A521.7.4.RB - Knowledge Sharing Story
By
Terrance Le Shore
An ePortfolio Blogger Assignment
Submitted to the Worldwide Campus
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements
of Course MSLD 521, Leadership
Communication
Embry-Riddle
Aeronautical University
November 2015
November 2015
A521.7.4.RB - Knowledge Sharing Story
Knowledge sharing is recognized as being critical to the
ongoing development and growth of The Boeing Company’s organization. Sharing
knowledge occurs in many ways. Story telling, often regarded in a light-hearted
way and frequently accompanied by dry comments, or even skepticism, is now
being recognized as having a place of value within the knowledge-sharing
environment.
Knowledge is now being
seen as the most important strategic resource within The Boeing organizations,
and the management of this knowledge is considered critical to organizational
success. If Boeing wants to capitalize on the knowledge it possess in it people,
we have to understand how knowledge is created, shared, and used within the
organization. Knowledge exists and is shared at different levels in
organizations.
“The true sign of
intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.” Albert
Einstein
I
think that Knowledge Sharing and
Mentoring should go hand to hand. I recently had the opportunity to do both
with an individual that I saw a lot of myself in and shared the same
background. One of the best benefits for working for an organization as large
as The Boeing Company is the opportunity to explore different job disciplines.
The company offers a program that allows for team members to explore the duties
of other departments and job descriptions or 3 months with the approval HR and
the department heads.
I had a young mechanic to be
assigned to my team for 3 months. And in the 3 months that he was with us we as
a team were able to share our operational systems and processes. In the hopes
of him taking this information back to the production floor to share with his
work group. (Denning, 2011) By sharing our operational
system and processes with the young mechanic we not only want to answer but
also ease any questions or concerns on why the planning is done as it is.
But
the knowledge sharing also went both ways. I had taking the mechanics on the
production floor voice for granted. I was using my own 15+ years of experiences
as a structural mechanic to help me guide my team. I was assuming that the
average mechanic on the production floor would have the same knowledge and
experiences as myself. The young mechanic was able to show us and explain the
frustrations of those that were looking and using our planning to build the
aircraft. This was a great example of what “Fostering knowledge sharing through
people management practices” and Human Capital. Human capital refers to the
skills and abilities of individuals or the stock of knowledge within an
organization. While human capital is necessary for achieving a competitive advantage,
the knowledge held by individuals must also be passed along to others in order
for its value to be appropriated and leveraged. (Cabrera & Cabrera, 2005)
And
after the 3-month program was complete, 4 months to the day that young mechanic
was offered a job within the planning department.
References
Cabrera, E.
F., & Cabrera, A. (2005). Fostering knowledge sharing through people management practices. The International Journal of Human Resource Management ,
720-735.
Denning, S. (2011). The Leader's Guide to Storytelling.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
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