Globalization and the opening of markets seems to have opened a much broader range of what the word market means, by this I mean that the word market originally referred to a physical space where transactions were carried out seeking to satisfy needs. Today, there are still markets and the concept of the word has not mutated, what has expanded is the content of the word.
CNN, the news network, is entering a period of localization in which the needs of the world regions are more easily recognized. For CNN-News, the world has been divided into a series of regions, each with its own editorial and presentation staff. This enables you to not only present global news from a local perspective, but you can present locally locally targeted news.
When we speak of a market where tangible products are commercialized, we see through the labels "Made in….." that obviously the market for an American is not only the United States, but Europe, Asia, Ecuador, Argentina and Mexico, among others. For an Asian, the market is South American, for a Swiss company, the market is not only Swiss, but there is a market beyond the borders of origin, and so we could continue with a number of other countries.
When talking about the knowledge market, the matter becomes more complex. We are no longer talking about tangibles but we are talking about intangibles, we are no longer talking about walking two blocks but we can talk about double-clicking, we are no longer talking about physical spaces but virtual spaces, we no longer think locally but we think globally.
Technology and globalization have opened a market that even the Phoenicians could not have imagined, this market is outside the doors of the company and is so huge and comprehensive that it is called Macro-Market.
The other market that exists is the internal market, that which is from the door of the organization inwards, this market is limited and generally there is a common link between the provider and the applicant. This market is called Micro-Market.
The external market as well as the internal one of knowledge, they are, what happens is that in order to be figures and not a fund, you have to apply some concepts to achieve a high market capital value. This process is basic and necessary for any knowledge market.
Trust
It is the base where any knowledge exchange is built. Our value in the market comes from our human capital, that is, from our knowledge in action. So we are not going to give them to anyone. On the other hand, it may happen that we all want to obtain new knowledge, but no one agrees to give it.
Lack of trust hinders the transaction of knowledge, as it happens with any other link that we establish. If I know that the colleague in the next office takes knowledge from me to take it as my own and "score points" with the boss, I will probably make my knowledge available to him once and never again. Just as if I offer my knowledge to an organization and do not pay me for the consulting work, not only would it break the bond of trust, but it would prevent other colleagues from going through the same situation.
The trust factor in knowledge transactions plays an important role, since many times, papers are not signed, or anything legally established, what is done (at least in the first contact with an unknown person) is like a small jump into the void, where the other person's attitude will determine whether or not it is a void.
In the formal knowledge market, trust is about diminishing through legal agreements, patents, copyright and economic remuneration agreements by making the requested knowledge available to the applicant. Trust is a little more structured, but just as having a signed paper does not guarantee trust, sometimes the strongest emotion outweighs the weakest ink.
On other occasions the remuneration does not go through the economic plane, but rather by reciprocity, that is, that to receive you have to give, and if today I share my knowledge with the colleague in the next office without requesting anything in return, I will hope that when I need some knowledge from him and he offers it to me, in case it happens, that creates an atmosphere of positive trust where knowledge can be exchanged.
Trust is more easily gained when most of the senses are involved, that is, it is convenient for people to see each other. Requesting information from a specific colleague by email is more frivolous than asking them personally. The personal encounter increases the bond of trust, although technology can also be used as a builder of it.
The British Petroleum project began to be more successful when the members, who were distributed in several countries, built trust through videoconferences where they exchanged knowledge and experiences, this allowed them to meet and interact more effectively, achieving the deadlines and objectives set.
When I visited Microsoft headquarters, I understood why the market assigns such exorbitant economic value. After the meeting we had, I was invited to something like a "company tour"; For each space we traveled, they explained the meaning of each one. It is like the entire architecture of the company is aimed at generating the bond of trust between employees. What caught my attention the most was a room with armchairs and mouse tables, when I asked they told me that: this is a place where we get together to chat in a different and informal way about the projects we are dealing with, coincidentally this morning we got together to rave with three colleagues about the presentation of a project.
Increase the number of face-to-face employee meetings, Japanese companies seem to be very clear about this, as they allocate exclusive places for people to meet and share experiences without moderators or anyone raising their hands to ask the word.
Need
For there to be a transaction in the knowledge market there must be a need. If there is no need there will be no transaction. Fortunately, humans move through life seeking to cover our needs and deficiencies. If you don't believe what I just told you, ask Maslow, who "hierarchically" ordered human needs.
Although the needs are natural, when talking about the knowledge market, it must be ensured that the knowledge that we exchange satisfies a need on the part of the applicant, otherwise there will be resistance, rejection or valuation.
Earlier I commented on my denial when my parents sent me to learn English, since I didn't have the need, there was no interest. With the passage of time I had the need to speak English and I only went to learn it.
In the knowledge market something similar happens, there is no point in seeking a knowledge transaction between marketing employees and tailoring employees if there are no mutual needs. In case the marketing department needs the knowledge of the garment and garment employees to improve the garments that come onto the market or the garment and clothing employees need the knowledge of the marketing people to better understand consumer preferences As for colors, cut, fashion, trend, just there you can talk about a need.
Merrill Lynch has introduced an evaluation system, in the words of the vice president, “in addition to the benefits generated, people are evaluated in terms of the extent to which they engage in various projects, work with different groups to meet priorities, and meet the customer needs. Culture penalizes those who do not become members of the team or do not meet the needs of the client.
Like the previous case, the need does not have to be mutual, when the need is on one side only a transaction also occurs, in fact when we need specific knowledge on a subject in question, what we do is buy a book, attend a seminar, download information from the web, buy specialized magazines, etc. In this case it is not a knowledge-knowledge transaction, but it is knowledge-money, we pay for knowledge with money and not with knowledge since for the person or institution that satisfies our need, our knowledge is of no value to them.
It is necessary that there is a need to exchange knowledge in the market, otherwise our efforts will be in vain, as much as we organize the best convention, the best Intranet, the best community of practice, the best informal meeting room, you're welcome They will serve because you cannot satisfy what is not needed.
Benefits
The benefits obtained by the plaintiff as a consequence of having taken and applied our knowledge are more linked to integrity and efficiency than to market rules, although in the final objective they intersect. Let's take a closer look.
When selling my knowledge, (it does not matter if the other person pays me with money or knowledge), I have to constantly seek that what is sold is useful and beneficial for the plaintiff. Emotionally, this is closely linked to our degree of professionalism and dedication to service.
It is convenient to follow up to measure the degree to which it was beneficial, it can be by formal and quantifiable methods, such as increased sales, decreased process time, decreased costs, market share, etc. Or it may be through more informal, simple and practical systems, such as:
1- «Hello, so-and-so? Mengano speaking, I wanted to know how it went with what we were talking about the other time? »
2- «AHHHH !!!, how are you doing, so-and-so ?. How lucky that I find you, because I wanted to ask you ……
3- «Dear so-and-so: I am interested in knowing how things went with you ……
By phone (1), personally (2) or via email (3), between forms, we can also follow up to find out how useful our knowledge was to the plaintiff. Follow-up is something very personal, since it can be done or not done, and to do it, it requires a commitment to ourselves. This is linked with internal aspects of each individual person.
In the beginning it was mentioned that in the end they intersected, the emotional with the market rules, and it is so. If the knowledge we offer is not beneficial for the person who takes it, it is likely that they will not ask us for more or that they will look for someone else, so when talking about the knowledge market, what we have to constantly seek is for the client to return.
Monitoring is important because it allows us to modify the quality of the knowledge we offer, as well as aspects related to the transmission of such knowledge. The better our self-criticism, the better the benefits obtained by the plaintiff and the greater our value in market capital.
Transaction
The transaction is the end result of this process, and perhaps the highlight, since the quality and quantity of transactions that we carry out in the knowledge market, will manifest our value in it.
The consummate act of the exchange of knowledge is materialized by the payment of said transaction, the payment can be in money or knowledge. In other words, the remuneration can be materialized by tangible or intangible assets.
In the knowledge market we can sell knowledge and collect with knowledge, or we can sell knowledge and collect with money. Both rewards have economic value, what happens is that money is a direct and short-term form of payment, payment through knowledge is a promise of deferred payment, that is, we capitalize knowledge to make it profitable in another circumstance (another person or organization will pay us for that knowledge that we acquire).
The transactions that take place in the knowledge market are the most important aspect to increase the value of intellectual capital, when speaking of organizations and human capital when speaking of people.
© Pablo L. Belly All rights reserved. This article may be redistributed, forwarded, copied, printed, or quoted as long as it does not modify its content and does not use it for commercial purposes. You must include this note, as well as the name of the company Belly Knowledge Management International and its author: Pablo L. Belly, the email [email protected] and the address www.bellykm.com
