EXAMPLE 1 - A Creative Workshop

A half-day creative workshop was developed to provide a non-threatening environment for gathering information regarding company objectives and direction. The workshop was based on a standard method incorporating techniques such as random stimulation, super heroes, rich pictures, reversal and Walt Disney (NLP).

The session used drawing and colour so that people felt able to express themselves without being distracted by language. Similarly, the results were visual and could be taken away and photographed/scanned as a permanent record. All materials were supplied at the workshop to reinforce the fact that attendees were not required to bring baggage (emotional or otherwise) with them.

The workshop uncovered several issues:

• Belief in the potential of the company
• Lack of teamwork
• The perception of too much centralised power
• Idea generation and exchange of knowledge occurred only by accident

There was a strong organisational culture which differed from the espoused corporate culture. During the workshop a very definite (but positive) idea on the way the company could move forward emerged. Barriers to progress were explored and suggestions put forward to overcome these.

The views of employees were well represented, however there was a need to further explore corporate culture and strategy with the board of directors. This was organised and proved fruitful in aligning the objectives and values of both company and employees. Further work is ongoing.

EXAMPLE 2 - Managing Knowledge

An Intellectual Capital (IC) audit was carried out. This was the company's first ever IC audit. As a starting point a common language was defined for use by all of those involved. A balanced scorecard was chosen as a simple audit method. The lack of data other than accounting data within the company meant that the recorded values needed to be either ratios or subjective indices. This was not thought to be a significant problem as long as the same measures are used consistently over a period of time. The areas of focus chosen were ‘Customer Perspective’ and ‘Internal Perspective’, which should show dramatic changes for an expanding high technology company.

The results showed:

• The company had not managed to change customers’ perceptions
• The effectiveness of delivery of customer expectations had not changed
• The capacity for absorbing and distributing knowledge was relatively low
• Most of the data stored was not used
• Internal communications were ineffective and often distorted.

Recommendations were made to develop a specific knowledge management strategy. Without further investigation it was unclear as to whether the solution lay in developing human resources, processes and procedures or creating an environment conducive to knowledge sharing. It was suggested that for a relatively small c ompany the most important issues related to innovation and thus a knowledge management strategy should target the following:

• Avoiding multiple communities of practice
• Improved methods of communication
• The transfer between tacit and explicit knowledge
• Encouraging double loop learning
• Management of employee values
• Creating boundary spanners
• Creating the perception of an inverted organisation for supporting employees

The appointment of boundary spanners proved effective, as did the attention paid to human resource issues. Further interventions require a long-term approach.

EXAMPLE 3 - Strategic Analysis

Company resources and capabilities were examined with regard to the strategies already in place. In particular, did they allow the company to compete successfully? Were they suitable long-term strategies?

There was no formal statement of strategy but gathering data and searching for strategic patterns identified an emergent strategy. The industry structure was examined in conjunction with the macro environment. The key success factors for competition within the industry were identified and the suitability of the current organisational structure examined.

The resources and capabilities did support the company's strategies, however the strategies in place were not long-term strategies for success. Without defined objectives it was difficult to employ all of the available control levers to steer the organisation. It was apparent that senior management wielded comprehensive power due to their large shareholding but there was little evidence of effective leadership.

Recommendations were made in the following areas:

• Defining objectives
• Company structure
• Knowledge management and organisational learning
• Exploitation of core capabilities

Further exploration workshops were carried out with senior management.