Culture, Competition and Comitment of knowledge Sharing

Knowledge management takes advantage of an organization’s most valuable asset, the collective expertise of its employees and partners.  It ensures institutional continuity and the flow of information across the organization.  It also provides access to up-to-date knowledge and information, which can be particularly useful in decision-making.  Unfortunately, not everyone wants to share.  Some common barriers to knowledge sharing include reluctance to seek advice from others; lack of awareness about its potential benefits, lack of trust and time, functional silos individualism, poor means of knowledge and inadequate technology. 

However, these barriers can be overcome by focusing on the three Cs: Culture, Competition and Commitment.

Changing the culture.  Change the culture within the organization to ensure cross learning between individuals.  This will indicate that employees’ knowledge is respected and valued.  Identify role models within the organization and derive maximum leverage from their skills.  Rewards and recognition awards to support knowledge initiatives will make a big difference. 

Challenging through co-competition.  Encourage employee to challenge each other by.  Introducing competitions and award systems such as the knowledge Champion of the year and the innovators team award. 

Commitment.  This builds on the other two Cs.  Organizations need to e firmly committed to initiate culture change and face challenges and competition internally and externally.  To do this, it is essential to make knowledge sharing an intrinsic part of the system.  Commitment to knowledge sharing must be demonstrated at all levels in order to inspire and motivate employees to ring about permanent changes. 

Encouraging High Performance

Most organization today is trying to create a culture of high performance.  In fact, in most cases senior management would love to have a performance culture where people discover and solve their own problems.  This will lead to increased efficiency, added value per employee and business growth.  Here are a few tips to help you develop a high performance, solution oriented culture within your organization.
Customer fanaticism.  Go beyond customer focus.  It is too corporate! Love your customer to the extent of becoming a fanatic regarding their happiness; when discussing issues and making decisions focus on the customer.  This may also mean that you avoid parking your car in front of the office, leaving your customers to keep looking for parking. 
Terrorize comport zones.  Considering the rapid change taking place everywhere, especially the economic situation in Pakistan, it is only fair to fasten your seat belts and accelerate into the unknown.  Move beyond feedback to feed forward. 
Assassinate your ago.  This is easier said than done.  The closest enemy of ago is humility.  Practice it. 
Be parliamentarians.  The best way of getting things done is to get a buy n from stakeholders and involve them in discussions.  Argue.  Fight.  Have conflicts but all in the spirit of customer fanaticism.
Play like titans (from the movie Remember the Titans).  Once the discussion is over and the decision made, execute like a team.  There is no looking back.  Doubting intent kills trust in teams. 
Behave like Munna Bhai in relationships.  Socialize and network with colleagues.  They are perhaps closer than an extended family.  People who do not form strong bonds with colleagues and customers will forever be faking it and it will come through.  Be happy at work and with people.  You will only find unreasonable people.  You will only find unreasonable people if you fail to reason well with them. 

Dress for the Job

Dress for the job you want not for the job you have, or so goes the ad\age in the corporate world when it comes to dressing for success.
This is easier said than done if you work for a large corporation and that too in the throes of a full blown electricity crisis.  In the corporate world, employees tend to dress in layers.  The higher one is on the managerial ladder, the dressier one must be.  I guess in a world where interpersonal communication is the key currency and perceptions and impressions matter more than ever before, clothes do maketh the man. 
Comer summer with sweltering heat and no electricity, it is really hard to imagine why people believe that suits and ties count as practical business attire.  I can understand why the suit and tie would be considered as clothing of choice for Europeans but on a hot day when I have to give a presentation to my senior management dressed up to the hilt and that too in a partially lit room with no air-conditioning (there is only so much that can run on generator power) I fail to see the classiness of my suit.  Sure there is endless advice available on how to beat the heat while dressing code for business.  Dressing in pure cotton and eschewing mixed material makes good sense as does wearing lighter shades of colour. Many companies have taken a bold stand by allowing their employees to dress smart casual unless the situation really requires them to be dressed in particular, tend to be conservative dressers and serious creatures of habit.  More often than not I come across managers during extended afternoon meetings dressed in classic black suits in the sweltering heat.  The disheveled looks on their faces makes me wonder if that is where the term “dressed to kill” was coined from.

Falling Asleep During a Meeting is Corporate Suicide...How to Avoid

There is nothing worse than a long, boring meeting.  Graphs and pie charts seem to equal boredom for most of parties involved.  But falling asleep during a meeting is corporate suicide and can affect your career.  You future’s success depends on your presentation skill which will help you to gain more success in your life and career. .  So, you have to come equipped with techniques to stay awake. 

Here are a few tips that might help you just do that.
Keep your blood sugar up.  Sodas, candy and gum are effective ways to keep you awake during meetings.  Chewing or sipping loudly is rude, so e discreet. 

Utilizes the power of caffeine.  A double mocha latte will help you keep your energy level high and help you sit through those third quarter projections without nodding off.  If you do not like coffee, drink soda or tea.  If you are really desperate, try an energy drink.

Chime in.  When you find yourself becoming drowsy, speak up and participate in the conversation. 

Excuse yourself.  If you cannot stay awake no matter what, excuse yourself to go to the restroom.  Splash a little water on your face, do a few jumping jacks and check your voice mail.  You should then be ale to finish out the meeting refreshed and rejuvenated.

Feel the pain.  This is an extreme tactic, but it works.  When you realize you are dozing off, try to distract yourself by inflicting pain on a hidden part of your body.  Bite your cheek, pinch yourself or stab yourself in the thigh with a pencil, not enough to help, but enough to make you snap back into0 the current moment.  Placing a thumb tack in your shoe is another means of inflicting pain.  Ouch!

Memory Helps in Career... How to Sharpe it

Forgetting key facts during an important presentation or being unable to apply valuable knowledge back at work after attending an expensive training course may be the difference between staying stuck in your current job and moving to the next level. 
Considering that studies have shown that our memories have the capability of acquiring  11 new facts every second for a period of over 70 years and still have ample storage space in reserve, it is perhaps unfair to blame the brain for your shortcomings. Make a note that there are a number of important qualities and skills necessary for an office based professionals. These are the basic prerequisite for all those that desire to achieve something at work in their career and wish for get promoted. It is very important for you to keep yourself up to date whatever field you are working in. Keeps an eye on the latest development taking place which can apply at any level and whatever type of job you are doing. 

At the same time it takes more than just eating almonds to keep your memory sharp. 

Here is how:

Motivation:
Be hungry for knowledge and make sure that you are accessing information the right reasons. 

Preferred Learning Style:
Use as many of your senses as possible.  Different learning styles include visual (reading or seeing), auditory (listening) or kinaesthetic (experiential or by doing).

Relaxation:
Undue force or coercion will not work.  Calm your nerves through music, meditation, prayers or recalling past positive experience before beginning a learning process. 

Focus:
Pay undivided attention as to enable learning to enter the long-term instead of the short-term memory.  Imagine a favorable end result to overcome unwanted distractions. 

Repetition:
Review the materials frequently as possible.  When it comes to learning, it is a question of “use it or lose it”.

Tools:
Use mnemonics like a rhyme, song, or jokes to help remember specific segment of information.  Forming acronyms is also an interesting way of remembering key concepts.

Routine:
Keep changing locations and timing to break the monotony and add variety to your learning experience; this will also help improve your long-term recall.

Teach back:
Explaining to others will help you clear your own concepts and reinforce your memory.

Right attitude:
The way you approach and undertake the job required of you is your attitude.  Imagine you are an employer, what kind of employee you would like to work for you.  You would definitely want to an employ who would dedicated and hardworking.  Thus, you must attempt to be more like this model employee.

I Am Neither a Secretary Nor a Research Associate

Q. Can you please tell me how I can make my boss realize that I can serve the organisation much more than a secretary and that I want a career that movers towards growth and development?
The background of my question is that when I was a graduate, I always wanted to work in HR but I was offered a job with a really good package as the Research Associate to the Executive Director at the organisation that I am currently working in. At that point, I accepted the position because I needed the money to do my MBA. Later, my boss terminated his secretary and I took on her responsibilities as well. However, people then started treating me like a secretary.
My boss recommended my promotion twice but nothing happened. The chief HR observed my efficiency and motivation towards work and promised my transfer and promotion after the completion of my MBA but nothing materialized as he resigned. Now the management has changed and people still consider me a secretary which is something that I never wanted to be.
It is not that I do not respect the secretarial role, but I want to work in a position that is more relevant to my degree. I am neither a secretary nor a Research Associate. I have stopped writing my designation and feel like I have lost my identity. Please help!
A. Do not feel so bad, not everyone gets things right coming straight out of their school gates. In fact, first jobs tend to be roles we may or may not have real talent for, in an industry that dose not really interest us, or, as in your case, professions that are completely off from our line of education and interest. But one should always choose their first job wisely. After the first job, people can get promoted or change companies, but usually within the same role, and before they know it, they are on a career path that they never intended to take. However, keep in mind that it is better to change career tracks later, than never at all. Why? Because approximately 80% of our waking life is spent on the job! It would be a tremendous shame to waste your life's remaining 80% in a job that you are obviously not happy with.
Take the initiative to get yourself reassigned to a job more in line with your education and interests. If that is not possible with your current employer, then it is time to switch. No matter how tough the job market is eight now, where there is a will, there is a way. Your days are too precious to waste on the wrong job.

Q.    I am a MBA/Engineer with seven years of experience.  Presently I work for a multinational in Karachi and report to the CEO.  I joined this company in December 2007 and have found the CEO to be very humiliating towards the employees most of the time.  During meetings he makes statements like, “I do not care even if I fire all of you,” “You are the stupidest person I have ever met,” “You are talking absolute nonsense!” during such meeting, he even tore a letter and threw it at an employee just because he did not agree with the concept mentioned in it.  Once a colleague discussed this attitude with him, but he said that he could not change and would continue his behavior in the future as well. 
To handle this scenario I have firstly started applying for another job and as soon as I have a suitable offer I will switch.  Secondly, I am planning to discuss with the CEO that I feel offended by his attitude.  Please suggest whether it is okay to change a job after just four to six months, and secondly, what is the better strategy?

A.    People who cannot mange themselves should not mange others.  End of discussion, threats of physical harm, retribution and personal attacks are never acceptable, so never accept any type of abuse in the workplace.  If your boss has a difficult management style, then do not ignore this bad behaviour.  You must respond, do not let anyone make you their doormat and allow them to walk allover you, just remember to stay professional.  How? When your boss insults you or puts you down respond with something like, “I really want to work with you, but in what way does calling me an idiot solve the problem? I think there is a better way to deal with this.  “If you have made a mistake, acknowledge it, but let your boss know that he is creating a difficult work environment.  Even if you have not made a mistake, you may want to calmly ask what they are upset about and if you can address it.

 While job hunting, you will still have to explain why you are leaving so soon.  In your interviews avoid dramatizing your nightmare boss situation. One way to gracefully sidestep the issue is to say that you and your manger had longstanding disagreement over the most effective way of getting things done and you thought the most professional way to resolve it was to move on.  Never start recalling and recounting the abuse you suffered!  Employees have a right to be treated with respect and dignity in the workplace.  Like most bullies, many abusive mangers case and desist when faced with resistance.  But if they do not stop, then decide whether the pay cheque is worth the price of your self respect. 

Fish Philosophy ... Key Practices

People spend about 75% of their adult wake time doing work related activities getting ready for work, traveling to work, working, thinking about work, or simply unwinding after work.  Given that the better part of our day is dedicated to work, we ought to enjoy it and be energized by it.  In his book, Fish! A remarkable way to boost morale & improve results, Stephen Lundin suggests, “When we choose to love the work we do, we can catch our limit of happiness, meaning, and fulfillment every day.”
The goal of the Fish! Philosophy is to learn how to boost morale and improve operational results in a business organization.  Implementing the four suggested strategies will not only increase employee retention, it will motivate people to take pride in what they do.  People like to work in an environment that is fun, energizing and where they can make a difference.  The Fish! Philosophy will also benefit every employee, because it prevents burnout and will keep them excited about what they do.  The four key practices of the Fish! Philosophy is:
Play is synonymous with work.  It is about having fun, enjoying yourself and being spontaneous and creative. 
Be there, be present is about being totally focused on the moments and on the person or task with which you are engaged.  When you are fully present and aware during conversations with people, important opportunities do not escape you. 
Make their day is doing something special for your customers and co-workers.  When you make someone’s day, you have given them a special gift they would not soon forget.  It feels good to give it.
Choose your attitude is accepting full responsibility for all of your choices, even your attitude at work

Denying Additional Task ... How Damaging for Your Career

Very often we resist requests from our managers to take on additional tasks or to help out in areas not directly related to us.  Two reactions are common:
What is in it for me? 
And why me?
Have you thought for a moment how damaging this can be to your career?
My experience has shown that our capacities and willingness to stretch ourselves are constantly being tested by our superiors.  Willing workers are in short supply and those that go about their assignment cheerfully are an extra special commodity.  Remember the adage:  hire for attitude, train for skill?

In order to reach the top of our professions we need to exhibit the capacity to adapt, change and grow.  This comes from taking on additional assignment and demonstrating our colleagues the depth and breadth of our talents.  The visibility we gain is also a spur to our careers.  In many of these instances, we have the opportunity to interact with a completely different group of managers and learn a new set of skills that will only help us in the long run. 

The other way we damage ourselves is by expecting rewards or promotions for every little additional task we are asked to perform.  Rewards and promotions will follow as surely as night follows day.  The smart ones amongst us will actively seek out new opportunities to display our talents, proving to ourselves as much as others, that we are ready, willing and able. 

Decision Makers in Organizations

  In the present economic crisis, decision makers in organizations are facing challenges, be it sales, profits, ROI, attrition of valued employees, client and market share.  The core issue is never strategy, structure, culture, or systems.  All of these elements are important but the essential ingredient in any change strategy is always about changing the behaviors of people and that is successfully achieved y addressing people’s feelings.  A beneficial change is an on going process, not a destination and has one requirement more important than any other: adapt or perish.

Getting a Test of Reality

Qualified individuals enter the job market each year in fact, since the employment boom in 2002; our country has seen several institutions spring up to fill the demand for MBA-degrees in the job market.  But the employment boom is slowly fizzling out, and institutions are still churning out MBAs who find that despite acquiring a coveted degree, they are still jobless because their degree no longer affords them a competitive edge.  The outlook for college gr4aduates both bachelors and masters dose not look too good in 2009.  The U. S. Labour Department estimates that 60-70% of U.S. Graduate will be jobless even six months after graduating.  The sad reality is that prospects for Pakistani fresh graduates do not look any better.
What to do?
First decide what you absolutely can not compromise on in a job for example, company transportation, and then take the job that fulfills this requirement.  If you wait for the ideal job to materialize, then you will he waiting for a very long time because, I am sorry to say, the job market is going to get worse before it turns for the better.  This is the bitter reality. 

How to Work With a Difficult Boss

Let us face it.  We would all love to have a great boss who motivates, help s and inspires, but most of us either have worked or will work for a bad boss one time or another.  So learn how to deal with a bad boss. 
Here are a few practical things you can do to deal with your boss without jeopardizing your job.  First, grow up.  Stop thinking that your only options are to complain or keep bearing your boss; complaining shows that you are not mature enough to handle people.  If you are looking to get promoted into a managerial role, then people management is the number one skill you need to develop.  Second, face your boss.  You hold 50% of the blame for your boss’s behavior because you are actually training him to behave the way he does by not discouraging his current behaviours.  It is time to tech him a new lesson.  The next time he asks you to do secretarial work or to step out of the office, you must let him know that you do not mind helping him out, but his request make you feel more like a secretary than an engineer.  Do not get angry or upset, just tell him like it is, calmly, confidently and politely.  I know he would not like hearing this, but if you consistently send him this message, then he will get used to it just like he got used to bossing you around.