In Chapter 3 of Design
to Thrive, the section that really stands out to me is “Preserve
Institutional Knowledge” (33). I agree with Howard’s statements about how
important it is to pass along knowledge developed by different people in an
institution because those people won’t always be around to teach others what
they know. Just as the MATRF room provides access to multiple types of social
media, most businesses should have a similar way of preserving their
technology. Otherwise, important ideas and decisions will be lost once the
creator of those ideas leaves the business.
This reminds me of my old job that I used to work at back
home. It is a statewide bank, and my job was to help the vice president/secretary
with her daily activities at the main office branch. Her job is hectic everyday
because of all of the responsibilities she has. Even with me there helping her,
I’m not sure how she manages to get everything done by the end of the day. When
I worked with her last summer, she took a week’s vacation, so I was responsible
for getting things done while she was out. I’m pretty familiar with her daily
tasks since I’ve worked with her for many years, but I still had to rely on 2
or 3 other people when I wasn’t quite sure how some things were done. It made
me realize that once the vice president decides to retire, I have no idea how
they’re going to find someone to take over because once she walks out, all of
that knowledge is going with her, just as Howard suggests (33). The technology
she uses is dated, so whoever takes her place is going to have to convert all
of the files and data to new software before they can use it.
It’s a scary thought because of the importance of her job to
the business. This example shows how crucial online communities are in passing
along new information and keeping ideas alive, no matter who came up with them.
It proves that every growing business needs to progress with technology in order
to preserve knowledge for new employees.
There's an old formula that management folks use which shows that it costs 4 times as much to replace a person as it does to retain current employees. Good job here, KH. drh
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post. I thought it tied the reading and real-world experience together really well. I have had a similar experience in the work place, but luckily the problem could be fixed a little bit easier then if the VP left that bank. It's interesting to think how businesses will adjust upon the departure of head employees and how much one employee can bring to the company.
ReplyDeleteThat's a really interesting point that when the VP leaves, all that knowledge is going to go with her. I was secretary in a student organization in undergrad. We had our elections in the middle of the school year, so that the previous governing body could serve as knowledge base to the new body. But even that doesn't out as a true "community."
ReplyDeleteBefore, I became secretary, I was friends with the then president of the org. So, although I was only a member, I got to sit in on government meetings and get "behind the scenes" insight that most people didn't get. For me, personally, there was community there. The governing body before me, during my time, and after, we all friends of mine. But that was a friendship and knowledge that was built outside of the org. I can only wonder how the org would function if that community existed within the org.
There's a lot of misconceptions with how the governing body works, and a community could help solve that. In fact, the org ran much smoother when it was smaller and everyone knew and was friends with one another. But how to build that community is still a question.
And I'm completely just typed this out as I thought. Thanks for giving me things to think about. :)