Question: How Do Knowledge Workers Help with Information Overload?

The Information Africa Organization (IAO) is a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) registered in Kenya. Its main objective is to build capacity among youth in Information Communication Technology/Information Technology (ICT/IT) to enhance use of information available in cyberspace for development. The full description of IAO's objective is found here.

At the site, the current question under discussion has to do with information overload, a subject often given attention in the KM/knowledge services discipline. The discussion forum raises the issue by noting that information overload and professional/scientific language are barriers to information flow, and goes on to state that "implementable decisions are based on clear information (where clarity includes language used)."

The question for discussion is: How best can professionals in information and related fields (which, in my opinion, includes strategic knowledge specialists, knowledge managers, and knowledge strategists) aid in simplifying information to support formulation of time and relevant policies?

Reply to this post with your response (comments will be posted here and at the SMR corporate blog, and passed on to IAO). If you wish to respond directly, link to the IAO Discussion Forum.

Looking forward to learning what colleagues thinking about knowledge development and knowledge sharing (KD/KS) have to say.

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.