When the Personal and the Professional Mix: Seeking Resources about Corporate Social Responsibility

For some time, colleagues at SMR International (where I'm employed) and others with whom I interact frequently have been discussing the whys and wherefores of the professional life vis-a-vis the personal. It's now becoming clear that in some cases (present company definitely included) there really isn't much point in trying to make the separation. When the story-telling takes place, it's common for as many of the stories to have to do with professional experiences as with personal experiences.

And the same is true in the quest for information.

Case in point: a study being undertaken by Mr. Guy and some of this friends/professional colleagues. This is an effort to identify and publish steps leading to the development and implementation of a corporate social responsibility strategy. Just as we identify and share the elements of organizational knowledge strategy (and indeed of strategies for many other functions within the company or organization), in order to move forward with a workable corporate social responsibility strategy that contributes to corporate effectiveness, we should identify and examine the steps that need to be taken to get to where we want to go.

In this case, the subject has been touched upon locally with respect to my volunteer work in Kenya, with the Information Africa Organization (IAO). In a paper published by SMR International last May, one of SMR's Special Reports, Closing the "Digital Divide," Dealing with Drucker's "Responsibility Gap" in Africa, I looked at Peter Drucker's call for eliminating what he called the "responsibility gap" and tried to connect Drucker's concept to work being done by IAO.

Now I'm ready to go further. I think there's a place for a paper - guidelines, if you will - for how companies and organizations incorporate corporate social responsibility into the company's overall management strategy. I'm particularly interested in examples and, as appropriate, quotations from organizational leaders, so this post is basically a request for information. Comment below if you have any thoughts to share, and if you want to contact me privately, that easy: guystclair@smr-knowledge.com. I look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks.

Excitement for KM/Knowledge Services in Eastern Africa

Kenya’s Young KM Enthusiasts Have Projects Ready to Go

The latest SMR International e-Profile takes a look at the Information Africa Organization (IAO), reflecting on the potential that this exciting new initiative has for KM/knowledge sharing in Eastern Africa, as well as for Kenya’s role in the global economy.

Among programs currently being given attention is a plan to capture agricultural information from village elders and others who have traditionally shared their skills and management expertise through oral tradition and apprenticeships. The current plan is the focus of a group of ambitious pioneering students who have come up with a vision for capturing indigenous agricultural knowledge for posterity.  Nerisa Kamar and Geoffrey Opile, pictured here, are part of a group studying agricultural information at Egerton University, located in Njoro, near Nakuru in the Rift Valley Province, and the driving force for their concept was the title of a recent course – Agricultural Knowledge Management – in which students were exposed to information gaps in agriculture that have led to a decline in agricultural productivity. Opile, a lecturer at the Rift Valley Technical Institute and Kamar, a consultant in The Sergio Vieira de Mello United Nations Library at Nairobi, are working with other students to bring the idea to the implementation stage, with the goal of capturing and disseminating agricultural information and knowledge for sustainability.

It is a perfect role for educated young Kenyans who are looking to not only build careers for themselves but to contribute to the national well being. As these young people learn about ICT and the principles of KM/knowledge services, and then use what they learn as they interact with local citizens who have knowledge to share, everyone stands to gain, at all levels of Kenya’s society.

 The January, 2010 SMR e-Profile can be accessed directly. It is also available at SMRShare, SMR International’s knowledge capture site. Readers can connect with Kamar and Opile through LinkedIn, and they actively seek information and advice from others interested in this work.