Knowledge and Learning In The News

Delving into the Mystery of Customer Satisfaction: A Toyota for the Retail Market? It started out as an academic puzzle of sorts. The researchers already knew that in the airline industry, customers and employees revere Southwest Airlines. With computers, Dell stands out as superior in customer satisfaction. And Toyota remains the company to emulate in the automobile industry. But when it comes to the retail industry, what company sets the standards for customer and employee satisfaction? How One Airline Flew Back to the Black While Industry Rivals Struggle Two American Airlines mechanics didn't like having to toss out $200 drill bits once they got dull. So they rigged up some old machine parts - a vacuum-cleaner belt and a motor from a science project - and built "Thumping Ralph." It's essentially a drill-bit sharpener that allows them to get more use out of each bit. The savings, according to the company: as much as $300,000 a year. From the maintenance floor to the cockpit, American Airlines is daily scouring operations to increase efficiency and find even the smallest cost savings. It's paid off: Last month, the company announced its first profit in almost five years. There's No Content In Content Is it just me, or does anyone else have a problem with content? By that I mean the use of the word "content" to describe anything that gets created and/or recorded somewhere in an organization. The problem with content is that there is no content to it. Managing content is like managing. . your metaphor goes here. Death by Powerpoint Try asking someone not to use PowerPoint for their presentation. Watch them squirm. The rise in blood pressure is palpable. Beads of perspiration form. You become a threat to all civilization. Preferred Coworkers Fancy this: "An overwhelming majority of people would rather work with a less-skilled but likeable person than a more-competent jerk." What Is Knowledge Management - Knowing What We Know? Research literature shows a strong link between knowledge management and the creation of a sustainable competitive advantage, because of the tacit nature of an organisation's knowledge Why We Hate HR In a knowledge economy, companies with the best talent win. And finding, nurturing, and developing that talent should be one of the most important tasks in a corporation. So why does human resources do such a bad job -- and how can we fix it?