New Ways for Collaborating &
Learning in Organizations
Hala Annabi
Brazil Executive Seminar
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Agenda
Introduction
Overview of the topic
How do organizations collaborate and
learn?
Case Study: Parson Brinckerhoff
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Background
Jordan
BS in Bus/MIS
MBA
Ph.D. in Information
Science and
Technology
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Professional Experience
Academic
Consultant
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Making the Best of this Session
Ask questions
Provide opinions
Challenge one another
Stay focused on task
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New Ways for Collaborating &
Learning in Organizations
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Collaboration
Today’s
Organization
Learning
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Collaboration
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Collaboration
What do we mean by collaboration?
Who do you collaborate with?
What are the different types of collaboration that
exist?
What are the goals of collaboration?
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Collaboration
Collaboration is working together towards a common goal
We collaborate with internal and external constituencies
Collaboration can be
• formal or informal
• structured or unstructured
The goal is to leverage and integrate individual capabilities for
organizational goals - learning
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Two Types of Collaboration
Unstructured collaboration (information
collaboration)
• includes document exchange, shared whiteboards,
discussion forums, and e-mail
Structured collaboration (process
collaboration)
• involves shared participation in business processes
such as workflow in which knowledge is hardcoded as
rules
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Collaboration
Learning
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Learning
What do we mean by learning in Organizations?
Who learns in organizations?
What is being Learned?
When does learning take place?
How does learning occur?
Why is organizational learning important?
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Learning
Organizational learning is the process by which an
organization integrates the knowledge of individual
members into its rules, procedures, norms and
culture.
Knowledge-base view: the firm as the means to
integrate individual members’ knowledge into the
firm’s activities and products
Learning is a core competency!
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Who is learning?
Individual
Group
Organization
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Learning in OSS (Annabi 2005; 2006)
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Learning
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• Individual contributions are important to group learning
but are not sufficient
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What is being learned?
Rules and standard operating procedures
Decisions reached
Cognitive and behavioral changes
Innovation
Organizational knowledge
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When does learning take place?
Slack in resources (Cyert & March, 1963; Duncan & Weiss, 1979)
Stress or tension (Cangelosi & Dill, 1965; M. C. Fiol & Lyles, 1985)
Error or mismatch of expectations (Argyris & Schön, 1978; Levitt &
March, 1988)
Innovation (Annabi, 2005)
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What results does learning yield?
Improved performance
• better adaptation and alignment to the
environment (Cyert & March, 1963; Duncan & Weiss, 1979; M. C. Fiol
& Lyles, 1985; Levitt & March, 1988)
• reduction of stress (Cangelosi & Dill, 1965)
• better range of action strategies of potential
behaviors (Argyris & Schön, 1978; Huber, 1991)
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Does all Learning Lead to Improvement?
Ineffective behaviors
Espoused theories vs. theories in use
Liability
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How does learning take place?
Individual process
Group process
Organizational process
Process Activities
• Task
• Social
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Why Organizational Learning?
Adapting to the environment
Avoiding stability traps and Rethinking means and ends
Experimenting
Correcting for error
Innovating
Realizing human potential for learning in the service of organizational
purposes
Creating organizational settings as contexts for human development
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Summary- Learning
What does Organizational Learning mean?
• Organization learning is the process by which an
organization integrates the knowledge of individual
members into its rules, procedures, norms and culture.
Who is learning?
• Individuals, groups, and organizations
What is being learned?
• Rules, procedures, practices, shared understanding,
norms, and culture
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Summary- Learning
When does learning take place?
• Should be continuous; a way of being
What results does learning yield?
• New ways of thinking and practicing
How does learning take place?
• Process of interaction, sharing knowledge
between individuals, groups, and organization
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Break
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Organizations Today
How do organizations look today?
What are their benefits?
What are their challenges?
How do we collaborate today?
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Distributed/Virtual Organizations
Organizations whose members and resources
may be geographically dispersed but function as
a coherent unit though the use of information
and communication technology
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Virtual/Distributed Organizations
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What are the benefits of
distributed organizations?
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Distributed Organizations:
Drivers and Benefits
Changing employee values
• Telecommuting
• Quick restructuring of groups
Need for cost reduction
• Lower Labor and operating costs
• Ability to exploit time-zone differences to allow work to proceed around the
clock
• Closer to raw materials
Globalization
• Presence in Global markets
• Closer to markets and suppliers
Need for specific expertise
• Access to larger pool of experts
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What are the challenges facing
distributed organizations?
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Distributed Organizations:
Challenges
Lack of a common organizational setting
Difficulty to interpret
Lack of knowledge about other members
Members may not know who the experts are
Languages and cultural differences
Negative effect on organizational learning and knowledge
management
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The challenges facing distributed
organizations negatively Affect
Organizational Learning
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Management Challenge facing
Distributed Organizations Explored..
Coordination and integration of
knowledge sources is problematic due to
difficulties in:
•
•
•
•
Identifying sources of knowledge
Connecting disparate sources of knowledge
Protecting against knowledge loss
Applying knowledge towards business ends
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How do you facilitate organizational
learning in Distributed
Organizations?
Identifying sources of knowledge
Connecting disparate sources of knowledge
Protecting against knowledge loss
Applying knowledge towards business ends
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Parson Brinkerhoff
Practice Area Networks (PANs)
Part I
PB History and Structure
PANs History and Structure
Knowledge Exchange at PB
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History and Structure of PB
• 125 Year Old Firm Barclay Parsons & Klapp
• Over 12,000 Employees in over 200 Offices in 72
countries
• Accelerated Growth in the 90’sProject-Based
Entrepreneurial Business Model
• Growth Through Project wins and Acquisition
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Geographic Distribution: North America
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Geographic Distribution: Europe
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Geographic Distribution: Middle East
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Geographic Distribution: Asia
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Geographic Distribution: Australia/New
Zealand
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PB Services
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Construction Management
Design and Engineering
Environmental
Operations and Maintenance
Planning
Program Management
Strategic Consulting
Sustainability
E-Business and E-Media
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PART I
How do you facilitate organizational
learning at PB?
Identifying sources of knowledge
Connecting disparate sources of knowledge
Protecting against knowledge loss
Applying knowledge towards business ends
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Businesses Turn to Collaboration
Systems
• To connect and integrate the distributed
organization business use Collaboration
Systems..
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Collaboration Systems at Work
What are they?
How do they help traditional and
nontraditional distributed organizations
overcome the challenges?
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What is a Collaboration System?
• applications that enable the sharing and
flow of information between different
members of the distributed organization to
support collaboration within and across
businesses.
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Collaboration Systems include:
Content management systems
Workflow management systems
Groupware systems
Peer-to-peer systems
Knowledge management systems
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Use of Collaboration Systems
Identify uses from your readings or
experience that address the following
• Identifying sources of knowledge
• Connecting disparate sources of knowledge
• Protecting against knowledge loss
• Applying knowledge towards business ends
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Examples of Uses of Collaboration
Systems
Identifying sources of
knowledge
• SelectMinds –
Deloitte
Connecting disparate
sources of knowledge
• Beehive – IBM
Protecting against
knowledge loss
• Intelpedia – Intel
Applying knowledge
towards business ends
• Wikicentral –IBM
patent policy
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Are collaboration systems really
helpful?
OR
Do collaboration systems do more
harm than good?
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PB Growth Prompted the Growth
of Practice Area Networks
Practice Area Networks are an example of
Communities of Practice
What are Communities of Practice?
What are their Benefits?
What are their challenges?
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Communities of Practice (CoP)
“groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems,
or a passion about a topic, and want to deepen their
knowledge and expertise in this area by interacting on an
ongoing basis"
(Wenger, McDermott, and Snyder, 2002)
CoP add value for organizations, primarily by connecting
isolated and distributed pockets of expertise in knowledge
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History and Structure of PB
Communities of Practice
•
•
•
•
Practice Area Network = PAN
PANs Created in 1994
Leadership: Voluntary
Membership: Voluntary
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Benefits and Limitations of CoP/PAN
Facilitate knowledge exchange between individuals by
connecting isolated and distributed pockets of expertise
Minimize the possibility of knowledge loss due to
employee attrition
Limitation of CoP: not considered in relation to business
objectives and knowledge stays within single CoP’s
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Knowledge Exchange at PB
PAN
Requestor
PAN
Coordinator
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Knowledge Exchange at PB
Broadcast
Request to PAN
Members
Around the
Globe
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Knowledge Exchange at PB
Responses
Routed
through
Coordinator
to Requestor
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There were instances of…
Contributions to Business Objectives
• Human Resources
• Knowledge exchange across PANs
• Knowledge repository
• Global integration
• Increase efficiency
• Business development
• Innovation
• Disseminate cutting edge knowledge
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PART II
How to Harness the Power of CoPs for
Business Objectives?
CoPs have been used to help manage
knowledge in organizations…
Issues
• Focus on knowledge exchange between individuals
• Knowledge resides within single CoP- not across
• Limited integration
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How to Best Harness the PANs for
Business Objectives?
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How to Best Harness the PANs for Business
Objectives?
Align PANs to business strategy
Design each PAN to fit its specific objectives
and disciplinary nature
Create Proper alignments between the PANs
Empower PANs
Prepare and empower PAN leadership
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Align PANs with Organizational Strategy
• Determine where PANs reside within organizational
structure
• Determine the role/roles of the PANs in contributing to
strategy
• Communicate the roles of PANs
Business Development
• Land Use Resource Center 1999
• Facilitators
– PAN Initiative
– Support
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Design PANs for Specific Objectives and
Disciplinary Nature
• Diverse expertise and activities within PB
• Design to fit various roles
Global Integration
• Interdisciplinary and far reaching topics (e.g.
Environmental Planning)
• Transferring advanced practice around the globe
• Facilitators
– Supportive culture
– Individual willingness
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Create Proper Alignments between the
PANs
• Align PANs - related objectives and focus
• Facilitate interactions across PANs- creative
collaborations
Knowledge Exchange across PANs & HR:
• Transfer from IT PAN to CADD PAN to Project
Administration PAN
• Facilitator
– Alignment with CIO
– Collaboration between PANS
– OPP support
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PAN Informal Collaboration
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Empower PANs
• Create supportive structure
–
–
–
–
Resources
Reward Systems
Authority and capabilities
Flexible tools
Increased Efficiency
• Create a central processing for software
purchases
• Facilitators
– Collaboration with corporate
– Initiative of PAN leadership
– Supportive culture
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Prepare and Empower PAN Leadership
• Articulate the Role of PAN leadership
• Time allocation
• Training and support
Innovation: PB CommentSense
• Created New tool
• Facilitators
– Initiative
– Awareness of PAN members’ needs
– OPP support
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How do you Align the uses of CS to
Business Objectives Consistently?
Take Away
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The Learning Organization
• Move from organizational learning to the
learning organization
• A system approach
• Align all organizational learning and
knowledge management efforts to business
strategy
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How to Harness the Power of CoP’s for
Business Objectives?
Align CoPs to organizational strategy
Design each CoP to fit its specific
objectives and disciplinary nature
Create Proper alignments between the
CoPs
Empower CoPs
Prepare and empower CoPs leadership
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Questions and Discussion
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Additional Readings
• The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the
Learning Organization. By Senge, Peter M.,
Doubleday/Currency, 1990.
• Cultivating communities of practice: a guide to
managing knowledge. By Etienne Wenger,
Richard McDermott, and William Snyder, Harvard
Business School Press, 2002.
• Grant, R.M. “Toward a Knowledge-Based Theory
of the Firm,” Strategic Management Journal (17),
Winter Special Issue, 1996, pp. 109-122
• 15 Free Enterprise Collaboration Tools
• http://www.cio.com/article/598122/15_Free_Ent
erprise_Collaboration_Tools?page=1#slideshow
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Collaboration Systems include:
•
•
•
•
•
Content management systems
Workflow management systems
Groupware systems
Peer-to-peer systems
Knowledge management systems
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•
Content Management Systems
(CMS)
Applications to manage the creation, storage,
editing, and publication of information in a
collaborative environment
• Benefits
–
–
–
–
•
Track users and their roles
Define content workflow tasks
Track multiple versions
Provide repositories
Blogs, wikis
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Workflow Management Systems
• Application controls the movement of work
and information through a business process
• Benefits
– Standardizes effective business processes across
the organization
– ability to measure and analyze the execution
of the process
• Example: Purchase approval process
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Groupware Systems
• Are applications that facilitate information
sharing and interactions between members
of a workgroup
• Benefits
–
–
–
–
–
Effective and efficient information sharing,
Support problem solving,
Efficient scheduling,
Enable conferencing and other activities.
Connects across functional lines and
hierarchies
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Knowledge Management Systems
• Applications that support the creation,
capturing, evaluation, storage, retrieval
and application of knowledge and
information in the organization.
• KM systems enable a business to best
utilize its knowledge assets
• Examples:
– electronically house business procedures,
training materials, deliverables for re-use, best
practices and lessons learned
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Benefits of Collaboration Systems
• Enabling effective project coordination and
deliverable completion,
• Streamlining innovation and product development
• Providing a platform for general knowledge
sharing and use
• Break down geographical barriers
• Better able to deal with inevitable daily problems
on a real-time basis,
• Eliminate duplication of efforts and re-work
through more effective information management,
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