Knowledge Markets

In Working Knowledge, by Thomas Davenport and Laurence Prusak (1998), knowledge transfer is viewed from the lens of market forces.  Knowledge moves upward as well as downward in organizations.  Following how knowledge is transferred from the bottom-up: knowledge is created by an individual, then externalized and shared with team members, then move upward to upper management.  If this new knowledge effects changes within the organization then this new knowledge could also be seen in the environment in which the organization operates.  The same can also be said about transferring knowledge from the top-down: changes in the environment (changes in government policy, new competitors, loss of suppliers, etc…) can change how management address business as usual forcing changes downward, making changes to teams and groups, thus effecting work at the individual level.  These market forces, according to Davenport and Prusak (1998), are the drivers of knowledge.

Understanding that these knowledge markets exist can help with the efficiency of transferring knowledge to those who need the knowledge to perform their work tasks, to solve complex problems, and to spark innovation.  Many organizations assume that by placing internet technologies in the hands of the employees knowledge will be transferred freely.  Davenport and Prusak (1998) identified this problem: "Companies install e-mail or collaborative software and expect knowledge to flow freely through the electronic pipeline. When it doesn't happen, they are more likely to blame the software or inadequate training than to face a fact of life: people rarely give away valuable possession (including knowledge) without expecting something in return" (p. 26).

Knowledge drivers determine whether newly created knowledge will be transferred as well as what knowledge is being requested.  Time, money, and knowledge are "finite resource" as Davenport and Prusak (1998) have identified.  With these resources being scarce, people have to juggle these three resources.  With time being a critical factor in one's business day, knowledge transfer is a rarity and reciprocity is usually one driver that can launch knowledge transfer.  Additional drivers, according to Davenport and Prusak (1998), although they didn't call them drivers they referred to them as the price system. are repute, altruism, and trust.

Trust is the most critical driver to knowledge transfer.  If you don't trust a knowledge source you are skeptical to sharing that knowledge until you are able to verify the source.  Davenport and Prusak (1998) indicated three ways in which trust must be established within organizations:

1. Trust must be visible.
2. Trust must be ubiquitous.
3. Trustworthiness must start at the top (pp. 34-35).

For successful knowledge transfer to take place in your organization identify your knowledge markets.  Identify the drivers to knowledge transfer and remove any barriers to the knowledge transfer process.  If there is no knowledge market present, or at least identified, then create a knowledge market that incentivizes your employees to create and transfer knowledge.  Provide gift cards for transferring a specified amount of knowledge or incorporate the knowledge transfer into a quarterly bonus pool.  Aside from the monetary benefits, employees will soon see the rewards of having access to more knowledge that is beneficial to them as well as knowing who can provide them with the knowledge they need.  This will, in the long-run, provide a more effective and innovative workplace.

References:

Davenport, T. H., & Prusak, L. (1998). Working Knowledge: How Organizations Manage What They Know. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Knowledge Management: Distinguishing the difference between data, information, and knowledge

Knowledge management deals with capturing implicit and explicit knowledge within an organization, at the individual level as well as the team and/or group level.  Turner, Zimmerman, and Allen (in press) made the distinction that "knowledge management is more than just information management" (p. 3), it deals with creating, storing, and retrieving an organizations' collective knowledge.  In doing so, knowledge management makes the distinction between data, information, and knowledge.  

Davenport and Prusak (1998) distinguished data as "a set of discrete, objective facts about events" (p. 2) compared to information in which they described to be more like a message - typically in audible, visual, or digital form.  Knowledge is further separated from data and information by Davenport and Prusak's (1998) working definition:

      Knowledge is a fluid mix of framed experience, values, contextual information, and expert insight that provides a framework for evaluating and incorporating new experiences and information.  It originates and is applied in the minds of knowers.  In organizations, it often becomes embedded not only in documents or repositories but also in organizational routines, processes, practices, and norms (p. 5). 

Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) contrasted knowledge from information by making three observations:

1. Knowledge, unlike information, is about beliefs and commitment.  Knowledge is a function of a particular stance, perspective, or intention.
2. Knowledge… is about action.
3. Knowledge… is about meaning.  It is context-specific and relational (p. 58).

Managing knowledge, rather than data or information, in an organization is critical to its' success.  For it is from this knowledge that innovation is spurred, new products are developed, and new customers are gained.  Drucker (2006) highlighted that every organization needs to be devoted to creating the new.  Drucker (2006) identified three systematic practices for organizations to complete this process, which includes the functions of knowledge management:

1. The first is continuing improvement of everything the organization does, the process the Japanese call kaizen.
2. Second, every organization will have to learn to exploit its knowledge, that is, to develop the next generation of applications from its own successes.
3. Finally, every organization will have to learn to innovate… as a systematic process (pp. 142-143).

References:

Davenport, T. H. & Prusak, L. (1998). Working knowledge: How organizations manage what they know.  Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Drucker, P. F. (2006). Classic Drucker: Essential wisdom of Peter Drucker from the pages of Harvard Business Review. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing. 

Nonaka, I. & Takeuchi, H. (1995). The knowledge-creating company: How Japanese Companies create the dynamics of innovation.  New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Turner, J. R., Zimmerman, T., & Allen, J. M. (in press). Teams as a process for knowledge management.  

America is Still Exceptional: As Long as Others are Copying Us

You hear some critics of Steve Jobs claim he didn't invent his creations, he only made someone else's creations better.  This may be so, up to a point, but it doesn't diminish Job's creativity, vision, and innovation.  Job's, and others at Apple, made the mouse better than what Xerox was able to do.  This collective innovation process, from Xerox to Apple, provided users with an interactive computer experience that changed the computing industry forever.  The rest is history, which has led to the Apple we know and love today.

Copying American innovations is a daily occurrence in some parts of the world.  Fletcher (2010) highlighted that "piracy has made China one of the world's most frustrating markets for software companies…. IDC estimated that 79% of the PC software installed in China last year was pirated" (p. 1).  Samsung has been accused of copying the Apple iPhone and iPad with their Galaxy line of products in which Apple filed a patent law suit against the company.  Apple claims that "Samsung's latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging" (Fried, 2011). 

Online attacks that targeted a number of U.S. Corporations originated at two Chinese Universities: Jiaotong University and the Lanziang Vocational School (Packowski, 2010).  Sources are not clear on whether these attacks are government driven or rampant students just playing around on their computers.  Either way, the security of U.S. Corporations and their privacy has been violated.

The examples provided above are only a few of the copyright, piracy, hacking, security breaches, patent infringement, examples that can easily be found in newspapers on a daily basis.  These examples are clear evidence that America is still exceptional, still provides innovative products, and still provides a product desired from around the globe.  One question would have to be made: What if no one wanted to copy American products anymore?  What if everyone wanted to copy Chinese products, or Japanese products, or India's products instead?  The point is simple: American products are still clearly innovative and America is still Exceptional!

Moving into the future we need to consider what needs to be done to continue our technical and innovative advantage.  Are we producing an educated work force to operate in and to move beyond the Web 3.0 environment?  Are we leading the technology summits around the globe, or are we participants.  Where are most of the technology students coming from in the next 20 years (U.S., China, India, etc…)?  Where are the most innovated students coming from in the next 20 years?  Is America positioned to be the clear leader in innovation and new technological products for the next generation?

References

Fletcher, O. (October 26, 2010). Fighting China's pirates: Software makers try lower prices to lure users away from illegal copies.  Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704300604575554701758669106.html?mod=WSJ_Tech_LEFTTopNews

Fried, I. (April 18, 2011). Apple files patent suit against Samsung over galaxy line of phones and tablets.  Retrieved from http://allthingsd.com/20110418/apple-files-patent-suit-against-samsung-over-galaxy-line-of-phones-and-tablets/

Paczkowski, J. (February 19, 2010). World war WAN: Google hack traced to schools in China.  Retrieved from http://allthingsd.com/20100219/google-hack-traced-to-schools-in-china/

Recharge, Reboot, Reflect, Then Charge

It's near the end of the year and everyone has already drawn their attention onto their lofty goals for the next year, 2012.  Prior to jumping into the new year too early try to recharge, reboot, and reflect first.

Recharge your batteries before you start a new journey.  Take some time away from your stressors to allow yourself to recharge.

Reboot, clear your head, remove those cobwebs.  A lot has happened over the last year and it is time to remove the clutter before beginning a new year.  Restructure what occurred over the last year and organize this information into a clear outline or summary before adding more information to the mix.

Reflect on your achievements, failures, and learning.  Look back on your biggest achievements of the past year and pat yourself on the back, smile, and take pride in what you have accomplished.  Reflect on your failures over the past year and ask yourself what you have learned from the experience, if this was to happen again I would…  Over the course of the year we have learned a lot of knowledge.  Take time to outline your knowledge into easy to remember categories; either chronologically, or by location, or by content.  Organizing your knowledge is the best way to assure that that knowledge can be recalled when needed.

Now it is your turn to charge into the next year.  But wait, first you need to set obtainable goals, not unobtainable goals that will only leave you disappointed at the end of next year.  Set goals on two different levels: easy to obtain but necessary goals, and hard to obtain but intrinsically beneficial.  Necessary but easy goals are those that you know you have to do but may not like doing them.  These are goals because you have to schedule your time to do them; work tasks, exercising, cleaning, yard work, reading a book a month/week, submitting a journal article, etc…  Set harder to obtain goals that are internally worthwhile to achieve to you, not for the benefit of anyone else.  These goals could include enrolling in college, taking a vacation, volunteering your time, starting back at church, applying for that new job or promotion, etc…  The point is to set easy and hard goals, but none that are unobtainable, be realistic.

Now that you have recharged your batteries, rebooted your memory banks, and reflected on your achievements and failures, you are ready to take the first steps toward achieving your goals for the next year.  Good luck, and remember, you don't need luck when you have planned properly.

The Future of Libraries

With the increasing availability of electronic books (eBooks) and the vast amount of digital reference materials available to the learner many people have questioned the role of the library in the future.  Most information desired can be found online from one's home computer.  New reference books and fiction / nonfiction books can be bought online, or borrowed, and read on one's own preferred digital media device.  So one would ask, or conclude, that the future of the library is to expand access to one's own home computer, laptop computer, or digital device.  As I see it, a library membership in the future will provide the learner access to research publications and reference material, books, and magazine subscriptions, that can be viewed and checked out digitally.  Thus, the library will serve as a large database rather than a warehouse of books that can be read in place and taken home for two weeks at a time.

Libraries, and bookstores, are in a time of drastic change.  In transitioning with current advances in technology, libraries and bookstores are only beginning to see the forced changes that the recording, movie, and newspaper industries have already had to deal with.  Ebooks will continue to gain in population requiring libraries and bookstores to change their offerings.  Hardback and paperback books will continue to decline while ebooks will continue to be in demand.  In following this trend, libraries and bookstores will have to increase their digital offerings while reducing their hardback and paperback offerings.  One example of this can be found in HaperCollins recent response to their eBook policy for libraries.  HarperCollins' President of Sales, Josh Marwell, posted an open letter to Librarians addressing the recent policy change.  In Marwell's (2011) opening statement he indicated that they would continue to support those who promote ebook sales: "all who are actively engaged in buying, selling, lending, promotion, writing and publish in books" (p. 1). Unfortunately, libraries are low on this list.  This example is only one sign indicating that libraries are being forced to change.

Regarding HarperCollins recent policy changes for libraries: from a business standpoint, and not from a community service standpoint, I feel that the publisher has the right to regulate the availability of ebook sales to meet market demands.  Provided below are a few reasons to support my decision.

1) Ebook sales have increased without the assistance of libraries supporting specific titles:

• The growing number of sales of ebooks continue to increase as buyers prefer the ease of the digital format and the cheaper prices available for ebooks.  Currently, Amazon sells 60 to 70% of all e-books in America, with approximately 90% e-books sales in Great Britain (Clayton, 2011).  If the role of the library is to promote reading - Amazon, Barnes and Noble, along with a number of other online providers of digital e-books, are providing this service to the online community replacing the traditional role of the library.
• The ebook format has also opened up new opportunities for self-published authors.  Self-published authors have grown to nearly 133,036 in 2010 from 51,237 in 2006, nearly tripling in size (Trachtenberg, 2011).  Penguin is offering books priced from .99 cents up to $2.99, with some books priced above the $2.99 price (Trachtenberg, 2011).
• The main drivers in the ebook industry are Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple, and Google.  The ebook publishers have to cater to these four key players at the expense of the public libraries.

2) Increasing ebook sales over traditional hardcover and paperback will reduce operating costs for book stores and libraries:

• The decreased costs associated with ebooks will help reduce costs for book stores and libraries.  As ebooks gain even further popularity, shelf space required to store hardback and paperback books will be decreased, furthering a reduction in overhead costs for book stores and libraries.  
• Trachtenberg (2011) indicated that most readers are switching to cheaper digital books.  One example provided by Trachteberg (2011) is that Amazon customers currently buy more Kindle titles than the traditional hardcover and paperback copies.  Trachteberg (2011) highlighted the impact that ebooks have had on print runs, print runs have decreased by 25% compared to one year earlier. At this rate, shelf space in book stores and libraries will be reduced, requiring a larger digital selection of titles.  This is evident by publishers reducing their warehouse capacity, such as HarperCollins Publishers Inc. who is currently closing two of its four warehouses (Trachteberg, 2011).  Another publisher, Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group Inc., an academic and reference publisher who also serve libraries, has no plans to build new warehouses since their digital sales for this year have tripled (Trachteberg, 2011).

3) Libraries will have to begin working directly with delivery agents rather than publishers:

• In September, Amazon begin allowing library users to borrow ebooks from their home computer (Olshan, 2011).  By providing ebook downloads the New York Public Library had their registrations double (Olshan, 2011).  This new offering has allowed the New York Public Library to continue its mission in this time of change.  According to Anthony Marx, the president of the New York Public Library, this move "would be a natural extension of the library's mission to get people to read more and think more" (Olshan, 2011, p. 1). 

References:

Clayton, N. (2011, Sept. 12). Digitization bring shrinking case for E-Books. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://blogs.wsj.com/tech-europe/2011/09/12/digitization-bring-shrinking-case-for-e-books/?KEYWORDS=ebooks

Marwell, J. (2011, March 01). Open letter to librarians [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://harperlibrary.typepad.com/my_weblog/2011/03/open-letter-to-librarians.html

Olshan, J. (2011, Oct. 6). E-Readers on checkout. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203476804576613310084522894.html?KEYWORDS=Amazon+ebooks

Trachtenberg, J. A. (2011, Aug. 29). New economics rewrite book business. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904875404576532351102200460.html?KEYWORDS=Amazon+ebooks

Trachtenberg, J. A. (2011, Nov. 16). Self-publishers get help: Penguin starts service as big houses see digital's potential. The Wall Street Journal.  Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203503204577040363712747708.html?KEYWORDS=ebooks

Using Technology in Education / Training

Technology used in education (formal school education) and for training (business training, non-formal education) takes many forms: simulations, communication, interactive, virtual, games, etc…  The use of technology in education and training have been reported to be both effective and non-effective.  Listed below are two examples of recent research relating to using technology in education along with a brief summary of their findings.  Following, I have identified a list of four items to consider prior to using technology in an education or training setting. 

Vanderwater et al. (2006) pointed out that "technology use has no intrinsic value per se, but instead has value only with respect to the activities it displaces" (as cited in Bavelier et al., 2010, p. 694).  For example, if a student is already working on math problems at home, by introducing technology to help with their math abilities probably will not show too much gain.  It is when a student does not work on math problems that introducing technology could aid the student to begin working on math problems - thus benefitting that student.

Vogel et al. (2006) conducted a meta-analysis which compared traditional teaching methods with games and interactive simulations. They viewed which teaching method had the highest cognitive gains for the learner.  What they found was: "those using interactive simulations or games report higher cognitive gains and better attitudes toward learning compared to those using traditional teaching methods" (Vogel et al., 2006, p. 237).  Some limitations were identified however.  For example, the interactive simulations had to be experiential for the learner, it could not be controlled by the teacher or the program, in order to be effective.  Although this study provided interesting results, highlighting benefits from games and interactive simulations, comparative analyses could not be conducted with traditional teaching methods due to a lack of data from the literature.

When determine which teaching methods and materials to choose for a training program, when the need for a training program has been identified, a few things should be considered.  

1. If technology is to be used as part of the training, the expected outcome from the technology should be determined a priori.  What is the outcome that you expect from the learners through the use of this technology?  Is this outcome possible without the use of the technology?  Do the learners understand what is expected of them prior to using this technology?  This item relates to the point identified above that technology only has value based on the activities it displaces, in this case the outcome expected from using technology in a training environment.
2. When technology is being used for training purposes, are the learners free to experiment, or are they being guided and told what to do at each step?  In order for technology to provide effective training the learners need to have the ability to freely experiment with the content, to be able to interact through the technology, and be able to make mistakes without consequences.  This item relates to the previously mentioned research identifying that interactive simulations or games can provide higher cognitive gains.
3. An additional item to consider is the type of learners that this training will be addressing.  If the learners are mostly self-directed learners than the technology may not be necessary.  Self-directed learners are motivated and they will absorb the material and research beyond the content presented in the training material, with or without new technology.  However, if the learners are not self-directed learners the technology may provide a means for effective learning transfer.  
4. Lastly, a caution to consider is that the technology being used for training cannot be too demanding of the learners.  If the technology is hard to use or learn to use (a steep learning curve) then the learning will be lost.

References

Bavelier, D., Green, S. C., & Dye, M. W. G. (2010). Children, wired: For better and for worse. Neuron, 67, 692-701. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2010.08.035

Vogel, J. J., Vogel, D. S., Cannon-Bowers, J., Bowers, C. A., Muse, K., & Wright, M. (2006). Computer gaming and interactive simulations for learning: A meta-analysis. Journal of Educational Computer Research, 34(3), 229-243.

Podcasts in Education and Training

Podcasts provide a rich source of information in a platform that is flexible for all types of users.  They can be downloaded and listened to at the leaner's convenience.  Podcasts are also capable of being distributed through a variety of mediums.  Podcasts can take the form of the traditional audio cast as well as the newer video cast.  The content of the material included in a Podcast can vary in which each end user can find most anything he/she is interested in.  Podcasts also vary in content, providing entertainment as well as educational material.  

Some of the educational / training Podcast's, that I have found useful, are provided below:

The American Society of Training and Development (ASTD) provides Podcasts on their webpage: ASTDPodcasts

Great e-learning tips can be found at The Rapid E-Learning Blog: Practical, real-world tips for e-learning success.  Podcasts are provided from this The Rapid E-Learning blog page at: Download Podcasts from The Rapid E-Learning Blog

Another great site for Podcasts, and other e-learning materials (audio books & videos) can be found at the Learn Out Loud website.

Xyleme Voices: A Podcast Library on the Evolution of Training provides a rich source of information with a Podcast provided for each blog post.

Advantages to using Podcasts in education have been documented in recent research projects.  Evans (2008) identified podcasting as a form of m-learning.  Research from Malan (2007) described research studies where lectures were recorded allowing students to download the lectures as they wished.  These lectures were found to be used more as a review tool rather than as an excuse to miss class.  Additionally, they found that by downloading the lectures more free time was allotted during class time to discuss specific issues and for problem solving (Milan, 2007, as cited in Evans).  Other studies promoted well designed materials (in m-learning formats such as a podcasts): "by increasing the amount of control learners have over their learning process, can be more efficient and effective than traditional alternatives" (Evans, 2008, Introduction).  Thus, Podcasts and other m-learning tools can be advantageous to the learner when used as a tool for learning.

Alternatively, just as writing helps one learn more about a subject, so to can developing a podcast.  Developing a podcast requires a student to research a topic, outline their talk around that topic, and persuade the audience that their information is authentic.  One drawback to creating a podcast for the learner, especially if it is their first time, is the learning curve associated with learning to create a podcast.  Spraque and Pixley (2008) indicated: "podcasts have a steep learning curve.  The most difficult part is learning how to use an editing software program" (p. 232).  Once this learning curve has passed, learning the subject matter will improve.  Creating a Podcast can also be advantageous to the learner once they overcome the learning curve associated with developing a Podcast.

Training and Development have incorporated the use of Podcasts in a variety of capacities while training.  Some of these uses include: providing a Podcast to give additional information to the learners after the training project is complete, providing additional training material for learners to review prior to certification testing, and incorporating Podcasts into lessons as an additional source of information.  

Podcasts are easy to use and provide numerous benefits to Education and to the Training and Development industry.  As the use of Podcasts increase I believe we will see additional benefits for the end user, the learner.

References:

Evans, C. (2008). The effectiveness of m-learning in the form of podcast revision lectures in higher education. Computers & Education, 50(2), 491-498. doi: 10.1016/j.compedu.2007.09.016

Spraque, D., & Pixley, C. (2008). Podcasts in Education: Let their voices be heard. Computers in the schools, 25(3), 226-234. doi: 10.1080/07380560802368132