Posted by Yogesh Malhotra on April 04, 1998 at 15:13:25:

In Reply to: Of instant cures, perfect solutions and other nostrums posted by Jay Reay on April 04, 1998 at 11:16:07:

Jay, you have certainly touched a 'raw nerve' ;-) . Some related issues that may need to be considered are the following.

If information / knowledge is the lever of [potential for] future action, how does one ensure that the reliability and validity of the following links is maintained [assuming it may be maintained within certain constraints... more later in the caveat.]

1. action -->

2. knowledge based -->
on action

3. archived information -->
about action

4. retrieval of archived -->
information

5. knowledge based -->
on archived information

6. future action [Go to 1 to repeat the loop]

If future action is the focus of the organizational emphasis on knowledge management -- for seeking competitive advantage, for product / service innovation, for being 'first in the game,' etc. -- then attention has to be paid to the reliability / validity of translating 'archived information based on appropriate action for today' into 'information as a lever for appropriate action in the future.'

Caveat: if the 'rules of the game' change (re: our earlier discussion on discontinuous change and related issues), how does one ensure that the 'appropriate action' of today will serve as benchmark of best practice(s) for the 'appropriate action of the future.' In that context, the frequency of the renewal of knowledge [denoted by the frequency of the loop 1-6] seems relevant.

For those interested in measurement of various constructs: How do we develop measures that accommodate the dynamic and turbulent complexity of the organizational environments? For example, measures of strategy [simplistically speaking] that may accommodate for the shift in the 'definition' of strategy from 'prediction of future' to 'anticipation of surprise because future is unpredictable.'

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