Jasper,

Your question concerns me a lot! I always say if you can do four things you can do KM: learn from experience, innovate, share knowledge and apply best practices*. This is about that last one.

It frustrates and interests me a lot. I'm a well-behaved person. So if my employer kindly asks me to do something, or to do something a certain way, and if that thing seems sensible and not an imposition, well, seeing as they're good enough to pay me each month, provide all kinds of benefits and the chance to do the work I want to, and seeing as I told them when I applied for the job what a great employee I'd be, well, it doesn't seem too much to do as they kindly ask.

But it ain't always so. In fact it's hardly ever like that. So I have to confess that it still puzzles me that mostly people do whatever they feel at work rather than any kind of process or practice or standard that they're supposed to. There's a reason your deliveries get lost or damaged or are incomplete, for example, and it's that people at work do whatever they feel, in the most, not what they oughta. I say it puzzles me and of course I have a lot of ideas about why this is the case, but that's not your question.

I can cite very few examples where getting any kind of standard practice taken up really, like really, works. One is where it is embedded and unavoidable. You can't get your expenses paid unless you do it completely right. You have to enter all the data, all correctly, with all the documentation, in time. You don't get paid back otherwise. The system is unforgiving and undeviating. That's one clear example - hard-guide-rail-implementation. There's a lesson in that. We don't have to be that extreme but I do feel lesson #1 is embed the practice unavoidably in the process rather than having it as some literary commentary about the process: You have far more chance of the thing happening if it's embedded in or encountered when you do the process, I think. My point is that it matters to physically embed it rather than only talk about it. Put it in the doing world rather than the knowing world.

More optimistically, perhaps, I've worked with some professional communities that have pulled it off. One I can think of took between 3 - 5 years to fully go from nothing to having methods, tools and templates that were owned and used by; trained and developed by community members, for all community members. I think the main success factor was the key individual, the community leader, who stuck doggedly to it, enlisting others and keeping on pushing. Yes, they had official organisational support, but they also found tools to encourage community members such as a link to external recognition of their qualifications which were supported by applying the methods. So lesson #2 is it's a long haul, so keep it up.

The other examples I can think of were in highly-disciplined or safety-critical environments where following the rules and keeping up-to-date were ingrained in the culture and critical to process/to safety. We should all act like that, I think.

*I take on everything that's been said about the term 'best practices' and I'm happy with it. People understand. Some want to call it "Knowledge sharing" but we don't get to chose - the speakers chose the language and it's called "knowledge management" just like it's called "best practices". Don't blame me, but I am a realist.

I'll be very interested in further responses to your question because, as I say, I consider this one of the vital few critical issues and one that's still rather tricky. Yes, turns out it has little to do with document management after all, this KM thing.

Dear Friends and colleagues,

 

I have 19 tentative topics for my current book project. I need contributors. Can you help contribute a chapter? The first three chapters are 80% completed. My deadline is as follows:

 

1. Progress report 1 Oct 14, 2021
2. Progress report 2 Dec 23, 2021
3. First draft deadline Mar 19, 2022
4. Receive reviewers’ recommendations for revisions Apr 16, 2022
5. Final preface and table of contents Apr 30, 2022
6. Final deadline May 14, 2022

 

 

Below is the link to the book website

 

https://www.igi-global.com/book/knowledge-management-research-innovation-global/285539

 

Description

Research and knowledge management is important to higher education institutions as a means of improving their operations. This book investigates the cultural, financial, and social factors affecting research and knowledge management in higher education institutions. It considers strategic decisions made by university administrators and the adoption of decisions made by individual staff members. The book also describes the factors found to affect the implementation and practice of knowledge management in higher education institutions.

This book informs readers how to lead change and monitor impact and recognise the contributions made by teams to an institution. The book focuses on different areas of teaching and learning practice and aims to develop individual skills through the use of practical tools and tips, as well as provides practical support and introduces new innovative teaching practice developments. It is ideal for educators as it describes implementing knowledge management policies at module, programme, departmental, or faculty levels.

 

1.            Knowledge Management and Research Innovation in Higher Education Institutions

2.         Infusing Knowledge Management in Higher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Multiple Case Study

3.         KM-Concept and applications in HEIs

4.         KM-Challenges and opportunities in the contemporary era

5.         ICT and KM in HEIs

6.         Innovative disruptions and KM in HEIs-New models and theories

7.         KM-gaps analysis at HE institutions culture in the less developed, developing, and developed countries

8.         The implication of Knowledge Management (KM) in HE Institutions

9.         Trends in KM-from resources to performance

10.       KM Process and strategy

11.       KM practice in HEI

12.       Revolution and trends in global Higher Education in developing economies

13.       Knowledge Management and knowledge economy in higher education: A systematical Review

14.       Perspective Review of Knowledge Management and research collaboration in a global economy

15.       Knowledge Management: Importance, Transformation among higher education institution

16.       Knowledge management fundamentals and Higher Education institutions; The Research Key Axis

17.       Promoting Knowledge Systems for Social Development

18.       The Case for Higher Education, Research and Innovation and Knowledge Sharing  (Case Study).

19.       Maximise knowledge sharing and learning opportunities

 

I look forward to hearing from you. Your comment or suggestions could also play a part.

 

Regards

 

Dr Larry Jones-Esan FCMI, PGCE, FCIM, FSET, FInst.LM, FHEA, CMBE.

Faculty of Business and Law

University of Sunderland in London

197 Marsh Wall

London

E14 9SG

E: larry.Jones-Esan@sunderland.ac.uk

T: 0207 531 7333

D: 0207 531 7358

 

 

From: main@SIKM.groups.io <main@SIKM.groups.io> On Behalf Of Robert M. Taylor via groups.io
Sent: 26 October 2021 22:51
To: main@SIKM.groups.io
Subject: Re: [SIKM] Can you share your proven practices for replicating proven practices? #proven-practice

 

Jasper,

Your question concerns me a lot! I always say if you can do four things you can do KM: learn from experience, innovate, share knowledge and apply best practices*. This is about that last one.

It frustrates and interests me a lot. I'm a well-behaved person. So if my employer kindly asks me to do something, or to do something a certain way, and if that thing seems sensible and not an imposition, well, seeing as they're good enough to pay me each month, provide all kinds of benefits and the chance to do the work I want to, and seeing as I told them when I applied for the job what a great employee I'd be, well, it doesn't seem too much to do as they kindly ask.

But it ain't always so. In fact it's hardly ever like that. So I have to confess that it still puzzles me that mostly people do whatever they feel at work rather than any kind of process or practice or standard that they're supposed to. There's a reason your deliveries get lost or damaged or are incomplete, for example, and it's that people at work do whatever they feel, in the most, not what they oughta. I say it puzzles me and of course I have a lot of ideas about why this is the case, but that's not your question.

I can cite very few examples where getting any kind of standard practice taken up really, like really, works. One is where it is embedded and unavoidable. You can't get your expenses paid unless you do it completely right. You have to enter all the data, all correctly, with all the documentation, in time. You don't get paid back otherwise. The system is unforgiving and undeviating. That's one clear example - hard-guide-rail-implementation. There's a lesson in that. We don't have to be that extreme but I do feel lesson #1 is embed the practice unavoidably in the process rather than having it as some literary commentary about the process: You have far more chance of the thing happening if it's embedded in or encountered when you do the process, I think. My point is that it matters to physically embed it rather than only talk about it. Put it in the doing world rather than the knowing world.

More optimistically, perhaps, I've worked with some professional communities that have pulled it off. One I can think of took between 3 - 5 years to fully go from nothing to having methods, tools and templates that were owned and used by; trained and developed by community members, for all community members. I think the main success factor was the key individual, the community leader, who stuck doggedly to it, enlisting others and keeping on pushing. Yes, they had official organisational support, but they also found tools to encourage community members such as a link to external recognition of their qualifications which were supported by applying the methods. So lesson #2 is it's a long haul, so keep it up.

The other examples I can think of were in highly-disciplined or safety-critical environments where following the rules and keeping up-to-date were ingrained in the culture and critical to process/to safety. We should all act like that, I think.

*I take on everything that's been said about the term 'best practices' and I'm happy with it. People understand. Some want to call it "Knowledge sharing" but we don't get to chose - the speakers chose the language and it's called "knowledge management" just like it's called "best practices". Don't blame me, but I am a realist.

I'll be very interested in further responses to your question because, as I say, I consider this one of the vital few critical issues and one that's still rather tricky. Yes, turns out it has little to do with document management after all, this KM thing.

Dear Dr larry

--