Evoke Development

Abstract

ZBS Company is currently undergoing major changes due to a shifting market economy. Consequently, it is trying to determine the best approach for it to take to manage the rapidly changing environment. The paper begins by reviewing the concepts of knowledge management and learning organizations. That information is then applied to the scenario created around ZBS Company. The scenario reviews other companies that have adopted knowledge management and learning organization philosophies and identifies (1) approaches taken by those organizations, (2) impacts or outcomes that resulted from implementing knowledge management and organizational learning principles, (3) assessment measures taken, (4) key success factors of the implementations reviewed, (5) lessons learned, and (6) recommendations for future implementations. Based on the research discussed in the paper, a recommendation for adopting the principles of a learning organization and knowledge management was given.

Knowledge Management

When asked what is their most valuable asset, many corporate executives respond “knowledge” (Glasser, 1998/1999). Knowledge is being able to summon individual ideas, concepts, judgments, talents, perspectives, experiences, beliefs, and skills when needed to relate, resolve, and process information (Barth, 2001; Newman, 1996). Newman’s (1991) article states that “knowledge is more relevant to sustained business than capital, labor, or land” because it provides individuals with an opportunity to “respond to novel situations” (p. 3). In the emerging knowledge economy of the twenty-first century, how a company manages the skills, competencies, ideas, contributions, experiences, and motivation of its staff will ultimately determine corporate success or failure (Nickols, 2000).

Summary

This paper began by defining knowledge management and identifying some of the knowledge management systems available. Next, it defined and reviewed the concept and components of learning organizations including the importance of individual, leader, team, organization, and global levels of development. Senge’s five disciples for learning organizations (1) personal mastery, (2) shared vision, (3) team learning, (4) systems thinking, and (5) mental models were also reviewed. Then, since many practitioners have difficulty applying the abstract theories of knowledge management and learning organizations, a scenario was developed to assist readers better understand these complex concepts.

Despite the many positive aspects of becoming a learning organization that uses knowledge management principles, the process itself is difficult and time consuming. Organizations striving to achieve this status may encounter resistance to change from all levels of staff, unexpected delays as a result of poor planning or changing market environments, increased financial burdens due to necessary technological changes, and heightened stress levels of staff members who fear their jobs may be eliminated once a more effective and efficient process is in place.

Consequently, it is extremely important that organizations communicate decisions and changes to all staff members timely and honestly. Through effective communication, staff members should be more open to new roles and responsibilities. For example, the role of the training department in a learning and knowledge management environment will dramatically change. Often, training departments are criticized for their failure to deliver the classes needed (i.e., development takes too long and the class covers an issue that is no longer valid; or, a course was developed without conducting a needs analysis and is not appropriate for the current environment). Knowledge management may change the role of training units by forcing delivery of information just in time (individuals can go to a database, type in the key words, and instantaneously be provided with the information they need to do their job more effectively) (Fitter, 1999; Knowledge, 1999; Roberts-Witt, 2001; Rosenberg, 2000).

Involvement in formal and informal organizations, job sharing, and independent studies are all part of the sociocultural changes that are occurring in organizations today. Organizations that want to succeed in the future need to adapt to constant change and emphasize the importance of continuous learning to staff members (Knowledge, 1999). In doing so, stagnation of ideas should not occur because existing paradigms constantly shift to accommodate new ideas. Management needs to create positive work environments that encourage active learning by not disciplining individuals for making mistakes too harshly and rewarding those with both insight and innovation (Delio, 1998).

Watkins and Marsick (1996) surmise that companies striving to create a learning atmosphere must (1) embed a learning infrastructure that creates, captures, and disseminates knowledge; (2) “cultivate a learning habit in people and in the culture so that a spirit of inquiry, initiative, and experimental thinking predominates”; and, (3) “regularly audit the knowledge capital in the organization and progress toward eliminating barriers to learning” (p. 283).“It is not enough for individuals to learn; learning organizations must focus on organizational learning and transformation” (Pedler, Burgoyne, & Boydell, 1991, p. 10). Learning should be both adaptive and transformative. Learning organizations need to create structures and systems that ensure the correct knowledge is captured and shared and employees at all levels are involved in making decisions that impact the entire system by building learning into work structures, policies, and practices. This participation should be rewarded facilitating future learning of individuals, teams, and the organization. Benchmarking and other evaluative measures also need to be created to monitor the organization’s progress toward becoming a true learning organization (Pedler, Burgoyne, & Boydell, 1991).

“For organizations to survive in the 21st century, they really have to take a global view of how to move people from beginners to experts and how to move knowledge from the ones who have it to the ones who need it faster and cheaper” (Rossett & Sheldon, 2001, p. 260). By providing the why behind the job that employees perform will help them better understand the process and the overall objective, customers will reap the rewards of faster, better quality service due, in part to the systematic, consistent, and formal learning environment that has been developed (Glasser, 1998/1999; Roberts-Witt, 2000).

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