Communication inter alia LO8733

John Farago (jfarago@cix.compulink.co.uk)
Tue, 30 Jul 96 07:16 BST-1

Replying to LO8699 --

Michael McMaster writes:

> ... might
> it not be better to make the fundamental shift in our thinking to
> think of things occurring in spaces? If we make that shift, then we
> begin to look to creation or design of spaces in which things can
> occur and from which things can emerge.

That reminds me of a little note I wrote after reading 'Knowledge &
Value':

Solveig Wikstrvm & Richard Normann et al (1995) 'Knowledge & Value: a new
perspective on corporate transformation' Routledge ISBN 0-415-09818-1

[Note: Wikstrom has what in German is called Umlaut - a horizontal colon :
over the o which may not appear on your screens]

>From the foreword by Charles Hamden-Turner:

"For me the central core of their argument is that value inheres and
accumulates in the complex web of relationships between customers and
suppliers"

"the learning organisation stores its knowledge ... in the finely woven
tapestries of mutualism, of value co-created by the dialogue of equals"

"the authors advocate the 'value star', jointly owned and created
connection which transcends the personal agendas of both parties, is
more than both their ambitions and, above all, knows more."

"It is not simply that the transaction costs of 'never giving a sucker
an even break' are too high and that we outwit ourselves, it is that
value itself is the product of mutual concern and painstaking
co-operation, that when we speak of knowledge this is largely, if not
entirely, knowledge of each other. "

-------------------------------
>From the book:

"The expression LEARNING ORGANISATION becomes meaningful if used to
describe organisations characterised by generative knowledge processes,
and possessing a climate which encourages everyday learning as well as
more formal kinds of education. . . . we can speak of a Learning
Organisation if bearers of knowledge in an organisation are continually
increasing their competence."

The authors see the company as a knowledge processing system, creating,
absorbing, processing, exploiting and disseminating different types of
knowledge. It transforms inputs (knowledge from the environment) into
outputs (knowledge manifested in offerings of value to the customer)
through a core knowledge process where there is a synchronous and
reciprocal interaction between generative productive and representative
processes. Product development, the development of production processes
and market development all interact simultaneously and reciprocally.
Knowledge is embedded in hardware and systems as well as in people.

Added value is created through a web of customer-supplier relationships
which expands into a 'value star', in which different kinds of knowledge
meet and are synthesised. The company, its customers and their customers
and suppliers form one value star which is linked to another value star
representing the web of relationships with suppliers, their suppliers,
etc.
---

John Farago
<jfarago@cix.compulink.co.uk>

Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations
For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>