Introduction

Learning organization framework for nurturing and maintaining is a critical dimension that needs to be well understood and deployed by any organization that considered as Learning Organization. The significance of nurturing and maintaining is much related to the sustainability of the organization to survive in any industry and business.

Significance of the topic

The significance of this topic relies of four main justifications the required to be understood by organizations that wish to nourish and maintain a learning organization.

þ   Dynamics of organization and business

þ   Competitive advantage

þ   Maintaining quality and standard

þ   Satisfying stakeholders

Dynamics of organization and business

Company culture is changing. Technology, the demands of an increasingly sophisticated workforce, independent thinking, global awareness and competition, requires out-working all these factors point to sea-changes in business practice, which astute companies have already recognized and are working to accommodate. Thus, the requirement to nourish and maintain is important to adapt to the dynamics of organization and business.

Strategies

Assessment of environment

Understanding status quo

The understanding of status quo will enable a Learning Organization to assess the existing environment it identify the working environment and to determine the conduciveness of the working environment and capacity to offer value addedness.

Mentoring

Mentorship refers to a developmental relationship between a more experienced mentor and a less experienced partner referred to as a protégé, mentoree, or (person) being mentored—a person guided and protected by a more prominent person. Training could be an internal process which includes amongst peers or even independently by seeking external mentors.

Training

The term training refers to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge that relate to specific useful competencies.

Continuous and holistic approaches in training need to be deployed along the process of nurturing and maintaining a learning organization. Training in a Learning Organization should include;

• Moral/Spiritual

• Intellectual

• Aptitude/Competency

• Emotional

TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES

The tools and techniques adopted to maintain and nurture a Learning Organization will very much depends on understanding of three main factors in the organization. These factors should be taken in consideration while considering the best tools and techniques for the organization to adopt to ensure effectiveness in deployment.

Organizational structure / hierarchy

Organization structure/hierarchy will determine the how working culture, communication, beliefs systems, values and norms of an organization.

Communication: Human centric or technology centric approach during communication process amongst members of organization.

Technology

To what extent is the organization are willing to invest in technology, train and retrain its employee and the level of adaptability towards technology adapted for the purpose of organizational learning.

Benchmarking/Measurement

Measurement will allow organization to determine the level of competency of its members. Such measurement will enable organizations to identify the knowledge gap amongst team members and undertake suitable action to resolve the any problem that arise. Measurement tools such as Key Performance Indicator (KPIs), Balance Score Card (BSC) and Knowledge Mapping may be deployed.

Based on the framework proposed by Edwin C Nevis, Anthony J. DiBella and Janet M.Gould in their article “Understanding Organizations as A Learning System”, it was proposed that  two important strategic approaches that can be used for examining a company the basis for nurturing and maintaining a Learning Organization. First, based on its Learning Orientations that refers to a set of critical dimensions to organizational learning, and secondly, the  facilitating factors – the processes that affect how easy or hard it is for learning to occur.

Learning Orientations

q  Knowledge source : Internal & External

q  Product-Process Focus: What? How?

q  Documentation Mode : Personal/Public

q  Dissemination Mode : Formal/Informal

q  Learning Focus : Incremental/Corrective vs. Transformative/Radical Learning

q  Value-Chain Focus : Design/Deliver

q  Skill Development Focus : Individual / Group

Facilitating Factors

• Scanning Imperative
• Performance gap
• Concern for measurement
• Experimental mind-set
• Climate of Openness
• Continuous Education
• Operational Variety
• Multiple Advocates
• Involved Leadership

Conclusion

In conclusion, the process of nurturing and maintaining a Learning Organization is very much related to the Change Management approaches adopted by any organization. Change Management is a structured approach to transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations from a current state to a desired future state. This includes both organizational change management processes and individual change management models, which together are used to manage the people side of change. The ADKAR model developed by Jeff Hiatt may be seen as part of the nurturing and maintaining processes which is prerequisite.

Source: ADKAR MODEL (Jeff Hiatt, ADKAR: A Model for Change in Business, Government and Our Community)

To a Learning Organization, without a comprehensive Change Management program, the ability to sustain in a competitive environment is questionable. The usage of such tool will allow co

Culture plays an important role in influencing knowledge management activities in organization and society. Culture can be defined as a pattern of basic assumptions: invented, discovered, or developed by a given group as it learns to cope with its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems.  Organizational culture can be understood as the relationship, practice, norms, management approaches, the workflow, the communication and interaction of people within an organization.

Recent studies have expressed considerable interest in knowledge management practices and organizational culture. Organizational culture forms one of the critical success factors in the implementation of knowledge management within an organisation. Culture has been identified as the biggest challenge to KM implementation. A healthy culture enhances the prospects of successful implementation of knowledge management. Thus, the understanding of culture will provide a strong foundation to any organization when embarking on a Knowledge Management policy.

Knowledge sharing is a structured support and guidance of acquiring knowledge, exchanging knowledge and using knowledge to support business processes within an organization.[1] Knowledge sharing can be identified through various criteria and Robert E. Buckman in his book, Building a Knowledge Driven Organization have outlined the criteria as follows;

Table 1: Knowledge sharing principles

Source: Buckman “Building a Knowledge Driven

                        Organization”

Cultural barriers in Knowledge Sharing

 Cultural barriers in knowledge sharing can hinder the process of providing a conducive organizational environment if not identified and addressed accordingly. Culture is hard to change, but values and virtues may help to align the organization to its visions and missions.

Despite various advantages associated with knowledge sharing, there are many situations where knowledge is not shared effectively. During the learning process, whether discussions are conducted in collaborative groups or not, there are many circumstances where people do not share their personal knowledge on a certain topic or issue. This can be attributed to various physical, technological, personality and cultural factors.[1]

Organizational culture can give both negative and positive impact on knowledge sharing practices. It can be an enabler and at the same time an inhibitor of knowledge management initiatives. Despite the fact that culture acts as a barrier that has deep-rooted in the organisation, it can be changed.

A few researchers have found empirical evidence that differences in the national culture do affect knowledge sharing. As an example, a study of knowledge management conducted in South Africa found that the diversity of cultures in South African companies resulted in barriers in knowledge sharing. They suggest that there is a need to acknowledge differences in culture and to develop a culture of trust to overcome barriers in multicultural knowledge sharing.[2]

The issue of language differences should be noted when examining barriers in knowledge sharing. People are reluctant to share knowledge if they cannot understand concepts or find it difficult to get their message across. This is true in a South African case study whereby people are compounded by the existence of nine ethnicities, each with their own communities, cultural languages and parlance.

Cultivating a knowledge sharing culture in organization

Cultivating a knowledge sharing culture requires an organization to inculcate good organizational practice of knowledge sharing. An organization that wishes to embark on any knowledge management initiative should provide its people with a conducive and supportive environment.  Thus, this article has identified the following factors to be considered as the   most critical factors in cultivating knowledge sharing.

Leadership

The strong influence that the leadership has on the rest of the organizational community is an important determining factor in cultivating a knowledge sharing culture. Management at all level, starting from chief executive, managers and supervisors, together with knowledge professionals, can help by example and enhance communication and interaction at all levels with in the organization. Managers have a primary responsibility in ensuring that staff shares their knowledge with each other, that they are receptive to other people’s knowledge, and that they actively participate in social networks. This type of stimulating culture can only be created through a hands-on approach. Necessary exposure and experience may help to refine staff mindset, receptiveness and working maturity.  It is also important for managers to set an inspirational example.

Leaders must be convinced of the advantages and usefulness of knowledge transfer. They must change their own behavior towards it and take more supportive role towards knowledge transfer. Other ways include changing the organizational culture, provide the appropriate infrastructure and changing reward system.Many researchers have insisted that top management leadership and commitment compose the most critical factor for successful KM initiatives. It has been reported that more than 40 percent of Fortune 1000 companies have chief knowledge officers.Top management must play a key role throughout the entire KM project, including maintaining employees’ morale during the difficult change period.

In best practice companies, well respected members of the organization are role models in sharing knowledge. Best practice organizations report that people frequently seek information and insights outside their immediate workgroup or team and their brightest people are generally their highest contributors.

Trust

 The element of trust plays another significant role in inculcating knowledge sharing. Trust principles refer to a framework or guidelines that can be implemented in the organization’s work and everyday life. Closure, commitment, communication, speedy resolution, respect and responsibility are examples of the trust principle.

Scholars fundamentally agree that trust is a “psychological state comprising the intention to accept vulnerability based upon positive expectations of the intention or behavior of another”.[1] In the context of partnership formation, it can be concluded that trust is an actor’s expectation of the other party’s capability, goodwill and self reference, that needs to be confirmed by experience. Thus trust is increased by – and decreased by the lack of – evidence of these components in the parties’ actual behavior and communication.[2]

People will not share if they do not have the trust among each other. To develop trust, it evolves over a long period of time through the way in which individuals work with one another. However, this can be developed through various means and there are suggestions such as encouraging a knowledge-friendly culture to promote trust. For instance, giving a positive evaluation on someone’s knowledge friendly attitude and giving opportunities for growth and working in a variety of different teams, will ensure that people will eventually get to know each other and learn from one another.

Top management in this case plays an important role to sell the idea that “knowledge sharing is power”. KM must be included as part of an organization’s vision and mission. A culture of confidence and trust is required to encourage the application and development of knowledge within an organization.

Communication

 Linking people up with one another is more important than capturing and disseminating knowledge. As Prusak puts it: “If you have a dollar to spend on knowledge management, it’s better to spend on connection than capture.” It has been argued that sharing and internalizing tacit knowledge require active interaction among individuals, especially in the form of storytelling. This is where the Community of Practice (CoPs) comes in as a platform for such exchanges to take place.

Culture also plays a significant role in determining preferred modes of communication and information sharing. Studies conducted in Russia, China and Brazil show multiple perspectives on how culture influence communication. In Russia, employees are very comfortable with e-mail communication, and do not display any particular preference for either face to face, or phone communication. In China however, the order of preference is different:  face-to-face communication is the first, followed by phone calls and e-mails.

Reward and recognition

Reward and recognition plays another important role in cultivating knowledge sharing culture in organizations. Increasing a firm’s incentive based learning capacity would increase the effectiveness and efficiency of knowledge transfer.  This includes things like the reward system and a learning agenda that supports knowledge sharing.

Knowledge building and knowledge sharing are considered critical for management, as the company has successfully created knowledge linkages across the organization. For this reason, the contribution to such linkages is strongly linked to employee compensation packages.[1] Since KM deals with intangible assets of an organization, non-financial indicators are necessary to be developed to measure and capture the impact of KM.

• Organizational structure

The structure of an organization plays an important role in creating a knowledge sharing culture in organizations.  This is true especially in creating knowledge and learning economies, particularly as an integrating mechanism that encourages cooperation and facilitates interdependence.

Managing knowledge sharing requires active input from a variety of disciplines. ICT and human resources manager, members of top management and others should play an active role. One of the organization’s most important tasks is to organize self-organizing and cross-functional teams so that k-workers can come together to create new knowledge and present them in an easily accessible format.

Conclusion

Development of knowledge sharing culture in an organization is an important effort that needs to be addressed by the management of any knowledge-based organization. It is difficult to motivate knowledge workers in a global organization to share their knowledge, but it can be done by taking different managerial approaches into account and by looking into the likelihood of success for each one in each region. Knowledge sharing is one of the basic foundations of KM and in order to optimize the chances for successful knowledge sharing, cultural understanding needs to be taken into account.