Historically speaking, culture has been considered a longtime process. Yet in a society that is characterized by more frequent change and greater levels of uncertainty, how do the more rapidly changing effects impact the culture of organizations? Is it necessary for culture of an organization to keep pace with the rapid changes?
This is sort of a yes and no answer. The culture of the organization has its foundation in the values and beliefs of the company. It is who and what the company is and how outsiders view the company. Uncertainty and rapid changing effects need to be addressed, but not through cultural change. Change needs to occur for the proper reasons and not just for the sake of change. The real danger is the rapid changing environment and growth that occurs can lead to a lose of the company's culture. People are hired that do not have the same values and beliefs of the company. Agendas develop into distractions and misalignment starts as well as a drifting away from the vision. A strong culture can actually aid and help a company survive drastic changes and allow the company to navigate through the perils of uncertainty.
The organization must not attempt to keep pace with the rapid changes. The organization must realize and believe in itself - staying grounded in its developed culture instead of following the pack of changing with every whim of societal changes. This will allow the company to set strategies with clarity and vision and not with clouded emotions of the present distractions of change.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Reflections on Module 3 concepts, 3-3c
Why is cultural understanding essential in establishing knowledge management within an organization?
This is a tough one, but also a relevant one. It bet it is all too common that we think we really know and understand the culture through casual interactions. My guess, as one dives deeper into the true culture, when setting up - establishing a knowledge management system - the true culture comes out or the managers hiding behind it become transparent to the .....
It appears the first step is obvious and assessing knowing and understanding "What you know you know". This will help you harness what is known to be known. it helps, but is only the tip of the iceberg and the tip that most people and companies only want to "play with"
I digress, but the real knowledge is searching to understand and realize all that one and the company does not even know that they do not know. This bounty of knowledge is typically many folds larger than that what is claimed to be known. Innovativeness, creativeness, and initiative to learn is all guided to understanding and learning all that we do not even know that we do not know. Approaching knowledge this way will lead to an open mind and a search for a creative way to capture the greatness that resides in every employee of the company.
It seems that one must understand the gaps that reside in each division, each department, and each team. This leads to an understanding that a certain percentage of personnel do not even understand or know how misaligned they really are to the company and their objectives. This really starts at the top. Understanding that knowledge management has its roots and foundation at the bottom of ranks. Communication that is proper and thorough through the rank, then capture of raw knowledge can start and be refined through the rank to the top to real competitive advantages - my guess is that a very small percentage of companies have this mind set and commitment to the lower ranks and to really actively listening to their subordinates.
This is a tough one, but also a relevant one. It bet it is all too common that we think we really know and understand the culture through casual interactions. My guess, as one dives deeper into the true culture, when setting up - establishing a knowledge management system - the true culture comes out or the managers hiding behind it become transparent to the .....
It appears the first step is obvious and assessing knowing and understanding "What you know you know". This will help you harness what is known to be known. it helps, but is only the tip of the iceberg and the tip that most people and companies only want to "play with"
I digress, but the real knowledge is searching to understand and realize all that one and the company does not even know that they do not know. This bounty of knowledge is typically many folds larger than that what is claimed to be known. Innovativeness, creativeness, and initiative to learn is all guided to understanding and learning all that we do not even know that we do not know. Approaching knowledge this way will lead to an open mind and a search for a creative way to capture the greatness that resides in every employee of the company.
It seems that one must understand the gaps that reside in each division, each department, and each team. This leads to an understanding that a certain percentage of personnel do not even understand or know how misaligned they really are to the company and their objectives. This really starts at the top. Understanding that knowledge management has its roots and foundation at the bottom of ranks. Communication that is proper and thorough through the rank, then capture of raw knowledge can start and be refined through the rank to the top to real competitive advantages - my guess is that a very small percentage of companies have this mind set and commitment to the lower ranks and to really actively listening to their subordinates.
Reflections on Module 3 concpets - 3-3b
Are policies and procedures viewed in different capacities by leaders of different waves of change?
Short answer is yes. Agricultural/Industrial wave leaders will have a tendency to over use procedures and policies. They are viewed as mechanisms of control and dominance over employees. Informational or knowledge wave leaders will start to see the limitations of procedures and policies. Their overuse stifles communication and leads to a culture that always stays within the boundaries. Knowledge wave leaders start to see the power of imagination and how it fosters creativity and innovation. Education and training of employees, facilitating team building and knowledge sharing increase the intellectual property of the company, thus leading to higher net profits. the boundaries are now viewed as being only in your mind, self inflicted and not physical boundaries of policies and procedures. The judgment ave leader uses policies and procedures minimal. They are used to establish intent and to re-enforce the values and beliefs of the culture. Too many policies and procedures only end up hand cuffing the company.
Short answer is yes. Agricultural/Industrial wave leaders will have a tendency to over use procedures and policies. They are viewed as mechanisms of control and dominance over employees. Informational or knowledge wave leaders will start to see the limitations of procedures and policies. Their overuse stifles communication and leads to a culture that always stays within the boundaries. Knowledge wave leaders start to see the power of imagination and how it fosters creativity and innovation. Education and training of employees, facilitating team building and knowledge sharing increase the intellectual property of the company, thus leading to higher net profits. the boundaries are now viewed as being only in your mind, self inflicted and not physical boundaries of policies and procedures. The judgment ave leader uses policies and procedures minimal. They are used to establish intent and to re-enforce the values and beliefs of the culture. Too many policies and procedures only end up hand cuffing the company.
Reflections on Module 3 concepts, 3-3a
Do policies limit the creative tendencies of leaders? How can an organization establish policies yet still foster creativity and innovation?
It depends on the intent of establishing policies. If policies are enacted to control the workforces, then creativity could be limited. If policies are put in place to establish expected behavior and sets boundaries for expected performance, then creativity can function. The point is to establish policies that allow the company to function without distractions and gaps in performance, deadlines, etc. Certain day-to-day activities need to occur for the company to achieve its goals, pay its bills, and meet customer's expectations.
Establishing policies that foster creativity and innovation should be policies that revolve around team formation, team building, and information sharing. Policies need to address a thorough communication strategy and ensure that knowledge and information is shared throughout the organization. Policies need to open door and clear blocked paths, so people from cross functional departments can interact freely.
It depends on the intent of establishing policies. If policies are enacted to control the workforces, then creativity could be limited. If policies are put in place to establish expected behavior and sets boundaries for expected performance, then creativity can function. The point is to establish policies that allow the company to function without distractions and gaps in performance, deadlines, etc. Certain day-to-day activities need to occur for the company to achieve its goals, pay its bills, and meet customer's expectations.
Establishing policies that foster creativity and innovation should be policies that revolve around team formation, team building, and information sharing. Policies need to address a thorough communication strategy and ensure that knowledge and information is shared throughout the organization. Policies need to open door and clear blocked paths, so people from cross functional departments can interact freely.
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
LJ 2-5c
How does the identification of outsourcing opportunities relate to core competencies and competitive advantages? Can this relationship also be connected to the organizational structure? Explain and provide an example.
Identifying outsourcing opportunities allows a company to disperse non-core and distracting activities. This allows the company to focus more resources on core competencies and competitive advantages. Without outsourcing, the company would have to hire new talent in and train these new hires. Also using valuable resources for non-core and distracting activities lead to companies missing strategic opportunities or missing the prime time for acting on opportunities. This can result in a competitor seizing the opportunity before you or you not being able to capitalize on the full potential.
These outsourcing opportunities can be used strategically, so they form external competitive advantages. Outsourcing can be a portion of activities and not the entire department or role within the company. The role within the company is kept as a core competency and further exploited to strengthen the competitive advantage. The outsourced activities are what the supplier does best and can result in more of a strategic alliance than pure outsourcing.
The best example I can think of is Wal-Mart and their supply chain management. They outsource many activities and turn that into an incredible competitive advantage. They develop these suppliers into efficient productive companies through Wal-Mart's mandates. Wal-Mart uses these relationship as an extension of themselves and push their agendas through their suppliers. Recently Wal-Mart is pushing waste reduction through packaging of goods that they purchase. Suppliers are to reduce "throw away" packaging by a percentage and also ensure that the more of the packaging can be recycled.
Identifying outsourcing opportunities allows a company to disperse non-core and distracting activities. This allows the company to focus more resources on core competencies and competitive advantages. Without outsourcing, the company would have to hire new talent in and train these new hires. Also using valuable resources for non-core and distracting activities lead to companies missing strategic opportunities or missing the prime time for acting on opportunities. This can result in a competitor seizing the opportunity before you or you not being able to capitalize on the full potential.
These outsourcing opportunities can be used strategically, so they form external competitive advantages. Outsourcing can be a portion of activities and not the entire department or role within the company. The role within the company is kept as a core competency and further exploited to strengthen the competitive advantage. The outsourced activities are what the supplier does best and can result in more of a strategic alliance than pure outsourcing.
The best example I can think of is Wal-Mart and their supply chain management. They outsource many activities and turn that into an incredible competitive advantage. They develop these suppliers into efficient productive companies through Wal-Mart's mandates. Wal-Mart uses these relationship as an extension of themselves and push their agendas through their suppliers. Recently Wal-Mart is pushing waste reduction through packaging of goods that they purchase. Suppliers are to reduce "throw away" packaging by a percentage and also ensure that the more of the packaging can be recycled.
LJ 2-5b
How do your personal experiences, prejudices, and expectations impact your ability to objectively select the best candidates for a job or project position?
These three aspects can positively or negatively impact your decision. The main point here to be aware of your prejudices and expectations that have been molded through your varies experiences. Having a prejudice toward certain behaviors or ethics is not bad, but you need to be aware of them. Having prejudices based on race, dress, ethnic culture, body type, etc are part of reality, but can not get in the way of objectivity. Prejudices can be your danger alerts or gut feelings. Again must be aware that you have them and understand why you have these prejudices. This is the same for expectations. It is great to have high expectations, but must be relative to the job or position and not what your personnel expectations are for that job - a realistic outlook on what is expected of an individual. Setting too high expectations leads to failure and low morale/drive of that person. Too low of an expectation leads to complacency and boredom, resulting in poor use of a person's potential. Must be aware why you have an expectation and why you have it.
The reason why it is necessary to be aware of these aspects and how they interact is so you will be objective. You can not and will not be objective (will be subjective) if you allow these aspects to act as instinctual judgement calls and not as questions for you to internally rationalize logically. Choosing the correct person needs to based on how they align to the company's values, beliefs, culture, and ethical behavior. Just because you like someone personally and all of your prejudices, etc are validated does not mean they will be great employees and successful. The flip side also applies - not liking someone because of your prejudices, etc does not mean that the individual will not become a solid performer.
So these three aspects can cause you to ignore a diamond in the rough and choose the wrong person.
These three aspects can positively or negatively impact your decision. The main point here to be aware of your prejudices and expectations that have been molded through your varies experiences. Having a prejudice toward certain behaviors or ethics is not bad, but you need to be aware of them. Having prejudices based on race, dress, ethnic culture, body type, etc are part of reality, but can not get in the way of objectivity. Prejudices can be your danger alerts or gut feelings. Again must be aware that you have them and understand why you have these prejudices. This is the same for expectations. It is great to have high expectations, but must be relative to the job or position and not what your personnel expectations are for that job - a realistic outlook on what is expected of an individual. Setting too high expectations leads to failure and low morale/drive of that person. Too low of an expectation leads to complacency and boredom, resulting in poor use of a person's potential. Must be aware why you have an expectation and why you have it.
The reason why it is necessary to be aware of these aspects and how they interact is so you will be objective. You can not and will not be objective (will be subjective) if you allow these aspects to act as instinctual judgement calls and not as questions for you to internally rationalize logically. Choosing the correct person needs to based on how they align to the company's values, beliefs, culture, and ethical behavior. Just because you like someone personally and all of your prejudices, etc are validated does not mean they will be great employees and successful. The flip side also applies - not liking someone because of your prejudices, etc does not mean that the individual will not become a solid performer.
So these three aspects can cause you to ignore a diamond in the rough and choose the wrong person.
LJ 2-5a
Why is it necessary to look through the four lenses when developing an internal communication strategy?
The four lenses allows you to make sure that all groups have been identified and content/context is geared toward each different group. It also ensures that the correct amount of emotional intelligence is being employed in the strategy. Each group and individuals within a group will require different ways of communicating the main message. Top management will want to understand the benefits and strategic objectives for the message. They may also wish to have thorough explanations of the details, more to the quadrant D. Middle managers and supervisors will want to understand what? why? and how? They will be worried about effects on their departments, their staff, and themselves. This is mainly quadrant B and some A. The general workforce will want to understand "Whats in it for them" and may need reassurance. The benefits will come from the quadrant A perspective and the empathy/understanding will come from the quadrant C perspective. If the communication strategy does not use the four lenses, then the possibility of failure is greatly increased or even inevitable.
The four lenses allows you to make sure that all groups have been identified and content/context is geared toward each different group. It also ensures that the correct amount of emotional intelligence is being employed in the strategy. Each group and individuals within a group will require different ways of communicating the main message. Top management will want to understand the benefits and strategic objectives for the message. They may also wish to have thorough explanations of the details, more to the quadrant D. Middle managers and supervisors will want to understand what? why? and how? They will be worried about effects on their departments, their staff, and themselves. This is mainly quadrant B and some A. The general workforce will want to understand "Whats in it for them" and may need reassurance. The benefits will come from the quadrant A perspective and the empathy/understanding will come from the quadrant C perspective. If the communication strategy does not use the four lenses, then the possibility of failure is greatly increased or even inevitable.
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