Management and the New Workplace
The world of organizations and management is changing rapidly. The primary characteristic of the new workplace is that it is centered around information and ideas rather than machines and physical assets. In the new workplace work is free-flowing and flexible. Empowered employees are expected to seize opportunities and solve problems as they emerge. The workplace is organized around networks rather than rigid hierarchies, and work is often virtual. The valued worker is one who learns quickly, shares knowledge, and is comfortable with risk, change, and ambiguity.
Forces on Organizations
The most striking change now affecting organizations and management is technology. Organizations are increasingly using digital networking technologies to tie together employees and company partners in far-flung operations. One of the biggest technological advances is the Internet, which is transforming the way business is done.
The internet and other new technologies are also tied closely to globalization, another force that is significantly affecting organizations. Customers today operate globally and they expect organizations to provide worldwide service. Managers must understand cross-cultural patterns, and they often work with virtual team members form many different countries. Generational diversity is another powerful force in today's workplace, with employees of all ages working together on teams and projects. Also, Generation X employees are having a profound impact on the workplace.
In the face of these transformations, organizations are learning to value change and speed over stability and efficiency. Managers must rethink their approach to organizing, directing , and motivating workers.
The Learning Organization
The learning organization can be defined as one in which everyone is engaged in identifying and solving problems, enabling the organization to continuously experiment, change, and improve, thus increasing its capacity to grow, learn, and achieve its purpose. In the learning organization all employees look for problems and help solve them.
The world of organizations and management is changing rapidly. The primary characteristic of the new workplace is that it is centered around information and ideas rather than machines and physical assets. In the new workplace work is free-flowing and flexible. Empowered employees are expected to seize opportunities and solve problems as they emerge. The workplace is organized around networks rather than rigid hierarchies, and work is often virtual. The valued worker is one who learns quickly, shares knowledge, and is comfortable with risk, change, and ambiguity.
Forces on Organizations
The most striking change now affecting organizations and management is technology. Organizations are increasingly using digital networking technologies to tie together employees and company partners in far-flung operations. One of the biggest technological advances is the Internet, which is transforming the way business is done.
The internet and other new technologies are also tied closely to globalization, another force that is significantly affecting organizations. Customers today operate globally and they expect organizations to provide worldwide service. Managers must understand cross-cultural patterns, and they often work with virtual team members form many different countries. Generational diversity is another powerful force in today's workplace, with employees of all ages working together on teams and projects. Also, Generation X employees are having a profound impact on the workplace.
In the face of these transformations, organizations are learning to value change and speed over stability and efficiency. Managers must rethink their approach to organizing, directing , and motivating workers.
The Learning Organization
The learning organization can be defined as one in which everyone is engaged in identifying and solving problems, enabling the organization to continuously experiment, change, and improve, thus increasing its capacity to grow, learn, and achieve its purpose. In the learning organization all employees look for problems and help solve them.
To develop a learning organization, managers make changes in all the subsystems of the organization. Three important adjustments to promote continuous learning are shifting to a team-based structure, empowering employees, and sharing information.
Team Based Structure. An important value in a learning organization is collaboration and communication across departmental and hierarchical boundaries. Self-directed teams are the basic building block of the structure.
Employee Empowerment. Empowerment means unleashing the power and creativity of employees by giving them the freedom, resources, information, and skills to make decisions and perform effectively.
Open Information. Easy access to information is crucial to make a learning organization work.
Managing the Technology-Driven Workplace
The shift to the learning organization goes hand-in-hand with the current transition to a technology-driven workplace. Ideas, information, and relationships are becoming more important than production machinery, physical products, and structured jobs. New electronic technologies also shape the organization itself and how its is managed. Knowledge management refers to the efforts to systematically find, organize, and make available a company's intellectual capital and to foster a culture of continuous learning and knowledge sharing so that a company's activities build on what is already known. A complete knowledge management system includes not only the technology for capturing and storing knowledge for easy access, but also new management values that support risk-taking, learning, and collaboration. Today's most successful managers cherish people for their ability to thing, create, share knowledge, and build relationships.
Managing the Technology-Driven Workplace
The shift to the learning organization goes hand-in-hand with the current transition to a technology-driven workplace. Ideas, information, and relationships are becoming more important than production machinery, physical products, and structured jobs. New electronic technologies also shape the organization itself and how its is managed. Knowledge management refers to the efforts to systematically find, organize, and make available a company's intellectual capital and to foster a culture of continuous learning and knowledge sharing so that a company's activities build on what is already known. A complete knowledge management system includes not only the technology for capturing and storing knowledge for easy access, but also new management values that support risk-taking, learning, and collaboration. Today's most successful managers cherish people for their ability to thing, create, share knowledge, and build relationships.
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