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William R. Handler
William R. Handler
Student ID# 108582506
(973) 784-4410
whandler@stevens.edu
MIS 630
Dr. Ira H. Sack
Associate Professor
Final Paper
“Eastern Philosophy: A Blueprint for Business in the Western World”
May 1, 2009
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For the most part, organizations in the Western World view knowledge as a
valuable asset held by the organization that posses it. As such, we go to great lengths to
secure it from outside obtainment and even limit its access to a select few inside the
company. Often it is deemed classified to further denote its stealth nature. In accordance,
when knowledge escapes the confines of the company it is considered a “breach of
security”. Organizations go to tremendous lengths to build firewalls, encrypt data, and
password protect it. What’s more, we label strands of knowledge as “top secret” and/or
privileged information. Consider this, the U.S. has established an entire division of the
government for the sole purpose of knowledge containment. In stark contrast, the
Japanese have no comparable agency. On the whole, employees in the U.S. are valued for
the knowledge they hold. Initially, the primary method for discovering what one knows is
gathered from the list of skills on a resume. Once part of the organization, the individual
keeps his/her knowledge very close to the vest. The concern being that one’s Tacit
Knowledge will be compromised as it becomes explicit to the organization. At this point
the employee fears he will be of no use to the organization and thus expendable. His
apprehension towards such an outcome results in the practice of revealing just enough
tacit knowledge as to make a positive impression on superiors.
In Japanese culture, knowledge is tantamount to a commodity that one looks to
share with parties of interest. Businessmen frequently engage in open discussion and
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regularly network with executives from companies throughout the industry. Even
proprietary knowledge is exchanged with confidence. No other company has taken
greater advantage of this practice than Toshiba. They consistently sponsor “Network
Knowledge Sharing Events” attended by suppliers from with in the Auto Parts Industry.
Toyota takes
the opportunity to make proprietary knowledge, explicit. Toshiba having been a major
player in the industry for years has picked up a significant amount of Tacit Knowledge
and further developed it into know how. Furthermore, Toyota often lends out Engineers,
Project Managers, etc. in order to assess and improve part’s production. Toyota helps
shape the supplier’s manufacturing methods as to optimize quality and quantity of output.
Ultimately, Toshiba strives to ingratiate themselves to the supplier while at the same time
restructure the supplier’s processes as to best fit with Toshiba’s assembly procedure.
What’s more; in order to promote new knowledge development, Toshiba awards
contracts and cash prizes to suppliers that introduce new strands of applicable knowledge.
Recently, Toshiba implemented a similar program in the U.S. which up to this point has
not been as well received. Yet they are committed to making it a success. The American
Suppliers have been for the most part reluctant to share proprietary information. Even so,
Toyota has found the preliminary discussions to be most rewarding. Simply being able to
observe production processes, at various U.S. Manufacturers, has provided them with a
wealth of insight into American Methods and Strategies (Dyer, 1998).
As I will explain, U.S. Organizations, for the most part, have a difficult time
sharing tacit knowledge with most inside their own organization, and as follows certainly
not anyone outside the company. We trumpet streamlined processes, unimpeded,
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horizontal flow of information, and more flat organizational structure fostered by
technological innovations. Certainly, an Organization with such attributes would most
likely be a very successful one in theory. Most organizations recognize that this is cutting
edge. So they reengineer their own businesses as to keep up with the trend. Yet they are
doing so without assessing the Organization as “IS” processes. Implementation of
technological processes is simply not a cure-all. Manual processes that are plagued by
bottlenecks will not be magically fixed by implementing an automated workflow.
The remedy for such a problem would require significant troubleshooting followed by
lengthy reengineering and restructuring procedures. Yet most organizations operate based
on misconceptions about time. They might say, “time is of the essence”, “we must be first
to market”, or “life is short”. As a result they forgo problems steeped in process,
structure, and procedure. What’s more, there are questions that are left unanswered: Why
are our employees so adamant about working out of their home? How can we change the
office dynamics as to make it more appealing to our staff? Such problems will not be
solved by implementing bigger, more expensive systems. Throwing new technology at
deep rooted problems is not the answer. Lastly, the office floor plan needs to be more
user-friendly and easily adaptable in order to take advantage of industry best practices by
fitting the workplace to the work.
We, Americans tend to view Technology as the antidote for process problems as
well as the panacea for practically everything else inside the Organization. We invest in
Automation Systems in spite of the absence of a formal plan to outline what and why we
are integrating. What’s more, managers sit idol while throngs of employees setup office
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in their homes in order to telecommute. The managers and executives marvel at the shear
power and potential of these mass produced metal boxes, “Isn’t technology wonderful!”
they might say.
It is in the best interest of the organization to get at the Tacit Knowledge locked in
the mind of the “knowledge worker”. Of course, the initial step in unlocking this
knowledge is engaging its originator in face-to-face communication. Unfortunately, the
standard office space of today is not very conducive towards establishment of open lines
of communication. In particular, we’ve put up walls, symbolically, in reality, and even
virtually. The office design centers around cubicles and private offices that communicate
to all “do not enter”. Such structures can act as barriers to open communication.
The typical office consists of rows of cubicles for the regular employees with
management situated in private offices at the perimeter. In business today we’ve
developed tunnel vision in which we only see grandiose implementations of technology.
Such as streamlined workflow or state of the art data analysis systems. Often times, we
lose sight of the one, most vital ingredient for success in an organization, Interpersonal
Communication. Every business that has been able to sustain long term success has been
fueled by a constant supply of it. Databases and Automation Integration Systems may
improve process functionality and data retrieval. Yet, in the absence of interpersonal
communication the Automation System can’t be integrated and the database data is left
uninterpreted. Individual know-how and creativity must act on computer hardware to
make it useful. In similar respect to a handyman making use of a hammer as a tool to
drive a nail. If left in the toolbox it is merely an object taking up space. Individual know-
how can only take us so far. We must reshape the generic face of the Western World’s
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Office Space if we hope to keep information flowing. Thankfully, we can look to the East
for guidance.
Drawing from Eastern Philosophy & Design Principles may allow us to
restructure our office space so that it is more conducive to communication and thus leads
to proactive endeavors towards exchange of knowledge. In “Organization & Modeling”,
Morabito, Sack, & Bhate draw a distinction between Eastern and Western Culture’s
construct of Knowledge. They reference Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) characterization of
“knowledge” in the Eastern world as being a “justified belief”. In stark contrast, the
general view of Knowledge in the West is “Truths”; what can be proved by data and
analysis. Such divergent views bring on risk for both extremes. The Western
Organization, necessity for abundance of data often leads to “analysis paralysis”. “Where
as Eastern Organizations over adaptation is that past success leads to a repetition of past
behaviors and rigidities, even if they are no longer successful” (Morabito, Sack, & Bhate,
p. 210). Western culture and institutions emphasize explicit knowledge, while Eastern
Cultures, specifically Japanese culture puts greater importance on tacit knowledge
(Morabito, Sack, & Bhate). Today’s successful organization will incorporate both views.
As mentioned previously, Westerners, particularly Americans are used to working
in cubicles. In Japan, however, the open plan is an intrinsic part of workplace culture.
Large spaces with lots of desks are common. While every employee has his or her own
work to do, each is very aware of everything else that is happening in the office. The
Japanese do not think of this as an invasion of privacy or as eavesdropping on someone
else’s business. Anything happening in the office is everybody’s business (Worthington,
p. 87). One might assume that such a situation is uncomfortable perhaps an “invasion of
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privacy”. Yet, the experience is normal in the Eastern Culture. The Communal Group is
often considered a single entity. Whereas Westerners view individual members as
separate and distinct entities coming together to form the group. JC Spender (1993) cited
in Morabito, Sack, & Bhate (p. 213) explains;
“knowledge may be shared and tacit. This is known as communal knowledge; its social
and tacit dimensions arise from the fact that it is "taken for granted" among several
members of an organization.” An important management imperative, then, is to transform
individual tacit knowledge (conscious or automatic) which is hidden from the
organization, into social tacit knowledge (i.e., communal). At the communal level it is
organizationally available, but not easily appropriated by competitors.”
The “open-plan” working space seems to be most advantageous towards
competitive advantage. The Japanese are able to transform individual tacit knowledge
into communal knowledge with ease. This phenomenon may be primarily steeped in
culture. Still, the slightest improvement in Knowledge obtainment would be beneficial
and therefore to adapt a similar open style office plan makes sense. Furthermore, such a
setup should lend well to increased fluidity in regards to information sharing and promote
a feeling of closeness amongst employees. Nakane (1970), cited in Ray & Little (2001,
p.7), states "in all cases it indicates a criterion which sets a boundary and gives a
common basis to a set of individuals who are located or involved in it." People in any
culture appreciate like minded companions who have an intuitive understanding of their
thoughts.
Harvey-Jones (1993), cited in Ray & Little (2001, p.7), observed;
“the Japanese plant built by a team which shared a single large office and lived, worked
and dreamt together, twelve hours or more a day, during the whole time of the
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development and planning of the plant. They were each in each other’s minds and did not
have to send a memo, or make a telephone call, to check the effects of, for example,
locating a valve somewhere else. Any one of them could cover for anybody else…exactly
the same team which had done the designing was also involved in the construction. There
was no hand over, no communication problems – the thing just flowed.”
There exists a surreal flow of synergistic energy between members of cohesive
groups in Japanese Society. In Olympic Synchronized Diving, Eastern Countries,
specifically Japan and China often out compete their U.S. counterparts by sacrificing
power and difficulty for symmetry and synchronization. In similar fashion to Japanese
Businessmen and communal knowledge they just know what the other is going to do and
act to mirror his/her actions with unmatched precisions. When diving they function as a
“collection” (Morabito, Sack, & Bhate, p. 220). Perhaps this phenomenon is the result of
spending an incomparable amount of time together, as to foster such routine perfection.
As individuals they come from the same “knowledge world”; platform diving, and as
such they likely possess unique, individual tacit knowledge with in the domain of diving.
As a duo they are able to coalesce. Thus as a diving team they possess shared tacit
knowledge with in the domain of Synchronized Diving. “Communal knowledge is
information with some richness removed-tacit knowledge shared by groups of people.
Shared tacit knowledge is a form of knowledge that has been ‘coalesced’ and functions as
a collection (thanks to Keith Morgan for this insight)” (Morabito, Sack, & Bhate, p. 220).
The point here is that there exists an unsaid syntax that pushes knowledge along the
information continuum towards the more structured and defined explicit pole.
The, “open floor plan” office space seems to be a practical approach towards
knowledge sharing in Western Society. We often over emphasize the importance of
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personal space and privacy. Initially a level of discomfort is to be expected as one would
be stepping outside his/her comfort zone. Still, in short time one would likely feel foolish
for having been afraid in the first place. When I was first hired as Product Manager at a
Trophy Parts Company, My Manager had me simply observe Customer Service in action.
He felt this was the best way to familiarize me with the Order / Supply Process and
provide me with a general overview in regards to the product. At first, the process
appeared to be confusing. Yet by the afternoon of the first day the process, just “clicked”.
Stuck in a cubicle or office one is quarantined from organizational processes. The Open
Floor Plan puts each employee in the center of the action. A single order can be tracked
from inception to completion by keeping attuned to the happenings with in the office
ecosystem. Conversely, the walls of the cubicle keep one quarantined and thus unaffected
by external stimuli. Only extracting knowledge from occurrences that one is an active
participant provides an incomplete and inadequate perception of what took place. Thus,
the individual restricted by the cubicle is subject to great uncertainty. “Uncertainty is
defined as the absence of information” (Morabito, Sack and Bhate p. 201).
We, the Western World have too often turned to technology as an enabler in that
we use it to bring work into our comfort zone rather than really going after the work.
Telecommuting, working from home or Tele-work, such as working out of Starbucks is
simply not in the best interest of the organization. There is simply no substitute for face
to face communication. The richest information can only flow with in face-to-face or
group interactions (Morabito, Sack, & Bhate). Furthermore, “Tacit knowledge is an
inexpressible body language, containing tones and shades of meaning and context”
(Morabito, Sack, & Bhate p. 220). This simply is absent from Satellite aided
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communication. “Knowledge formation is thus dependent on observation and experience-
the practice of knowledge. Cognitive knowledge is composed of schema, values, and
beliefs. As with the technical dimension, the cognitive dimension cannot be easily
articulated, and its rules may be hidden” (Morabito, Sack, & Bhate, p. 212).
The Ergonomics of the “office space” has remained, on the whole, relatively
unchanged since the latter half of the twentieth century. One would think that Technology
would in some way result in redesign of the office space. Water Coolers and the
Corridors of the office should not be the primary method to illicit face to face
interactions. There should be unoccupied office space easily accessible to employees to
convey spur of the moment ideas through face to face communication. A more structured
approach might be to partake in an exercise that is prominent in blind dating, specifically
“Speed Dating”. Employees, in pairs, would be given a pre-established timeframe to
brainstorm on work topics of their choice and/or suggested topics to help break the ice.
After a pre-established number of minutes expires, new pairs could be established. In just
a brief period of time each individual will have shared vast amounts of explicit
knowledge with numerous co-workers.
Also; concerning office space, the majority of organizations have too much “off
limits” and therefore practical space turns into unused space. For example, while
employed at the Trophy Parts Company a conference room was located at the end of the
hall. The Organization’s Managers would meet once a week in this locale. The rest of the
time this area, designed specifically for data analysis, information sharing, and
knowledge creation/exchange remained off limits and therefore unoccupied. The vacant
room was equipped with blackboard, Easel, and Call Conferencing System. Certainly this
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location for Entity-Relationship Models to be drawn, and current processes, discussed.
The office design should provide a framework for information to “flow” with
similar intent to the design of the Organization’s Structure and Processes. Sports provides
a wonderful metaphor; Xs and Os design matrixes from virtually every team sport would
illustrate the necessity for proper spacing between team players on the court or field.
Crowding players into one small area is proven dysfunctional practically every time.
Shouldn’t the same rule apply to business? Still, we cram practically 100% of employees
in to approximately 10% of the available space.
As for Knowledge Workers, they do knowledge work and thus do their work best
at the office as a member of a cohesive group. Therefore, organizations need to
encourage the individual to return to the office. Promising extended time off, pay raises,
or stock options may entice the telecommuter to return to the office temporarily.
However, such benefits are transitory in nature. The organization needs to determine why
individuals prefer to work, out of the home and than respond with a long term solution. A
recent pole conducted by Citrix Online, revealed 23 percent of American workers
regularly does their jobs from someplace besides the office, and that 62 percent of
respondents who cannot work off-site would like to. The number one reason reported was
“level of comfort” (Cambell, 2007). Knowledge work is a group process as it requires
high interaction and high autonomy.
Once again, we can look to the Eastern World, this time China, for a potential
answer as to how we can create a more comfortable work environment. The ancient
Chinese Philosophy of Feng Shui provides the answers. Often times, the very mention of
the word within our western culture evokes laughter. Most Americans only know from
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Bonsai Trees, Rock Gardens, and Incense. In truth, Feng Shui offers tremendous insight
as to staging an environment with in an office space, as to encourage creative endeavors
and knowledge sharing. Of course, one need not adapt the philosophy in its entirety in
order to take advantage of some of its key principles. Feng Shui teachings reveal that as
Westerners we want quick fixes and desire power. When applied to an organizational
framework this tenet may prompt us to re-access our motivation for implementing
processes in order to affirm its purity. Did we really need that Integrated Workflow
System? Perhaps, we simply blinded by its shear power. Maybe, a simpler and less flashy
solution would have better met our needs. This next proverb abstracted from Feng Shui
can help us to focus towards more explicit goals, “One sparrow can not make a spring,
but a flock of them can” (CHINA STYLE “Origins of Feng Shui”, 2009). In other words,
no single member of the organization can bring about change. Even an employee with a
vast amount of Tacit Knowledge needs the group to make use of what he knows. This
proverb may serve as a reminder that group cohesion is a necessity for taking rich Tacit
Knowledge and making it more explicit.
During ancient times in the Eastern World each student practicing Feng Shui had
a Master, (older, wise man or women from the village) who helped guide him down the
path to harmony through meditation, medicine, and prayer (CHINA STYLE “Origins of
Feng Shui”, 2009). Such a relationship can be modernized for application in
organizations today as a Mentor/Mentoree relationship. The Mentor possesses a wealth of
tacit knowledge. From my own personal experience Mentors are eager to share. The
Mentor is likely someone who sees retirement coming on the horizon. Typically, at this
stage in life, a person reflects on achievements, accolades, the good, the bad and
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everything in between. Ultimately, they ponder the question, have I lived a life, fufilled?
Also, most want to leave an indelible mark on the Organization. The Mentoree is the
student and will therefore carry on the Mentor’s Legacy. Generally a mentor will listen,
clarify, and challenge the Mentoree’s intellect. I think the relationship works best when
the Mentor views the person he is mentoring as similar in many respects to himself, and
vice versa. From my own experience, a mentor gives more than just business knowledge.
As the relationship progresses all the insight gained works to structure your own life
goals. One need not accept every bit of information as gospel. Often times, challenging
the Mentors perception creates constructive conflict. There is usually one strand of
information so profound that at first you simply can not wrap your brain around its
meaning. As a result, you deem the information not useful and attempt to discard it. Still,
your subconscious continues processing the information. Once deciphered, it conveys the
results with less tacit meaning. At this single moment, you feel as if you’ve received the
blueprint for life’s design. Taken to heart this new knowledge can be added to the very
selective “life goal” compartment with in a person’s intellect. Bear in mind, “knowledge
statements” from the Mentor are interpreted by the Mentoree according to his own,
unique constructs and thus are open to interpretation. My Mentor often challenges the age
old adage that “life is short”. Further discussion helped me formulate this notion based on
my own life schema; “progress is not always obvious when fixated on self-perceived
failures. Still some how things always manage to get done.” Ultimately, the Mentor /
Mentoree construct encourages one to look at underlying motivations for why we do
what we do. Also, the process helps to develop insight such that engaging in self analysis
becomes an act of regimen activity. This is of great use when entrenched in the chaotic
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environment of the office domain.
As the confines of our Global Economy grow so does the pool of tacit knowledge.
Perhaps the role of technology in the future would best serve society as a mechanism by
which we can more easily share knowledge. Still, Knowledge is often hard to make
explicit for anyone let alone everyone. We face barriers that have proven difficult to
overcome. Such as differences in culture, language, syntax, and schema. I neither
perceive the Eastern nor Western World approach to knowledge obtainment as superior.
Each is well-suited for handling and developing knowledge based on the specific
constructs that guide and bind. However, I feel that the Eastern World Approach is at
present moving with in a better current. Of course, this all based on the presumption that
the West predominately looks to analyzed data and hard evidence as a prerequisite for
knowledge formulation. Where as, the Eastern World will go with one’s gut feeling.
Sometimes, data is simply unavailable or counterintuitive. Thus, doubt is introduced in to
the scenario. Where as our gut feeling or intuition by its very nature is something that we
use for guidance even when data is non-existent. As we are uncertain about everything
that hasn’t already happened, I’d prefer to go with my gut. Still, it would be naive to
assume that either Culture can be painted with such a broad brush . What we consider to
be knowledge is not beholden to the culture that we identify with. We are each, as
individuals, capable of determining what is knowledge given the dynamics, criteria, and
construct of each unique situation. Being knowledgeable presents us with options. We
can go with intuitive thought, gut feeling, and/or analyzed data. In truth, our knowledge is
meaningless by itself and only makes sense when restrained by an agreed upon construct.
Therefore, it is futile to say. “I know this and you know that”, After all, do we really
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know anything?
References
Cambell, S.J., “Citrix Study Shows Increase in 'Web Commuting' Among American
Workforce”, TMCnet, (November 27, 2007), www.tmcnet.com/voip/ip-
communications/articles/15295-citrix-study-shows-increase-web-commuting-among-
american.htm
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CHINA STYLE “Origins of Feng Shui”, (2009),
http://library.thinkquest.org/05aug/01780/feng-shui/origins-of-fengshui.htm
Dyer, J., Nobeoka, J., “CREATING AND MANAGING A HIGH PERFORMANCE
KNOWLEDGE-SHARING NETWORK: THE TOYOTA CASE” Wharton School &
University of Pennsylvania, Kobe University, (1998)
Morabito, J., Sack, I., and Bhate, A., Organization & Modeling, Chapter 12: “Data,
Knowledge and Information”, pp.201, 209, 210, 212, 213, 220
Ray, T., Little S., “Communication and Context: Collective Tacit Knowledge and
Practice in Japan's Workplace”, Blackwell Publishers Ltd (2001) p. 7
Worthington, J., “Reinventing the Workplace”, 2nd Edition, Elsevier B.V. (2009), p. 87
