A
New Cultural Phenomenon
As
the information age matures, a new cultural phenomenon
has begun to emerge. We
have termed this new trend "the narrative age".
The implication of this change is huge and transformational in
terms of how it will impact individuals, organizations, and eventually
societies and global communities, and even markets in the future.
What
is the "new narrative age"?
The
emerging narrative age is not a mere extension of the information age,
but rather a distinct apparition driven by the need to move from data
as information to knowledge as business intelligence.
The
Present Information Age Scenario
Our
research and work in organizational behaviors identified the signals
of this change evolving over the past several years.
We have seen organizations struggling to find new ways to create
knowledge, transfer knowledge, and leverage knowledge and, more often
than not, falling short of their expectations. More courses, different
courses, creative learning platforms – few have delivered.
The
move from "information" to "knowledge" is driven
partly by the excesses of irrelevant and impertinent knowledge
delivery mechanisms. The
excess is all around us; in our work and in our lives. For example,
how relevant or pertinent is having 500 TV channels, 1,000 iPod tunes,
of 50,000 Google search results? Conversely,
organizations tell us their learning management systems contain
hundreds and in some cases even thousands of courses.
And, disappointingly, large numbers have never been accessed,
and even larger numbers have been registered but never completed.
The
Future Narrative Age Scenario
The
future will draw more heavily upon the wealth of knowledge within ones
own organization. The rich and robust reservoir of both explicit
and tacit knowledge will be an invaluable resource. The ability
to draw out and access this embedded knowledge will provide
significant competitive leveragability. This knowledge will be a
critical resource central in the development of a sustainable business
advantage. And particularly beneficial for portraying the reality of
managerial situations to managers engaged in development and
leadership programs.
Narratives
can be used to record different viewpoints and interpret collected
data to identify similarities and differences in experiences and
actions. Narrative stories are presumed to provide a holistic
context that allows individuals to reflect and reconstruct their
personal, historical, and cultural experiences (Gill, 2001).
The
process of using narrative theory in the development of organizational
learning is discussed more fully within this web publication.
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