Another Election

So i didn't really learn my lesson about the frustrations with working for elections Canada. I was dragged back for yet another election next week, in a higher ranking position. Funny enough i'm actually the assistant to the main person in charge of the election room. So this time, i have the power to go around and explain things to those that don't understand. Thankfully i've been on the otherside of the table and know what it feels like to be lost and not know what to do, due to poor instruction and communication. Now that i have the ability to transfer what i've learned to others, i'll be sure to make their experiences much less stressful than my own. Hopefully December 8th will be a much smoother day than October 14, I plan on actually helping those who don't understand their jobs unlike my predecessors.

Follow up on Wiki

So the project is done, and i have to say communicating through and using a wiki was really an eye opening experience. The wiki saved us so much time and made life so much easier throughout the course of doing the project. Thanks to the wiki, we actually were able to complete the majority of the research and work online, rather than meeting up all the time. The ability to post your work and see others all online instead of a face to face meeting, really makes group work so much easier. I'd recommend anyone writing a long group paper to use a wiki, instead of having ten meetings when hardly anything gets accomplished. I had so many group projects this semester, with so many meetings and had i known using a wiki would have relieved so much stress on my part.
If anyone wants to see our wiki I'd be glad to share it with you.

Videoconferencing

I just wanted to follow up on my groups presentation on videoconferencing. Even while doing research into this topic and learning more about how useful these systems are, it still amazes me to see so many resistant parties. Many companies are hesitant to use this technology, in fear that it's essentially just a stop gap till another more advanced technology comes along. Right now no technology is better suited for transferring knowledge and information of the highest importance than videoconferencing. Granted the costs are high, with full implementation costing around $ 300, 000, however systems like these bring so many added benefits over email and using the phone. For one, it has a high level of collaborative capabilities and ability to transfer knowledge. Furthermore, it allows for real time communication and allows for the richest form of communication, thanks to the ability to display non-verbal communication like body language. Granted the system is pricey, and it may seem a bit complex to some, although i assure you it's not, I'm still puzzled as to why more people haven't implemented videoconferencing?

Barriers

I just wanted to try and get some feedback about the barriers to implementing a knowledge management system at the workplace. We've talked so much about how important trust is for the upkeep and integrity of a wiki system, we've also discussed how employees resistance to change may affect the implementation of such systems. I wanted to know aside from these two, what other barriers may exist?

Some videos

I found these videos on youtube. They talk about some new advancements in collaborative software's.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7uFs8SbJww
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssjvh6BhZL8

Using a Wiki

Before taking this class, i didn't know much about wiki's. Aside from Wikipedia, which i truly appreciated for it's easy access to any form of information being searched i never really gave any thought to the use of a wiki. However, after reading many articles and completing case write up's detailing the benefits of using a wiki at the workplace, i grew fond of them. It seemed as though whenever they were implemented they seemed to simplify and allow for easier communication among coworkers. In light of all this, my teammates in group 4 team4tech and i decided that we'd utilize a wiki to communicate and share information about our project. I'll follow up on this post at the end of the semester to let you all know how that worked out.

KM in the workplace

Hello,

Today had to be one of the longest days I've ever endured. I worked for elections Canada at a polling station in my area of the city as i collected voters ballots and tallied the votes. I arrived at 8:30 am to set up, and finished working at around 11:00 pm, it was a very long day for me. Throughout the day i noticed that their was a complete lack of structure internally when communicating among peers. I found that the poll station organizers never properly explained procedures and guidelines for the day, and the volunteers and workers were left with a lot of on the job training. Only problem is, that this job only lasts one day and it's to determine the leadership of our country; an issue many people consider of the utmost importance. Transferring knowledge and information from polling supervisor to poll clerk and dro never really occurred. Although i was well prepared for my job, i found my co-worker to be extremely lost and unaware of the procedures she needed to take, to successfully complete her job. The most knowledgeable people on the job couldn't really help my colleague. I really believe the voting tallying process needs to become more digitalized, as i find the whole process puzzled many of the employees at the polling stations. The effective sharing and transfer of knowledge is vital for effective business procedures and i just really felt that the election process really suffered from a lack of effective knowledge transfer. I really think the organizers should really focus on better educating employees in the future and making sure they fully understand their tasks for future elections.