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Knowledge Development in Virtual WorkMarkus Haag
Developing People InternationallyKonstanz, Germany - 28 Sep 2007
28 Sep 2007Markus Haag - Developing People Internationally Konstanz
Knowledge Development in Virtual Work
Outline
1. Knowledge Development and Learning in Virtual Environments
2. Challenges of Virtual Communication and Collaboration
3. The Impact of Culture
4. Schwartz’ Individual-Level Values
5. Effective Knowledge Development and Learning
6. Managing Virtual Work
28 Sep 2007Markus Haag - Developing People Internationally Konstanz
Knowledge Development in Virtual Work
1. Knowledge Development and Learning in Virtual Environments
-- KD in e-learning environments encompasses processes and phases of creating new knowledge, evaluating and modifying knowledge, sharing knowledge, and finally applying knowledge in real-life situations and contexts
-- KD involves several distinct yet interdependent phases of knowledge development, one of them being knowledge creation
Finding (better) solutions to problems
-- Learning: often taking place in communities of practice:
“A community of practice is a set of relations among persons, activity, and world, over time and in relation with other tangential and overlapping communities of practice.” (Lave and Wenger, 1991, p. 98)
28 Sep 2007Markus Haag - Developing People Internationally Konstanz
Knowledge Development in Virtual Work
2. Challenges of Virtual Communication and Collaboration
-- Who are you?Function, hierarchy, clear and mutually accepted role in the team?
-- Trust:How to build it – and maintain it? Face-to-face meetings?
-- Different skill levels in using software (CSCW, CSCL, even Internet)
Differing expectations
What are the rules of interaction and collaboration?
28 Sep 2007Markus Haag - Developing People Internationally Konstanz
Knowledge Development in Virtual Work
3. The Impact of Culture -1-
-- Differing assumptions about how something should be done:power distance – formality/informality; role expectations
-- High context/low context – directness and indirectnessVirtual environments mostly use explicit, low-context, textual communication What do high-context cultures make of this?
-- Handling (or even accommodating?) differences:Should Chinese become more direct? Germans more indirect?
28 Sep 2007Markus Haag - Developing People Internationally Konstanz
Knowledge Development in Virtual Work
3. The Impact of Culture -2-
-- Does a virtual environment have no culture? The culture(s) of its members? Or its own distinct culture?
-- Group dynamics: ingroup vs outgroup – inculture vs outculture
-- Suspicion and distrust
-- Leadership issues: need of a moderator/facilitator/leader?
-- Culture: national, organisational, professional, regional, generational
28 Sep 2007Markus Haag - Developing People Internationally Konstanz
Knowledge Development in Virtual Work
3. The Impact of Culture -3- Trompenaars’ value dimensions
-- Universalism-particularism: fixed set of rules – rules depending on context, rules can be suspended
-- Individualism-communitarianism: asserting oneself – focus on group success
-- Neutral-emotional: Are emotions shown online? If so, how? How are they dealt with online? mediation in conflict
-- Achievement-ascription: recognition due to personal success – recognition due to status
-- Diffuse-specific: Where are the boundaries between private life and professional life? Is it expected to answer e-mails on a Saturday?
28 Sep 2007Markus Haag - Developing People Internationally Konstanz
Knowledge Development in Virtual Work
4. Schwartz’ Individual-Level Values
Universalism: understanding, tolerance for others
Benevolence: preservation and enhancement of welfare of close others
Conformity: avoiding actions likely to upset others
Tradition: respect for and acceptance of traditional customs
Security: safety, harmony of society, others and self
Power: social status, control or dominance over people
Achievement: personal success through showing competence
Hedonism: pleasure and sensuous gratification for oneself
Stimulation: excitement, novelty, challenge
Self-Direction: independent thought and action
28 Sep 2007Markus Haag - Developing People Internationally Konstanz
Knowledge Development in Virtual Work
4. Schwartz Value Survey:
Ten individual-level values
Taken from: Burgess (2005) The importance and motivational content of money attitudes: South Africans with living standards similar to those in industrialised Western countries South African Journal of Psychology, 35(1), pp. 106–126.
28 Sep 2007Markus Haag - Developing People Internationally Konstanz
Knowledge Development in Virtual Work
5. Effective Knowledge Development and Learning -1-
Knowledge Development:
-- Involve team members in discussing aims and objectives - trying to reach a consensus about them - then state them explicitly
-- Bring the concept of culture and its impact on KD and learning into the open
-- Discuss and (try to) agree on role expectations
-- Focus on benefits of multi-cultural teams rather than on problems
-- Discuss and (try to) agree on guidelines for communicating and collaborating in virtual environments
28 Sep 2007Markus Haag - Developing People Internationally Konstanz
Knowledge Development in Virtual Work
5. Effective Knowledge Development and Learning -2-
Learning:-- Use examples that are relevant for all members, give more than one example if necessary
-- Learning has to take place in a meaningful context/learning is situated
-- Beware of best practices – they may be bad practice in another culture
Reconciliation and accommodation of differences
28 Sep 2007Markus Haag - Developing People Internationally Konstanz
Knowledge Development in Virtual Work
6. Managing Virtual Work -1-
-- It has to be managed!
-- What and how? Aims and objectives, rules and guidelines, role expectations
-- Moderate, facilitate and guide – don’t prescribe!
Knowledge created and developed must be managed and made available to people in other situations and contexts;knowledge has to be applied
28 Sep 2007Markus Haag - Developing People Internationally Konstanz
Knowledge Development in Virtual Work
6. Managing Virtual Work -2-
-- 90% people, 10% technology
-- Emphasise the positive potential of diversity (cultural, gender, age, expertise, etc.)
-- Four-part model of NetAge:
Purpose: goals, tasks, results
People: members, leaders, levels
Time: calendar, process, phases
Links: media, interactions, relationships
28 Sep 2007Markus Haag - Developing People Internationally Konstanz
Knowledge Development in Virtual Work
Thank you very much.
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