(6.1) What is organizational culture (OC)? the value perspective? the behavioral perspective? Are these two perspectives related to each other in any way?
Organizational culture is a significant knowledge resource through its ability to facilitate the creation, storage, transfer, and use of knowledge. The values perspective of culture consists of four sub-types - involvement, consistency, adaptability, and mission. It also examines the relationships of these types and organizational effectiveness. The behavioral perspective focuses on culture as defined by actual work practices. The behavioral perspective distinguish the sub-cultures of organizations better than that of the value systems. The value perspective seems to be more tacit-based, while the behavioral can be more readily observed. They are similar in the fact that both are part of organizational culture, and influence the knowledge initiatives of a company.
(6.2) How does OC influence knowledge creation?
Knowledge is created, shared, and amplified through social and collaborative processes. These processes are strongly embedded within an organizations culture. Knowledge creation is not a formal process, it is a socially constructed process that occurs over time through informal human networks. The author of this article suggests that cultures with a high degree of change and flexibility will have a positive effect on knowledge creation.
(6.3) How does OC influence knowledge transfer?
Knowledge transfer is based in knowledge sharing and knowledge acceptance. One of the elements of a culture is it's openness or closedness. An open culture will cause employees to feel at home almost immediately. Cultures will tend to transfer knowledge more efficiently where there is an open culture. The two other elements of OC that will cause more efficient knowledge transfer are a parochial system (rather than professional) and an employee-oriented culture (rather than task oriented).
(6.4) In your opinion, how can knowledge management initiatives impact OC?
According to this article, there are a number of ways that knowledge management initiatives can impact OC. Examples include the "Buckman Code of Ethics" and the metaphor of a waterline. In my opinion, it is very difficult to create a KM initiative that can fully create or properly adjust OC. Culture can be impacted by these KM initiatives, but the amount of community acceptance of the proposed "culture" is not estimable. People may reject the proposed initiative.
I agree that proposing knowledge management initiatives that go against the organizational culture will more than likely be ill perceived, and rejected. I believe that initiatives that are very close to the culture of the organization but differ slightly may be more acceptable. A difficult thing to do for some organizations is to successfully know what kind of culture they have to establish the right initiatives.
ReplyDeleteIn relation to section 6.4, I do feel that knowledge management initiatives do affect oganizational culture. Initives should be aimed at boosting the company as a whole rather than boosting individuals or separate units. When emphasis is placed on individual successes, knowledge is less likely to be transferred, because a closed system is created. Individuals feel as though they are competing against each other. Therefore, they do not want to share knowledge, because they would lose the competitive advantage.
ReplyDeleteTraditionally, culture has been assessed by qualitative methods. However, quantitative approaches such as culture surveys offer important advantages for both cross-sectional organizational research and knowledge-based cultural change initiatives. Organizations adapt to their external environments by designing responsive structures and systems, adopting relevant technologies, and harvesting appropriate skills and qualities
ReplyDeleteKnowledge transfer actually happens more often than we realized. When companies promote a good envirnonment for learning and transfer then the group works together and great thinks happen.
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