> From: rachel@ontos.com
> Date: Wed, 10 Jan 1996 10:59:41 +447406848 (EST)
>
> Late last evening I was hearing about production quality control problems
> in a small engineering firm. While there has been ongoing effort to
> document production processes, not all have been completed. There remain
> certain processes that have been passed down from "generation" to
> "generation" of new hires without the benefit of process documentation.
> Not surprisingly, the process has changed somewhat as it was passed down,
> and not to the good!
>
> Scott Lefton (slefton@world.std.com) expressed this situation succinctly
> as
>
> "We've got to kill oral tradition before oral tradition kills us."
>
> I thought that some of you who may be struggling with organizational
> memory, knowledge bases, and the like, would appreciate the sentiment!
>
> Rachel Silber
> rachel@ontos.com
I would be careful not to allow the oral tradition to die. Of
course, given the actual practices or downsizing and others that eliminate
large numbers of members at once, process documentation might become more
important. But, the oral tradition must be there to make sure of the
effectiveness on the learning process for new hires. I think that once a
process is documented, people tend to rely too much on the written
document. I think that we develop the ilusion that this written piece
will be read and interpreted as desired! My position is that if the piece
gets read, then its interpretation has less chance of being as desired!
When I talk about these things, I always remember the three
different faculty handbooks I have received (from the different
unniversities I hhave been associated with), and how much of them I have
read - not much!
Ivan
--
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R. IVAN BLANCO, Ph.D. Voice 305 899-3515
Assoc. Prof. & Director Fax 305 892-6412
International Business Programs
Andreas School of Business _________E-Mail Addresses________
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"Si un hombre fuera necesario para sostener el Estado, este
Estado no deberia existir." "If one man were necessary to
sustain a Nation, this Nation should not exist." Simon Bolivar
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