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Systems: Generating Capabilities  171 Artefact Relationships—a file that identifies and links the artefacts that were drawn upon in some way to create the current artefact, artefacts that refer to the current artefact, and artefacts that were reused in some way to fashion the current artefact. Artefact Network Maps As with the organizational network maps above, the KnetmapTM methodology facilitates the creation of Artefact Network Maps, which can be analyzed to reveal:        Contributors to the organizational knowledge base Artefacts that have a significant influence on the organization Product/process experts Areas of primary knowledge development in the organization Areas of innovation in the organization Strategic initiatives that are at the forefront of the organizational mind Communities of practice or communities of interest. The benefits of creating such a map include:       Directing the organization to explicit knowledge that should be shared and accessed more broadly Using organizational expertise more effectively Exposing employees’ expertise and contributions to one another Providing deeper meaning through making connections between artefacts Encouraging innovation Documenting relevant knowledge. 172 The Conductive Organization Knowledge Maps and Conventional Organizational Charts With knowledge flows mapped and artefacts identified and continually created, knowledge maps illustrate the way work is really done within the organization. Flow mapping and artefact identification give a richer and more meaningful view of organizational dynamics than can be gleaned from a conventional organizational chart, which does not allow employees to see their ability to contribute to the organization as a whole. Moreover, organizational charts give no insight into the functioning of the team-based and cross-functional relationships that are the real drivers of innovation and competitive advantage in the knowledge era. Knowledge Access and Learning The second component of the knowledge architecture for the systems that generate capabilities is knowledge access. While learning (the process of turning information into knowledge for effective action) is also supported by knowledge exchange, we’ll focus on how knowledge access, especially in the form of e-learning, enables this key capability generation system. Learning takes place at four levels: individual, team, organizational, and customer, which, much like Russian matruschka dolls, are contained inside one another (see Figure 9.5). Learning at the individual level is found at the team level, which in turn is found at the organization level, which is found at the customer level. The individual level, the innermost kernel, is at the heart of the organization’s ability to learn. In other words, a predisposition to learning on the part of individuals is a necessary condition for learning at the other levels. For the conductive organization, continuous learning externally at the customer interface and internally across the organization begins with shaping the culture and creating the structural foundation so that an individual employee is ready, willing, and able to learn. Systems: Generating Capabilities 173 Customer Learning Organization Learning Team Learning Individual Learning Figure 9.5 Levels of Learning Learning and Work A highly conductive organization creates an environment where learning is not just encouraged but perceived as virtually indistinguishable from working. The integration of work and learning is necessary because of the speed at which markets change. It’s unrealistic for work and learning to travel separate trajectories or be seen as exclusive processes. If organizations are to be successful, the rate of learning must equal or exceed the rate at which markets change. Learning, at all levels, must be recognized as so crucial to sustainable success that it becomes the organization’s heartbeat. Armstrong’s purpose statement is supported by two values that focus on generating capabilities: learning and innovation. Learning is also at the heart of Clarica’s organizational structure, as shown in the following example. Real-Time Learning at Clarica Clarica created a multiwindow information system built to support customer service representatives in the organization’s call center. When a customer calls, the service representative has a list of all the solutions purchased from the organization by this customer, details 174 The Conductive Organization on their most recent transactions, the issues that were encountered, and how they were resolved. The full history of that customer is at the employee’s fingertips. Another window has the answers to any inquiry the customer might have. As customers ask their questions, the representatives can zero in on the corresponding logic trail and provide the best answer the organization can offer. Instead of training customer service representatives for months, Clarica enables representatives’ selfinitiated learning while interacting with the customer. This example shows how real-time learning can help the employee work with the customer to find the right solution for that customer rather than offering the customer a standard set of answers about product offerings. It’s also an example of how learning can be fully integrated with work. It’s difficult to distinguish which part of this example should be characterized as work and which as learning. Learning Purposes Learning in a work context has two key purposes: enhancing and reframing. Enhancing is fine-tuning, deepening, and broadening capabilities within a given context and acquiring methods and rules for dealing with known and recurring situations. Enhancing continually improves existing systems and existing patterns of behavior and is essentially achieved through the harvesting of explicit knowledge. Reframing is the renewal of assumptions and beliefs to correspond more closely to the evolving reality of the marketplace and reinventing methods and approaches for dealing with new situations and challenges. Reframing leads to the development of new systems and patterns of behavior and is essentially achieved through the harvesting of tacit knowledge. Self-Initiation The first condition for effective learning is self-initiation. To guide decisions about the learning context, we’ve identified six principles: Systems: Generating Capabilities       175 Learning is an employee expectation—every employee has the right to learn. Employees are responsible for their learning and for sharing their learning. Learning is integral to continuously improved business outcomes. Learning is best applied in the course of doing work. Technology should provide equitable access to learning opportunities as needed by the employee. Employees require opportunities to share and learn in groups. As we can see, individual learning is the right of the individual, but employees are responsible for making sure learning happens and for sharing it organization-wide. Moreover, the organization must ensure that the conditions are right for learning to take place so that employees can access opportunities to increase their skills and knowledge as the need arises. Learning Versus Training Where self-initiation exists it’s possible to replace traditional training approaches with alternative approaches. Enabling greater learning by eliminating a focus on training may seem paradoxical at a time when there is a growing need for knowledgeable employees. But traditional training approaches are increasingly found wanting as organizations attempt to keep pace with market demands. Training, which is usually delivered through classroom approaches out of the context of the work environment, cannot meet the just-in-time demand of a highly conductive organization. With an instructor in control of the schedule, location, and content; the student a passive receiver of information out of context; and the experience counter to the culture and core values of the organization, there’s little chance that capabilities can be generated. To deal successfully with customers in the knowledge era, we must, more than ever before, have the necessary knowledge at our 176 The Conductive Organization fingertips at all times. The capabilities of employees interacting with the customer must constantly be renewed and enhanced to meet ever-increasing customer requirements. Traditional training cannot begin to cope with the learning needs of people relating directly to customers. In a learning as opposed to a training mode, we’re operating not on the basis of the preparation and delivery of courses, but rather on creating a work environment in which employees can increase the specific competencies needed to perform their jobs (see Table 9.2). e-Learning With the principle of self-initiated learning established and the parallel paradigm shift from training to learning, it’s critical to ensure that the infrastructure is in place to enable real-time, on-the-job learning. Leveraging web-enabled technologies and utilizating elearning tools enable more effective learning. e-Learning is a networked approach to learning that is equally applicable to knowledge exchange and knowledge access. Table 9.2 Distinctions between Training and Learning Training Learning Prescriptive approach Self-initiated approach Led by instructor (push) Self-directed (pull) Mostly classroom-based Multiple delivery Delivering programs as an end Increasing capability as an end Participation is the only measurement Demonstration of capability is the key measurement Offered as one size fits all Targets only the gap between required and current capability Based on generic training needs analysis Based on individual competency assessments Systems: Generating Capabilities 177 e-Learning should not be confused with e-training. All too often organizations automate their training and believe they are offering e-learning. As with traditional training and learning modes, the distinction between e-training and e-learning has to do with the delivery of knowledge—whether it is delivered via a push mode or a pull mode. The former is e-training, the latter is e-learning. Web-Based Technologies The proliferation of ways to connect with people and information is redefining how society and individuals behave, producing profound implications for how we organize, manage, lead, and elevate the performance of our organizations. Almost without exception, organizations today take advantage of web-enabled capabilities to share information. In a relatively short time, intranets have become an expected part of an organization’s infrastructure. But intranets have been underutilized as real-time learning tools and as knowledge repositories. For the most part, intranets have become vast wastelands of static information. Knowledge Depots Clarica labelled its intranet Clarica Connects to emphasis access to tacit and explicit knowledge. Through the home page, employees could access information about business services, news, people services—even the cafeteria menu. It also included a Knowledge Depot that housed corporate policies and procedures, reference resources, and learning opportunities. It integrated work and learning resources in one place. The design made it possible to access information by resource type (e.g., a community of practice, course, learning module, policy, process, or procedure) or to enter a search string and view a list of all work-related information and learning opportunities within the organization as well as useful external links and references pertinent to that subject. 178 The Conductive Organization Knowledge Objects From a learning perspective, when employees found knowledge they wished to explore, they could acquire knowledge by accessing units of knowledge, called knowledge objects—discrete units of knowledge that could be used on their own or assembled to create a more comprehensive resource. Working at the object level, it was easier to integrate quick references to support queries related to employee learning needs. Learning centers were developed to automatically assemble knowledge objects to meet varying levels of learner needs on a particular subject—quick tips, brief overviews, learning modules, full courses, and links to experts and communities. In the Leadership Learning Center, employees could search for learning opportunities and knowledge objects to develop their capabilities. For example, if someone had to provide feedback to a colleague and was unsure how to do it in the most constructive manner, the Leadership Learning Center could be accessed and searched under the phrase “giving feedback.” A list of relevant resources was dynamically assembled, including: tips, links to policies, modules and courses on constructive performance feedback, and links to experts available to coach the employee on the specific situation. Organization-Wide e-Learning In the late 1990s Clarica purchased a large pension business from a bank and had to integrate the business into Clarica operations. Pension plans tend to be complex, so a conventional training approach would have required new employees to spend up to three months in the classroom to learn about Clarica’s plans and platforms. This training would have been time-consuming and costly, and the delay in service frustrating to customers in the interim. By deploying a knowledge-sharing system available at the desktop, a customer service representative servicing pension customers was able to ask a question relating to the pension process. Systems: Generating Capabilities 179 The question was either answered through an archived response or forwarded to an internal expert who handled that particular part of the plan. The expert’s answer was supplied to the employee and then captured and archived to provide an automated response to a future enquiry. Rather than employees’ spending three months in a classroom being overloaded with information, most of which they either wouldn’t retain or wouldn’t ever use, this system provided the justin-time learning that employees need. Career Development With a new employment contract that gives individuals the right and responsibility to develop their own capabilities, it’s vital for organizations to ensure that employees have access to the best possible e-learning tools for capability and career development. At Clarica, all employees had their own I-Connect sections within the Clarica Connects portal that allowed them to manage their own capability and career development plans. I-Connect included a number of components:    Achievement Management: Learn about achievement management. Create individual achievement plans and share the plans online with the employee’s manager. Learning and Development: Access information and learn skills to assist with day-to-day work. Career Management: A complete framework for career management, from self-assessment to career options, effective jobsearch techniques, and job offer negotiations. Career management provided employees with the ability to understand their work situation and create winning career strategies that align with their skills, desires, goals, and values and included personalized sections to assess: my fit with job opportunities, researching my career options, and taking action. It also included a 180 The Conductive Organization self-management system that allowed employees to work through modules in areas such as: self-confidence, self-direction, and selfcommitment. The self-confidence modules examined managing self-criticism, managing confidence through behavior, managing external criticism, managing change, and managing complacency. Although we stress the importance of self-initiated learning, it’s the organization’s responsibility to make learning possible as a seamless, integrated process with work. Conclusion Systems to generate capabilities in the conductive organization must be fully aligned with the strategy, culture, and structures that support learning and collaborating that are seamlessly integrated with work. Industrial-era training can no longer meet the just-intime need to generate capabilities at the speed that the market demands. To fully leverage capability generation, the knowledge and learning system must be based on a comprehensive knowledge architecture that provides a blueprint for how knowledge can be accessed and exchanged from anywhere, but most importantly from the employee’s desktop. Knowledge and learning are at the core of capability generation. Tapping individual tacit knowledge and the collective explicit knowledge puts the wealth of an organization’s most valuable asset in the hands of its employees and customers to create breakthrough performance. Emerging Principles  Knowledge is the capability to take effective action.  Learning is the process of turning information into knowledge to take effective action.