Knowledge Management Essay

It involves applying the collective knowledge and abilities of the entire workforce to achieve specific organizational objectives. State agencies should feel free to adapt and use information and tools on the following pages as necessary within their organization. It is provided to be a starting point for sharing knowledge and experience, allowing those who remain with the organization to continue providing quality service. Capturing and sharing critical knowledge and expertise should be occurring continuously among employees. In many cases, however, it is not and this need becomes pressing when a valued employee is preparing to retire or change positions. When an organization is considering implementing a knowledge transfer plan it is important to answer several questions: 1. Is the organization going to fill the vacant position or reassign the duties? 2. Are all the duties of the position still important to the mission of the organization? 3. Is there a need to update the position description? 4. Will the position change, remain as is, or be eliminated once the employee leaves? What is knowledge transfer? David DeLong’s book â€Å"Lost Knowledge† describes knowledge as the â€Å"capacity for effective actions or decision-making in the context of organizational activity†. Accordingly, lost knowledge would decrease this vital capacity and help undermine organizational effectiveness and performance. The goal of transferring knowledge to others [known as Knowledge Transfer] is to: 1. Identify key positions and people where potential knowledge loss is most imminent. 2. Assess how critical the knowledge loss will be. Develop a plan of action to ensure the capture of that critical knowledge and a plan of action to transfer it. Why is knowledge transfer important? A significant percentage of the state’s workforce is nearing retirement age over the next ten years. These employees have acquired a tremendous amount of knowledge about how things work, how to get things done and who to go to when problems arise. Losing their expertise and experience could significantly reduce efficiency, resulting in costly mistakes, unexpected quality problems, or significant disruptions in services and/or performance. In addition, faster turnover among younger employees and more competitive recruiting and compensation packages add significantly to the mounting concern about the state’s ability to sustain acceptable levels of performance. What are the benefits of a knowledge transfer program? Knowledge transfer [KT] programs prevent critical knowledge loss by focusing on key areas. Some of the immediate benefits of KT programs are: 1. They provide reusable documentation of the knowledge required in certain positions or job roles. 2. They result in immediate learning and knowledge transfer when carried out by individuals who can either use the transferred knowledge themselves or have responsibility for hiring, training, mentoring, coaching or managing people within an organizational unit. 3. They reduce the impact of employee departure. 4. They integrate staffing, training, job and organization redesign, process improvements and other responses. 5. They aid in succession planning. 6. They prevent the loss of knowledge held only in employees’ heads when they leave the organization or retire. They enhance career development. Generally Accepted Definitions for Knowledge Management and Transfer Knowledge Management (KM) refers to practices used by organizations to find, create, and distribute knowledge for reuse, awareness, and learning across the organization. Knowledge Management programs are typically tied to organizational objectives and are intended to lead to the achievement of specific outcomes such as shared intelligence, improved performance, or higher levels of innovation. Knowledge Transfer (an aspect of Knowledge Management) has always existed in one form or another through on-the-job discussions with peers, apprenticeship, and maintenance of agency libraries, professional training and mentoring programs. Since the late twentieth century, technology has played a vital role in Knowledge Transfer through the creation of knowledge bases, expert systems, and other knowledge repositories. To understand knowledge management and knowledge transfer, it is helpful to examine the differences between data, information, and knowledge. Data is discrete, objective facts. Data is the raw material for creating information. By itself, data carries no judgment, interpretation or meaning. Information is data that is organized, patterned and/or categorized. It has been sorted, analyzed and displayed, and is communicated through various means. Information changes the way a person perceives something, thus, affecting judgment or behavior. Knowledge is what is known. It is richer and more meaningful than information. Knowledge is gained through experience, reasoning, intuition, and learning. Because knowledge is intuitive, it is difficult to structure, can be hard to capture on machines, and is a challenge to transfer. We often speak of a â€Å"knowledgeable person,† and by that we mean someone who is well informed, and thoroughly versed in a given area. We expand our knowledge when others share theirs with us. We create new knowledge when we pool our knowledge together.

Poem Analysis

Year 12 english communications External Folio Where the Sidewalk Ends|   | by  Shel Silverstein| There is a place where the sidewalk ends And before the street begins, And there the grass grows soft and white, And there the sun burns crimson bright, And there the moon-bird rests from his flight To cool in the peppermint wind. Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black and the dark street winds and bends. Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,And watch where the chalk-white arrows go To the place where the sidewalk ends. Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow, And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go, For the children, they mark, and the children, they know The place where the sidewalk ends. Analysis: Shel Silverstein began writing at the age of twelve. He quickly grew his own style of writing and began to publish many stories. Where the Sidewalk Ends, Shel Silverstein’s first collection o f poems, was published in 1974 and attracted attention soon becoming a classic.The poem â€Å"where the sidewalk ends is about the journey of a better life. His poem is almost about the afterlife and heaven. When Silverstein says â€Å"and there the grass grows soft and white, and there the sun glows crimson bright† he is referring to the softness and unlikeliness of her world being that way. Silverstein uses the children as a representative for the beauty and innocence of the other world. Children are innocent enough enough to not see the dark road of life but the see the bliss at the end (the grass).Silverstein is trying to get us to imagine a place without the black smoke and dark street winds and bends. He is telling us to free ourselves from life’s horrors and dramas and instead telling us to go to the place where the sidewalk ends. The tone of this poem give the impression that if we try to â€Å"go where the chalk white arrows go† we can be better off. S ilverstein is saying that the children know how to be innocent and how to enjoy the better things in life. Silverstein uses darkness of the alley as a way to personify the bad things we encounter in life.Children are the representative of the innocence and the good that guides us in life. Silverstein believes that we want to be as happy and pure as children at the end of the tunnel. He believes that if we live life through a child’s eyes we will enjoy the better things and not worry so much about the bad situations. Imagery is a main feature in the poem. As a descriptive piece Silverstein uses the power of words to show not tell. Personification illustrates human qualities of nature; Silverstein shows many examples of this in the poem.Using poetic techniques help to display the setting of the place we are living in and how it differs to the place we should and want to be in; the better place. The poem seems to have a set audience of adults. The idea of the poem is to express an experience with others. Silverstein’s motive for writing the poem stems from his lonely innocent childhood and the beauty he sees within the world. Silverstein’s ability to watch the world around him and have an   deep emotional connect with the places he comes across and portray them in his poetry is one of his many talents. Poem Analysis Year 12 english communications External Folio Where the Sidewalk Ends|   | by  Shel Silverstein| There is a place where the sidewalk ends And before the street begins, And there the grass grows soft and white, And there the sun burns crimson bright, And there the moon-bird rests from his flight To cool in the peppermint wind. Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black and the dark street winds and bends. Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,And watch where the chalk-white arrows go To the place where the sidewalk ends. Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow, And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go, For the children, they mark, and the children, they know The place where the sidewalk ends. Analysis: Shel Silverstein began writing at the age of twelve. He quickly grew his own style of writing and began to publish many stories. Where the Sidewalk Ends, Shel Silverstein’s first collection o f poems, was published in 1974 and attracted attention soon becoming a classic.The poem â€Å"where the sidewalk ends is about the journey of a better life. His poem is almost about the afterlife and heaven. When Silverstein says â€Å"and there the grass grows soft and white, and there the sun glows crimson bright† he is referring to the softness and unlikeliness of her world being that way. Silverstein uses the children as a representative for the beauty and innocence of the other world. Children are innocent enough enough to not see the dark road of life but the see the bliss at the end (the grass).Silverstein is trying to get us to imagine a place without the black smoke and dark street winds and bends. He is telling us to free ourselves from life’s horrors and dramas and instead telling us to go to the place where the sidewalk ends. The tone of this poem give the impression that if we try to â€Å"go where the chalk white arrows go† we can be better off. S ilverstein is saying that the children know how to be innocent and how to enjoy the better things in life. Silverstein uses darkness of the alley as a way to personify the bad things we encounter in life.Children are the representative of the innocence and the good that guides us in life. Silverstein believes that we want to be as happy and pure as children at the end of the tunnel. He believes that if we live life through a child’s eyes we will enjoy the better things and not worry so much about the bad situations. Imagery is a main feature in the poem. As a descriptive piece Silverstein uses the power of words to show not tell. Personification illustrates human qualities of nature; Silverstein shows many examples of this in the poem.Using poetic techniques help to display the setting of the place we are living in and how it differs to the place we should and want to be in; the better place. The poem seems to have a set audience of adults. The idea of the poem is to express an experience with others. Silverstein’s motive for writing the poem stems from his lonely innocent childhood and the beauty he sees within the world. Silverstein’s ability to watch the world around him and have an   deep emotional connect with the places he comes across and portray them in his poetry is one of his many talents.

NURSE PRACTICE ACT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

NURSE PRACTICE ACT - Essay Example In order to be aware about the legal obligations, a nurse must be familiar with both the Act and also with the regulations associated with it, which will in turn help the nurse practice nursing safely at any location. It is also a fact that despite changes in the Nurse Practice Acts in many states, barriers to nursing practice remain. In the future, clearly stated and uniform standards, scopes of practice, educational requirements, and evaluation of competencies are required The state nursing practice act is an important legislation affecting nursing practice. The nursing practice acts defines nursing, gives guidance on the scope of practice, and sets standards for the nursing profession. The main purpose of nurse practice acts is to protect the public from unsafe practitioners. The ultimate goal of this act is to provide competent, quality nursing care by qualified nurse practitioners. The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) was organized in 1901 with the intention of obtaining a legal credentialing mechanism for nursing practice, and thus protects graduate nurses. The title Registered Nurse, â€Å"R.N† was derived from the nurse registration act or the â€Å"Armstrong Bill† in 1903. The first license was issued in 1904, to the class of 1902 from the Rochester Homeopathic Hospital (The Nursing Practice Act, n.d.) Since the public does not have adequate information or experience to identify such a health care provider, they are particularly vulnerable. Thus it is vital that by means of proper regulatory processes, the government permits only those with proper credentials to practice nursing (NCSBN, n.d.) The Nurse Practice Act is a set of state laws, and the statutes are grouped with a chapter of state laws. By ensuring basic requirements for nursing practice, the Act aims to protect the public from an unsafe nurse. Since the legislature of each state determines the Acts content, each states Act may

What impact do hostile environments have on Soldiers Essay

What impact do hostile environments have on Soldiers - Essay Example Over 1.5 million troops were deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq between 2002 to 2007, several of whom, more than just one time. Thus deployments such as those, usually lead to work-related and personal stress due to long working hours, family separation as well as uncertain schedules. Even on their return from these hostile environments several soldiers continue enduring emotional and mental strain as they try to readapt and cope with family and civilian life (Hall, 2015). Inspite of the above numerous pressures, there has been no significant change in the rate of reenlistment. All the same there are numerous psychological disorders related with a hostile environment in war; for instance shell shock (Combat Stress Reaction) and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD).PTSD is thus a diagnosis arrived by doctors on a frequent basis for those patients that have undergone key traumas such soldiers from hostile environment, car accidents and rape(West,2012). PTSD was discovered due to the soldiers returning from the Vietnam war, even though the disorder symptoms had been all along been identified with war veterans for centuries. The real emotional effects of hostile environment on soldiers can also be extremely distressing especially to the friends and family members, because it is seen as unfair that after all they have gone through, they keep on suffering (Ausenda, 1992). The two conditions; shell shock and PTSD are basically manifestations of the attempts by the brain to deal with trauma and unable to do so adequately. Thus with PTSD, a soldier will for instance re-experience and recall the particular trauma of the hostile environment ,maybe in their dreams or even while thinking or closing their eyes. Sleeplessness is another symptom of PTSD and comes along nightmares. Thus the soldier is aware that if s/he happens to fall asleep, they could be having nightmares; hence a vicious cycle results; so as to try and keep awake for

Supply chain theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Supply chain theory - Essay Example In order to be well placed and to take advantage of the increase in sales, EBBD will adjust its order rate. The bullwhip effect is the vulnerability created from mutilated data streaming all over the inventory network. It is the increment in the variability of request as it moves from the Customer to the Manufacturer. In order to reduce the bullwhip effect, EBBD will make smaller order additions to minimize time between requests. This will make processing and delivery of order to the clients to be more effective and timely. The piece by piece increase will also reduce the cost of handling that would be incurred by making excessive order. The order strategy is meant to ensure that at every given time, there is enough stock to supply to retailers throughout the week. The order quantity is a slight incremen0t of the retailers demand. Having stock will ensure no order goes un-served and reduces the backlog of order from retailers. Fernie & Sparks (2009) argue that maintaining equilibrium within the stock of a chains supply needs a deep consideration of all the stock holders ranging from the c ustomers as well as the suppliers. The sales within EBBD in the first five weeks had minimum change and this can be as a result of much attention given to the campaign other than the sales. However, the sales started increasing the mid weeks. Seven weeks after the kick off of the campaign, the sales started to rise. The trend was high affected by the fact that at this point the campaigns had been extended to all the target areas. Arikan (2008) articulates that marketing campaigns rarely have immediate results but once the objectives have been achieved, the results are worthwhile. As part of our strategy to create equilibrium with our inventory levels, the customer order backlog was reduced by increasing EBBD ordering pattern. After the few weeks of the campaign, we expected more

Iris Center Learning Module Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Iris Center Learning Module Paper - Essay Example It helps accelerate student achievement in reading, giving them opportunities to improve their self-esteem. It also encourages on-task behavior and student participation since it allows students more opportunities to do so since they are paired in dyads and not have to content with competing within a whole group. Most of all, it is enjoyable for children and very motivating for them because of the collaboration they maintain towards particular tasks. In doing so, it forges positive social interaction between students. PALS enhances the reading skills of all children but it targets specific age-appropriate skills in each level. Kindergarten children learn phonological awareness and the decoding and recognition of words. First grade students build on the skills learned from Kindergarten and in addition, they learn to decode and comprehend text and to read more fluently. Tapping such skills helps the students perform better on standardized and informal reading tests. The teacher ranks the students based on their reading performance. Usually, the Rapid Letter Naming (RLN) test is used to measure letter recognition and future reading performance. However, grouping for Kindergarten and First grade differs. For Kindergarten, the teacher pairs the highest-performing student with the lowest-performing student. Pairing follows the order from there with the next highest-performing student with the next lowest-performing student and so on until all the students have been paired. With First Graders, the teachers divides the rank-order list in half then pairs the top high-performing student with the top low-performing student and the process continues till all the students have found their match. This kind of pairing may include children with disabilities in the pairing so it is highly possible that a low-performing student with disability is paired with a high-performing student

Criminal Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 5

Criminal Law - Essay Example For instance, false imprisonment may occur when an armed gang takes control of a bank or any other institution and orders everyone in the building to a certain room and locks them up without their will or consent. Kidnapping is a crime where a person transported from one place to another without his or her will, or confining a person to an isolated place by the use of force. The difference between false imprisonment and kidnapping is that in false imprisonment is the use of force and threat is practiced, though force and threat are elements of kidnapping it is far from kidnapping (Senjo, 2011). Kidnapping is a situation where an individual is restraint by circumstances that he or she will be exposed to serious body harm if the victim does not give in to the demands of the perpetrator. In false imprisonment, the victims are not transported to another location while in kidnapping the victim is transported. False arrest is a situation where a law enforcement officer without his or her legal consent detains a person. but in a case where a law enforcement officer makes an arrest to probable cause and shows that his or her action were supported by a probable cause then the law enforcement officer will bear no