Culture and Values, Practical Approach to Implementing KM, Knowledge and Learning Tools, Transforming e-Knowledge

5 min readFeb 10, 2017

30-Oct-07 Archive of Weekly KM Blog by Stan Garfield

KM Question of the Week

Q: Have you done any writing on culture and values?

A: MindTree Consulting did a good job of defining and communicating its core values as defined in Establishing the CLASS act:

“At the core of MindTree’s HR practice are its mission, vision, values and DNA. The process ensures that the five corporate values and the DNA that its employees have identified for themselves are adopted as a culture in the organization. These values are caring, learning, achieving, sharing and social responsibility, the CLASS values in short. MindTree’s DNA is Imagination, Action and Joy.”

I wrote the following in Implementing a successful KM programme, pages 30–31:

Core values typically include some of the following: delight customers, respect others, achieve exceptional results, work collaboratively, move quickly, be creative, act with integrity, embrace diversity, deliver with high quality, and be decisive. Codes of conduct will usually address how to conduct business, treat customers, work with partners, deal with competitors, avoid conflicts of interest, handle confidential information and intellectual property, care for assets, interact with local communities, and treat the environment.

Actual culture will encompass both positive and negative elements. Positive attributes include: caring, collaborative, cooperative, networked, decisive, egalitarian, supportive, open, sharing, trusting, transparent, fair, inclusive, willing to try new ways, giving credit, adopting good ideas, volunteering, communicative, bold, respectful, honest, responsive, thorough, nurturing, generous, helpful, altruistic, appreciative, pleasant, accepting responsibility, and optimistic.

Negative attributes include: insensitive, selfish, undermining, not invented here syndrome, cover your rear, old-boy network, reticent, secretive, closed, dictatorial, waffling, uncooperative, isolated, manipulative, exclusive, blaming, ridiculing, usurping credit, hierarchical, controlling, resistant to change, hoarding, siloed, passive aggressive, critical, making excuses, backstabbing, complaining, and pessimistic.

To help create a culture dominated by positive elements, get leaders to endorse, communicate, and exemplify the following credo:

I will practice and reward caring, sharing, and daring — caring for others, sharing what I know, and daring to try new ideas.
I will insist on trust, truth, and transparency in all dealings — earning and respecting the trust of others, communicating truthfully and openly, and demonstrating and expecting accountability.
I will look for opportunities to help, thank, and praise others.
I will eliminate criticism, blame, and ridicule in all interactions with others.

KM Blog of the Week

Knowledge Management 360 by Ravi Govil

Implementing Knowledge Management: Practical Approach

Knowledge Management facilitates creation, consolidation, transformation, sharing, distribution, and application of knowledge.

Steps for implementing an effective knowledge management program or practice are:

Identifying knowledge
Organizing Knowledge
Transforming Knowledge
Measuring knowledge benefits

KM Link of the Week

(courtesy of Julie Ferguson of KM4Dev)

Tools for Knowledge and Learning: A Guide for Development and Humanitarian Organizations

Ben Ramalingam is a member of the Research and Policy in Development (RAPID) Programme at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), London. He provides advice and support to a wide range of international development and humanitarian agencies, from United Nations international agencies to local civil society organizations. This toolkit is the result of a highly collaborative process.

Contents

Introduction

Background
Why is this guide relevant?
Overview of the tools

Strategy Development 9

The Five Competencies Framework 10
Knowledge Audits 13
Social Network Analysis 15
Most Significant Change (MSC) 17
Outcome Mapping 20
Scenario Testing and Visioning 22

Management Techniques 27

7. The SECI Approach 28

8. Blame vs Gain Behaviours 30

9. Force Field Analysis 32

10. Activity-based Knowledge Mapping 34

11. Structured Innovation 37

12. Reframing Matrix 39

Collaboration Mechanisms 41

13. Teams: Virtual and Face-to-Face 42

14. Communities of Practice 44

15. Action Learning Sets 48

16. Six Thinking Hats 50

17. Mind Maps 52

18. Social Technologies 55

Knowledge Sharing and Learning 57

19. Stories 58

20. Peer Assists 60

21. Challenge Sessions 62

22. After Action Reviews and Retrospects 64

23. Intranet Strategies 67

24. Email Guidelines 70

Capturing and Storing Knowledge 73

25. Taxonomies for Documents and Folders 74

26. Exit Interviews 76

27. How To Guides 78

28. Staff Profile Pages 80

29. Blogs 82

30. Shared Network Drives 85

KM Book of the Week

Transforming e-Knowledge by Donald M. Norris, Jon Mason, and Paul Lefrere

From the Foreward by Diana Laurillard

We cannot predict the future, but we do sense that we have the power to shape it. So we need to take time to reflect: on what those possible futures are, which are the more desirable, and what it takes to realize them. The authors of this book set out to help us with that process. On every page you will find them striving to express the ways in which e-systems can be exploited, the benefits they could yield, and what we all, individuals and organizations together, must now do.

Table of Contents

Introduction