Chapter 10 – Critical Thinking Question 1A manager can implement to encourage such sharing in planning, implementation, evaluation, and control. Planning is the initial step of all projects. It is like the brainstorming step in writing, the curriculum planning in a yearly lesson plan, and the road map of a career plan. To have an effective plan, the manager should play the facilitator role and let the individual who is talented in planning to lead the team as the team leader role of planning. The rest of the members would contribute in a brainstorming process at a round table and throw out ideas to conclude to one good plan. The manager sits in and guides along the way to be sure the plan has contingency plans within for backup. Planning includes doing research in various perspectives, which can be assigned to the individuals who are strong in it. After researching for what they need, the individuals who are strong in analysis would come on board to provide a thorough analysis. With the thorough analysis in mind, the team would be able to come up with a plan that has the pros and cons analysis, the possible changes (contingency plans), and a well-done plan to be executed.
Implementation is the process to execute the plan in action. This part involves the teamwork and sportsmanship. The manager is like the coach of a sport team, who leads the team in each individual’s position to execute the game plan successfully. Those who are better in pitching and presenting will be the first contacts. Others who are better in supporting will be the backstage crew. The bottom line is to make the plan go on in action. Anything falls; someone on the team will substitute without blaming one another. That is true teamwork and sportsmanship.
Evaluation is the reflection and feedback time. This is not the time to blame on one another about what went wrong; instead, this is the time to discuss what could have done to avoid things go wrong and contingency plans to be used accordingly. This is a time for all individuals to freely express their thoughts without judging. The manager should balance the discussion in a friendly, yet effective manner, to learn from this experience for the future.
Control is when the manager takes over more than the other areas. This is when the manager makes sure that there is a balance among the talents and skills within the individuals on the team. Is one person doing all the work? Is someone not sharing all knowledge to the team? The manager should know who is good in what and sharpen their skills accordingly, so that when it is time to utilize them, the result will be on point.
Chapter 10 – General Question
If I were in charged with developing the specifications for a knowledge-management system in my organization, the key information that I would need is the “match [of] its goals and needs” (White and Bruton, 2011, pp. 355). When executing this project, I have to make sure to resolve few issues first. One is people issues. A “community of capable individuals with diverse thinking” (White and Bruton, 2011, pp. 357) works better in the Knowledge-Management (KM) System. This is when all individuals share their knowledge within the team to collectively merge into one. As for the company view, I should make sure “continuous, multiple perspective assessment [are ongoing and] looking for alignment and fit [company’s vision]” (White and Bruton, 2011, pp. 357). As for structural orientation, “proactive involvement at all levels [with] flexibility [and] network structure” (White and Bruton, 2011, pp. 357) are essential and significant to our company organization. The fourth area is orientation, which should hold a “community of practice [with] cross-functionality” (White and Bruton, 2011, pp. 357). Lastly, we should have lower formality to build the community within our organization in harmony. The bottom line is to have open-door policy, when all individuals in the organization would share what their knowledge to benefit our company as a whole.
“In the knowledge-management system, the community of capable individuals is a key concern” (White and Bruton, 2011, pp. 357). As I mentioned in the beginning, we need the goals and needs to match. Effectively utilizing the human resources to match the goals and needs of developing the specific KM system would maximize the best result. Those individuals who are capable of brainstorming will lead, plus add-ons from other team members as well. The whole team work together to implement the plan we worked from brainstorming, revising, editing, and finalizing. When there is a good plan worked out, we have to test it out accordingly. Therefore, after implementing the plan, we need to reflect on what went well and what can be improved. The control is the maintenance role to keep the project running smoothly, which is my main job as the leader and facilitator for the team.
- White, M.A. & Bruton, G. D. (2011). The Management of Technology and Innovation: A Strategic Approach. Second Edition. South-Western, Cengage Learning, OH, USA. Chapter 10 – Organizational Learning and Knowledge Management, pp. 338-362. 362. 362. 362. ISBN-13: 978-0-538-47822-9.
