How to Get the Most Out of
Download 0.91 Mb.
|
- Navigate this page:
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- ASP See Application Service Provider. Asynchronous Communication
- Automated Decision Making
- Autonomy
- Benchlearning
- Benchmarking
ArticulationThe process by which tacit knowledge is converted into explicit knowledge. Articulation, also called externalization, is one of the four components of the Socialization, Externalization, Combination and Internalization (SECI) model developed by the Japanese scholars, Hirotaka Takeuchi and Ikujiro Nonaka. Making tacit knowledge explicit is one of the major challenges of knowledge management. Figurative language and symbolism can greatly facilitate the process of articulation. Artificial Intelligence (AI)Involves the elimination or reduction of human involvement by extracting people’s knowledge and having the computer make or support important decisions. Much work has been done to make computers develop the intelligence of human beings. Despite lacking the flexibility, breadth and generality of human intelligence, AI can also be used to capture, codify and extend organizational knowledge. AI can also be used to generate solutions to specific problems that are too complex to be analyzed by human beings on their own. AI has, however, not taken off as rapidly as expected for various reasons. It is not that easy to extract knowledge from the brains of experts. Knowledge also changes more rapidly than the design of such systems can cope with. So AI often complements, rather than replaces human experts. (See also: Genetic Algorithms, Neural Networks, Case Based Reasoning, Fuzzy Logic) ASPSee Application Service Provider. Asynchronous CommunicationAsynchronous communication means the transmission and receipt of a message not occurring simultaneously. A good example is e-mail. Blogging is also an example of asynchronous communication. While asynchronous communication is non-intrusive but it lacks interactivity. It is often the interaction of messages and ideas that leads to rich knowledge sharing and knowledge creation. Automated Decision MakingUse of computers in decision making. These systems are taking over previously human made decisions in various areas of management. Essentially, computers make decisions on the basis of pre-specified business rules. Yield management systems that automate pricing are common in the airline industry. In the financial services industry, program trading of equities and currencies is taking off. Automated credit approval is quite common in case of banks and mortgage companies. (See also: Decision Support Systems) AutonomyAutonomy is a necessary condition for knowledge creation. Autonomy encourages people to pursue new ideas, work on them and develop new knowledge. When autonomy is limited, the culture can get stifling and people will not take the initiative to share ideas, chase opportunities and create knowledge. Workers in different departments will share knowledge with each other in a seamless manner only when there is autonomy. Without autonomy, silos will be created within the organization. B
BaA concept developed by the famous Japanese management guru, Ikujiro Nonaka, which denotes a shared context, in which knowledge is shared, created and utilized, through human interactions. Knowledge cannot be created in a vacuum. Knowledge needs a context to be created. It needs a space where information is given meaning through interpretation. Ba is a useful concept in this regard. Ba provides the energy, quality and space to perform the individual knowledge conversions and to move along the knowledge spiral. Ba can be built by providing physical space such as meeting rooms, cyberspace such as computer networks or mental space such as common goals to foster interactions. A Ba must have the right mix of people with different backgrounds and viewpoints to make the shared context a rich one. The challenge for leaders is to locate the right people. When participants come together in a Ba, they must suspend judgment of the objective meaning and see things as they are. This allows tacit knowledge to be articulated without any pre-conceived notions. Then, they must reflect on what the thing means to them and put the meaning into words. Finally, they must reflect on whether this meaning can be universally applied to other situations. Love, care, trust and commitment form the foundation of knowledge creation. A Ba needs all of these. A Ba needs to be a self-organizing place with intention, direction and interest. Without intention, energy in Ba cannot be directed effectively. Only chaos rules. The energy of Ba is given by its self-organizing nature. To be effective, Ba requires creative chaos and redundancy. Creative chaos results when challenging goals are set and employees are forced to question conventional assumptions. Redundancy results when people are given more information than they need. This generates more ideas, leading to more alternatives. Ba need not be limited to a single organization. It can cross the organizational boundary and exist in the form of a joint venture with a supplier, as an alliance with a competitor, as a relationship with a customer, or as a tie-up with a local university. (See also: Redundancy) BenchlearningA structured approach to learning from others, and improving. Developed by Bengt Karlof and his colleagues, it goes beyond benchmarking. Focused on quantitative comparisons, benchmarking tends to downplay the key role of knowledge transfer. (See also: Benchmarking). BenchmarkingThe process of identifying who is the very best, who sets the standard and what that standard is. Benchmarking is a systematic process for comparing the performance of an activity or process across industries, organizations or departments and then introducing necessary improvements. Benchmarking starts with some fundamental questions: Who has the best CRM? Who has the highest quality levels? Who has the most robust delivery process? Who provides the best after sales practice? Who has the most agile supply chain? Who manages customer relationships best? Who has the highest quality levels? Much of the early work in benchmarking was done in the area of manufacturing. Now benchmarking is applied almost anywhere. Benchmarking can be both internal, i.e. within the organization, and external, namely across organizations. External benchmarking can provide models of excellence. However, this may actually be quite little compared with the vast amount of untapped knowledge already residing inside organizations, which can be tapped through internal benchmarking. Vibrant mechanisms for internal benchmarking represent one of the most tangible manifestations of knowledge management. They are also tangible evidence of a learning organization — one that can analyze, reflect, learn, and change, based on experience. (See also: Best Practices, BenchLearning) Directory: books books -> The English Arrive in America books -> Active Vocabulary books -> Books we finished XIV books -> The theology of the balaam oracles: a pagan diviner and the word of god books -> The rhetoric of the father books -> Sra: Imagine It!, Themes, Taking a Stand, Ancient Civilizations Ecology, Great Expectations, Earth in Action, Art and Impact, Level 6 books -> You Can If You Try Unit 7 Nonfiction books -> The tregenza family books -> Unconditional hatred Download 0.91 Mb. Share with your friends:
|