Knowledge Management and Learning
Organizations need to develop systems which nurture skills and talents of their employees. Pedlar, Burgoyne and Boydell (1997) reveal that effective knowledge management helps a company to achieve its objectives both in the short term and in the long term (p. 102). Employees who are highly qualified need to be motivated to enable them perform their tasks well. Organizations need to implement policies which manage employees’ skills and talents effectively. This approach helps an organization to improve the quality of its output. In a learning organization, both managers and employees are willing to expand their knowledge on crucial work procedures to improve performance. Managers should encourage workers to improve their knowledge in different work procedures to enable them acquire multiple skills (King, 2001, p. 16). Employees should be allocated duties and responsibilities which they are able to perform to achieve positive outcomes.
For knowledge transfer to succeed, managers in a firm must encourage all employees to collaborate on different work tasks. This approach ensures employees who are skilled in specific disciplines share ideas with their colleagues to enable them perform their duties effectively. Employees who perform well in a team can be encouraged to try out other responsibilities, which are different from what they are skilled in. This helps them to acquire more knowledge on crucial work processes. Employees should be encouraged to form strong relationships with each other to ensure they work with a single objective (Burke, 1994, p. 76). An organization needs to train its employees on how to use new technologies to improve their competence at work. This will ensure workers are more creative in their duties and this enables an organization to perform well in its chosen industry.
Symbols, Ceremonies, Dress and Codes of Ethics
Symbols, ceremonies and work attire are strong forms of organizational culture whose importance cannot be underestimated. Symbols in form of trademarks and logos help a company to show what it stands for in the market. They help a firm to build brands which are easily recognized by its workers and clients to give it a unique identity in the market. Company ceremonies help managers, workers, clients and other people to socialize so as to learn more about issues which affect a company and how they can be handled. These ceremonies help all stakeholders to understand the direction the organization is moving and how this affects its position in the market. Workers who wear official work attire are well prepared to perform their duties properly (Freedman, 2000, p. 67). Official attire gives them comfort and safety as they perform their duties.
Codes of ethics are valuable to an organization. Many organizations have transferred responsibility for ethical behavior to individual workers. Therefore, this has made workers feel that codes of ethics restrict their freedoms at work. This perception needs to be changed to enable business firms build strong reputations in the market. A firm needs to ensure labor conditions are favorable to its workers to cater for their welfare effectively. It should also improve safety procedures at work to ensure workers are protected from unnecessary hazards which may harm their health (McLean, 2005, p. 71). A firm should only release high quality products to the market to improve its image and reputation. It is necessary to assess the quality of all internal operations to ensure they conform to high standards.
Organizational Change
The values which make up a firm’s organizational culture have an impact on the way change is implemented. Managers must include all workers in making decisions which are meant to bring positive change in the way an organization operates. Managers need to make their workers why it is important for a particular change to be introduced and how this will impact on the development of the organization. An organization needs to have a strategy which outlines how operational changes are implemented. This prepares all stakeholders to expect changes in a firm’s operations. A firm which has strong values as part of its organizational culture enables its employees learn new skills and ideas to become more creative in the way they perform their duties. It is necessary to encourage all employees to bring forward their ideas regarding improvements which need to be implemented in the organization (Cummings & Worley, 2009, p. 78).
Any changes made in the organization should be aligned with needs and expectations of people directly affected by it. The changes introduced should solve an existing problem. Therefore, management should consult effectively with people who are will be directly affected by the proposed change. Clients and employees should be given reasons regarding how changes proposed will be of benefit. They need to be given an opportunity to share their opinions about the proposed changes (Marshak, 2009, p. 76). Managers must communicate openly with their employees to make them understand procedures to be followed before a change is implemented. This will ensure workers do not get affected negatively by changes introduced (Daft, Murphy & Willmott, 2008, p. 476). Managers need to train workers to ensure they understand the roles they are going to play after the proposed change is implemented.
Collaboration and Employee Attitudes
Inter-group consultation makes employee have positive attitudes towards increased collaboration. Employees who share ideas as a team achieve better outcomes than those who do not. Managers should avoid antagonizing their employees as this discourages them from working hard. Employees need to be encouraged to share ideas with their colleagues to enable them achieve positive results. Managers should develop effective systems in the organization to improve the way internal functions are performed. These systems will make employees have more favorable attitudes towards collaboration. Organizations can only develop if they encourage their workers to learn new ideas and skills at the work place. Employees who cooperate with one another acquire a variety of skills in different areas which improves their knowledge on processes done in an organization. This helps an organization to improve its performance (Freedman & Zackrison, 2001, p. 97).
Organizations need to improve the attitudes of their employees towards work. Employees come from different cultural, social, economic and educational backgrounds which shape their attitudes and opinions. Some employees come from cultures which treasure individualism and seclusion and they may have difficulties in collaborating with their work mates on various tasks and duties. There are some employees who have a reserved personality.They need to be encouraged to interact more with their colleagues to expand their skills and knowledge in different work place processes (Kwantes, 2004, p. 340). Some employees are more outspoken and bold in their actions which makes them willing to take the initiative whenever an opportunity opens up. All employees should be encouraged to compromise with their work mates to foster good relations between them.
References
Burke, W.W. (1994). Organization development: A process of learning and chaning. London: Addison-Wesley.
Cummings, T.G., & Worley, C.G. (2009). Organization development and change. Mason OH: Cengage Learning.
Daft, L., Murphy, J., & Willmott, H. (2010). Organization: Theory and design. Mason , OH: Cengage Learning.
Freedman, A.M. (2000). Multigroup representation: Representative teams and teams of representatives. Consulting Psychology Journal, 52(1), 63-81.
Freedman, A.M., & Zackrison, R.E. (2001). Finding your way in the consulting jungle. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
King, W. R. (2001). Strategies for creating a learning organization. Information Systems Management, 18, 12-23.
Kwantes, C. (2004). Do occupational groups vary in expressed organizational culture preferences? International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 4 (3), 335- 354.
Marshak, R.J. (2009). Organizational change: Views from the edge. Bethel, ME: The Lewin Center.
McLean, G.N. (2005). Organization Development: Principles, processes, performance. Berlin: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Pedlar, M., Burgoyne, J., and Boydell, T. (1997). The learning organization: A strategy for sustainable development. London:McGraw-Hill.