^The APQC Blog

Hey folks, Tesmer here. We’ve been super busy this year working on great things for you in the Process Classification Framework^®(PCF) world, including updates to all of the industry specific frameworks, a brand new cross-industry framework, and MosaiQ^TM

At APQC we often discuss the benefits of process management (PM) and knowledge management (KM). From our perspective, the two disciplines are intricately intertwined. After all, processes require the knowledge and experience of an organization’s employees to be successful and knowledge management is most successful when it aligns with and supports the business of the organization, which often is represented in its core business processes.

Not long ago, I launched an APQC research study to examine how organizations were using big data in human capital management. I had read many articles on the topic. In the Workforce Management article “Big Data, Bigger Deal,” Michelle Rafter defines HR big data writing: “The term ‘HR big data’ gets tossed around to mean any number of things.

Some of America’s largest companies have been releasing worrisome earnings reports to Wall Street lately. The phrase being bandied about by equity analysts is “revenue light,” meaning such and such a company failed to deliver expected levels of revenue growth.  Corporate profits, meanwhile, have been sporting steady and plump gains for several years.  Shareholders expect CFOs to protect the profit picture no matter what.

Much has been written about the need to get younger generations interested in STEM fields.

Here at APQC, we find that a lot of organizations aren’t sure where to start when it comes to knowledge management. They want to develop a strategy to improve the flow of knowledge through their business processes, but as newcomers, it’s easy for them to get lost in all the specialized terminology and technology fads that pervade the knowledge management field.

Why sell a light bulb when you can sell a lighting system? The design, installation, operation and maintenance of more capable lighting systems that leverage advanced automation and control provides a service to customers beyond just the purpose of a bulb itself. When we look at traditionally product-based organizations there is often an evident shift to add services to their offering.  Rather than just manufacture and sell a product, organizations chose to also sell and deliver a service that uses or supports their product.

At one point, you probably read Robert Fulghum’s credo All I Ever Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. It illustrates rules and expected behaviors for new kindergarteners. Some say it’s relevant at any age, and given the office environment at many organizations, now might be the time to revisit its advice.

Let me alert you to a fascinating interview I did with Elizabeth Swan on how people learn and the implications for knowledge management, innovation, and accelerating the rate of organizational learning. The conversation started because we discovered that we both enjoyed the same book, How We Learn by Benedict Carey of the New York Times. 

Tamara Viles and Kim Glover of FMC Technologies Inc. give a preview of their 2015 APQC Process Conference break out session on supporting innovation and collaboration for process improvement.