case study
Mood:  flirty
Shell Oil Company Royal/Dutch Shell is recognized for its use of planning scenarios to understand the forces at play and how work gets done. That understanding can then be used to develop preventive measures and anticipate risk. Alternatively, they can be used to discover strategic options and opportunities within the company which it may not be aware of. Knowledge sharing and learning are among the most important things the company does. In 1994, Shell Oil Company created the Shell Learning Center to focus on this area of key leverage. The two value propositions of the learning center were to leverage the cutting-edge tools of learning to improve business performance and to provide a platform for the leader development of high-potential employees. The Learning Center also championed several KM processes such as a best practice sharing methodology which minimized cost and realized savings of more than USD 5 million in four months for Shell. Besides that, Shell also developed tool kits in key knowledge-sharing activities such as the After Action Review, a professional discussion of events utilized by the US Army to create a nonhierarchical environment for inquiry and team learning. It also developed tool kits to assist businesses in developing how to work in virtual teams as well as for communities of practice. These processes are core competencies to move beyond being a multinational company to being a truly global company. W L Gore W L Gore, a company offering fluoropolymer products from 45 locations around the world and well-known for its innovation, uses four operating principles to generate leadership that is not positional. The organization sees leadership as a quality which is expected of everyone, and natural leaders are defined by their followers. • The Freedom principle – Encourages growth in knowledge, skill and scope of responsibility. • The Waterline principle – States that mistakes made “above the waterline” are not a serious offense. However, mistakes “below the waterline” can sink the ship. Therefore, before taking a serious risk or bridging an ethical standard, employees need to check with other employees. • The Commitment principle – Expects employees to keep any commitments made. • The Fairness principle – Mandates that employees are to be fair to everyone, including suppliers and customers. Today, W L Gore’s annual revenues top USD 1.2 billion, and they have been repeatedly named among the '100 Best Companies to Work for in America’. US Postal Service The US Postal Service has created an information platform via a postal intranet that makes technology work for postal management and customers. The intranet has two main components: • Postal Exchange – This site is committed exclusively to personal knowledge sharing and information transmission among members who register for the site. Registration enables site tracking and the management and cataloguing of the information shared. • The Rapid Information Bulletin Board Site (RIBBS) – RIBBS provides links to numerous information sources, publications, rate charts, postal code directories, etc, all designed to enable employees to find the latest information in the fastest possible time. As progress continues on the technology side, coupled with KM direction and leadership from human resources, the Postal Service is looking forward to even greater accomplishments in the coming years. Monsanto Monsanto is a good example of a company that has come closest to transforming itself into a knowledge-based company by making dramatic strategic changes to the way work is organized and carried out. Monsanto looks at creating value at the individual level to improve the capability of each person. It attempts to change the organizational culture so that the shared values of individuals lead to increased organizational capabilities. The organizational transformation began with Robert Shapiro’s leadership in 1995. Among the changes was the establishment of a KM program and infrastructure. Global learning centers and systems were created connecting employees to focus on innovation and growth. In tandem with Shapiro’s strategy to make Monsanto more connected and decentralized, several information repositories were created on the intranet. Monsanto’s KM culture is focused on creating value by understanding how people convert information into insight. Its approach called for clearly defines roles by members of self-directed teams, particularly for the team leader, who must ensure that the components of knowledge creation are occurring, champion the sharing of lessons learned, and provide the right environment. Today, Monsanto is the leading provider of agricultural products. With its strong commitment to knowledge sharing coupled with its unparalleled innovation in plant biotechnology, Monsanto has successfully created integrated solutions that bring products and technologies together to improve productivity and to reduce the costs of farming. With this brief look at the above four companies, I hope that I have demonstrated the theories and principles of KM being put into action.