KNOWLEDGE+EXCHANGE

=Knowledge Management, or “How’dja learn ta do that?”=

Knowledge management centers around how we recognize, generate, symbolize, share, and enable adoption of the expertise, insights and experiences we have come to call knowledge. This knowledge is either embodied in individuals or embedded in organizational processes or practices (Knowledge management, 2010). Within organizations, knowledge is shared between individuals, groups and organization-wide (Puth, 2002). Since knowledge is often characterized as both a resource and a process, it is understandable that an organization would want to leverage this strategic capability to its advantage. Since the real value in sharing knowledge is enabling the capacity to act, it follows that the vital role of knowledge manager is to coordinate, facilitate and update knowledge on a continual basis and to leverage that knowledge for the benefit of the organization. For the complex adaptive organization, tapping into the emergent knowledge that occurs on the corona of interaction between stakeholders results in the ability to respond nimbly to the demands of the environment, so the creation of a learning environment is a critical function of successful organizations.

Knowledge management is typically represented in the learning organization by use of such traditional strategies as mentoring, coaching and the creation of user manuals or handbooks to more recent use of web-based technologies including blogs, wikis and other searchable mediums that allow team members to continually add to and access the pool of knowledge available. Tools for virtual team work have increased the opportunity for collaboration and knowledge sharing by documenting interaction, procedures and processes that allow for the creation and access to a repository of information that has traditionally been unrecorded and left to evolve as “the way we’ve always done it,” urban myth, or unassailable corporate voodoo.


 * //What’s This Strange Spice?//**

In a multicultural environment, the ability to tap into the myriad and broad ranging capabilities of the diverse workforce is especially challenging and filled with potential reward. The knowledge manager must realize that the barriers and benefits to knowledge management are exacerbated and enhanced in a multicultural environment. Ocholla (2002) and White (1999) listed the following benefits of multiculturalism that directly support appropriate exploitation of knowledge within organizations including:

· Tapping into skills and knowledge not previously available in the company · Enhancing company creativity and problem solving · Responding quickly and effectively to diverse markets and fostering productive relationships with diverse markets (customers, suppliers, etc.) · Promoting a culture of inclusivity and problem solving and enhancing team performance. · Attracting and retaining the best talent, especially among those representing new consumer markets. People leave if they cannot identify with the company’s objectives. · More cooperative choices and decisions among ethnically diverse groups.

But it’s not all grand on the multicultural stage. Knowledge management is complicated by the traditional conflicts in multiculturalism resting in the most fundamental questions of worldview. An individual’s willingness to share rests on his relationships within the organization, and here, typically problematic issues arise concerning management style, trust and attitudes toward mistakes. Common understanding about any issue is a challenge in a multicultural environment, especially when couched in an environment of Western competitiveness and personal evaluation.

In a comprehensive review of literature, Finestone & Styman found that, “[a]lthough the benefits of multiculturalism are apparent, there are also prominent disadvantages [including] · too much diversity in problem solving can be dysfunctional · multicultural companies may find it hard to reach single agreement on matters and this leads to disagreement about courses of action · diversity can produce negative dynamics such as ethnocentrism, stereotyping and cultural clashes; · it has the potential to polarize different social groups and harm productivity and · ignorance of cultural differences is a very serious cause of misunderstanding and, as a result, conflict (Finestone & Styman, 2005).

Knowledge exchange in a multicultural environment is especially problematic when one considers the all too true aphorism that “knowledge is power.” In a work environment that rests on competitive promotion and ubiquitous evaluation, making access to shared knowledge without remuneration creates a paradox in motivation that may well inhibit the best opportunities for the organization. New movements to create an environment of mutual respect, trust and collaboration will go a long way in ensuring that the individual, the group and the organization share in the benefits of unfettered knowledge exchange.