"We live in the world when we love. Only a life lived for others is worth living. " Albert Einstein.
«The way of giving is worth more than what is given» Pierre Corneille.
"Life is a mystery to live, not a problem to solve" Unknown author.
The invisibility of the human being has been the keynote of our civilization It is a constant that occurs in almost all areas where the human being lives. Being a number, a statistic without a face, without feelings or individuality, is the norm. Generally we are part of a "human flock" that needs a leader, on whom to depend to lead it, thus demonstrating its inability to take his life in his hands to write the path of his destiny, from which he can, in the future, feel proud.
Business life does not escape this reality, it continuously and consistently faithfully reproduces these social behaviors, making employees feel as if they are chips on a checkerboard or chess board.
In the games mentioned above, every tile changes position when it is moved by the player (manager, boss) at his convenience in pursuit of his interests, regardless of the tile's interests at all, because being an inert thing, lacks them. This is true in those games, but what happens in organizations ?, unfortunately the same thing, because the different headquarters consider people as also inert resources.
Considering people who work in an organization, public or private, as a resource is the norm, then, we should not be surprised by the name of the departments in charge of managing collaborators in a large majority of organizations: Department of Human resources Euphemistically some companies have changed that name and call it different names, but they still do the same.
Considering and treating employees as resources is a consequence and cause of corporate dehumanization, a binomial that produces discouragement, disinterest, demotivation, disconnection of people with the company, with their coworkers and with their headquarters.
An environment not conducive to achieving excellence and business leadership.
Today's societies characterized by knowledge as a vector of development, demand from companies proposals for services and goods that benefit and serve society in their journey towards development.
It is here where the importance of the human being in all its dimensions becomes relevant and essential; importance that cannot be addressed by the old and outdated ways of treating people in organizations.
If technological advances in information and communication systems are added to these realities, the need to manage companies for knowledge is an obligation and not an option.
Knowledge Management For Knowledge refuses to be administered under the old techniques of scientific administration, whose theoretical bases are the same as those of closed or mechanical systems, and demands to be addressed by the paradigms of open or organic systems, whose Scientific basis is induction, holism, probability, unpredictable change and evolution.
Now, as I stated previously, it is not a matter of changing the name of the human resources department for one that accommodates this new reality, but rather doing it in such a way that all the collaborators of the company feel appreciated by their abilities to mutate, learn, change, and to anticipate change, constantly proposing new ways to obtain advantages in a market also characterized by uncertainty, volatility, instability and probability.
Of course, this proposition implies a radical change in the way of running companies, a change that makes the orthodox way of approaching human management obsolete.
Let's contrast the two realities a little in order to clarify our point of view. When the human being is considered as a resource, it is natural to view companies under the following parameters:
- Standardization, in job descriptions, which objectifies people. Fragmentation of the human being that allows special emphasis to be placed on a single fragment, the "labor force", discarding its creative and ingenuity characteristics, which are derived from knowledge and understanding as energy in permanent evolution. Administration based on draconian control systems whose dominant objective is to subdue workers. Disproportionate emphasis on measuring everything people do, to comply with control models. In this way, an exaggerated similarity is made when understanding that managing is synonymous with controlling, Little or rickety recognition that the managers make to their employees when they perform jobs with excellence. Sustained trend in the disproportionate emphasis on errors,in what does not agree with the goals and which are euphemistically called “learning opportunities”. Total commitment of the staff to the standard processes of the company, making change almost impossible, whose motto is “it has always been done this way here”, and will continue to do so. Little or no importance of the heads to the proposals for change and improvement that the employees propose. Excess hierarchy and preponderance of managing based on orders and mandates, as Peter F. Drucker stated: "excess of administration and lack of direction, are the problems suffered by companies today ”No importance due to the uniqueness of the collaborators, they are all the same, none is necessary when you leave, there is always another who will come and will adapt to the rules and procedures of the company,as if it were a spare part in a machine, Human being seen as a necessary evil, because its presence introduces variability to the processes making them unstable and little controllable, thus undermining the submission of control and orthodox administration. as "paid and ungrateful enemies". False speeches from the managers who on the one hand say "how important people are to the company", but when it comes to acting they do so under the shadow of regulations that do not discriminate but rather they standardize and desensitize, thus hiding and protecting the people who make the decisions, thus avoiding the responsibility of the decisions and delegating them to the system, a lifeless entity, without feelings and without the capacity to discriminate,that considers people as standard beings.Invisibility of the person, only their workforce is visible as an input to the production lines.Enterprise rigidity that prevents taking advantage of the fleeting, unstable and unique opportunities presented by the also changing and unpredictable environment. Budgets and planning are conceived as immutable and true realities that must be obeyed as if they were divine designs that must be fulfilled. According to these paradigms, planning is the science of guessing the future, what is planned and budgeted for must be seen as "holy word."unstable and unique that the environment also changes and unpredictable. Budgets and planning are conceived as immutable and true realities that must be obeyed as if they were divine designs that must be fulfilled. According to these paradigms, planning is the science of guessing the future, what is planned and budgeted for must be seen as "holy word."unstable and unique that the environment also changes and unpredictable. Budgets and planning are conceived as immutable and true realities that must be obeyed as if they were divine designs that must be fulfilled. According to these paradigms, planning is the science of guessing the future, what is planned and budgeted for must be seen as "holy word."
In short, and without being exhaustive, this type of administration is incapable of successfully addressing the demands of a world in continuous boiling, where the past does not explain anything about what the future will be, where our inferences about the future will always be imprecise and dangerous, where the construction of the future is always the product of an undetermined large number of unknown variables and beyond the control of companies, whose behavior is probabilistic. To act successfully in this fleeting world, Louis Pasteur proposed the following phrase: "Chance favors minds that are prepared." We believe that to be prepared, companies must be managed by and for knowledge and understanding, otherwise, the opportunities presented to companies may go unnoticed, like a shooting star.
On the other hand, the companies in which there is coherence between the discourse and their actions on the importance that people have in the business, considering them unique and integral human beings, creative, ingenious and innovative, are characterized by:
- Have a business management distinguished by cultural environments based on trust, mutual aid and cooperation. Your business management is carried out in balanced and synergized work environments between intelligently structured work processes and the "soft" capabilities of your collaborators. The importance of make each and every collaborator feel important when they carry out their daily tasks. The importance of using recognition as an instrument to push all collaborators to higher achievements. The importance of rewarding and recognizing small achievements. Working continuously in a leadership based on the continuous process of improvement, where the leader works shoulder to shoulder with each of his collaborators in search of better ways to do the job and achieve its results.The culture of feeling important and appreciated, making collaborators engage both emotionally and effectively with the company and get involved with the team in the search for better ways to do the job. The permanent creation of "new knowledge" that feeds the development and re-creation of smart and learning companies. The creation of business environments that produce innovative and industry leading organizations, with unique goods and services. The ability to develop blue ocean business strategies. In short, organizations where collaborators " wish Monday would come ”because they consider work as a means for personal and professional fulfillment.
The contrasts are eloquent and the differences are abysmal, the decision is ours, or we continue to embrace administrative orthodoxy and immerse ourselves in more of the same, showing off the thought of Albert Einstein that reads as follows: «There is no greater sign of insanity to do the same thing over and over and expect the results to be different. "
If we want different results, let's not do the same. That is what it is about when we propose to change paradigms so that business management is a science that enhances the knowledge-based capabilities of all employees, in order to create intelligent and learning companies.
