Impacts of a borderless society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Impacts of a borderless society - Essay Example Both of my meals were made at home from ingredients bought at the local grocery store. Except for the ground beef and the lettuce, all the other ingredients were prepared somewhere else and assembled by me to make the meal. The following chart shows each ingredient and the place it was manufactured. None of these ingredients were manufactured outside the United States, so in one sense the food is local—it was manufactured in this country. But there is no easy way to find out where the wheat, corn, and other ingredients in the final product were produced. The list of ingredients on the Alfredo sauce jar is quite long, for instance, and all those things had to be shipped from somewhere so the manufacturer could assemble the product. In fact, the cheese was probably manufactured somewhere outside the Kentucky plant and shipped there, so its ingredient’s origins are unknown but probably shipped. DeWeerdt (2009) notes there is a distinction between shipping by truck or by rail, for instance, so it is possible that even if the ingredients started out 1,500 miles away from the manufacturer, if they were shipped by rail the impact would be less than if they were shipped by truck. While I was researching the global market for this essay, a National Geographic article (Bourne Jr., 2009) offered some very telling statistics as a framework for understanding how the food I eat fits into the larger global picture. In 2007, for instance, the globe had 61 days worth of food stockpiled (para. 2). This is not only food for humans; the animals we raise to eat also consume grain, and our cars even consume grain by using ethanol (para. 16; DeWeerdt, 2009, para. 17). If all agricultural production stopped, in two months the entire world would be out of food. Bourne also notes that â€Å"the poorest billion people on the planet†¦spend 50 to 70

The Effect of Feminist Revolution in my Life Essay Example for Free

The Effect of Feminist Revolution in my Life Essay The feminist revolution in the 1990’s may be considered as one of the turning points in world history. From most countries that have been purely patriarchal in nature, the world evolved and suddenly man is no longer the entirely dominant sex in the society. As time passed, women acquired voice, will-power, and independence. The traditional women slowly dissolved and have been replaced by stronger women, in control, and no longer man’s subordinate but his equal and oftentimes his opponent (Badinter, 2006). This part of history has affected not only the women of those times but even the ones who came after them. I am part of the batch that came after the 90’s women and as a woman, I am grateful for the change that was brought by the feminist revolution. Because of it, I am not merely a shadow of a man, nor a doll that may be manipulated. I am a woman, who has her own mind, decides for herself, and defend it as much as she wishes. If the women of the 90’s did not revolt against the existing system, which had men dominated in the important aspects of society and perhaps life as a whole, there is a probability that my ideologies today are different. This is more potent due to the fact that I live in a country where Latin culture is dominant and my parents were raised under the strict rules that the culture dictates. This is actually where the feminist revolution has affected my life. It is undeniable that Latin culture dictates that men are the heads of the family. In the days before the 1990 feminist revolution, men ruled over almost every aspect of life with the justification from both religion and the government legislation. As the revolution opened more minds, pressure on branches of the state has forced it to gradually have modifications. Some rules that were not allowed before were given chances and observed for unwanted results. Women’s rights have been expanded. The effect of this are clashing opinions of both sexes (Htun, 2003). Since I am one of the liberal minded women, the problem that serves as an effect of history in my life is that my parents and I do not quite find a commonality in viewing some aspects of certain matters. First and foremost reason, I was born later than they were. The culture I have grown into is not the culture in which they were raised. My mother is very traditional and my father is very strict on imposing the same rules the he has grown into. Although I understand that generation gap should be bridged rather than widened, this becomes very difficult for me. I am a child of modernity and I go by the rules of it. I please my parents as much as I can. Despite this, there still seems to be lacking. The problem I find is that the changes that were brought about by the feminist revolution were good for some people, but to others, it has destroyed a tradition, a trademark of the culture. For instance, the Latin world, dominated by male suddenly had women with their own voices and will power, even ability to defy. It was good for the women because it somehow freed them of some men’s oppression. However, to the patriarchs of the family, whose life he devoted to keep his lineage together and standing, this is in a way hurtful. Perhaps it may be considered as ego-eccentric thinking; however, others view it as a means of preserving what has been prevailing from the start. The patriarchal families may have oppressed some of the women, but most families owe their stature from this setting. For this, people must be considerate. It should be taken to mind that their actions are surely, also results from another part of history. As I am, my parents are also effects of a past action. As such, I try to understand them. The gap between me and my parents maybe considered as an effect of history. I am grateful for to the pioneers of female revolution – for my way of thinking, my female strength and independence. It is somehow damaging to those who believe patriarchy so strongly. However, it should be noted that this same mind that the revolution has freed can understand the grief they may be feeling from suddenly losing total control. This same mind, which the revolution has fought for, can see through their anger. The revolution was not fought for vengeance, it was started for equality. And with that, women understand better. I know. I see. The effect of history to me is not only to be man enough not be oppressed, but to remain woman enough to be sensitive. References Badinter, E. (2006). Dead End Feminism. United Kingdom: Polity. Htun, M. (2003). Sex and the State: Abortion, divorce, and the family under Latin American Dictatorships and democracies. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Developing Emergency Action Plan for Gym

Developing Emergency Action Plan for Gym Understanding emergency procedures in fitness environment An emergency response system is crucial for ensuring a safe environment for members, users, and staff, as well as being a very sound practice for managing risk. With health and fitness facilities, an emergency response system must be established to offer the highest reasonable safety level for users and staff. Emergency gym procedures are the established plans that are instigated if an emergency occurs. It may be simply a power outage, or more seriously a medical emergency, a fire or even a weather-related scenario. Gyms must have an emergency action plan (EAP) in place so that all the occupants at the time will be able to act effectively if required. What Would You Do? If a gym clients is seriously injured, or worse, dies in front of you while they have been exercising. What would you do? The question usually comes as a complete surprise to existing and new instructors. Unfortunately, the notion of folks dying or being injured while in an exercise environment is rarely addressed by the gym management, or by employees. Therefore, when it does happens, which it will one day, the gym is in chaos as basically nobody knows what procedures to follow. Gym Emergency: Typical Scenario This is what usually happens when procedures are obscure. The gym staff are not clear about what to do, panic may ensue. The front desk operator telephones 911 (or the police). The gym management may performs CPR/AED. Members are afraid to help or do not wish to be involved. While this scenario is generally what happens, it is that the instructor/trainers not knowing that is particularly disturbing when seconds and minutes are crucial and can save a life. The reasoning here is that on the whole the gym staff do not know a gym’s emergency procedures, regarding say, a heart attack. Even if they do know the procedure, how many instructors are CRP/AED certified? Why Many Gym Managements Don’t Know EAP? It is assumed that instructors who are CPR/AED certified already know what to do. They do not want to scare away new instructors. The gym has no procedures in place for emergencies (other than â€Å"call 911†³). It has not occurred to the manager/owner that clients may experience heart attacks there. Chain of Command Every gym should have a chain of responsibility which is deployed during an emergency. Emergencies can happen at any moment. There will be occasions when the person in overall charge will not be in the premises. That is why a chain of responsibility is essential, as the next person becomes in charge of the emergency. Activation of EAP The individual in charge at the time should make the call to activate an EAP. If a medical emergency has occurred, then those who are trained in CPR and emergency aid must remain with the patient. The person in charge at the time will coordinate the staff and gym personnel as to what they must do while the plan is in activation. Location of Equipment All gyms should have emergency equipment to hand. This must include a first aid kit, a telephone, fire extinguisher/s and sometimes an automated external defibrillator (AED). Every person that works in the gym must know where this equipment is available. Posting of Emergency Procedure Gyms should have an EAP poster in a visible position in order that all the information is easily available in case of an emergency. This should list the chain of command, the location of emergency equipment, and other relevant information. People do not really think clearly in an emergency, and having an EAP poster with all relevant information can save a lives when time matters most. Managing the Risks The management of risk refers to those practices and systems that gyms should establish to limit their exposure to any potential liability or financial loss. In the health club and fitness industry, risk management refers to the practices, systems and procedures by which a gym can reduce the risk of an employee or a client coming to harm (injury or death). Risk management involves practices that are preventive (such as pre-activity screening and correctly maintaining equipment) to practices that can be considered a reaction to unexpected events (such as emergency response systems). It must be acknowledged that the various types of health and fitness facilities do markedly vary, from the unsupervised to medically supervised clinical exercise centers. Gyms and exercise facilities often serve varied aims and clients, they do or don’t have organized programs, and also may or may not employ staff that are qualified. Management should use the local medical personnel or healthcare professionals to help develop an emergency response program. Local emergency medical services (EMS) can help a facility to develop a response program. Gyms and facilities can also engage the services of a physician, a registered nurse, or a certified emergency medical technician to assist in the development of their response program. An emergency response system should consider any emergency situations that may occur. Among these are medical emergencies that can be foreseen in regard to moderate or more intense workouts, such as hypoglycemia, a heart attack, a stroke, cardiac arrest or heat illness, and injuries that are in nature orthopedic. The response system should also consider other potential emergencies not specifically caused by physical activity, such a chemical accident, fire, and a range of weather and natural disaster events. An emergency response plan should consider explicit steps and instructions on how the emergency situation must be dealt with and including the roles that 1st , 2nd , and 3rd responders to an emergency will play. Additionally, an emergency response plan must indicate clearly the locations of emergency equipment (e.g., telephone for 911 and contact info for EMS, locations of the emergency exits, and the access points for EMS personnel), and also the steps needed to contact local EMS. It is preferable to physically rehearse the emergency response system at least twice per year. Medical Emergencies at the Gym Exercise brings so many health benefits, and moreover is beneficial to people with many medical conditions that include heart disease and Myocardial infarction (heart attack). The risk of a sudden medical emergency is ever present, and medical emergencies may occur before, during and after exercise. For vulnerable people, exercise may precipitate an emergency at the gym which can emanate from many different medical conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure, heart disease, and also a poor physical condition, or obesity and so on. For example, if an individual experiences pressure of the chest during or after an exercise session, they must call an ambulance to ride to the hospital irrespective of whether the person is on medication for blood pressure or has had three prior heart attacks, if they are 22 years of age, or seemingly fit and healthy. What to do in an Emergency Let us assume that you are an instructor in a gym which has no clearly visible emergency procedure, or none that you are of. Perhaps one day you will hear a PA system announcement asking: â€Å"Is there a doctor or nurse in the building?† that is usually a sign that something quite bad has happened. You might or might not hear those words over the PA. All clubs are different. If you feel that an emergency is occurring, whatever you may be doing, should be dropped and then head to the emergency location to assess the situation. Do not assume that someone else will do it. If you are instructing at the time, make excuses and go yourself. After arriving, these basic steps should be followed. If a person collapses, then immediately inform emergency medical services and also care for the person according to the guidelines of the American Heart Association CPR or similar authority. If there is an automated external defibrillator (AED) available, then utilise it. Every instructor or trainer and gym management personnel are encouraged to at attend a basic CPR course. CPR techniques are easy to learn and they carry a very low risk of transmission of any disease to a provider if hands-only CPR is used or one of other modern protocols that de-emphasize giving rescue breaths mouth-to-mouth. The training will help to prepare one to deal with a clear medical emergency such as collapse and in particular, the loss of pulse. Many medical emergencies begin with much less clear signs or symptoms. Chest pain is perhaps the most prevalent symptom of a cardiac emergency, although people often describe what they are feeling as tightness or pressure. Discomfort or sensations in the jaw or neck, the arms, the upper abdomen or back, may also be linked to a cardiac event. Even without any chest discomfort, a shortness of breath, may well be a heart attack symptom or other medical emergency. This is a common feeling at a gym even for healthy individuals during or immediately following exercise. The thing to watch for is whether the shortness of breath seems dis-proportionate to the situation or if it is lasting longer than normal. Unfortunately, several other possible causes may be associated with a cardiac event such as, lightheadedness, nausea and sweating amongst them. Again, the rule of thumb is to look for what may seem out of the ordinary under the circumstances. Strokes are also a medical emergency which requires immediate response. While strokes are less usually thought of as being associated with exercising, the symptoms and signs of a stroke include: a sudden headache, difficulty with finding words language comprehension confusion speech is slurred un – coordinated movement and numbness a tingling or a weakness particularly on one side of the body or face. What actually constitutes a real medical emergency is often a challenging judgment call, and if one is in doubt then it’s better to send the person immediately to an emergency department and let the professionals assess. Occasionally, people might prefer to visit an urgent care or their doctor’s office, but those facilities will usually not have the necessary resources to assess or manage a real emergency and so should be consulted for routine health care and what are clearly minor issues. Some may wish to avoid the expense or drama of calling an ambulance. Bear in mind that if a person is really having a heart attack or a stroke, the minutes count, and the time elapsing from the start of the event to treatment will determine the extent of damage to heart muscle or to the brain – elapsing time can dramatically alter outcomes. If CPR is Necessary Keep calm Perform CPR /use the AED (if you are CPR/AED certified) Have a staff member call 911 and also contact the gym manager/owner, regarding the incident Perform CPR ( or AED) until the paramedics arrive Instruct a staff member to get the member’s club file to give to the paramedics on their arrival (this file should contain contact info, the medications of the person and such like, important info for paramedics). Assign a member of staff to wait outside the premises, to escort the paramedics inside and to the emergency location on their arrival. File an incident report Common Gym Related Emergencies Occasionally an athlete may experience a potentially life changing injury, such as to the head or a severe neck injury, eye injuries, or similar. However the majority of sports-related injuries will be bone and soft tissue injuries like strains, sprains, dislocations and knee injuries. Most of these injuries will absolutely require treatment, but it may not be necessary to call for an emergency response. On the whole, apart from the very serious health emergencies which may never even happen in your presence, most injuries that are gym and exercise related are avoidable. Remember the golden rules to follow, and hopefully almost all injuries will not occur on your watch. Warm –up Stretching (both pre- and post-exercise ) Hydration Nutrition Rest Bear in mind that a body operates like a machine, yet it requires diligent maintenance such as correct nutrition, stretching and rest. Too much of a good thing, or overworking the body is always inadvisable and regularly leads to negative results. Remember to know your own limits and also those of the clients, meaning listen to your body and hopefully the incidence of injury will be greatly diminished.

John Lockes Second Treatise on Civil Government Essays -- Second Treat

Locke's Second Treatise of Government, by far, is his most influential and important piece of writing. In it he set forth his theory of natural law and natural right. He shows that there does exist a rational purpose to government, and one need not rely on "mysticism and mystery." Against anarchy, Locke saw his job as one who must defend government as an institution. Locke's object was to insist not only that the public welfare was the test of good government and the basis for properly imposing obligations on the citizens of a country, but also that the public welfare made government necessary. Locke believed that the mind is blank upon birth. As a person grows and develops, so does their mind. He urged individuals to formulate theories and to test them through experiments. The fundamental claim is that human knowledge begins with sense experience and primarily is derived from it. Locke begins his philosophical examination of knowledge by trying to disprove the claim that some of our knowledge is original, in the sense that it comes from ideas which are innate or inborn. Locke's attempted refutation depends on a questionable assumption: if an individual has an idea, then that individual would understand it and assent to its content. Also, Locke believed in religious freedom and the separation of church and state. He thought that God established divine law. This could be discovered by reasoning, and to disobey it was morally wrong. He also held the opinion that no one should dictate the form of another's religion. But Locke points out that there is widespread disagreement over the concept of God. Furthermore, it does not seem to be present at all in small children. We form ideas as the endpoint of the action of physical bodies on our own bodies. Locke points out that sometimes he uses 'idea' to refer to the end product, what exists in the mind, and sometimes he uses it to refer to the quality in the body which causes the idea. The ideas of sense are the first ideas we have. Once the mind begins to be populated with them, it can operate upon them. Locke classified ideas as simple and complex. All complex ideas are said to be made up, ultimately of simple ideas, and their complexity is the work of the mind. A simple idea is "one uncompounded appearance," said Locke. But it should be noted that the relation of simple to complex ideas is not... ...st of the members of the society. The government is given its power to act by the property owning portion of the population, not by the society as a whole. Another point that makes Locke's theory different is that society has the power to overthrow the government. Since a majority created it, they have the power to remove it. Locke stated that society could overthrow the government without returning to the state of nature because the social contract would still be in effect. All that was needed would be for the society to elect another government, by majority rule, to replace the old one. This introduces the idea that government should be accountable to the people. Locke was in favor of a limited government. The importance and autonomy of the individual in society was of very importance to Locke. The extent to which this was true is that people existed as individuals before societies and governments came into being. They each possessed certain rights, and all had the freedom to do as they pleased, unrestrained and with some restrictions placed upon them by God, according to Locke. This freedom of the individual was important, for it was the foundation for modern liberal democracy.

Frankenstein: a Psychological Analysis Essay

What truly makes Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein an entertaining novel, in my opinion, is the mental development of each of the characters throughout the story. The best way to display such psychological progress is to compare events and thoughts from the book to Sigmund Freud’s theories on the conscience. Freud’s â€Å"id† is shown through primitive actions of certain characters; those that involve little judgment and rely on instincts rather than informed decisions. The â€Å"ego† can be observed through basic thoughts and decisions that are made without the influence of conscience. The â€Å"super-ego† is, in fact, conscious thought itself, often characterized by the guilt or other feelings that come as a result of the â€Å"id† and â€Å"ego†. As you will see, Freudian theory has an important place in the literary masterpiece that is Frankenstein. While the idea of the â€Å"id† is probably the least prevalent of the three in Frankenstein, it still plays a major role in shaping the characters, most specifically, Frankenstein’s monster. Id† is most commonly applied to instinctual actions and those taken simply out of a need for survival and instant gratification. The monster finds himself satisfying his â€Å"id† when teaching himself the basic means of living and human action. These skills give him what he needs to live and obtain his necessities, but contribute nothing to his ultimate consciousness. Much as the â€Å"id† is associated with primitive inhuman desires, Frankenstein’s monster takes on a bestial and primitive image. Next among the three parts of Freud’s psychic apparatus is â€Å"ego†. â€Å"Ego† is applied to the organized and realistic part of a character’s mentality and, unlike the â€Å"id†, requires judgment and next-level thinking. Victor Frankenstein’s willing development into a scientifically learned being and then his venture into creating life from inanimate body parts accurately shows the more advanced, yet still somewhat surface, thought process of an â€Å"ego†-influenced being. Additionally, it is Frankenstein’s â€Å"ego† that distances him from his family and friends. At this point he has the capacity to make decisions and act on them, but not consider or feel what might come out of them. Victor Frankenstein’s â€Å"ego† soon turns into â€Å"super-ego† as the consequences of his actions become visible. The â€Å"super-ego† plays the moral role of the three, allowing for emotional comprehension of the events that unfold. Guilt seems to be a common thread between the â€Å"super-egos† of Frankenstein and his monster. Victor is overwhelmed with guilt upon realizing that his creation is responsible for the deaths of his brother, father, friend, and wife. He even seeks a temporary release from the guilt in isolation and appreciation of nature. The monster finds himself in a very similar situation, facing the guilt of actually killing the ones that Frankenstein loved, and thus reducing his creator’s life to one without substance or anything to be emotionally attached to. Obviously, the mental punishment of guilt plays a large role in forming the â€Å"super-egos† of both protagonist and antagonist. Freud’s theories on the subconscious and conscience set the foundation for Shelley’s novel. His â€Å"id† characterizes the monster’s initial struggle for survival in an unfamiliar world. His â€Å"ego† is played out by Frankenstein’s obsession with biological sciences and later creation of a monster. His â€Å"super-ego† encompasses the basic actions taken in the previous two, but also adds an ethical and emotionally conscious element to the consequences. It is apparent that Sigmund Freud’s structural model of the psyche almost perfectly outlines the basic psychological activities in and between the characters of Frankenstein.

Organizational Knowledge Essays

Organizational Knowledge Essays Organizational Knowledge Essay Organizational Knowledge Essay We live in an information economy in which the major source of wealth and prosperity is the production and distribution of information and knowledge.An era in which the key economic resource is knowledge is startlingly different from an era in which the key resources were capital, raw materials, land and labor. Emerging service economy trend lead many organizations towards the information base strategies to face and fight with the current business competitions. In that case knowledge plays a major role in every organization. In an economy where the only certainty is uncertainty, the one sure source of lasting competitive advantage is knowledge. (Harvard Business Review) Therefore an organization? s most valuable assets are the people it employs.The ideas, experiences, expertise and knowledge contained in the mind of an individual may be worth more to an organization. In this case, Knowledge can be recognized as an important weapon for sustaining competitive advantage in organizations and many companies are beginning to manage organizational knowledge. Any organization that dynamically deals with a changing environment ought not only to process information efficiently but also create information and knowledge. (Lee Choi, 2003) 3 Organizational Knowledge It is often said that an organization? s most valuable assets are the people it employs.The ideas, experiences, expertise and knowledge contained in the mind of an individual may be worth more to an organization than can be quantified with respect to how that knowledge is applied each day to save time, reduce costs, and advance the organization? s initiatives. How can an organization capitalize on individual knowledge? How do individuals contribute to subunits or groups within the organization to build and perpetuate group knowledge? How does individual and group knowledge become organizational knowledge that can be captured, reused, and applied to achieve measurable positive effects for the organization?When might extraorganizational knowledge be used to further increase or enhance the capabilities of an organization? In line with the topic; Organizational knowledge, we have to explores these questions, first by defining each knowledge ty pe, then by examining how knowledge moves through an organization and becomes valuable organizational intellectual capital. Defining Knowledge Knowledge is a cognitive, a spiritual, event that take place inside people? s heads. There are two primary definitions of the knowledge as the Tacit Knowledge and the Explicit Knowledge.In simply knowledge residing in the minds of employees that has not been documented is called tacit knowledge, whereas knowledge that has been documented is called explicit knowledge. Tacit Knowledge Tacit Knowledge can be defined as knowledge that has not yet been codified from the outside the individual? s mind. On another words, knowledge that comes from experience and is difficult or impossible to communicate. It is intangible and consists of knowledge which is difficult to express and to communicate to other people.Also it is more difficult to transmit than codified knowledge and hard to formalize due to belonged personal qualities. Examples for tacit kno wledge are; Awareness Mental models Wisdom Skills Expertise Corporate memory 4 Explicit Knowledge Explicit knowledge, in contrast, is the knowledge that can be codified and is transmittable in formal systematic language. (Nonaka 1994) It consists of knowledge which can be expressed in symbols, and which can be communicated through these symbols to other people. Knowledge can reside in e-mail, unstructured documents, hand books, manuals can be listed under this category.Examples for explicit knowledge are; Databases, statistics, collections Books, publications, reports, documents, correspondence Photographs, diagrams, illustrations Computer code, expert systems, decision support systems Presentations, speeches, lectures Recorded experiences, stories Materials for education, teaching and training Laws, regulations, procedures, rules, policies Individual Knowledge Individual knowledge can be defined simply as knowledge possessed by the individual. This knowledge is most often tacit unless the individual possesses explicit knowledge that is not shared with anyone or any organization other than the individual.A private journal or private blog might be considered explicit individual knowledge. Individual knowledge can be acquired through experiences, and at times it can be acquired without language. When an individual is acquiring knowledge from observing another person? s actions, and once the individual applies his or her own experiences and background to what is learned it becomes individual knowledge. The creation of new „individual? knowledge derived from observation, imitation and practice is called socialization, or tacit to tacit knowledge sharing. Individual knowledge can certainly develop from explicit knowledge.What a person reads, for example, can contribute to new thoughts and ideas in the mind of the individual. This method of knowledge creation is referred to as internalization – turning explicit knowledge into 5 tacit knowledge. By re ading or acquiring explicit knowledge, independent thought and analysis can develop into new, individual knowledge. An individual can make a greater contribution to the knowledge sharing and creation process by allowing their knowledge to be internalized by others or socializing their knowledge with others, which leads to the creation of group knowledge. Group KnowledgeGroup knowledge might be defined as individual knowledge that multiple individuals rely upon as truth, share and understand. Group knowledge is broadcast information (Correa da Silva Cullell, 56), but is not necessarily information shared „publicly? (i. e. common knowledge). Group knowledge can be generated and disseminated through socialization and often results in the transformation of tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge, or externalization. When groups come together and exchange ideas, individual knowledge is synthesized to arrive at group knowledge, which eventually becomes routing at the organizational level.Thus, the transformation of individual knowledge into organizational routines leads to complex and embodied organizational knowledge. When group knowledge from several subunits or groups is combined and used to create new knowledge, the resulting tacit and explicit knowledge can be called organizational knowledge. 6 Important Dimensions of Knowledge Knowledge is a firm asset Knowledge is an intangible asset. Knowledge is not subject to the law of diminishing returns as physical assets, but its value increases as more people share it.Knowledge has different forms Knowledge can be either tacit or explicit (codified) Knowledge involves know-how, craft and skill Knowledge involves knowing how to follow procedures Knowledge has a location Knowledge is a cognitive event involving mental models and maps of individuals There is both a social and an individual basis of knowledge Knowledge is sticky, situated, and contextual Knowledge is situational Knowledge is conditional: Knowing wh en to apply a procedure is just as important as knowing the procedure Knowledge is related to contextSOURCE: Laudon and Laudon, 2008. Management Information Systems Knowledge Creation New knowledge always begins with the individual. Making personal knowledge available to others is the central activity of the knowledge creating company. It takes place continuously and at all levels of the organization. Organizational knowledge creation may be explicated by the interchange between tacit and explicit knowledge. According to Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995), tacit knowledge is highly personal and hard to formalize, making it difficult to communicate or to share with others.Subjective insights, intuitions, and hunches fall into this category of knowledge. On the other 7 hand, explicit knowledge is more easily transmitted as it is characteristically codified. As such, explicit knowledge is more easily processed and shared with others. According to the theory, the process of knowledge conversion proceeds through four different modes: 1. Socialization (the conversion of tacit knowledge to tacit knowledge) 2. Combination (the conversion of explicit knowledge to explicit knowledge) 3. Externalization (the conversion of tacit to explicit knowledge) and 4.Internalization (the conversion of explicit to tacit knowledge) Socialization During the socialization mode, tacit knowledge is transferred through interactions between individuals, which may also be accomplished in the absence of language; individuals may learn and gain a sense of competence by observing behavior modeled by others. For example, mentoring and apprenticeships instruct tacitly through observation, imitation, and practice. Combination The combination mode of knowledge conversion embodies the aggregation of multiple examples of explicit knowledge (Nonaka, 1994).Explicit knowledge may be exchanged during meetings or conferences in which a diversity of knowledge sources combines to shape a new and enhanced conceptio n. Externalization The externalization mode of the knowledge conversion spiral references the translation of tacit knowledge into explicit. Metaphors are recommended as a way to facilitate this translation (Nonaka, 1994). Metaphors assist individuals in explaining concealed (i. e. , tacit) concepts that are otherwise difficult to articulate by assisting individuals in forming impressions based on imagination and intuitive learning through symbols.Internalization The conversion of explicit to tacit knowledge, i. e. , the internalization mode occurs through a series of iterations in which concepts become concrete and ultimately absorbed as an integral 8 belief or value. Where externalization utilizes metaphors to facilitate knowledge conversion, internalization represents an active process of learning. Nonaka (1994) describes this as participants†¦.. sharing explicit knowledge that is gradually translated, through interaction and a process of trial-and-error, into different aspec ts of tacit knowledge.It is found most commonly at highly successful Japanese companies such as Honda, Canon, Matushita and Sharp are in focusing to the knowledge creation. Managers in these companies recognize that creating new knowledge is not simply a matter of mechanistically Processing objective information. The knowledge creation process The mutual exchange of tacit and explicit knowledge that describes the knowledge creation process is initiated at the level of the individual employee or organizational member. Because individuals are an integral component of this conversion process, their commitment to knowledge creation is critical.According to Nonaka (1994), knowledge creation may be activated when organizational members have freedom and sufficient purpose to pursue new knowledge. A continuous process of questioning and reconsidering existing premises by individual members of the organization fosters organizational knowledge creation (Nonaka Takeuchi, 1995). Knowledge Mana gement For hundreds of years, owners of family businesses have passed their commercial wisdom on to their children, master artificer have taught their trades to followers, and workers have exchanged their knowledge on the job.Therefore knowledge management is nothing new, but until the 1990s that managers were not talking about knowledge management. (Harvard Business Review) When the industrialized economies have shifted from natural resources to intellectual assets, managers have been constrained to censor the knowledge underlying their businesses and how that knowledge is used. At that same time rice of technological devices using; mainly computers has made it possible to codify, store, and share certain kind of knowledge more easily than ever. In current business environment, Knowledge management has become an important theme at many large business firms as managers realize that much of their firm? s value depends on firm? s ability to create and manage knowledge. (Laudon Laudon ). Studies have found that a substantial part of a firm? s stock market value is related to its intangible assets, of which knowledge is one important component, along with brands, reputations, and unique business processes (Gu and Lev, 2001).Well executed knowledge-based projects have been known to produce extra ordinary returns on investment, although knowledge-based investments are difficult to measure (Blair and Wallman, 2001). Knowledge Management is the process of leveraging organizational knowledge to deliver longterm advantage to a business. This, in turn, requires technology to capture, codify, store, disseminate and reuse the knowledge. Any organization, before framing a strategy, should analyze the industry and should understand all relevant parameters of industry growth.This analysis would yield results on the industry parameters like growth/ recession buyer/supplier power leading to determining the attractiveness of competition. The competitor analysis would reveal the strategy adopted by the competitors and identify the possible future movements of the competitors and to predict the strategies that are likely to be adopted by them. An organization can gain competitive advantage and sustain it only if it is able to understand the needs of the customer and track the changes in the customer needs.In this context, the analysis of the needs of customer gains importance. An organization should assess the resources and capabilities, before formulating a strategy, since the resources and capabilities should aid the operationalization of the chosen strategy. The right combination of resources and capabilities in the context of a strategy can be discovered through the process of knowledge management. Knowledge Management Value Chain Knowledge management increases the ability of the organization to learn from its environment and to incorporate knowledge into its business processes.Knowledge value is very difficult to measure and it is extracted when knowled ge is used. Knowledge sharing increases the value of knowledge with abundance. Knowledge management value chain is a sequence of intellectual tasks by which knowledge workers build their employer? s unique competitive advantage and social and environmental benefits. There are four main value adding steps in the knowledge 10 management value chain; each stage adds value to raw data and information as they are transformed into usable knowledge. Acquisition Storage Dissemination ApplicationFigure 02: Knowledge Management value chain Knowledge acquisition Organizations acquire knowledge in a number of ways, depending on the type of knowledge they seek. In a way, organizations acquire knowledge by developing online expert networks so that employees can find the expert in the company who has the knowledge in his or her head. Other than that firms have to create new knowledge by discovering patterns in corporate data or by using knowledge work stations where engineers can discover new know ledge. A coherent and organized knowledge system also requires systematic data from the firm? transaction processing systems (sales, payments, inventory, customers etc. ), news feeds, industry reports, legal opinions, scientific research and government statistics as well. Knowledge storage Knowledge storage generally involves the creation of a database. Expert systems also help corporations preserve the knowledge that is acquired by incorporating that knowledge into organizational process and culture. Management must support the development of planned knowledge storage systems to update and store documents properly. 11 Knowledge DisseminationPortal, e-mail, instant messaging and search engine technology have added to the existing technologies for sharing documents, data and graphics. Training programmes, informal networks and shared management experience communicated through a supportive culture help managers focus their attention on the important knowledge and information which is really important for their decisions and their work. Knowledge Application Knowledge that is not shared and applied to the practical problems facing firms and managers does not add business value.To provide a return on investment, organizational knowledge must become a systematic part of management decision making and become situated in decision support systems. An organizations can do this is to build online information databases that employees can access which works as an online knowledge bank. Other than this some knowledge management experts have suggest that organizations create communities of practice, which are groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems or a passion about a topic and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in that area by interacting on an ongoing basis.Out of the four steps in knowledge management value chain, knowledge sharing is considered to be the most important one, and it is said Knowledge sharing is the power instead of Knowledge is the Power. In order to do this an organization must have a knowledge supporting culture, that management can support the knowledge creation and sharing. In line with that perfect human resource management is a prior functional area in an organization. Top management provides employees with a sense of direction by setting the standards for justifying the value of knowledge that is constantly being developed by the organization? members. Deciding which efforts to support and develop is a strategic task. (Harvard business review on Knowledge management, 2008) 12 Knowledge Applications in the Technological Aspect Business Problems ? ? ? Monitor service levels and costs Develop document access rules Management ? Document intensive business Fragmented information in legacy systems and manual processes ? ? ? Coordinate Documents and maintenance data Develop Document Access procedures Revise repair and maintenance procedures Organization Information systems Business solution ? ? Reduce time Red use cost ? ? ? ?Implement oracle database Deploy laptops Technology Immediately access Equipment maintenance information Figure 03: Use of Technology in Knowledge Management Process The diagram shows how organizations can use technology in solving business problems and how an organization can reduce the time consumption and the cost by using information systems. These information systems would include transaction processing systems, management information systems, decision support systems, expert systems and intelligent systems etc. Knowledge Management Strategies There are mainly two types of knowledge management strategies.In some companies, the strategy centered on the computer. In that c knowledge is carefully codified and stored in databases, where it can be easily accessed and used by anyone in the company. This is called Codification Strategy. 13 Codification Strategy Codification strategy implies the theme; people to documents, pointing to develop an electronic document syst em that codifies, stores, disseminates, and allows reuse of knowledge. The companies that follow codification strategy rely on the economics of reuse. Once an organization invests in knowledge asset; they can reuse it many times.The reuse of knowledge saves work, reduces communication costs and allows a company to take on more projects. And the strategy focuses on generating large overall revenues. And also the organizations always think in the point of human resource management to hire new graduates who are suited to reuse knowledge and the implementation of solutions, to train people in groups and through computer based learning, to reward people for using and contributing to document databases. Earnest Young is an organization which uses this strategy as their knowledge management strategy.In other companies, knowledge is closely bounded to the person who developed it and is shared mainly through direct person to person contacts. In those companies main purpose of the computers is to help people to communicate knowledge, not to store it. This is called Personalization Strategy. Personalization Strategy And this strategy implies that person to person fact which points to develop networks for linking people so that tacit knowledge can be shared. In contrast to the codification strategy, the personalization strategy relies on the logic of expert economics.It focuses on maintaining high profit margins. But on the other hand the process of sharing deep knowledge is time consuming, expensive and slow. It can? t be made much efficient. The companies that applied this strategy as their knowledge management strategy; wish to hire people who like problem solving and can tolerate ambiguity and to reward people for directly sharing knowledge with others. Choosing the knowledge management strategy is not an arbitrary thing, it depends on the economics of the company, the way it serves its clients and the people it hires.Experts believe that the choice between codificat ion and personalization is the central one facing virtually all 14 companies in the era of knowledge management. However an organization? s strategy for knowledge management reflects its competitive strategy; it creates value for customers; how that value support for customers; how that value supports an economic model and how the company? s people deliver on the value, because it is the leading fact and the base of all other functional areas in the organization for gaining the competitive advantage in the dynamic economy. Types of Knowledge Management systems in an OrganizationThere are essentially three major types of knowledge management systems namely; enterprisewide knowledge management systems, knowledge work systems and intelligent techniques. Figure 3 shows the knowledge management system applications for each of these major categories. Enterprise-Wide Knowledge Management Systems Knowledge Work Systems Intelligent Techniques Structured knowledge systems Semi structured kn owledge systems Knowledge network systems Computer aided design (CAD) Data mining 3 D Visualization Virtual reality -Neural networks Expert systems Intelligent Agents 1. Enterprise-wide knowledge management systems are general purpose firm wide efforts to collect, store, distribute and apply digital content and knowledge. They provide databases and tools for organizing and storing structured and unstructured documents and other knowledge objects for locating employees with expertise in a particular area including web based tools for collaboration and communication. Structured knowledge systems: These systems perform the function of implementing the tagging, interface with corporate databases where the documents are stored and 15 reating an enterprise portal environment for employees to use when searching for corporate knowledge. Semi structured knowledge systems: These systems track, store and organize semi structured documents (folders, messages, proposals, e mails, slide pr esentations etc) Knowledge network systems: Knowledge network system addresses the problem that arises when the appropriate knowledge is tacit knowledge residing in the memory of expert individuals in the firm. Because such knowledge cannot be conveniently found, employees expend significant resources rediscovering knowledge.Knowledge network systems provide an online directory of corporate experts in well-defined knowledge domains and use communication technologies to make it easy for employees to find the appropriate expert in a company. 02. Knowledge work systems (KWS) are specialized systems built for professionals and other knowledge workers charged with discovering and creating new knowledge for an organization. The development of powerful networked work stations and software in the discovery of new knowledge has led to the creation of knowledge work systems. 03.Intelligent techniques have different objectives from a focus on discovering knowledge (through data mining and neur al networks) to distilling knowledge (through expert systems and fuzzy logic) in the form of rules for a computer programme in order to discover optimal solutions for problems. Knowledge Portals Many organizations have integrated their content and document management capabilities with powerful portals and these will provide access to external sources of information, such as news feeds and research, as well as to internal knowledge resources along with capabilities for e mail, chat, discussion groups and video conferencing.Organizations are now using blogs, wikis and social book marking for internal use to facilitate the exchange of information between individuals and teams within organizations. 16 A learning Organization In more recent times, managers seem to be searching for new approaches to management. Fuelling this search is a range of new issues that modern managers face but that their historical counterparts did not. These issues include a concern about the competitive decline of western firms, the accelerating pace of technological change, the sophistication of customers, and an increasing emphasize on globalization.A new approach to management that is evolving to handle this new range of issues can e called as the learning organization approach. Organizational learning means the process of improving actions through better knowledge and understanding. Therefore under the organizational knowledge title organizational learning is another important fact which can be identified as a supportive term for the organizational knowledge. A learning organization is an organization skilled at creating, acquiring and transferring knowledge, and at modifying its behavior to reflect new knowledge and insights.Learning organizations emphasize systematic problem solving, experimentation, learning from their own experience and past history, transferring knowledge. These activities leading the organizations towards the fact of gaining competitive advantage by relying on t he scientific method and data rather than assumptions, searching for and testing of new knowledge, reviewing their successes and failures, learning from others; specially from immediate environment, and spreading the knowledge throughout the organization quickly and efficiently.Actually the most important thing is that the using and sharing the knowledge which has collected. Otherwise there is no any created benefit from the knowledge to the organization, peculiarly learning from others and spreading the knowledge throughout the organization is become more important in this case. Learning occurs in two forms, those are single-loop and double-loop. Single loop learning asks a one dimensional question to expose one dimensional answer. Double loop learning takes an additional step or several additional steps.It might also ask why the current setting was chosen at the first place. In other words, it asks questions not only about objective facts but also reasons behind those facts. 17 A learning organization is focusing to create, acquire and transfer knowledge continuously from the environment and there by modify its behavior to reflect new knowledge and insights. This involves mainly three areas. An organization has to follow ongoing programmes, designed to produce incremental gains in knowledge.An example to indicate that an organization can import new ideas from outside and apply it to daily operations; a case study, General Electric’s impact program originally sent manufacturing managers to Japan to study factory innovations, such as quality circles and kanban cards, and then apply them in their own organizations. This program was one of the major reasons that General Electric recorded productivity gains averaging nearly 5 % over the last four years. (Harvard business review on Knowledge Management, 2008) Successful ongoing programmes also require an incentive system that favors risk taking.Employees must feel that the benefits of experimentation exceed s the costs; if not they will not participate. This is challenging for managers, since they must maintain accountability and control over experiments without stifling creativity by unduly penalizing employees for failures. Companies must learn from past experiences and should review their successes and failures, assess them systematically and record the lessons in a form that employees find open and accessible. 18 Learning and the Knowledge Management The knowledge continuum shows the process of transforming data in to knowledge and wisdom.The knowledge continuum In this continuous process organizations acquire knowledge throughout its life cycle. Therefore learning plays very important role in the knowledge management process. Its probably appropriate to develop some perspective regarding this stuff called knowledge, which there seems to be such a desire to manage, really is. Consider this as a basis for thought relating to the following diagram. ? ? ? ? A collection of data is not information. A collection of information is not knowledge. A collection of knowledge is not wisdom.A collection of wisdom is not truth. The idea is that information, knowledge, and wisdom are more than simply collections. Rather, the whole represents more than the sum of its parts and has a synergy of its own. 19 8 Average Time (Hours) 4 6 Learning curve 2 10 20 quantity 60 30 40 120 180 240 Figure 07 – Learning Curve 20 Conclusion Organizations can achieve competitive advantage by focusing their knowledge Management efforts in harnessing their assets and competences in their core areas of operation, which can be identified by the value chain analysis approach.An organization progressively discover that value creating activities change over a period of time, and helps to identify value-creating activities faster thereby providing a strategic direction. As organizations evolve into more effective and efficient knowledge creators and knowledge consumers, the effects of knowled ge management efforts should be measurable as knowledge management itself requires an investment of time, resources and manpower.Perhaps organizations will continue to create their own frameworks for valuation or be able to rely on a common methodology for such measurement regardless of the type of organization doing the evaluating. On the other hand, any organization, before framing a strategy, should analyze the industry and should understand all relevant parameters of industry growth. This analysis would yield results on the industry parameters like growth/ recession buyer/supplier power leading to determining the attractiveness of competition.The competitor analysis would reveal the strategy adopted by the competitors and identify the possible future movements of the competitors and to predict the strategies that are likely to be adopted by them. An organization can gain competitive advantage and sustain it only if it is able to understand the needs of the customer and track the changes in the customer needs. In this context, the analysis of the needs of customer gains importance. An organization should assess the resources and capabilities, before formulating a strategy, since the resources and capabilities should aid the operationalization of the chosen strategy.The right combination of resources and capabilities in the context of a strategy can be discovered through the process of knowledge management. In short, today? s organizations act with the theme of Knowledge sharing is the power instead of Knowledge is the Power, in order gain competitive advantages, by keeping a knowledge supporting culture, that management can support the knowledge creation and sharing, maintaining a perfect human resource policy which lead to minimize the employee turnover for the purpose of securing organizational memory in the organization.