In his book Too Big To Know, David Weinberger (2011) gives a one definition of what knowledge is that is aligned with many classical ideas, mainly that knowledge has the characteristics of justified, true belief (p. 43). But in addition to what knowledge actually is or isn't, one thing that was typically agreed on is how the "truths" of the worlds were collected, on books and in the minds of experts. However, Weinberger (2011) argues that due to the Internet and the networked nature of the world, the body of knowledge now lives on the network and not it books (p. 45). But the network is messy, and it makes getting to the truth even harder is many ways, despite the opportunities that networked knowledge creates. While reading Too Big To Know, I was reminded of a scene from the movie Men in Black discussing some of the problems that occur with knowledge:
The largest issue that the Internet, and knowledge on the network, has caused is summarized by Davenport (2015) and his claim that due to the web, knowledge management is dying. There is an irony that has occurred with large networked knowledge, in that with a greater amount of knowledge, it is often harder to find and use. And due to the rise of efficient search algorithms, such as Google, it has now become easier to search for external knowledge than to find internal knowledge (Davenport, 2011, p. 2). For organizations to now manage knowledge there must be a shift towards using social learning as advocated by Dixon (2009) and Jarche (2010).
In a recent survey, the difficultly of managing and maintaining knowledge was displayed when less than 15% of organizations were confidant in their ability retain knowledge when employees left (Jarche, 2016). Social learning is certainly something that can and has occurred naturally in workplaces, however, through effective leadership organizations can foster the trust that is a "essential component of social learning" (Jarche, 2010). The networked world is often changing too fast to conduct traditional training, instead leaders need to empower employees and small teams to solve the "how to do it" for themselves (Jarche, 2010). This empowerment by leaders fosters trust and facilitates the organic creation of social networks, which in turn assists in building the community necessary for social learning (Dixon, 2009).
These issues are very relevant to my new position. I am now in charge of updating a training program on a plane that rapidly changes with new technology. The process for formal training course changes can take years and after approval the changes might not even be relevant. Instead I will definitely be using the advice of Dixon (2009), Jarche (2010, 2016), and Weinberger (2011) moving forward, teaching students as well as instructors how to "fish and move on the the next challenge", develop the skills to learn from each other, and foster a community that encourages social learning.
References:
Davenport, T. D. (2015, June 24). Whatever happened to knowledge management? The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2015/06/24/whatever-happened-to-knowledge-management/
Dixon, N. (2009, July 30). Where knowledge management has been and where it is going - part 3. [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://www.nancydixonblog.com/2009/07/where-knowledge-management-has-been-and-where-it-is-going-part-three.html
Jarche, H. (2010, February 24). A framework for social learning in the enterprise. [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://jarche.com/2010/02/a-framework-for-social-learning-in-the-enterprise/
Jarche, H. (2016, December 8). Closing the learning-knowledge loop. [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://jarche.com/2016/12/closing-the-learning-knowledge-loop/
Weinberger, D. (2011). Too big to know: Rethinking knowledge now that the facts aren't the facts, experts are everywhere, and the smartest person in the room is the room. New York, NY: Basic Books.
The largest issue that the Internet, and knowledge on the network, has caused is summarized by Davenport (2015) and his claim that due to the web, knowledge management is dying. There is an irony that has occurred with large networked knowledge, in that with a greater amount of knowledge, it is often harder to find and use. And due to the rise of efficient search algorithms, such as Google, it has now become easier to search for external knowledge than to find internal knowledge (Davenport, 2011, p. 2). For organizations to now manage knowledge there must be a shift towards using social learning as advocated by Dixon (2009) and Jarche (2010).
In a recent survey, the difficultly of managing and maintaining knowledge was displayed when less than 15% of organizations were confidant in their ability retain knowledge when employees left (Jarche, 2016). Social learning is certainly something that can and has occurred naturally in workplaces, however, through effective leadership organizations can foster the trust that is a "essential component of social learning" (Jarche, 2010). The networked world is often changing too fast to conduct traditional training, instead leaders need to empower employees and small teams to solve the "how to do it" for themselves (Jarche, 2010). This empowerment by leaders fosters trust and facilitates the organic creation of social networks, which in turn assists in building the community necessary for social learning (Dixon, 2009).
These issues are very relevant to my new position. I am now in charge of updating a training program on a plane that rapidly changes with new technology. The process for formal training course changes can take years and after approval the changes might not even be relevant. Instead I will definitely be using the advice of Dixon (2009), Jarche (2010, 2016), and Weinberger (2011) moving forward, teaching students as well as instructors how to "fish and move on the the next challenge", develop the skills to learn from each other, and foster a community that encourages social learning.
References:
Davenport, T. D. (2015, June 24). Whatever happened to knowledge management? The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2015/06/24/whatever-happened-to-knowledge-management/
Dixon, N. (2009, July 30). Where knowledge management has been and where it is going - part 3. [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://www.nancydixonblog.com/2009/07/where-knowledge-management-has-been-and-where-it-is-going-part-three.html
Jarche, H. (2010, February 24). A framework for social learning in the enterprise. [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://jarche.com/2010/02/a-framework-for-social-learning-in-the-enterprise/
Jarche, H. (2016, December 8). Closing the learning-knowledge loop. [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://jarche.com/2016/12/closing-the-learning-knowledge-loop/
Weinberger, D. (2011). Too big to know: Rethinking knowledge now that the facts aren't the facts, experts are everywhere, and the smartest person in the room is the room. New York, NY: Basic Books.