I’d really appreciate your help… I’m lecturing on ‘Sharing Knowledge Across Global Teams’ at a conference in the UK later on this month and still busy researching. I’d really appreciate different cultural opinions and would love you to leave a comment on this blog for me.
The effective managment and sharing of knowledge in global organisations is seen to be a key competitive advantage. Large firms have been intent setting up Knowledge Management Systems so knowledge can flow easily around the world. However, ‘knowledge’ is viewed differently by different cultures.
In Anglo-Saxon cultures, ‘knowledge’ is viewed as a commodity, owned by one person, that will give him/her a competitive advantage in the workplace. The more s/he has the more the market will pay in terms of salary. Knowledge is a closely guarded secret and gives someone their worth. For other cultures, it is not knowledge of THINGS but knowledge of PEOPLE and NETWORKS that is the valuable commodity. Yet other cultures view knowledge as only being valuable when it is freely shared by all.
What is your CULTURAL view on this?
Hello, I'm Deborah Swallow and, for the last fifteen years, I've worked in over thirty countries addressing the complexities of people working internationally across multiple cultures, so individuals and organisations alike can gain an authentic competitive edge and win in international markets. 