When does knowledge transfer benefit performance? Combining field data from a global consulting firm with an agent-based model, we examine how efforts to supplement one’s knowledge from coworkers interact with individual, organizational, and environmental characteristics to impact organizational performance. We find that once cost and interpersonal exchange are included in the analysis, the impact of knowledge transfer is highly contingent. Depending on specific characteristics and circumstances, knowledge transfer can better, matter little to, or even harm performance. Three illustrative studies clarify puzzling past results and offer specific boundary conditions: (1) At the individual level, better organizational support for employee learning diminishes the benefit of knowledge transfer for organizational performance. (2) At the organization level, broader access to organizational memory makes global knowledge transfer less beneficial to performance. (3) When the organizational environment becomes more turbulent, the organizational performance benefits of knowledge transfer decrease. The findings imply that organizations may forgo investments in both organizational memory and knowledge exchange, that wide-ranging knowledge exchange may be unimportant or even harmful for performance, and that organizations operating in turbulent environments may find that investment in knowledge exchange undermines performance rather than enhances it. At a time when practitioners are urged to make investments in facilitating knowledge transfer and collaboration, appreciation of the complex relationship between knowledge transfer and performance will help in reaping benefits while avoiding liabilities.

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#policy #PnP The number and type of policies and procedures (and their contents) will differ from organisation to organisation, but some of the more common ones include:

#how2do #policy #procedure Who uses Polices and Procedures? Employees, Managers, Owners/Shareholders, Directors, Customers, Members are all your audience. Write your policies and procedures for a wide audience. Time Commitment Many people want to know how long it takes to document their policies and procedures. That of course depends on their knowledge level, writing skills, and the amount of material they plan to cover. Generally, you may want to plan on 1 to 4 hours per page – start to final edit. How to write Policies and Procedures If you are not familiar with what you plan to write about, then you need to begin by learning more about the subject matter of your document. If you are developing a manual, you should begin with a flexible table of contents. Individual policies and procedures are like short articles on a specific topic. This document provides the correct form, content, and format for your policies and procedures. Your policies and procedures must exactly maintain a consistent format and layout. You can personalize your documents, but each policy and procedure document should: State its purpose or intent Explain how it is related to the overall management system Clarify its scope Provide any definitions that will help clarify the document Detail any controls that must be applied Explain how authority has been divided and distributed List the responsibilities and tasks that should be performed Identify who is responsible for performing the tasks Describe the tasks Specify how and when the tasks should be performed List any materials and supplies that must be used List any tools and equipment that must be used Review the document properties and control Separate Policy from Procedure First, write the Policy Second, write the Procedures. For example, assume you are writing "policies and procedures" for oil changes. Begin with the policies or rules: The business will properly maintain its vehicles This policy applies to passenger vehicles and primary drivers Only qualified and approved vendors will be used for maintenance Oil will be changed every 3 to 4 thousand miles Tires will be rotated every other oil change A vehicle maintenance log will be kept in the vehicle glove box Next, write the procedures: Accounts payable publishes an approved vendor list Vehicle maintenance will be scheduled by the primary driver The primary driver completes the maintenance log The maintenance log is turned in to the fleet manager annually Keep it simple Simple means short and not complicated. Style Style is personal. Ours is quick and to the point with a minimal amount of on page formatting. Format Title Header Each document needs a name. Use 2 to 4 word titles. Purpose Give a short description and reason for the document. Details You may have multiple sub headings within the document. Try building your documents from the inside out. We generally begin our documents in the details section by listing the sub headings. We then build the text around the sub headings. Format and Fonts are usually done last. Length The shorter the better, we can’t emphasize that enough. Fonts and Sizes Title - Right justified, Tahoma 16pt font, color coded. Headings - 14pt Tahoma Bold, Black Sub headings – 12pt Arial Bold, Black Body – Arial, 12pt –Black Footer – Document Name and page number, right justified, 8 pt Tahoma, color coded Document Properties and Control Policy and procedure documents must be controlled. We use the custom document properties feature in MS Word as much as possible. The following properties can be included directly in the document text. Interpretation: Title Identify the position responsible for interpreting and clarifying this document should any questions arise. Authorization: Title The position authorized to make changes to this procedure. Date Accepted: Date The date the document was accepted and put in effect. Revision Information: The date this document was revised and by whom. Describe any changes made and reasons for the revision. Related Documents: List and hyperlink any other documents that may be affected by changes or that are related to this document. Records Management Use this section to site your records retention policy for any procedures or forms referenced in this procedure. Detailed Steps Use this section to list and describe any detailed steps for tasks referenced in this procedure. Use Book Marks for quick links in the document. Customize the Task Names. Task Name 1. Step 1 Type a description for this step here. 2. Step 2 Managing Page Numbers and the Table of Contents Policy and procedure documents are normally part of a manual or handbook. Your manual will likely be continually enhanced and modified. Therefore, simple page numbering and document labeling is important. The method we use is to build the Table of Contents in an Excel Spreadsheet. This enables users to sort the Titles on various criteria and easily build custom manuals with minimal effort. Try using the document name with the page number of the document in the footer as specified above. This technique will provide for maximum flexibility.