Feeding Organizational Memory

Feeding Organizational Memory

The Bio-Hazard….

Strategy Knowledge Management Course • Competing in a Knowledge Based Economy. • Knowledge Strategy (Accenture & McKinsey) • Knowledge Creation (IDEO) Organizational Level • Organizational Memory and BP • Enabling Technologies and Roles Communities & Networks Work Team • Communities of Practice & World Bank • Customer Communities • Assessing and Supporting Critical Informal Networks • Personal Networks • Team Learning and Dialogue • Team Learning and Reflection • Transactive Memory Individual Level • Learning Tactics Inventory • Learning Style • Emotional Intelligence

Technology Scan Presentations Presentation Details • Each group will have 12 minutes to cover their technology. • At least four people to present with a smooth transition. • Your job is to educate and sell us on the technology. Content to Cover. • Describe the technology and how it fits into the KM landscape. • What are its most salient features --- show some screenshots. • How does it help manage knowledge? What kinds of knowledge? • What are the key business applications and benefits of the technology? • Give us one to two case examples. BE SPECIFIC. • What organizational support is needed for the technology to be successful? Logistics. • Some of these organizations do web-based demos. Check them out!! • E-mail the slides to me by 5PM the night before the presentation and also put a paper copy in my box at that time.

1. Organizational Forgetting. 2. Organizational Memory. 3. Making The Most Of Experience. 4. Technology Scan Assignment.

…but U-Boats sank thousands of Allied ships. Each U.S. soldier overseas needed 20,000 lbs. of supplies (sent by ship) per year… Ships in World War II Source: usmm.org

US Response: Build More Ships • U.S. built thousands of “Liberty Ships” • Needed them faster!

If they followed the “classic” learning curve, the answer would be yes. Did Wartime Shipyards Continue to Build Ships at a Fast Rate?

But the “Real” Learning Curve Flattened Out Why? Source: www.andrew.cmu.edu/~pt

Answer: Shipyards actually lost about 25% of their knowledge each month Organizational “Forgetting” Source: Argote (1999) book

How Do Organizations Forget? • Old knowledge becomes obsolete • Best practices or processes not replicated across efforts (e.g., projects or ships built) • Organizational records become lost or hard to access • Personnel turnover, especially by top performers who know useful things If We Want Dynamic and Responsive Organizations Then We Need to Think About Learning From Experience More Broadly than Inputting Information Into a Database!!! Source: Argote (1999) book

Connections in the Community, though sparse, do provide value in the way of time saved on tasks at work. Time/$ Saved Per Month Central People Hardin 213 hours ($21,300) Turner 66 hours ($6,600) Singh 46 hours ($4,600) Reeves 40 hours ($4,000) Wong 37 hours ($3,700) Peripheral People 20 Peripheral Members Generating No Savings. Response of 1+ hours saved per month

Knowledge Transfer at BP • Much of what we need to know is already known. The problem is getting it from those who know it to those who need it. • Databases can store best practices. • Collaborative forums are needed for problem solving. Team B Team A Cost of drilling per 10,000 ft. Number of wells drilled

DRILLING & COMPLETIONS KNOWLEDGE BUNDLE

Principle DRILLING & COMPLETIONS KNOWLEDGE BUNDLE Practices/Tools Process Steps http://technet.bpweb.bp.com/bundle/

We interviewed 22 project teams: • What did you learn? • Where did it go? • Individuals • Pharma R&D, Consultants, I-Banks. • Staffing, reflection and feedback builds expertise. A Dynamic Look at Memory... • Social Network • Work creates awareness and social ties. • BP Peer Review. BMS Team Searches. • Information Stores • Paper and technical repositories. • D-Bases, Collaborative Forums and Locators. • Work Processes & Support Systems • Process steps (e.g., drilling or consulting methodology) or embedding practices in software and support systems. • Need mechanisms to learn and sanction change (e.g., Army). • Product/Service Architecture • NASA, Steinway, Ford, E&Y & Nuclear Reactors. • Guides future knowledge and expertise.

Learn Before & In Experience • Peer Assists • AARs • Video Conferencing Learn In & From Experience • Intranet Sites & CD ROMs • Stuck Pipe • Lesson Logs • Post Project Reviews Key Cycle of Experience Deep Sea Drilling (BP) Learn In & From Experience • AARs • Post Project Reviews Learning from Key Cycles of Experience • Individuals • Content, process and social knowledge • Social Network • Trust, reciprocity and knowledge of others • Information Stores • Physical and technical forms of information storage • Work Processes & Support Systems • Process steps, embedding of practices in software and support systems • Product/Service Architecture • Guides future knowledge and expertise

Embed Learnings Model for Feeding Organizational Memory Identify Key Cycles of Experience Learn in Experience Information Stores • Individuals • Social Networks • Impact on Business Performance • Learning Potential of Experience Work Processes & Support Systems Product/ Service Architecture

Individuals • Content, process and social knowledge Organizations Might Include: • Business Experience: • Projects in professional services. • Construction projects. • Waiting tables. • Fraternities or Sororities (e.g., Rush or Formals). • Clubs (e.g., Recruiting or Planned Events). • Sports Teams. • High School Groups (e.g., Clubs You Think You Impacted). • ICE Blocks. • Social Network • Trust, reciprocity and knowledge of others • Information Stores • Physical and technical forms of information storage • Work Processes & Support Systems • Process steps, embedding of practices in software and support systems • Product/Service Architecture • Guides future knowledge and expertise In Your Groups…Spend 15 Minutes On The Following… • Identify a key experience in an organization someone is (or was) a part of. This can be routine (e.g., planning an annual event, pledging, or a consulting project) or one-off (e.g., a time when you really made something unique happen for that organization). • Did the organization learn beyond that experience? If so, how? • What specifically could they have done better to embed those learnings?

What can we learn from Lucy? • Real learning must change what we do to be of any use in organizations. • In this video clip, what is going wrong?

What can we learn from Lucy? • Real learning must change what we do to be of any use in organizations. • In this video clip, what is going wrong? • Some common problems: • No time to reflect and learn. More and faster is the norm for rising managers in organizations. • No mechanisms to make changes to work based on learning --- how do you change behavior? • Non-learning atmosphere/culture established by the boss. • Company wants nothing but rote work from employees.

What can we learn from the Army? • Creating a structured mechanism for learning from each experience. • In this video clip, what is going right?

The Goal!! The Rules!! • Can only move to an empty X. • Can only move forward, not backward. • Can only go around a single person they are facing. • If break the rules or get stuck must start over!!! The Starting Point!! Time for Traffic Jam!!!

How does the Army ensure others learn from this experience? • Creating a structured means of interpretting and moving lessons learned throughout the organization promotes efficiency and effectiveness. • In this video clip, what is going right?

The Army’s way of working with memory... • Some of the things we saw included: • Individuals -- Real time experiential learning. -- Intermediation ensures knowledge transfer. • Relationships -- Very different relationship with boss (AARs). • Information Stores -- Intranet sites and CALL repositories. • Processes -- Quickly screened and stored in manuals. -- 24 critical lessons. • Product -- Keeping peace and managing media vs. imposing force requires new skills and capability development.

Feeding Organizational Memory