Friday, February 5, 2010
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Question #5
Compare Hallmark Cards's knowledge management strategy with Brighham & Women Hospital's. Discuss their similarities and differences. Also discuss why the differences.
They were similar in that both businesses engaged in methods that encouraged the sharing of knowledge; whether it be sharing information between coworkers or keeping up with the newest medical technologies.
They were different I think in how they used the knowledge. While Brigham & Women’s were focused on creating JIT delivery, Hallmark didn’t need the knowledge in an “urgent” sense, but they needed it to be correct. I believe this difference is due to the nature of the business. In a hospital setting, I could see why you would quickly need information on a patient or medicine. With Hallmark, however, the information can be collected over time in an online community and be used for future and current products.
They were similar in that both businesses engaged in methods that encouraged the sharing of knowledge; whether it be sharing information between coworkers or keeping up with the newest medical technologies.
They were different I think in how they used the knowledge. While Brigham & Women’s were focused on creating JIT delivery, Hallmark didn’t need the knowledge in an “urgent” sense, but they needed it to be correct. I believe this difference is due to the nature of the business. In a hospital setting, I could see why you would quickly need information on a patient or medicine. With Hallmark, however, the information can be collected over time in an online community and be used for future and current products.
Question #4
What is organizational culture (OC)? the value perspective? the behavioral perspective? Are these two perspectives related to each other in any way?
Organizational culture is a set of shared, taken-or-granted implicit assumptions that a group holds and that determines how it perceives, thinks about, and reacts to its various environments.
The value perspective either internally or externally, and have tradeoffs in stability and control versus flexibility and change. The behavioral perspective focuses on culture as defined by actual work practices. I don’t think they are related because the value perspective has a focus on underlying assumptions while behavioral perspectives do not.
How does OC influence knowledge creation?
While knowledge creation involves developing new content or replacing existing content within the organization’s tacit and explicit knowledge, it is also created, shared, amplified, and enlarged through social and collaborative processes as well as individuals’ cognitive processes. This being said, the nature of an organizations culture control could be more effective than a formalized control when it comes to creating knowledge.
How does OC influence knowledge transfer?
Organizational values and norms will influence what knowledge is considered to be important. It will also influence whether knowledge is viewed as a personal possession or as an organizational asset. This will influence the quality of knowledge that is committed to organizational memory.
In your opinion, how can knowledge management initiatives impact OC?
Most definitely. Coming from my small experience working for a big company, I found that knowledge is most often mishandled. And it is usually directly related to the culture of the organization. If more executives/managers took the time to understand the OC, then they could properly manage knowledge. If there is a rigid company culture, you can’t expect people to be immediately receptive to the open sharing of information and vice versa.
Organizational culture is a set of shared, taken-or-granted implicit assumptions that a group holds and that determines how it perceives, thinks about, and reacts to its various environments.
The value perspective either internally or externally, and have tradeoffs in stability and control versus flexibility and change. The behavioral perspective focuses on culture as defined by actual work practices. I don’t think they are related because the value perspective has a focus on underlying assumptions while behavioral perspectives do not.
How does OC influence knowledge creation?
While knowledge creation involves developing new content or replacing existing content within the organization’s tacit and explicit knowledge, it is also created, shared, amplified, and enlarged through social and collaborative processes as well as individuals’ cognitive processes. This being said, the nature of an organizations culture control could be more effective than a formalized control when it comes to creating knowledge.
How does OC influence knowledge transfer?
Organizational values and norms will influence what knowledge is considered to be important. It will also influence whether knowledge is viewed as a personal possession or as an organizational asset. This will influence the quality of knowledge that is committed to organizational memory.
In your opinion, how can knowledge management initiatives impact OC?
Most definitely. Coming from my small experience working for a big company, I found that knowledge is most often mishandled. And it is usually directly related to the culture of the organization. If more executives/managers took the time to understand the OC, then they could properly manage knowledge. If there is a rigid company culture, you can’t expect people to be immediately receptive to the open sharing of information and vice versa.
Question #3
Does the framework presented in the collaborative advantage article suggest anything useful for the Hallmark Cards' knowledge community? Explain your answer.
In a way, I think the “barriers” presented in this framework suggests a couple of things for Hallmark. On an organizational level, I think that Hallmark would benefit from exploring the barriers that apply to them and determining the causes. From there they could pick the appropriate management levers to get past it,
In a way, I think the “barriers” presented in this framework suggests a couple of things for Hallmark. On an organizational level, I think that Hallmark would benefit from exploring the barriers that apply to them and determining the causes. From there they could pick the appropriate management levers to get past it,
Question #2
The knowledge community of Hallmark Cards is initiated by the company and membership is by invitation. Would this "top-down" approach to the community development cause any problem in achieving its effectiveness? Discuss.
I think the top down approach that Hallmark chose wouldn’t cause any problems with its effectiveness. Like stated in the article, because members are invited by the company which means that 1) the company is seeking your advice and 2) you are not obligated to accept the invitation. This method allows only the people who are truly interested in being engaged in the process to join. There is a smaller chance of half-hearted people getting involved and perhaps skewing the results.
I think the top down approach that Hallmark chose wouldn’t cause any problems with its effectiveness. Like stated in the article, because members are invited by the company which means that 1) the company is seeking your advice and 2) you are not obligated to accept the invitation. This method allows only the people who are truly interested in being engaged in the process to join. There is a smaller chance of half-hearted people getting involved and perhaps skewing the results.
Question 1: Example Of a CoP
Use an example to discuss the importance of active participation in a community of practice (CoP). Discuss the pros and cons of online CoP vs. offline (traditional) CoP.
Suppose a business creates a CoP to facilitate knowledge creation, transfer, and sharing. However, the business does nothing to motivate the employees to participate. No incentives are given, no encouragement is given, and no higher-ups are involved in this process. You’ve not only set yourself up for failure, but you have also allowed another company to potentially take your market share. Management has to actively motivate the participants in these CoPs in order to reap the whole benefit.
Suppose a business creates a CoP to facilitate knowledge creation, transfer, and sharing. However, the business does nothing to motivate the employees to participate. No incentives are given, no encouragement is given, and no higher-ups are involved in this process. You’ve not only set yourself up for failure, but you have also allowed another company to potentially take your market share. Management has to actively motivate the participants in these CoPs in order to reap the whole benefit.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Are you really in control of your own knowledge?
Have you ever wondered if what you know is truly what you know?? Or is a bundled up result of what others have told you or things you've "heard". As adults and citizens of the world we must be in control of the knowledge we accquire. Never take sides or base decisions off of what someone told you. If you want to know...go find it yourself. The only way to know the truth is to seek it. That whay if you're wrong about something, you can blame no one but yourself. People have gotten so lazy. It's much easier to rely on someone else than to get up and find out ourselves.
In my opinion, ignorance is one of the most dangerous things facing the world today. It scares and saddens me at the same time how content people are with being ignorant. I know I can overdue it in the "useless knowledge" area, but i'm interesting in learning. I've enough sense to know that my opinion doesn't matter to alot of people, but that does not stop me from being engaged in the world around me. Even if somedays I feel like there's nothing I can do about it, this is still my life, and I have a right to know the things that could affect the quality of it.
So I ask again, are you really in control of your own knowledge?? Or is someone limiting the scope of your intellect? Or is your past, the way you were raised, or the way things are "supposed" to be keeping you from venturing out and learning more Don't fall into that apathetic, nonchalant trap. There is nothing wrong with caring about something. Even if everyone else says it's wrong. Never allow someone else to trap you in a box. Remember, the day you let another person control the scope of your knowledge is the day you have chosen to allow your success to be determined by their standards.
On that note...I'm out!!! Don't take no wooden nickels!!!!
In my opinion, ignorance is one of the most dangerous things facing the world today. It scares and saddens me at the same time how content people are with being ignorant. I know I can overdue it in the "useless knowledge" area, but i'm interesting in learning. I've enough sense to know that my opinion doesn't matter to alot of people, but that does not stop me from being engaged in the world around me. Even if somedays I feel like there's nothing I can do about it, this is still my life, and I have a right to know the things that could affect the quality of it.
So I ask again, are you really in control of your own knowledge?? Or is someone limiting the scope of your intellect? Or is your past, the way you were raised, or the way things are "supposed" to be keeping you from venturing out and learning more Don't fall into that apathetic, nonchalant trap. There is nothing wrong with caring about something. Even if everyone else says it's wrong. Never allow someone else to trap you in a box. Remember, the day you let another person control the scope of your knowledge is the day you have chosen to allow your success to be determined by their standards.
On that note...I'm out!!! Don't take no wooden nickels!!!!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Knowledge Accounting
Dan Stone and Sony Warsono have written an article about Accounting and it's use of knowledge management, or the lack thereof. The industry has recently taken many criticisms that focus on two main points:
- The engine of economic productivity in the "new" economy is knowledge, not physical capital
- Financial and mangerial accounting are trapped in an industrial and organizational model in which physical capital is the primary productivty enabler.
The question is...can one assert that accounting has failed the knowledge management revolution? In this article they examine the determinants of the value of accounting information and the economic and institutional forces that shape existing knowledge accounting information; and discuss 6 proposed alternative methods of knowledge accounting.
- Total Value Creation
- Accounting for the Future
- Balanaced Score Card
- Skandia Navigator
- Imaginable Asset Monitor
- Value Chain Scoreboard
OK...I'm not going to go into details on what those are, but feel free to look it up...interesting stuff...Here's my summation of the whole deal...
As we all know, accounting, for the most part, is a concrete deal. There are numbers that are generated by sales, expenses, etc that turn into charts and graphs and financial statements. Knowledge management, on the other hand, is abstract...like our thoughts. It can go anywhere you want it to. The thing that makes Knowledge Accountitng a second choice is the lack of reliability due to the very nature of knowledge. Claims are that the basic accounting model is irrelevant in the face of these changing economic conditions. There needs to be a merger of these concepts.
I personally believe that with the very nature of business these days, the same outdated systems of accounting cannot be relied on. We know this by looking at the banking industry and various executives who have fallen to money schemes gone bad. There has to be a system of "thought" incorporated into how we operate our money. The days of looking at numbers and takign them as truth has passed. We've got to get smart about it!
Introduction
Hi everyone!
This is my first entry and I guess I'll start it off by saying that I'm really excited about this class. I've blogged some in the past and feel that this is an excellent and unitimidating way to get your thoughts across. You can say what you want, when you want, and how you want. And if someone doesn't like it? Tough luck. They can write their own blog :-). Now let's talk business...
When I signed up for this class, I really had no idea what it was going to be like. The name "Knowledge Management" says a lot, but not much at the same time. I figured at the very least I would gain some knowledge, and perhaps learn how to manage it. But after the first class I saw that it was so much more than that. Something important I've learned already is that we live in a knowledge economy...yes, a knowledge economy. I didn't know what this meant either so here' what Wikipedia had to say:
"The knowledge economy is a term that refers either to an economy of knowledge focused on the production and management of knowledge in the frame of economic constraints, or to a knowledge-based economy. In the second meaning, more frequently used, it refers to the use of knowledge technologies (such as knowledge engineering and knowledge management) to produce economic benefits as well as job creation."
Still doesn't make sense. So here's how I'm understanding it. A knowledge economy is one that is driven by human capital(That means us). The product of this human capital is knowledge. This ideology is different from what many people understand because unlike the industrial age, you are not working to provide a physical product(cars, clothes, etc.) We are living in an information age and for businesses this means you need people who can not only do, but also think. It gets more detailed but I'm not going to go into all that now, we've got time.
With that being said...I'm out of here for now. Have a good 1!!!!
This is my first entry and I guess I'll start it off by saying that I'm really excited about this class. I've blogged some in the past and feel that this is an excellent and unitimidating way to get your thoughts across. You can say what you want, when you want, and how you want. And if someone doesn't like it? Tough luck. They can write their own blog :-). Now let's talk business...
When I signed up for this class, I really had no idea what it was going to be like. The name "Knowledge Management" says a lot, but not much at the same time. I figured at the very least I would gain some knowledge, and perhaps learn how to manage it. But after the first class I saw that it was so much more than that. Something important I've learned already is that we live in a knowledge economy...yes, a knowledge economy. I didn't know what this meant either so here' what Wikipedia had to say:
"The knowledge economy is a term that refers either to an economy of knowledge focused on the production and management of knowledge in the frame of economic constraints, or to a knowledge-based economy. In the second meaning, more frequently used, it refers to the use of knowledge technologies (such as knowledge engineering and knowledge management) to produce economic benefits as well as job creation."
Still doesn't make sense. So here's how I'm understanding it. A knowledge economy is one that is driven by human capital(That means us). The product of this human capital is knowledge. This ideology is different from what many people understand because unlike the industrial age, you are not working to provide a physical product(cars, clothes, etc.) We are living in an information age and for businesses this means you need people who can not only do, but also think. It gets more detailed but I'm not going to go into all that now, we've got time.
With that being said...I'm out of here for now. Have a good 1!!!!
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