AnuiKnowledgeBank

Monday, May 2, 2016

Strategic Knowledge Management Best Practices:

KM and Organizational Structures: Two types were defined: formal and informal.
- Formal structure: These will interfere with KM if very rigidly enforced. The choice of structure, and the physical division of the firm, will also affect knowledge flows. Studies seem to show that decentralized structures seem to be best for KM (Choi & Lee 2000, Claver-Cortés et al 2007, Chen & Huang 2007).
- Informal structures: The firm should be perceived as a community consisting of a collection of communities (Brown & Duguid 1992). Management can affect these through the use of project teams, teamwork, social functions, etc.
KM and Organizational Culture Change: This must be recognized and managed carefully and deliberately. By introducing anomalies that challenge the accepted premises of organizational culture, management can influence organizational members to abandon certain aspects in favor of others (Gardner 1997). Use of incentives and common vision and goals are also effective tools. One of the most important goals is to create a culture where knowledge sharing is perceived as beneficial rather than detrimental to the individual.
KM and Knowledge Retention: Knowledge retention is the part of KM that is concerned with making sure that important knowledge assets remain in the firm over time, e.g. when key employees leave the firm or retire. Formulating a knowledge retention strategy depends upon understanding which knowledge is important, which knowledge is at risk and what it takes to keep this knowledge in the organization. Depending upon its knowledge retention strategy a firm may choose to implement one of many initiatives and tools including reward structurers, mentoring, interviews, and utilizing knowledge knowledge from retirees.
KM and Core Competencies: The management of core competencies consists of four processes: identifying, sustaining, building, and unlearning. KM plays a key supporting role throughout this process by:
- Identifying what the firm knows, and what its main expertise is.
- Leveraging knowledge assets across the organization.
- Building the right know-how and expertise to match strategic requirements.
- Isolating and removing/changing obsolete knowledge.
KM and the External Network: As mentioned before, external knowledge sources include customers, suppliers, competitors, partners, mergers, etc. KM plays a role in the assessment of potential partners, by helping to determine what the organization knows, what it needs to know, and the best ways of getting that knowledge. It is also a key element during the cooperation process to ensure that the right knowledge is transferred and integrated into the organization.
KM and Knowledge Management Systems: This very ambiguous category of systems refers to most systems used in the sharing, discovery, and creation of knowledge. Failures are generally due to an over reliance on technology, a lack of understanding of the limitations of these systems, improper fit with organizational practices, lack of acceptance, etc. Proper implementation implies paying attention to:
- Organizational fit: Carry out internal assessment of needs and work practices, cost-benefit analysis, etc.
- Organizational acceptance: by involving the user in the design and implementation, through managerial and technical support, and with product champions, etc.
- Continued use: A function of perceived attractiveness factors and content management (Gamble and Blackwell 2001).

This concludes the summary of knowledge management best practices. KM is a process that spreads throughout the organization. Its scope is difficult to define and its effects are hard to measure - e.g. how do you determine the ROI on a discipline designed to subtly improve most aspects of the organization? Nonetheless, if properly implemented, it is a worthwhile investment that will promote efficiency, learning, innovation, and competitive advantage.

WHO knowledge management strategy

Executive summary and strategic directions

Executive summary

This is a challenging time for global public health and particularly for the fragile health of populations in developing countries. However, the increasing resources for international health aid and growing demand to improve health services offer an opportunity to foster health equity in countries most in need. Many of the solutions to health problems of the poor exist, but are not applied, leading to what is called the "know-do" gap: the gap between what is known and what is done in practice. The mission of the Global WHO Knowledge Management (KM) team is to bridge the know-do gap in global health by fostering an environment that encourages the creation, sharing, and effective application of knowledge to improve health.

The KM strategy focuses on national policy makers, WHO programmes, and health professionals. The objectives of the strategy lie in three main areas: strengthening country health systems through better knowledge management, establishing KM in public health, and enabling WHO to become a better learning Organization, through the following strategic directions:

Strategic directions

1. Improving access to the world's health information

Access to information and knowledge is inequitable, while information overload is widespread. WHO is promoting access to high-quality, relevant, targeted information products and services.

More information

2. Translating knowledge into policy and action

Health inequalities persist despite known, effective interventions and steadily increasing investment in research. WHO is building evidence and capacity on KM approaches to address priority health needs in countries.

More information

3. Sharing and reapplying experiential knowledge

Knowledge management methods and tools offer new opportunities for WHO and public health. WHO is providing guidance and facilitating the adoption of KM methods so that experience is reapplied and built upon in practice.

More information

4. Leveraging e-Health in countries

Information and communication technologies offer great potential to improve health services and systems. As well as incorporating ICT in its technical work, WHO is supporting country health systems through advocating evidence-based policies, monitoring e-Health trends, identifying good practice, facilitating networks of expertise, promoting norms, standards, and the integration of ICT into health workforce training and practice.

More information

5. Fostering an enabling environment

Creating an environment for the effective use of knowledge is vital to achieving WHO's mission. WHO is strengthening Organizational capacity, advocating adoption of KM in the field of public health, and improving capacity for implementing KM at country level.

Top 10 Best Negotiations of 2014: Negotiation Case Studies Drawn from Negotiation Examples in Real Life

I just would like to share this cases that are the Top Ten Negotiators

10. Steve Ballmer wins the L.A. Clippers

We said he wildly overpaid. We said he was blinded by his passion for the sport of basketball. But former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who made a winning bid of $2 billion for the L.A Clippers NBA franchise in May, may have proven us wrong. In October, the NBA negotiated enormously lucrative new TV contracts that will pad league owners’ wallets to the bursting point. Even better, Ballmer got to look like a hero by paying to get former Clippers owner Donald Sterling out of the sport.

9. A peaceful late night turnover

Given the drama that has swirled around personnel changes at late-night TV shows in the past—think Conan O’Brien and Jay Leno—it was refreshing to see how David Letterman, CBS, and Steven Colbert negotiated an uneventful changing of the guard at The Late Show. Advance planning—Colbert synced his Colbert Report contract with Letterman’s—and a long and trusting relationship between Letterman and NBC chief Les Moonves were key.

8. Super Bowl negotiators

The award for the most brazen negotiating move of 2014 goes to the National Football League negotiators who tried to convince performers like Coldplay, Rihanna, and Katy Perry that they should pay for the right to play the 2015 halftime show. “I’m not the kind of girl who would pay to play the Super Bowl,” Perry let it be known before the NFL signed her on to a more straightforward deal.

7. Google chose negotiation over litigation

Facing a raft of antitrust accusations in Europe, Google opted not to go the route taken by Microsoft of fighting the charges in court. Instead, Google negotiated a deal that allows it to avoid an official probe and a potentially huge fine from the European Commission by giving its competitors a boost in its search results. No fuss, no muss.

6. Cooperation in . . . Congress?

No, it didn’t happen every day, or even every month. But after years of gridlock, impasse, and bipartisan bickering, the fact that Congress was able to raise the debt ceiling without a budget showdown in February, and then avoid a government shutdown over the budget at the close of 2014, seems, somewhat sadly, worthy of mention.

5. The release of Bowe Bergdahl

Some members of Congress were sharply critical of the Obama administration’s decision to negotiate a prisoner swap with the Taliban that involved trading U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl for five Taliban detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. But by demonstrating the power of patient and methodical negotiation to resolve tense situations, the talks serve as a reminder that there can be advantages to engaging with the enemy.

4. Detroit’s quick and painless bankruptcy exit

It may seem like the silver lining of a bottomless rain cloud, but Detroit’s ability to forge through bankruptcy in record speed has given some officials and residents renewed optimism that the embattled city is poised for a comeback. Mediation was the key to ensuring that the parties didn’t get bogged down in endless haggling over debt payments and retirement obligations.

3. The Department of Justice

Since late 2013, the DOJ reached landmark settlements of $37 billion with three of the largest U.S. banks—Citigroup, Bank of America, and J.P. Morgan Chase—for their role in the 2008 financial crisis. As recently reported by the Wall Street Journal, a lone assistant U.S. attorney searching for a needle in a haystack stumbled upon an incriminating J.P. Morgan Chase memo that paved the way for the government’s strategy. As the story shows, for negotiators, the devil is often in the details.

2. The U.S.-China climate deal

President Obama pulled off the first of two surprise year-end deals when he and Chinese president Xi Jinping announced joint promises to cut their countries’ carbon emissions, an agreement that may pave the way for a global breakthrough on the issue. Given that climate talks had been log-jammed for years, the big question is why no one thought sooner to give bilateral negotiations between the world’s worst polluters a serious chance.

1. The U.S.-Cuba détente

In his other surprise deal of late 2014, Obama teamed up with Cuban leader Raúl Castro to announce a plan to normalize diplomatic relations between their nations. Backers of the secretive deal, which was 18 months in the making, praised Pope Francis for lending moral gravitas by serving as chief mediator.

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

working more than 25 hours in a week?

Today, I just would like to share with you about how many hours should we work in a week. I have found the story that talks about working hours maximum for a person. Please, see the video and read the story that telling directly.

Working more than 25 hours a week? Then you're doing your brain more harm than good.

And if you're clocking up 60-plus hours a week, your brain is actually performing worse than if you didn't work at all.

These are the findings of a Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research study of 6500 Australians aged 40 and over.

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Researchers used data from the long-term Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey to ascertain how time spent working affects the cognitive functioning of middle-aged and older people.

They cross-matched the number of hours people worked with the results from tests of their working memory, linguistic skills, concentration and information processing speed.

They found that cognitive function steadily increased for every hour worked up to 25 hours a week. For every hour worked beyond that, cognitive function steadily declined.

"This suggests that in order to maximise your cognitive function of people, part-time work is better," one of the researchers, Colin McKenzie, economics professor at Keio University in Japan, said. There were no statistical differences between the results for men and women.

Professor McKenzie said he was surprised how the exact number of working hours that is optimal for cognitive function was so clearly identifiable. "Most people work full-time in Australia. They're working a lot longer than the number of hours which we find the peak in work."

Nearly 8.2 million Australians work full-time, and a further 3.8 million work part-time, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures. Most full-time employees work more than 40 hours a week. People in mining, construction and agriculture are most likely to put in more than 50 hours a week

But their brains could be performing worse than those who don't work at all. The study found people who worked extremely long hours had poorer mental function than those who did no work. Professor McKenzie said this was because of the physical and psychological stress associated with working long hours.

"For cognitive functioning, working far too much is worse than not working at all," he said. "In the beginning work stimulates the brain cells. The stress associated with work physically and psychologically kicks in at some point and that affects the gains you get from working."

However, Professor McKenzie suspects working long hours isn't as damaging for people under 40. "My personal guess is that the recovery function of the brain in younger people is a little bit different," he said. "Younger people are more resilient ... to working longer hours on a continued basis."

The researchers suggested that rather than the ''use it or lose it'' argument that delaying retirement age could stave off the deterioration in cognitive ability, it could actually be a case of ''use it too much and lose it'' when it comes to brain functioning and work.

"[The study] results suggest that people in old age could maintain their cognitive ability by working in a part-time job that requires them to work around 20-30 hours per week," the researchers said.

KM Higher Study in Nagaland

Master of Science (M.Sc.) Knowledge Management

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I just would like to share with you about KM higher study in Nagaland. Nagaland is a vibrant hill state located in the extreme North Eastern end of India. The state of Nagaland has an area of 16,579 sq. km with a population of 1,988,636 (As per 2001- Census). Nagaland is a rich incomparable traditional and cultural heritage. Nagaland Society and Culture comprises of the tribal and sub-tribal communities, their living patterns, festivals, and beliefs.

Nagaland is one of the first states to introduce e-Governance reforms in North Eastern states. The state Government wants to translate the services to the citizens by using the ICT tools, thereby bridging the distance and remoteness of the state. With the infrastructure in place, state also planning to offer financial services like banking and insurance through our CSCs and kiosks. Nagaland state objective is to not only offer government services but also make the IT industry sustainable, and target to employ the youth in IT sector. Government wants to deliver faster, reliable, and transparent administration through e- Governance to the citizens.

The state Government has identified Agriculture, Treasuries and accounts, commercial taxes, road Transport and Employment for the first phase of its mission projects. In addition, Health, Education, Rural development, Industries and commerce, Veterinary and animal husbandry, Tourism, Personnel and administrative reforms and Finance departments are also to implement the state mission projects. Some of the key e-Governance projects of Nagaland are e-Suvidha and transport department communization etc.

KM study is one of the state development purpose.

Objective : The two years Distance Learning Master of Science (M.Sc.) Degree in Knowledge Management conducted by The Global Open University, Nagaland has been designed for meeting the demand of the growing needs of experts in the fields of knowledge engineering, knowledge management, innovation management, GIS, knowledge system designed and modelling, knowledge eco-system, knowledge transfer, knowledge retrieval, epistemology, knowledge tagging, ontology, cognitive science.

Eligibility : Graduates of any discipline Duration : Two years

Award : Master of Science (M.Sc.) Degree in Knowledge Management shall be awarded to all the successful candidates by The Global Open University, Nagaland.

First Year
Dimensions of Knowledge
Epistemology
Knowledge Management
Knowledge Engineering
Cognitive Science

Second Year
Innovation Management
Ontology
Tacit Knowledge
Research Methodology
Master's Thesis

Careers in Knowledge Management

As an established discipline since 1991, K.M. (Knowledge Management) is taught and researched in the fields of business, media, public health, library and information sciences etc. KM efforts typically focus on organisational objectives such as improved performance, competitive advantage, innovation, sharing of lessons learned, integration and continuous improvement. Knowledge Manager is a role and designation that has gained popularity over the past decade and has evolved drastically in areas like quality, sales, HR, innovation etc.

Total Fee : Rs. 24,125

Accordingly, the Application Form duly filled-in along with four stamp size photographs, copies of certificates and mark sheets and a Bank Draft for the full fee i.e. Rs. 24,125 in the name of “The Global Open University, Nagaland” payable at Dimapur must reach the Admissions Officer, The Global Open University, Sodzulhou Village, P.O. - ARTC, NH-39, Dimapur - 797115 Nagaland by registered / speed post only.

Examination Fee : A fee of Rs. 150 per paper is to be paid before appearing in the Annual Examinations to be held at different Examination Centers within the State of Nagaland (Dimapur, Kohima, Wokha).

Master's Thesis : All students are required to submit a Master's Thesis at the end of second year.

Assignments : All admitted participants must submit subjectwise assignments based on the Mini Project Reports to be prepared by them on a topic related to each of the subjects.

Thursday, April 14, 2016

How To Make Pottery?

I just would like to share about making a pottery. I have experienced making a pottery in my home when I was a little kid. My grandmother was a great pot maker. She used to make pretty pot for selling or for use. At the time she also used to ask me and my brothers to help her making clay, and we were very happy. And now this memory comes in my mind to share with others. Of course, it may not be a special research but to share something that I have and adding some information from contemporary pot making strategies.

Traditionally, we use a sticky clay that would be good and sustain for long time carrying as pot. First of all we search the clay and dig it and bring it at home. Keeping the clay in the place where it is very clean. The secondly, we put water into the clay and mix it up using our feet. The clay is needed to be pugged by feet or hand. Third, we start designing the pot by hand.

But the making pottery in Canada is also interesting. They also have steps making pottery. The process of making pottery at their studio is basically the same as you will find at any other true pottery studio in the world today. From raw clay to finished product we follow the steps that have been established over the centuries by potters on every continent. Every piece of pottery they make is hand crafted. They do not use the shortcut methods of press moulding, buying bisque ware from outside suppliers, or using mechanical devices to make the pots. They do all the wheel throwing on an electric potter's wheel and all the slab pottery is built by hand. The only moulding they do is some slump moulding of platters, and even then each is made from a slab rolled on the slab roller and cut by hand before being draped into a mould. Their clay is purchased from the Plainsman Clay Company which is located in Medicine Hat, Alberta. Plainsman processes clays from Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan, as well as Montana to provide raw materials for potters all over Western Canada.

They work with different clay bodies depending on what we are building and to obtain a bisqued product with which our glazes will fit well. For wheel thrown pottery the red and brown clays are first "pugged" in a pug mill to thoroughly blend them. White clay is simply wedged straight from the box.

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Today I just would like to talk about autism spectrum disorder (ASD). You might have found many of children who are discounted as a child or man in the society. I, personally come across many of them being treated in different ways; some are in good care but some do not, and it is depending on the knowledge of parents and the society. People usually keep them (Autistic Children) away from other normal children in any activities; learning, playing, eating and so on.

In 2006, I was in India, there was a girl with autistic illness. She was very nice to everyone who around her and laughing all times. She was such beautiful and she likes flowers very much. I was thinking that she must have something problem within her age but her father told me that happened since birth. And her parents did not want her to go with any other people.

In 20012, the same thing happened. I was working on my community works, developing curriculum for KG teaching and learning and was testing 200 hours curriculum with local children. That time an autistic child got involve in my class. He was extremely believing himself that he could draw pictures and writing but unfortunately his parent never let him go school. Even his mom stop him involving my class. She thought that her child will make us trouble but actually not.

The autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is the name for a group of developmental disorders. ASD includes a wide range, “a spectrum,” of symptoms, skills, and levels of disability.

People with ASD often have these characteristics:

1. Ongoing social problems that include difficulty communicating and interacting with others

2. Repetitive behaviors as well as limited interests or activities

3. Symptoms that typically are recognized in the first two years of life

4. Symptoms that hurt the individual's ability to function socially, at school or work, or areas of life.

Some people are mildly impaired by their symptoms, while others are severely disabled. Treatments and services can improve a person’s symptoms and ability to function. Families with concerns should talk to their pediatrician about what they’ve observed and the possibility of ASD screening. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) around 1 in 68 children has been identified with some form of ASD.

What is the difference between Asperger’s syndrome and ASD?

In the past, Asperger’s syndrome and Autistic Disorder were separate disorders. They were listed as subcategories within the diagnosis of “Pervasive Developmental Disorders.” However, this separation has changed. The latest edition of the manual from the American Psychiatric Association, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), does not highlight subcategories of a larger disorder. The manual includes the range of characteristics and severity within one category. People whose symptoms were previously diagnosed as Asperger’s syndrome or Autistic Disorder are now included as part of the category called Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Parents or doctors may first identify ASD behaviors in infants and toddlers. School staff may recognize these behaviors in older children. Not all people with ASD will show all of these behaviors, but most will show several. There are two main types of behaviors: “restricted / repetitive behaviors” and “social communication / interaction behaviors.”

Nevertheless, the autistic children have their own style in learning. The skills that they have should be trusted by people and believe it and encourage them. People should care about their education and life long survive. anuivi@facebook.com