During the last century we have moved from the Industrial Age through the Information
Age to the Knowledge Age. The ability to obtain, assimilate and apply the right knowledge
effectively will become a key skill in the next century. Our ability will no longer be judged
solely by qualifications gained in the past, but will also be assessed by our capacity to
learn and adapt in the future.
In our business world, all organisations are facing new challenges every working day.
Acquiring new customers, selecting new suppliers, purchasing new technology,
introducing new products or targeting new markets are just a few examples of change in
the workplace. While every change brings a different set of issues to deal with, the only
constant is the fact that workforces who are quick to learn will be the most likely to handle
change successfully (Peter F. Drucker, 1998).
Obviously, pre-request knowledge is necessary to be effective in a company, just because
companies can not afford to teach everything to an employee or a manager. P. Senge
(1991) argues that in this unpredictable world, it is no longer possible for anyone to figure
“figure it all out at the top.” The old model, “the top thinks and the local acts,” must now
give way to integrating thinking and acting at all levels. Interestingly, the key to
organizational longevity appears to be the ability to run “experiments in the margin,” to
continually explore new business and organizational opportunities that create potential
new sources of growth.
Indeed, experts agree that the success of companies comes from their abilities to adapt
themselves to the changing business world. And to stay on top in front of competitors
sharing your market, it is of primary importance to learn. Learn from errors done in the
past or even better, learn by sharing knowledge and prevent possible mistake. According to
Calhoun Wick (1996), author of “œThe Learning Edge, one of the tenets in the corporate
learning organization is that the best training is experience, and the reason why experience
provides so much positive aspects is that it lets time to learn by sharing knowledge.
“Classrooms may be good settings for building basic skills and laying foundations,”
observes C. Wick (1996), “but experience is where know-how is acquired.” The most
profound and useful learning comes from sharing knowledge, not just information.
Moreover, shared knowledge can be easily integrated with work. When people work
together, sit close to each other, and interact with each other on a daily basis, they often
