Organizational Development for Knowledge Management at Water ...

Shared Space 1
A concept that promotes environments for nurturing knowledge sharing.
Supports: knowledge sharing, creativity, problem solving
LEVEL OF EFFORT
SIZE OF UTILITY
SCOPE OF WORK
MED
MED-LARGE
WIDE
One of the impacts of our post-industrial society is the exponential rise of the need for
collaborative environments, and new ways of behaving to effectively engage those
environments. For example, as more and more meetings take place with larger and sometimes
geographically dispersed groups, the role of facilitators (see Facilitation) and the value of
agendas with good process design were recognized. Highly specialized process design along
with unique environments has been found to vastly increase creativity and significantly reduce
time required for interacting.
The idea of shared space moves far beyond the room in which those meetings are held or
even a virtual meeting platform. In the paragraphs below shared space will be discussed in
terms of both the physical and virtual workspace.
Schrage uses a story to build an understanding of the importance of shared space, and how
it expands the space between the sender and receiver in a conversation. You are at lunch with
a colleague when an idea emerges from the conversation. Pulling out a pen you quickly jot
down a diagram of the idea on a napkin. Watching you closely, your colleague says ―No, no
that’s not what I meant‖, takes the pen, and adds a few lines and additional context to the
diagram. Now the conversation turns to exploring the meaning of the images on the napkin. If
a waiter came and took the napkin away, the conversation might go away. You were talking to
each other through a medium, a shared reference point (or shared space) that changed the
dynamics of the conversation and served as a mutual communication and learning tool.
In terms of workspace, a lot has been learned about the importance of shared space. A
common example is the value of conversations that occur around the water fountain or during
the coffee break. Many organizations now take this into account when designing office space.
For example, centrally locating a wide staircase with highly visible seating spaces when spaces
reside on two levels to facilitate interactions or Knowledge Moments. Nonaka and Takeuchi
introduced the idea of ―Ba spaces‖, common seating areas or small conference areas centrally
located with a pleasant and stimulating environment. The intent is to encourage people to
engage in conversations in their day-to-day work environment.
As virtual systems have become part of daily work life, a great deal of research has gone into
designing stimulating and user-friendly systems. As shared space becomes available over time
and distance, the boundaries and reach of organizations widens. This reaching out offers the
opportunity for an expansion of thought built on an ecology of shared space. Some descriptive
terms for this ecology include: cool, fast, free, open, global, relevant, compelling and rich.
Cool is both tangible and intangible. In the tangible sense, how does this shared space
impact your senses? Is it attractive? Can you be in it with a clear sense of presence? In the
intangible sense, how does it make you feel? Does it meet your needs?
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©2011 Water Research Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.