Knowledge+Exchange


 * __Knowledge Exchange __**

With all of the advances in today’s global economy, sharing knowledge might not seem to be a huge concern, but there are barriers beyond language that impact an organization’s ability to disperse information to global teams. Antal (2000) posits that sharing knowledge starts with the individual who then spreads the information to the greater organization; so it becomes crucial to understand exactly how information is shared, especially across cultural and geographical boarders, from individual to organization, and from organization to organization.

Two main approaches to organization learning are the phase models of organizational learning and the spiral model of knowledge creation (Antal, 2000). The phase model is where the information is obtained and then integrated into the organization through these phases: 1) information is acquired 2) information is distributed 3) members of organization interpret the information 4) members of organization use the information to “ensure that it is stored in the memory of the organization” (Antal, p 4). The spiral model varies from the phase model in that it too is a transformative process but goes beyond the phase model by creating new knowledge – so new knowledge is brought in and shared and then from that more knowledge is discovered and shared, and the cycle continues – like a spiral (Antal). There are various barriers of the phase and spiral models which will be discussed later on.

A great deal can be learned about an organization, especially how an organization shares its knowledge when it is geographically dispersed. Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner (1998) offer four metaphors, each offering various lenses for organizational structure as it can vary across cultures and how those structures approach and share information: 1. The Family – When an organization has a structure along the familial lines, the information that is sought after focuses on “intuitive than in rational knowledge, more concerned with the development of people than with their deployment or utilization” (p. 169).  2. The Eiffel Tower – In this case, organizations look at individuals as resources – focusing the learning approach on skill development necessary to meet the position requirements, as well as expanding current knowledge in order to increase one’s chances of promotion within the organization. Staff, based on their knowledge set, are often shuffled about from one position to another to meet the overarching demands of the organization.  3. The Guided Missile – The learning process with this metaphor approach is based in practicality and focused on problem-solving.  4. The Incubator – This metaphor describes the learning process as, “All participants are on the same wavelength, empathically searching together for a solution to the shared problem” (p. 181). Due to the nature of incubator organizations the problems is not necessarily set and is left open to redefine.  Antal’s study (2000) highlights the positive results for expatriate managers who come back to their “home” site after time spent in the organization’s subsidiary. Antal offers five strengths that positively impact the organization’s ability to share knowledge globally. The first aspect is that the expatriate managers discovered a great deal more about the “new culture” that they were exposed to as well as their “own” culture (Antal, p. 15). Managers also revealed how their experience gave them greater insight into not taking for granted what they previously knew; they realized that their past models and approaches were not universally applicable to all cultures (Antal). Secondly, managers learned how to effectively communicate. “The expatriates talked […] about learning to listen better, to negotiate differently, and to be much more conscious that providing information is in itself not necessarily sufficient for ensuring understanding” (Antal, 2000 p 16). Thirdly, expatriate managers came to understand the importance of timing. From working in a foreign environment the managers learned ways to speed up or slow down various processes (Antal, 2000 p 18). Knowledge gained by the manager’s personal experience was the fourth strength. The manager’s experience of various cultures showed them how and why things were done not only in the subsidiary of the organization but also in the greater culture. Lastly, managers gained relationships and further knowledge on who’s who in the organization and collateral agencies that could be potential contacts in the future.

The difficulty with transferring newly learned knowledge from an individual to an organization or even from one subsidiary to another is referred to as stickiness. When there are subsidiaries in various locations throughout the world, the stickiness has a tendency to increase, which means that sharing information is a very difficult process. Stickiness can occur if the new information that is gathered is not largely supported by the organization to be used and integrated into the organization’s memory (Jensen and Szulanski, 2004). When this occurs, the information that is gained by the individual remains stuck at the source and a great deal of time and resources are lost (Jensen and Szulanski, 2004). Team Teal’s knowledge exchange most closely represented the incubator metaphor. As the group worked towards our shared goal we often encountered new information that created some barriers to our progress. We developed a structure, as the incubator metaphor suggests, addressing problems we encountered with openness and a team approach. New information that was brought to the table was discussed, and we got each person’s input about their ideas around the proposal and if they had any concerns. Communication needs to be key, as indicated throughout this handbook, especially if stickiness is to be avoided. The communication techniques that Teal utilized were through various mediums, but each with constant feedback and summarizing to ensure that all group members were on the same page. Due to our approach and strategies we used, Teal’s knowledge exchange was successful.   ** Skills and Strategies for Knowledge Exchange ** How can knowledge sharing be a success? There are a few steps that you can take no matter what position you hold within your organization. The first strategy is to be open and aware to different ways in which people and organizations learn. As Antal (2000) discussed in his research, success for future information sharing occurred when managers opened up to the different views and understandings of cultural approaches in the learning and sharing information process. Communication is vital to any and all organizations especially with sharing new information. Communicating is not only about being skilled in how information is presented but also being skilled in listening and receiving feedback in order to better support the process. If Teal was not able to effectively communicate new information among all of the group members, additional barriers would have occurred interfering with progress towards our shared goal. Lastly, for organizations to incorporate new information and to avoid stickiness, organizations need to look at their internal process for acquiring and implanting new information. If members of TeamTeal brought new information to the group and stickiness occurred, the group would not only suffer from missing out on the new information, but it would also impact member participation if they perceived their influence in the exchange of knowledge to be null. Each idea in Teal was looked at, discussed, and a consensus was established whether or not we would incorporate the new information. While our process may not work for every group or organization, the crucial piece is to find an effective process for taking in new information. The process should be aligned with the organizational culture and should be periodically looked at to ensure that information is being effectively shared.  · Be open to new and different ways of knowledge exchange – we are not all the same in how we approach or understand information.  · Communicate, communicate, communicate! Communication is vital to information sharing and without effective communication skills (speaking and listening) information can and will get stuck.  · <span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; color: black;">Have a plan. Looking and planning out how knowledge will be shared across an organization, especially when there are cultural differences to address, will help with implementation of new ideas. ||
 * **//<span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif';">Strategies and Skills //**