Where are my People? A Historical Analysis on NASA’s Equal Opportunity Initiatives

This thesis uses historical analysis to review how the NASA Communication Office published information about its equal opportunity efforts from the 1970s through the 2010s. NASA press materials were examined using various keywords to search for programs and initiatives to recruit and maintain women and minorities in the space agency. The idea to create internal programs to increase women and ­­minorities within NASA appeared in the mid-1970s, but the agency did not report initiatives until the late 1980s and 2010s, when the keywords women, minorities, and equal opportunity ­were mentioned most often. NASA continues to develop and implement diversity programs to assess the workforce development and inclusion initiatives for the 21st century

Developments in Practice IX:The Evolution of the KM Function

In 2000, a group of knowledge managers from twenty-five companies met to discuss the current state of knowledge management (KM) in their organizations. KM was then in a very early stage of its existence and took a wide variety of forms. Most KM groups were experiencing difficulties determining an appropriate role and function for themselves. Organizations were undertaking many different activities under the banner of KM. These activities were often fairly wide-ranging in scope with broad, general goals. To better understand how KM had matured and to explore its likely future development, the authors convened a similar focus group of knowledge managers in 2003. We found that KM\u27s objectives are now focused into more achievable goals. Increasingly, the emphasis is on delivering immediate, measurable benefits by leveraging knowledge that is already available in an organization rather than on creating new knowledge. KM also carved out some key responsibilities for itself, such as creating and maintaining both an Internet framework and a portal to internal company information, and content acquisition, synthesis, organization, and management. Overall, the KM function became considerably more practical in focus and much less academic. The biggest challenge facing KM in the future continues to be the need to demonstrate tangible, measurable value to the organization. Disillusionment with KM tools and an inability to find useful content are seen as key threats to KM\u27s survival. Maintaining alignment with business objectives is thus the most important means of ensuring KM\u27s relevance. The next few years will be crucial for KM. If it can make its mark and demonstrate its value, we can expect to see knowledge management grow and prosper. If it cannot, its growth could be stunted for many years to come

Developments in Practice XII: Knowledge-Enabling Business Processes

While in theory what an organization knows is fundamental to its success, in practice only a few companies have seen significant business results from their knowledge management (KM) initiatives. Therefore, many knowledge managers are rethinking how and where knowledge really adds value. Connecting knowledge activities to core business processes is slowly coming to be recognized as a second, and more effective, stage of KM in organizations. This paper examines how practicing knowledge managers from several different organizations are knowledge-enabling business processes to deliver business value. It then integrates their experiences with previous research to present a preliminary framework of how to link KM better into business process design activities

New Developments in Practice IV: Managing the Technology Portfolio

Due to the unrelenting pace of technological change, the task of managing an organization\u27s IT portfolio can be formidable. Failure to accomplish this task effectively can expose an organization to technology failure and/or financial risk. This paper, based on discussions with a focus group of senior IT managers from a number of leading-edge organizations, outlines the challenges of managing the IT portfolio and presents recommended, tried-and-true strategies to tackle the problem

Developments in Practice XVIII-Customer Knowledge Management: Adding Value for Our Customers

The nature and quality of a firm\u27s dialogue with its customers is a core capability. Few firms are able to manage this dialogue effectively and use what they know to add more value for customers and ultimately improve firm performance. Knowledge management (KM) functions are therefore being asked how their expertise can help companies do a better job in this area. This paper examines the wide variety of ways organizations use KM in their customer relationships. It begins with an examination of the need for Customer Knowledge Management (CKM) and how it differs from Customer Relationship Management (CRM). It then looks at the four different dimensions of customer knowledge and at some of the innovative ways companies use them to add value for their customers. It next discusses the key organizational challenges of implementing CKM. The paper concludes with some best practices and advice about how to implement a program of CKM successfully in an organization. It suggests that CKM is not a tool like CRM but a process that is designed to dynamically capture, create and integrate knowledge about and for customers

Developments in Practice XVII: A Framework for KM Evaluation

Demonstrating the value of knowledge management (KM) to the organization represents an elusive challenge. In part, this challenge is due to the nature of knowledge management itself and the difficulty in creating direct linkages between knowledge sharing and sales growth or productivity. But it is also undoubtedly due to misaligned KM activities. This paper first reviews the current state of metrics in KM and presents six principles of measurement immediately applicable to the practice of KM. It then outlines a framework for KM evaluation using four key approaches: balanced scorecard; strategic imperatives; capabilities assessment; and measurement matrix. The paper concludes by presenting a number of strategies for improving KM metrics

Developments in Practice XXXIV: Application Portfolio Management

APM is the ongoing management process of categorization, assessment and rationalization of the IT application portfolio which allows organizations to identify which applications to maintain, invest in, replace, or retire. To understand current APM strategies and practices, the authors convened a focus group of senior IT managers from a number of organizations. Results of the focus group discussion pointed to the need to develop three inter-related APM capabilities: (1) strategy and governance, (2) inventory management, and (3) reporting and rationalization. To deliver value with APM, organizations must establish all three capabilities. Experience suggests that organizations tend to start by inventorying applications and work from the “middle out” to refine their APM strategy (and how it is governed) as well as to establish efforts to rationalize their applications portfolio. As such, APM represents a process of continual refinement. Fortunately, experience also suggests that there are real benefits to be reaped from the successful development of each capability. The paper concludes with some lessons learned based on the collective experience of the members of the focus group

Developments in Practice XXVII: Delivery IT Functions: A Decision Framework

Despite a steadily growing industry of third party providers, IT organizations to date have ventured rather cautiously into this new area of IT function delivery. This paper attempts to explain why this is so by examining the decision behavior and practices of a number of leading edge organizations. From this analysis, four key decision criteria were identified: flexibility, control, knowledge enhancement and business exigency. Based on the insights of the focus group, the concept of a maturity model for IT functions is introduced as well as a function delivery profile to map delivery options onto core and non-core IT functions. We argue that these elements should form the basis of a decision framework to guide the selection of delivery options. Following this framework, organizations should now begin to move beyond the exploration stage to develop more strategic, nuanced and methodological approaches to IT function delivery

Developments in Practice XXXVI: How to Talk So Business Will Listen … And Listen So Business Will Talk

One of the most important skills all IT staff need to develop today is how to communicate effectively with business. Over and over, research has shown that if IT and business cannot speak the same language, focus on the same issues and communicate constructively, they cannot build a trusting relationship. And business is consistently more negative about IT’s ability to communicate effectively than IT is. In fact, even while IT collaboration is improving, business’s assessment of IT’s communication skills is declining. While much attention has been paid to organizational alignment between IT and business (e.g., governance, structure) very little has been paid to the nature and impact of the social dimension of alignment, a big element of which involves communication. To explore the business and interpersonal competencies that IT staff will need in order to do their jobs effectively over the next five–seven years and what companies should be doing to help develop them, the authors convened a focus group of senior IT managers from a variety of different organizations. This paper documents the results of this discussion, integrating them with findings from the research and practitioner literature. It begins by characterizing the state of communication in the business–IT relationship and why “good communication” is becoming increasingly important. Then, it explores what is meant by “good communication” in this relationship and looks at some of the inhibitors of effective communication between these groups. Finally, it discusses the key communication skills that need to be developed by IT staff and makes recommendations for how organizations can improve or develop communication in the business–IT relationship. It concludes that good communication has both social and organizational dimensions, both of which need to be appropriately managed. It also shows that there is a “virtuous circle” of communication, with is associated with improved IT performance and perceptions of IT value

Developments in Practice XXXI: Social Computing: How Should It Be Managed?

Social computing, enabled by the Internet and peer-to-peer computing (P2P), is a force to be reckoned with. Today, most observers believe that the changes we’ve seen in some industries, like entertainment, is just the tip of a huge iceberg that is going to hit many different sectors. The power of social computing to disrupt the traditional business-to-customer relationship is merely one of several changes we are beginning to see in organizations. Social computing also facilitates new ways of working, learning and collaboration, which are foreign to more conventional practices but which have considerable strategic potential if they are effectively managed. Yet currently, organizations in general do not appreciate its value and strategic potential. Social computing’s promise is that technology will fit more naturally into our lives because it will adapt more readily to our locations, preferences and schedules. The challenge for organizations is to understand how to use it effectively to deliver new forms of business value. It’s easy to dismiss social computing as “just another technology fad” and most companies are approaching it very cautiously. The reality is that social computing is already a factor in organizations today even though we are still early in its evolution