Abstract
In this issue, we have focused on knowledge management (KM), in particular, the importance of knowledge sharing for organizations, the impact it can have to develop successful organizations and the effects of culture on creating the right environment for effective knowledge sharing.
Knowledge sharing is defined in Wikipedia as ‘an activity through which knowledge (namely, information, skills, or expertise) is exchanged among people, friends, families, communities (for example, Wikipedia), or organizations’. Throughout my time at TFPL, I heard time and again how innovations in organizations occurred through the connection of people and effective knowledge sharing. In the past, a lot of the examples came from global companies who facilitated the connection of staff from across country borders to create innovative ideas to give a competitive edge. One of my favourite examples was an organization that, through the use of an internal Twitter-like service on their intranet, took lessons learned in one department in one country and applied it successfully for use in another unrelated department in another country. We are now moving into an age where even in global organizations local knowledge and knowledge sharing are as important as global. We consider the importance of local differentiation from global values in some of the papers in this issue when we consider cultural differences in effective knowledge sharing.
Some of the more recent projects I worked on were with global organizations operating at the local level. In one organization they were developing a global learning programme to cover employees in over 80 different countries that would impart expert specialist knowledge from the regional managers to key staff. The programme was to use a mixture of learning methods and was to be delivered by regional managers. A region would cover several countries and so the managers needed to take into account cultural differences within their group as well as consider different learning styles of individuals and cope with differences in language ability when communicating in English. A key tool to personalize the learning experience and ensure take up of knowledge as effective as possible was the use of coaching methodology. Coaching offered one-to-one time with each individual learner, enabling focus on areas where the learner may be struggling. The personalization of each session enabled the breakdown of both language and cultural barriers and enabled the development of a trusting relationship. The programme was highly effective and during the first 6 months widened the expertise pool of staff in country. A waiting list quickly developed for others wanting to follow the programme and develop their skills. Whether global or local, in each successful scenario the basic factors were the same: A defined purpose, otherwise knowledge-sharing activities simply for knowledge sharing’s sake will quickly lose their emphasis and fade away. Those imparting the knowledge must be able to do so in a format that is suitable to those using it. Knowledge shared must be up to date and relevant. The environment (physical, technological and cultural) must facilitate the connection of people and sharing of knowledge. Buy-in from leadership is necessary as well as buy-in from those on the ‘shop floor’.
As we see local become more important as Britain exits the European Union, it is worth considering if we will see more cross-industry collaborations and sharing of knowledge to build up UK business expertise in foreign trade. There are some organizations, particularly universities, already focussing on and supporting UK businesses using various knowledge-sharing tools to connect the right people with the right companies. Crowdsourcing as a tool, for example, has been popular in the past and we see top universities such as Cambridge continue to use it to connect postdoctoral students with UK industry to develop and facilitate innovation. Starting firstly with the Cambridge Phenomenon in the ’60s, which developed into Cambridge Consultants, their focus was to put the University’s bright young minds in touch with British Industry to develop ideas to solve key business issues. The University has moved into a new era with the recent development of Cambridge Minds, which focusses on aiding British start-ups to differentiate and innovate at the leading edge of business and technology – (Business Weekly, 30 June 2016 – http://www.businessweekly.co.uk/news/academia-research/knowledge-transfer-turbocharged-postdoc-’brains-hire’-venture). I personally have seen the growth in popularity of competing companies required to bid collaboratively to win large public-sector contracts in the last few years. The idea seems to enable each business to focus on their specialist strengths and use them in collaboration with others to develop innovative and cost-effective solutions.
Cross-industry collaborations are also important in the development of ‘smart cities’. As we consider the advantages of technology and big data to help our cities operate more effectively and efficiently, the challenge is always how to connect the people in the right way for collaborative and innovative projects. Different industries naturally have their own concepts, language and way of looking at things. Even within the same industry, language and culture can be different in different organizations. The challenge of how to connect and facilitate communication to enable knowledge sharing in these situations is explored in Building the Future: Big Teaming for Audacious Innovation by Amy Edmondson and Susan Salter Reynolds. There is an interesting review of this book by Brook Manville in Forbes (5 July 2016) – http://www.forbes.com/sites/brookmanville/2016/07/05/mobilizing-big-teams-for-the-worlds-biggest-challenges/#17dd28995f38. In it, he touches on the development of leadership and what Edmondson’s theories in the book are around evolving effective leadership to encompass the connection and management of ‘big teams’. A key attribute of any successful leader in this type of scenario is empathy for others, an ability to see from others’ perspectives and adapt to new knowledge, ideas and ways of thinking. The successful leader must then be able to incorporate that into their own thinking and experience and still be able to passionately take forward new ideas.
Increasingly there is a realization of the importance of managing knowledge in an organization and whether the focus on that is simply through facilitation through technology or more sophisticated ways of connecting people to people. Getting them to share knowledge and lessons learned so that others may use and benefit from it in their own work is the ultimate goal.
In order to develop a knowledge-sharing environment, there has to be an environment of trust, free from negative criticism and power struggles. To encourage employees to share their knowledge and expertise, there needs to be a positive outcome for them. A quick and easy way to develop this is through starting a conversation. David Gurteen has championed this through his knowledge cafes which are famous around the world and have been adapted to suit each organization’s culture and language. David himself on his website says ‘… change must start at the individual. Every employee has a sphere of influence along with their own individual knowledge, and this is where he believes a knowledge sharing culture can begin’ (http://www.gurteen.com/gurteen/gurteen.nsf/id/ksculture) July 2016. The knowledge-sharing cafes are open to anyone wishing to attend and are loosely organized to give an effective amount of structure but not too much so that chance connections and conversations can develop. I attended one such café focused on the subject of gamification. The room was filled with people from a variety of backgrounds (academia, management consultancy, legal, students, and independent consultants to name a few). It was quite an international environment too, with attendees from around the world, who happened to be in London at the time. The session itself was structured around two speakers who had a short amount of time to present their experience on the topic, then the discussion opened up to the floor. We were grouped around small tables to start with and asked to consider a couple of questions. There was opportunity to change tables several times, enabling different people-to-people connections and a range of discussions developed springing off from the initial questions. To bring everything together the last part of the session brought the entire group together in a circle to feedback opinions and ask further questions of the speakers. It was a very rich knowledge-sharing environment which enabled the group to meet people they would not necessarily have had the chance to meet, putting both experts and students on a level footing to openly discuss ideas and opinion. This was important as no one was intimidated thinking their experience was less valuable than others, it facilitated opportunities that do not often if ever occur in the workplace today, providing opportunities for innovation that perhaps would never develop otherwise. I have seen a number of organizations develop the knowledge cafe idea for their own environments with great success.
Another tool I have successfully used with organizations include the gifted network. A ‘gift’ offered to new employees of a specialist network of contacts that will enable them to embed more quickly in a new organization and become effective more quickly. This is a more enhanced tool than the standard induction process introducing new employees not just to superiors, managers of departments, and so on but to key contacts that their role integrates with.
The knowledge harvest enabled using the tool ‘an audience with …’ is also a tool I have seen organizations use effectively. The audience with … brings together those needing to impart knowledge with those needing to use it, meaning that those needing to use it get to the knowledge and expertise in a way that is useful to them rather than the person imparting the knowledge trying to guess what knowledge and what format might be best to use.
September’s business information review
In this issue in addition to exploring culture, language and leadership on knowledge sharing, we also have the latest news on the development of international KM standards, experience on developing and implementing your first information strategy and information on managing your own career. We also have our regular columns from Martin White too.
News update on Developing International KM standards – Paul J Corney, Managing Partner, Knowledge et al.
In this article, Paul reviews the current state of developing KM standards and provides further news on what is being done by the International Standards Organization to establish a set of KM standards. Paul considers the importance and implications of the development of such a set of standards and how ultimately it could be a game-changing move that will affect knowledge professionals across the globe.
Managerial implications of rocking the floor by employees: Consequences of voice behaviour– Faryal Batool, Department of Commerce, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan
In this article, Faryal and colleagues explore and discuss the implications of employees raising their voice to voice concerns or ideas. As seen from discussions above, communication of this nature is key in enabling a knowledge-sharing culture which in turn facilitates innovation. They explore the merits and drawbacks of two types of voice – promotive and prohibitive, discussing the impact they may have on achieving change in the workplace and on the individual’s own personal working environment. It also considers the effect on leadership and to some extent leadership style.
Knowledge sharing among employees in Ghanaian Industries: The role of transformational leadership style and communal organizational culture – Henry Boateng, School of Communication, University of Technology Sydney
In this paper, Henry explores the effects of organizational culture and transformational leadership style on knowledge sharing. Through simple data collection and analysis, he explores the types of culture needed for effective knowledge sharing and why that is important. It goes on to explore transformational leadership, its affect and importance for enhancing knowledge sharing. Interestingly, for those industries, studies in Ghana transformational leadership was found not to have a significant effect on effective knowledge sharing.
From passenger to pilot – Taking the lead and building a business critical information management strategy – Siân Tyrrell, Head of Horticultural Information & Advice, Royal Horticultural Society
In this article, Sian shares her experiences and explores the steps needed to develop and implement an effective information strategy from scratch. She considers the challenges in different type of environment having worked in both public and private sectors within large and small information teams. She makes suggestions for adapting approaches to ensure that the information strategy developed is fit for purpose regardless of the type of organization or their position in regards to the importance of an information strategy.
The mid-career information professional: Managing your own career – Jela Webb MBA, MSc, ACIB, CCTS, Senior Lecturer, University of Brighton (Business School)
In this article, Jela reviews the current environment for those in the middle of their information professional career, what the different options are to consider and what is important in terms of career planning. In particular, she reviews what will be important skill sets that organizations will look for in the future, looks at taking time out from your career to update your skills and what formal qualifications are available. She identifies what career ownership and career capital means, their roles and why they are important for effective career development.
Perspectives and initiatives
In his article this time, Martin White explores the dynamics of teams, what they need to enable them to function effectively and how they work together to support each other to complete a task. In the articles he reviews, he looks at a long-term study of the introduction of KM into the public sector as well as many aspects affecting team performance including organizational culture, social networking and other technologies, collaboration and management innovation.
Allan Foster’s article looks at the increasing the importance of due diligence and the critical role information professionals can play in providing important research. He also covers new developments with information providers who are aiming to provide better and more complete information in this area. He also takes an in-depth look at the growing digital skills gap, looking at what is being done and how that needs to be stepped up a gear to be able to keep UK industry competitive in the future. Another important skill he looks at is data management and how it is undervalued at present in the workplace. Continuing with the digital theme is the strategic importance of digital transformation and what new technologies will disrupt business in the future. Informal social media networks are playing an important role in supporting new business start-ups. He also takes a look at different intelligence and research reports for Brexit and new product development from information vendors.