue relating to quality of interaction can be due to workloads. Overworked people tend to reduce their focus to cope with the roles that are deemed to be critical. This can reduce their capacity to work more broadly as knowledge members. The focus of interaction can also create some complex messages. People who are placed in settings where the focus of interaction is very much around the daily business of completing tasks will find it harder to interact at the higher knowledge levels.
The focus of interaction needs to provide opportunity to explore knowledge issues and strategies. The availability and suitability of mentorship is a further element which can build a strong enabling strategy for knowledge intensive communities.
Mentors offer guidance to less experienced people as to how knowledge management operates in the organisation, and how the individual can reflect the principles in their own behaviours.
Good mentors can play a major role in promoting effective knowledge management. As can teams. Team behaviours enable knowledge management if they are collaborative, supportive, non-judgemental and constructive. As we saw in session 3, this is important in team settings if common values and principles are to be developed. These four enabling emphases are all important in encouraging strong and durable knowledge cultures.
While a culture may be found in organisations which have some gaps in these enabling factors, it is certainly easier to build effective processes with all four areas reflected.
Pages 90 — Knowledge management generates many changes in work practice, values and organisational structures. Dynamic change can stem from a number of factors: Systematic problem solving where new and innovative solutions may be identified.
Experimentation with different options to find the optimal solution Experiential learning where an individual learns through experience and builds new models of understanding from that learning process Sharing of insights with others which enables other people to consider different ways of doing things, and Early adoption of improved or new strategies as they are identified and considered worthy of consideration.
These practices are very much part of knowledge cultures. However, they create many challenges for work communities, as they reflect a dynamic approach to change. People find that there is little opportunity to consolidate and formalise methods before more refinements are introduced.
This can create challenges for any community. Knowledge settings may find that some changes are simple incremental activities which gradually evolve toward better practices.
In many cases, they may be trialled by an individual through experimentation and then gradually gain wider adoption through growing awareness by others.
At a larger scale, many changes are also organisationally driven. Knowledge management will continue to experience major growth and development in its processes and principles, as it is still a very new field. This means that the management of change should be considered carefully to ensure it successfully brings the staff members along too. Knowledge management change must ensure the knowledge culture is drawn into any change process.
The intertwined nature of knowledge culture and organisational systems and processes means that change needs to be carefully managed. The rest of the session will explore some of the issue which arise when cultural change is being encouraged. Unlike many organisational changes where rapid and vigorous alterations to organisational processes can be achieved, cultural change is slow. It relies on people building an understanding of the change intention and then integrating the altered practices into their ways of dong things.
Cultural change relies on many agents. It cannot be introduced via one channel. Many members need to be guided and assisted by their leaders and supervisors. Thus, the change process needs to empower a number o agents to publicise the change to be implemented and the outcomes which are envisaged. Champions can greatly assist change. They need to work closely with different members of the community and should seek to promote the adoption of the desired practices or values by as many people as possible.
The dissemination of the messages across the community is an important means of encouraging acceptance of the change process and desired outcomes. However, knowledge changes are highly complex. When change links to the underlying knowledge culture, it needs to be supported across the full spectrum of organisational activities and systems.
It will impact on people and how they do things, the systems they use, the learning they need to undertake and the values which they share with others. Multi-faceted change of this nature requires considerable resolve to ensure it is effectively promoted and embedded into the many different organisational processes and belief systems which are influenced.
An important process which can assist knowledge culture development and change is the use of organisational development methodologies OD. This process recognises the complexity of changing organisational cultures. It assists with melding the core values, organisational structures and processes, and enacted values. OD is an increasingly important element of organisational planning and change management, as it recognises the many complex factors which need to be managed.
In particular, it strongly reviews the gap between the enacted and core values, and identifies the different structural barriers which may be affecting successful change. This is a field which has also grown significantly over the last few years. Many organisations have appointed organisational developers to facilitate organisational change processes.
These professionals can ensure the change process is well managed and accepted by the individuals who will be affected. They engage the community with the change processes, and ensure they remain connected with the emerging issues and strategies which are to be explored. These change agents can monitor the effects of any changes and ensure the development process is operating smoothly. They can also act as effective information channels across the organisational community, and have skills in evaluation and staff member learning.
In some firms, organisational developers may be part of the knowledge management team. The use of specialist change agents can be highly beneficial, as it ensures major change processes are strategic, minimally disruptive and well understood by the various stakeholders. This methodology involves a detailed analysis and examination of existing organisational patterns, attitudes, processes and behaviours.
Draws on many sources of evidence, such as literature on the subject, comparison with other organisations, discussion with experts, analysis of organisational data and member responses to exploration. OD assists with clarifying areas which challenge effective change and development. This ensures the change management strategy is appropriate and has clearly identified the real issues which will impede successful change. In many cases, the analyses will highlight some very unexpected outcomes. A number of areas might be explored when undertaking a diagnosis of this nature.
These are highlighted in Table 4. The choice of focus for an organisational diagnosis will depend on the purpose of the change process. It is important to gain a strong understanding of what is happening in the organisation and how various structural support processes are impacting on the knowledge culture.
The data to be collected will reflect the problem which is being addressed. The extensive list in Table 4. Instead, the main areas would be identified. These would be analysed prior to the change process, and also form the basis for a subsequent evaluation as to whether the change has been successfully adopted and implemented. Each focus in Table 4. Key people: How well supported is the knowledge management strategy by its key people? Knowledge philosophy: Does the organisational community have a good understanding of the knowledge philosophy?
Knowledge sharing: Is knowledge sharing operating effectively? Knowledge cohesion: How strongly is the collaborative knowledge culture working? Knowledge conflict: Do decision makers find it easy to gain access to critical knowledge?
These questions can be very important preparatory considerations before a change intervention occurs. In many cases, the issues will be greatly clarified by undertaking a diagnosis before the change process is implemented. It can be seen that many different approaches can be applied. These will be explored in more detail in the following slides. However, some general points can be made: There are different levels of analysis which can be undertaken: individual, group or organisational.
The cultural evidence that is collected is will vary according to the level of analysis. Formal structured systems are explored at the organisational elves, while patterns and interactions are examined at group level, and the individual level provides examples of these in practice. The diagnostic approaches which are used also reflect the scale of investigation which is needed. Large organisational analyses are undertaken using surveys and similar large-scale data collection, while the group and individual analyses allow more fine grained approaches.
In most situations, the organisational diagnosis will use several different techniques across a range of levels to validate the findings. When the results confirm similar trends, there is evidence of convergence of the findings. In other words, the results are accurate representations of the phenomenon under review.
The organisational level of analysis normally requires formal and highly structured diagnostic processes. It generally operates as large scale evaluations which seek to sample a range of sub-groups and communities within the organisation. It examines the overall effects on the organisational culture.
This can mask the differentiation between different groups, but it does offer a view of the large picture across the organisation. Cultural evidence which can be explored through analyses of this nature include the overall organisational values, stakeholder views of the philosophy, the impact of structure on knowledge implementation and strategy, Stakeholder implementation of the knowledge messages being disseminated, and The efficacy of the systems which have been established A range of diagnostic approaches can be used.
These include Surveys Comparisons with similar organisations or knowledge activities Trends analysis to monitor the take-up of the knowledge processes within the organisation, or industry strategies for knowledge management Benchmarking with comparative organisations so that close comparisons may be made. Analyses of this nature would normally be undertaken after careful investigation to ensure the correct issues are being addressed.
They need to be very well managed to ensure the outcomes provide the desired information. Group level analyses focus more intensively on particular units or teams, closely exploring how they function and interact with other areas of the organisation.
The investigations enable a closer analysis of the finer points of an issue, and can serve to clarify cause-effect relationships. They are often quite formally conducted, with a range of methods used to ensure a complete picture of the issue is built up. The overall knowledge gained from an investigation of this nature can assist with identifying structural issues which need to be addressed, variations across units and groups within the community, the impact of organisational practice on real units and the likely barriers to successful knowledge implementation.
Various forms of evidence might be emphasised. The investigation might, for example, consider Whether knowledge sharing is working effectively Whether core values have diverged from the enacted values How the knowledge culture is being experienced by the group What sources of knowledge can be accessed Conflict regarding knowledge access, and its impact on both productivity and knowledge commitment Evidence of competitive forces which might be reducing the capacity to commit to he knowledge agenda Evidence of collaboration within and beyond the group.
Approaches which can be taken often adopt a more qualitative methodology, such as case studies, focus gropes and action research, as they seek to explore the interactions and dynamic interchanges across members.
Observation of the processes and principles which are applied are also of value. The results can be compared with similar units to identify finer differences. This form of analysis is particularly useful if the group seeks to improve its functionality, or to compare its processes against similar groups. It also provides an organisation with useful case studies to determine how well the broader knowledge culture is implemented in practice.
The exploration of an individual's experience with the knowledge culture can be very informative. These in-depth personalised accounts enable a closer analysis of the cause-effect relationships which occur in any organization. They can be managed very responsively to explore fine-grained issues which may have broader implications for the larger organisational community.
The evidence collected from the individual analysis can be used to identify larger systemic issues which need investigation, collect stories of success and learning which could be more widely shared Examine a particular phenomenon in depth, such as the values which are in place within the community, Compare the individual's priorities with the organisational priorities Determine the experiences which are shaping individual perceptions of the knowledge culture or Clarifying how people are sharing their knowledge and the issues they are experiencing while attempting to do so.
These commonly use an interview approach, but may also apply observational strategies. Individual analyses can be costly, and their applicability to the wider community may be minimal. They can also be quite time consuming given their intensive focus on individual experiences. May be due to fear, lack of trust, insecurity or lack of opportunity Reluctance to accept knowledge which is from other sources Page KM viewpoint 4.
In times of uncertainty, or in highly competitive workplaces, members can reduce their capacity to share. Husted and Michailova suggest that their needs to be strong organisational leadership to overcome knowledge hostility.
Tow types of hostility may be experienced: 1. A reluctance to share knowledge, demonstrated through a tendency to hoard what is known. This may be due to fear, lack of trust, insecurity or lack of opportunity. As page 94 shows, this could be due to a number of reasons, particularly a concern for the time required, the difficulty in translating the knowledge into a transferable product, fear of exposure or loss of power through sharing expertise.
A reluctance to accept knowledge which is from other sources. In both cases, the impact on the knowledge community can be very high. The process of changing aspects of the knowledge culture requires considerable effort. Following careful diagnosis, a change should be undertaken as a program of considered enhancement, with a clear understanding of what needs changing and how it can be effected.
The steps on this slide, and in Table 4. Identify key goals to be achieved. These should stem from the diagnosis which was previously conducted. They could also be external stakeholders or other key clients. It should be very clear as to what the sponsors anticipate seeing as a consequence of the process.
They also need to clarify how involved they wish to be. Identify the scope of the process Programs can become so large that they are unmanageable. The clarification of the program scope ensures there is a clear understanding of the aims, the value of the exercise and the time frame to be achieved. The scope can also define what is not within the program focus. Identify major contributors Advisory groups and other forms of stakeholder interaction are important. The identification of major contributors ensures appropriate members are kept informed and engaged with the process.
This is particularly important in a change process. Gather background information The diagnostic information, other prior interventions, theoretical literature and expert opinion can be extremely helpful in clarifying the issues which will need to be addressed. It needs to clearly position the process in the existing context. A close consideration of how members are likely to embrace the proposed change is very important to a successful outcome.
The identification of champions or advocates can be very helpful. The individuals who are potential barriers to the change should also be identified and carefully considered to identify how the change might be promoted to them. Determine key developmental objectives Identify tasks and activities Identify potential contributors and assign roles and responsibilities Plan for communication and marketing Plan for evaluation Prepare timelines and commitments Continuing from the previous slide Table 4.
Determine key developmental objectives The outcomes need to be translated into clear objectives which can be achieved and measured.
Identify tasks and activities. All of the various tasks should be clarified and allocated. This allows members of the program team to take responsibility for their designated roles. Identify potential contributors and assign roles and responsibilities Change programs of this nature need to be accommodate the demands on the various change agents. It may be necessary to draw in a number of other stakeholders as well.
Plan for communication and marketing Communication back to the community is critical. The program is about building a better knowledge community.
It is essential that as much communication and promotion of the change is achieved. Plan for evaluation Any evaluative processes should be carefully embedded in the processes along the way. Prepare timelines and commitments When planning a program of this nature, it is important to recognise that change can be incremental and require time to gain credibility. This should be allowed for in any plan of this nature. Some useful principles to follow include: Communicate the program intentions and ongoing progress Ensure all members of the relevant community are kept informed, and that they have the opportunity to feedback about issues or concerns.
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