Knowledge Sharing concerns the activity through which information, skills, and expertise are exchanged among employees. Encouraging knowledge sharing would positively affect organizational excellence.
Now Researchgate becomes the most important method for knowledge sharing among researchers. I agree with that Shafig.
On the bases of culture of the organization focused on knowledge. Key word: culture.
# Employees should be enlightened on sharing their Knowledge (only relevant knowledge in Critical Areas) with their Colleagues in the Organization.
# Employees should be encouraged with incentives if need be,to participate in Workshops,Conferences,Presentation,Publication of Papers in Reputed Journals etc. and present their acquisition in the Departmental meetings to make one another know what the other person is doing and simultaneously knowing something more in their areas and in new areas.
# Employees should be encouraged to become Members of Reputed Professional Bodies, subsidizing or fully supporting their Subsciptions by the Organization
# Employees should be encouraged to attend / Give Guest Lectures / Special Lectures,A.V. Presentations,impartation / acquisition of New or Better Skills in their Organization / other Institutions,
# Employees should be encouraged to conduct Workshops / Conferences and also to serve the nearby Community with teir Knowledge and Skills.
# The Most Important Thing isthat the Organization should have a Policy of Encouraging the innovative Initiativesof their Employees.
P.S.
(1) use a dedicated company web page to publicise new events, products, good practice and procedures, etc.
(2) regular email shots and weekly newsletters
(3) written into company's mission statement
(4) prominantly dispaly this message on the home pageof the compnay's website
(5) statement in all recruitment ads and emplyment document package
(6) regular seminars
(7) part of training and reviewing process
(8) empahsis in induction talk or leaflest to new employees.
Dear @Mahfuz, I think that the best way to encourage knowledge sharing is by encouraging the members to give seminars and participate in the discussions.
There should be a culture of knowledge sharing in the company. Periodic seminars for the employees by the employees be encouraged and rewarded in some manner to have a healthy sharing of information. Also encourage employees to publish information through in house publications.
Dear Mahfuz
You have got good responses. I just want to add one point that the employees must be reassured that they will receive some type of incentive for what they create and share.
knowledge sharing is one of the key stones required for growth of organization.
This will not only excel the organization but also the working potential level of employees. Organization can meet coming challenges efficiently rather than being conventional because of not sharing knowledge environment.
To promote this activity, a knowledge sharing environment should be built up. there should be meetings, friendly group discussions like activities to exchange views and information.
Dear Mahfuz
It is said that knowledge is power. This feeling can obstruct knowledge sharing. I will say the following to promote knowledge sharing:
1. Knowledge management (KM) is building culture of knowledge learning, sharing & development.
2. Only some businesses have been able to develop a culture of KM & knowledge sharing; most organizations have no strategy for sharing knowledge. with staff
3.Making information available at all level: Is issue of organizational culture and leadership; so it is important to have leaders in the organization who can inspire the knowledge workers
4. Need to undertake effective education and training to develop knowledge-sharing culture in the organization.
5. Develop shared vision and team-working culture so that there is no competition amongst workers.
6 People normally have a habit of knowledge-hiding with peers; so there is a need to build incentives for knowledge-sharing.
7. Develop effective interventions such as mentoring, coaching counseling for changing the mental models (Peter Senge) i.e. people assumptions, values, and attitudes.
I like the idea of incentives. But from my experience in an organization who retain knowledge management into their strategic plans, incentives goes to pmf or kpi indicators. Where as knowledge sharing is indicator of benefit that you got and rank up in your pmf. The more knowledge that you ve share in your sharing session it will increase your pmf and kpi that goes directly to increases of your salary.
Its practice as a good performance and application of knowledgd sharing from my side of view.
Some organizations solved knowledge sharing in way similar to RG:
- if you are specialist, don't know something and can't find the right answer, yhen you may put it on special internal forum of specialists,
- somebody, who really knows - answers (he/she may use of course e.g. telephone),
- each proper/useful answer is graded (points, smiles, etc.),
- expertize and will of knowledge sharing is assessed by sum of points, and awarded by organization at the nd of year - awards are usually valuable (e.g. holiday abroad) to stimulate further knowledge sharing.
I don't know if it is the best solution, but it works.
The opposite to knowledge sharing is knowledge baring or knowledge hiding. knowledge baring was the norm in traditional organizations and probably continues to be the norm in many nowadays organizations. Reasons for knowledge baring can be the incentives , which reward individual achievement, or the fair of loss of position, extras, or even the whole job for others getting to know the secrets. Therefore, it is that through concentrating on institutional/ department/ group achievement knowledge sharing can be encouraged. A person need to feel that achievement of others around him contribute to his achievement somehow while at the same time individual recognition should not be totally out of the dictionary. After all, individuals need to be recognized. Hence, the incentives model shall reward, in a delicate balance, individuals performance and individuals contribution to the success of others around them and the success of the group. Having that up and running, technology platforms, as suggested by colleagues above, can help in facilitating knowledge dissemination, knowledge accumulation and knowledge sharing. Thanks. @AlDmour.
Knowledge is often seen as a rich form of information; in other words it is about know-how and know-why. It is important to note that to make knowledge productive you need information. Know-why is also important.
Knowledge Management is a business philosophy. It is an emerging set of principles, processes, organisational structures, and technology applications that help people share and leverage their knowledge to meet their business objectives.”
This puts focus and responsibility on the individual – the knowledge worker - and on the holistic nature of knowledge management. Also critically it is about meeting business objectives. Knowledge Management is not an end in its self. It is also fundamentally about sharing knowledge and putting that knowledge to use. Why Sharing Knowledge is Important?
Today, the creation and application of new knowledge is essential to the survival of almost all businesses. There are many reasons. They include: -
•Intangible products - ideas, processes, information are taking a growing share of global trade from the traditional, tangible goods of the manufacturing economy.
•Increasingly the only sustainable competitive advantage is continuous innovation. In other words, the application of new knowledge.
•Increasing turnover of staff. People don’t take a job for life any more. When someone leaves an organisation their knowledge walks out of the door with them.
•Our problem as an organisation is that we don't know what we know". Large global or even small geographically dispersed organisations do not know what they know. Expertise learnt and applied in one part of the organisation is not leveraged in another.
•Accelerating change - technology, business and social. As things change so does our knowledge base erode – in some businesses, as much of 50% of what you knew 5 years ago is probably obsolete today.
What then does it mean to create a Knowledge Sharing Culture? Well it’s about making knowledge sharing the norm. To create a knowledge sharing culture you need to encourage people to work together more effectively, to collaborate and to share - ultimately to make organisational knowledge more productive. But we need to remember a few things:
•We are talking about sharing knowledge and information – not just information.
•The purpose of knowledge sharing is to help an organisation as a whole to meet its business objectives. We are not doing it for its own sake.
•Learning to make knowledge productive is as important if not more important than sharing knowledge.
•Changing a culture is tough. Not only does it mean change – which has always been tough – it means seeing the world in a different way. It means revealing our hidden paradigms like the tacit acceptance that “knowledge is power”.
We are told by many experts and managers that rewards must be put in place to encourage knowledge sharing. We need to help people see for themselves that knowledge sharing is in their personal interest. The old paradigm was “knowledge is power”. Today it needs to be explicitly understood that “sharing knowledge is power”. If people understand that sharing their knowledge helps them do their jobs more effectively; helps them retain their jobs; helps them in their personal development and career progression; rewards them for getting things done (not for blind sharing); and brings more personal recognition, then knowledge sharing will become a reality.
So what are the reasons to share that should motivate people? Here are a few: -
•Knowledge is a perishable. Knowledge is increasingly short-lived. If you do not make use of your knowledge then it rapidly loses its value.
•Even with the low level of knowledge sharing that goes on today – if you do not make your knowledge productive than someone else with that same knowledge will. You can almost guarantee that whatever bright idea you have someone else somewhere in the organisation will be thinking along the same lines.
•By sharing your knowledge, you gain more then you lose. Sharing knowledge is a synergistic process – you get more out than you put in. If I share a product idea or a way of doing things with another person – then just the act of putting my idea into words or writing will help me shape and improve that idea. If I get into dialogue with the other person then I’ll benefit from their knowledge, from their unique insights and improve my ideas further.
•To get most things done in an organisation today requires a collaborative effort. If you try to work alone – you are likely to fail – you need not only the input from other people but their support and buy-in. Being open with them; sharing with them, helps you achieve your objectives.
Some people object to sharing as they feel that others will steal their ideas and reap the rewards rightly theirs. This is a fallacy. Knowledge sharing isn’t about blindly sharing everything; giving away your ideas; being politically naïve; or being open about absolutely everything. You still need to exercise judgement. If you have a great idea – don’t share it with a competitor – external or internal, but on the other hand don’t try to develop it on your own and don’t sit on it for fear of it being stolen from you. Figure out how you can bring it to fruition by collaborating with other people.
There is also another fallacy embedded in this thinking – knowledge sharing is not just about sharing great ideas – its about improving the way that things get done by sharing the little things. You have lots of knowledge of little use to you – share it with others who can make use of it and in return they will share relevant knowledge with you.
My personal view is that knowledge sharing starts at the individual. After all - if you are a CEO, a mid-level manager, a receptionist, or a graduate trainee you are still an individual. Each one of us has his or her job, set of objectives and sphere of influence.
If you believe that knowledge sharing is the way to help you; your department; team or organisation meet its objectives then start to practice it within your sphere of influence and encourage others to do the same – “lead by example”. The higher up the organisation the more influence you have. And remember sharing is not just about giving. It is about:
•Soliciting feedback
•Asking questions
•Telling people what you plan to do before doing it
•Asking other people for help
•Asking someone to work with you in some way - however small
•Telling people what you are doing and more importantly why you are doing it.
•Asking people what they think; asking them for advise
•Asking people what would they do differently
•Not just sharing information but know-how and know-why
Fundamentally sharing is about being more open in your way of work and in your relationships with other people.
Here are 5 ways that can be used to encourage knowledge sharing within an organization:
1. Mentoring: Each employee needs a mentor. Someone who can teach them the ropes, answer any questions they may have, and help them succeed within the organization. The mentor should be someone who is willing to truly guide a mentee in the right direction.
2. Departments vs. individuals: Seek out specific departments, not just individuals, when looking for a specific piece of information. They do say two heads are better than one, so utilize that in your knowledge-sharing efforts.
3. Trust! Without trust you have nothing. It is the foundation for any type of functional relationship. If you do not trust your co-workers, you will not be willing to share you very valuable knowledge, which just makes for an unhealthy environment.
4. Rewards: Reward your employees for contributing valuable information. Recognition is the number one way to satisfy an employee, so give them a shout out in front of the entire company.
5. Implement Good Collaboration Tools: The right tool makes all the difference, and companies with healthy collaboration are far more successful than their no-to-so open counterparts.
Great discussion and yes I think Jorge may have nailed the question with his detailed and succint response. In the healthcare sector we definitely have the same issues.
Dear Jorge
You have brought in great insights on knowledge creation, knowledge obsolescence knowledge sharing, and the need for creation of culture that facilitate these processes. Thanks for your detailed post.
If we juxtapose the questions of knowledge-sharing with the question of building a learning organization (LO), both will become complementary to each other. It is difficult t think of one without the other in a realistic sense. A more systematic approach to building a learning organization is promoting, what Peter Senge says, Systems Thinking, and linking with it the other four aspects of building an LO i.e. personal mastery, mental models, shared vision, and team learning. We can see these five elements of LO in the figure below:
Dear Serbi andDeborah.
Many thanks for your comments. These are the views of some experts in this field who knows better than me the subject. I do hope that these ideas help in the debate of this important subject.
"Knowledge Sharing concerns the activity through which information, skills, and expertise are exchanged among employees. Encouraging knowledge sharing would positively affect organizational excellence." It is exactly what we do in Medical Schools every day and evry year with new post-graduated young collegues who follow the courses for the various specializations. In these cases the theoretical and practical training and increased knowledge are put to the test at the same time. And knowing, knowing what to be and how to be able to do are a single entity..
Knowledge Sharing is always very good-- if one is motivated enough to develop new methods, knowledge,--> MORE knowledge to share.
If one is not anymore in a state of "competition", knowledge sharing gives a good feeling, too. (without arrogance !).
"Knowledge sharing is on its way out the door with most organizations. Follow these 5 steps to keep it alive and well."
https://blog.bloomfire.com/posts/522359-5-ways-to-encourage-knowledge-sharing-within-your-organization/public
Adopt sharing of knowledge as a usiness policy, not only among individuals, but among departments. There should be some reward for the deartment with outstanding knowledge sharing. Knowledge sharing is essentialas it helps us to lean from one another.
"It is often said that it is essential to create a "Knowledge Sharing Culture" as part of a Knowledge Management initiative. An isolated knowledge management programme looked after by a privileged few is a paradox in itself and will not survive for long. Only effective collaboration and communication which spans across the whole company structure will give knowledge management the boost it really needs. In order to enrich a company’s current culture David Gurteen believes that change must start at the individual. Every employee has a sphere of influence along with their own individual knowledge, and this is where he believes a knowledge sharing culture can begin."
http://www.gurteen.com/gurteen/gurteen.nsf/id/ksculture
I like the proposed "Knowledge Sharing Culture" as part of a Knowledge Management initiative for any company.
Most progressive companies believe in such practices. My company (www.KnowledgeSol.com) specializes in tools and technology for knowledge sharing.
Knowledge capture and Reuse (KCR) practices help companies grow, save time and costs in product development; improve quality. KCR tools and technologies and business practices have transformed many companies to be more profitable in the marketplace. For details of how one could achieve one's financial objectives and growth potentials, please follow this web link:
http://www.KnowledgeSol.com/
You can download some success stories and research papers from the following web link:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258884943_A_KNOWLEDGE-BASED_SYSTEM_ENGINEERING_PROCESS_FOR_OBTAINING_ENGINEERING_DESIGN_SOLUTIONS?ev=prf_pub
or from
http://www.knowledgesol.com/kcrplm-applications.html
Conference Paper A Knowledge-Based System Engineering Process for Obtaining E...
Thanks Kamal: for your interest and appreciation.
Yes, KCR methodology can also be used for knowledge-based instructions between highly specialized professors or teachers, who posses those highly-sought out knowledge (and perhaps in short supply) and the students/ others, who need them quickly.
Since this may a special situation, let us talk ourselves off line.
You can reach me at [email protected].
Thanks
Brian
Very important question - thanks. I am concerned about knowledge sharing in and a knowledge management plan that addresses knowledge from and for ALL people...and being more conscious of that practice level knowledge...with a view to producing knowledge with and for those ordinarily outside of the decision-making/ruling order.
As a program evaluator I had the opportunity to witness and learn more about what Dr. John Parboosingh (and others) refer to as "Practice Talk," an approach borrowed from "Community of Practice," "Appreciative Inquiry" and other techniques. This facilitated approach invites practitioners (health care examples are provided in the examples/papers listed below) to share day-to-day realities, experiences and stories from field as practice knowledge. The purpose of this approach being to generate dialogue that articulates ALL aspects of complex issues, suspending values statements and judgments.
Here are some papers (and Parboosingh has other contributions on the topic, and some tool kits/practical worksheets etc) that might be useful as references:
Parboosingh J, Reed VA, Caldwell Palmer J, Bernstein HH. Enhancing
practice improvement by facilitating practitioner interactivity: newroles
for providers of continuing medical education. J Contin Educ Health
Prof. 2011;31(2):122–127.
Jakubec S.L., Parboosingh, J., Colvin, B. (2014 - in press). Introducing a multimedia course to enhance health professionals’ skills to facilitate communities of practice:
experiences of the first cohort of course participants. J Health Organ Manag.
I like the idea of "practice talk" approach to generate dialogue that articulates ALL aspects of complex issues, suspending values statements and judgments. I like the references. Thanks!
Have you or has anyone developed any application of such practices into product development arenas?
The term Innovation is too frequently used to describe an act prescribed or derived that creates or improves a product or service. The liberal arts thinker describes Innovation as knowledge. While there are many definitions of innovation, one way to think about it is as a process that covers the creation and use of knowledge for the development and introduction of something new and useful. There are three important aspects to this definition. First, innovation is a process that involves the creation of relevant knowledge – about customer needs, market trends and developments, new technologies, and the knowledge needed to conduct technical and scientific development. Second, this knowledge is used for developing something new and useful; that is, novel ideas are transformed into new products, processes, and services. Third, usefulness depends on one’s perspective. Customers consider a service useful when it fulfills their needs. Users might consider an idea useful when it helps them solve a practical problem, whereas a company judges an idea as useful when the products or services on which it is based generate a positive cash flow. This definition of innovation has knowledge at its very core – innovation cannot occur without knowledge.
WALLIN, M. W., & KROGH, G. V. (2010). Organizing for Open Innovation:. Organizational Dynamics, 39(0090-2616), 145-154.
Knowledge can be shared by:
a) promiting a free and frank debate
b) respecting diversity and other's views
c) beliving in the premise that knowledge shared is knowledge multiplied
d) Having a fertile skill set where one is tempted to learn irrespective of the source.
e) having an eco-system wherein the knowedge provider and receipent can easily revese their roles !
There are many many ways for knowledge sharing. Deshmuck has nicely said the most important ways.
MoU between organizations for exchange of faculty and students / trainings - deliivering lectures, organizing combined conferences, brain storming sessions, frequent mutual visits by faculties part-research programmes, sharing teaching methodologies and formulation of multi-disciplinary research projects
Knowledge by itself is part of people. As all social aspects, we need to encourage activities that motivate people to react in certain circumstances. Therefor, start looking for things that motivate people in the organizations. Remember Maslow's pyramid of motivation. Not all the people are looking for the same things in organizations. Some people look forward for economic rewards, some just simple recognition.
On the other side, you need to have a prepared organizational culture to receive and embrace the knowledge sharing process. We can motivate people to share their knowledge but we really need to have an ambient prepared to facilitate this process. Already exists so many tasks and techniques for knowledge sharing such as communities of practice, coaching, socialization, and so.
A good balance between these activities: motivation and a prepared organizational culture comes with great results of knowledge sharing.
Certainly, dear Benjamin. I agree with you that we need to have a prepared organizational culture to receive and embrace the knowledge sharing process.
Trust, fairness, and a working mechanism would help encourage knowledge sharing in organizations.
Yes, dear Mohammed. Trust, fairness, and a good working mechanism would help encourage knowledge sharing.
I've studied that trust is one of the most important factors in knowledge sharing between to or more individuals not only inside organizations but in society. Between we trust more in one people we feel empathy to share with him our knowledge, and most important the tacit knowledge that is the harder knowledge to transfer.
Increasing the trust between individuals will help and facilitate the knowledge sharing between individuals.
Well said Benjamin. When we trust more in a person we feel empathy to share with her/him our knowledge, and most important the tacit knowledge that is the harder knowledge to transfer.
Dear Zeeshan,
I agree with you that employees behavior should be modified through training programs specially of managers in the organizations.
Dear Mahfuz,
In response to your question, you may like to peruse my papers about tacit knowledge transfer.
http://www.joams.com/uploadfile/2013/0426/20130426024311542.pdf
http://www.ibimapublishing.com/journals/JOKM/2015/297669/297669.pdf
Good luck.
Along with creating Trust, motivation to share knowledge is more important in an organization. A systematic approach like introducing points in the Performance appraisal system, organizational arrangements like scheduling experience sharing sessions before superannuation, rewards, and appreciation for knowledge sharing will also motivate people to share knowledge. Publishing the E.book on Best practices and lessons learned with photos of the contributor will also motivate employees.
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