Thursday, May 03, 2007

How huge companies are able to sustain themselves

.. and why companies spend so much of money on "culture creation"...


I'm penning down a thought stream that leads to a clear view of the future of this KM venture.

Background

Individuals, groups and teams are temporary. They last as long as their leader / goals lasts.
Societies and cultures are more resiliant. They last for ages. They sustain themselves.

A society is a group of individuals, characterized by common interests, and may have a distinctive culture, and
Culture refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such actiity significance.

Therefore,

What if there is a HP Knowledge Society? a HP Knowledge Culture? Knowledge creation and usage will then become self-sustaining....!

Cultures require:
1. Values ==> Rules which govern the generation and sharing of knowledge
2. Norms ==> Each individual must make a knowledge contribution / reuse every once in a while. Else they will be viewed in negative light.
3. Institutions ==>
4. Artifacts ==>

Cultures require leaders.
The whole system would require an autocratic leader to gain compliance initially.
Gradually, the whole system would go democratic. Democracy will be needed to survive.

The system would need an information system. Some thread that binds them all.
Something that reminds the members of their association, of their values, their norms,
their institutions and their artifacts.

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