Ni-95-073. Cross Cultural Knowledge Management for Major Project Integration

Lorin Loverde

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SYSTEM ITESM


 

Ni-95-073. Cross Cultural Knowledge Management for Major Project Integration

Lorin Loverde


 

General Objectives of the Theme of the Material

Corporate alliances are now one of the fastest growing business phenomena.  Because of globalization, it is becoming important for major companies to seek alliances with other companies around the world for global coverage.  Thus, it becomes necessary to explore methods by which corporate leaders can foster cooperation across different departments, different functions and different cultures when managing major projects. 

 

General Objectives of the Course

 

We will identify cultural barriers to cooperation that arise on four levels: civilizational, national, corporate, and individual.  We will develop ways to link alliance partners and various functional specializations in all the phases of the project management cycle: (1) establishment of new corporate capacities through alliances and networks, (2) pre-contracting work involving marketing, (3) contracting work involving the legal department, (4) project management involving supply chain management, in-bound logistics, production, quality assurance, out-bound logistics.  The emphasis of the course will be on a new method in knowledge management that will allow us to do cultural mapping to link individual perceptions, functional specializations, and corporate cultures.  This Cross Cultural Knowledge Management (CCKM) method is called Structural Interpretation (SI). 

 

Themes and Sub-themes of the Course

Introduction

What are the forces and implications of globalization?

What are strategic alliances and networks?

What is knowledge management?

Levels of cultural barriers to cooperation

Individual

Corporate

National

Civilizational

Overcoming Barriers

The concept of tacit knowledge

The concept of the horizon of possibilities

The concept of Interpretation

Structural Interpretation

Full Cycle Project and Product

From Marketing To Disposal

Specializations and functional departments within a company

Alliance partners

Knowledge Management and Alliance Management

Knowledge Categories

Value Dimensions

Belief Systems

Ontological Grounds

 

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES FOR LEARNING PER THEME

Introduction: Description of background necessary

Globalization

World-class Competition

Borderless markets

Elevated consumer demand

Strategic alliances

Equity and non-equity alliances

Formal and informal networks, associations, and contacts

Knowledge Management

Definitions of KM

Knowledge Creation

Levels of cultural barriers to cooperation: Analysis of levels

Individual

Prejudice

Socialization

Corporate

Departmental and functional specialization

Corporate Culture

The influence of the culture of corporate headquarters in multinational companies

National

Nationalism as a historical force

Exclusiveness

Civilizational

Western civilization

Eastern civilization

Tribal cultures prior to civilization

Overcoming Barriers: Investigation of barriers and methods for dealing with them

The concept of tacit knowledge

Polanyi’s concept of knowing how

Polanyi’s concept of an infinite range of possibilities

The concept of the horizon of possibilities

Husserl’s concept

Sociology of Knowledge for higher-order knowledge management

Heidegger’s concept of the horizon, the object of knowledge, the abyss beyond the horizon

Chaos as a transition to creative possibilities

The concept of Interpretation

Interpretation in Law

Interpretation in Religion

Interpretation in Literature

Interpretation in Culture and History

Structural Interpretation

Seven Levels in the A-Cycle

Seven Levels of creative options in the B-Cycle

Full Cycle Project and Product: Analysis of different phases and synthesis through common interests

From Marketing To Disposal

Seeking new corporate capacities through alliances

Structural Interpretation of Marketing responsibilities

Customer identification

Relationship marketing

Project definition

Structural Interpretation of Contracting

Contract specifications

Fair and equitable treatment

A contract we can all live with

 

Structural Interpretation of Specializations and functional departments within a company for Project Management

Supply Chain Management

In-bound Logistics

Production, Quality Circles, In-process Monitoring

Out-bound Logistics

Alliance partners

Mirroring: what do that have that we have?

Complementing: what do we each have that the other doesn’t have?

What is their horizon of civilization?

What is their national horizon?

What is their corporate cultural horizon?

Knowledge Management and Alliance Management: Analysis of categories, dimensions, beliefs, and synthesis of them in their underlying ontological ground

Knowledge Categories

Our Categories

Their Categories

Value Dimensions

Structural Interpretation and cultural mapping of our values

Structural Interpretation and cultural mapping of their values

Points of Impact on the Project Cycle

Overlaps and creating linkages

Knowledge creation through new presuppositions

Knowledge enhancement thorough learning and transformational leadership

Belief Systems

Structural Interpretation and cultural mapping of our belief systems

Structural Interpretation and cultural mapping of their belief systems

Points of Impact on the Project Cycle

Overlaps and creating linkages

Knowledge creation through new presuppositions

Knowledge enhancement thorough learning and transformational leadership

Ontological Grounds

Common grounds beyond Interpretation

Points of Impact on the Project Cycle

Knowledge creation through new presuppositions

Knowledge enhancement thorough learning and transformational leadership

The common good and corporate integrity

Community issues

Environmental issues

Multiple Stakeholders

 

Techniques for Learning

Lectures by the Instructor

Cases Presented by the Students

Class Discussions

Group Projects with three partial advances during the term

 

TIME FOR EACH THEME

Three Hours

Six Hours

Eighteen Hours

Nine Hours

Nine Hours

 

EVALUATIONS FOR THE COURSE

First Partial   10%

Second Partial  10%

Third Partial  10%

Final   30%

Group Project Presentation 30%

Case Presentation  10%

 

LECTURES AND TEXTS USED

Introduction

Ohmae

Nonaka

Berger

Polanyi, one Chapter; Loverde Vol. II

Selections from current journals

Carrillo, two articles;  Loverde, Vol. III

 

TEXTS

Berger, Peter, Sociology of Knowledge,Anchor Books, 1985

Carrillo, Javier, “Managing Knowledge-based Value Systems,” Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 1, No. 4, June 1998

Carrillo, Javier, “The Knowledge Management Movement: Current Drives and Future Scenarios,” in process.

Deal, Terrence, Corporate Cultures, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1982

Loverde, Lorin, New Planetary Culture, Volume II (in process)

Loverde, Lorin, New Planetary Culture, Volume III (in process)

Nonaka, Ikujiro, “The Knowledge-Creating Company,” Harvard Business Review

Ohmae, Kenichi, “The Global Logic of Strategic Alliances,” Harvard Business Review

Polanyi, Michael, The Tacit Dimension, Doubleday Anchor, 1967