Where is your organization on the CMM?

Currently, my company is trying to develop from step 1: the Initial level, to step 2: the Managed level. When I first started, I realized how much the company relies on competent people. Historically, the initial stage was comfortable and and probably a good stage to be in. But as the company expanded in recent years, it seems to have outgrown the comfort level of its first stage. At present, we need better project planning, tracking, management, development of formal systems, performance reviews, and quality assurance. My primary goal in my job is to help the company build and improve its processes and systems so that it can function successfully and efficiently. Until I learned about the Capability Maturity Level, I found my self constantly frustrated at work because I felt that there are so many processes to develop that at times I feel overwhelmed. But now I realize that I get frustrated because I want to run up the steps quickly--sometimes I get so excited about developing systems and processes that I expect the organization to grow from the first Initial stage to the last Optimizing stage way too fast. So the model helped me asses at what stage the company is today and to what level it can be developed realisticly with its current resources.
I hope to see the company enter stage 2: the Managed level of Organizational Maturity more rigorously in the upcoming year. I can see that it is currently making progress and believe that it will develop project monitoring and control especially in IT related projects. Also I believe that it will develop more accurate, efficient, and consistent measurement and analysis of its people, it fleet, and it carbon footprint. My ultimate goal is to help the company mature into stage 3: Defined level or even stage 4: Quantitatively managed. Although it would be quite a treat to see the company mature to stage 5: Optimizing level.
So I'm just trying to learn as much as I can and acquire as many tools as I can to bring the most value to the company I currently work for and I hope that our current economy does not threaten my goals and bring down my efforts.

Radio Show #15: Naomi Lee Bloom, Managing Partner, Bloom & Wallace

http://www.knowledgeinfusion.com/coe/docs/DOC-4600

Bloom made some good points.

One of the general points that she made when refereeing to engineers it that many aspects of HR are not something that can fit a formula or numbers and predict an outcome. HR is not always easily systematic. We really need to think in creatively in multiple ways and different perspectives. However I believe that it is also important that while the HR people are encourage to think multi-dimensionally that this includes an engineer-, problem-t- solution oriented thinking. This way communication, and therefore collaboration, can be improved between Engineer and Financial sphere of business.

I also though that her Criteria and Methods that she suggests to use to evaluate hr software was interesting...

1.Investigator Mindset + software archeology
2. Functionality--what the product does?
3. How it does it?
4. Develop scenarios, real business situations--ask the vendors to use the scenerious in the for your business solutions.

And I especially agree with the this point because it helps us understand what will be easy for you to do with it, where can you take it, what will be it's future.

Finally, she also gave a refreshin insight on how to evaluate the company itself. She said the most known phrase that many companies state, but only few truly believe and stick to:
"Start with the people"
1. look at the team--the management and the brain trust--what they have done before? Have they been anywhere to see the results of their product.
2. organization/ corporate culture

It will be interesting to apply these concepts in practice.

Technology Frustration

Technology can either make your day or break your day. I love it when it works, but hate it when it doesn't. Lately I have been beginning to feel a bit frustrated; there are technologies and cool web applications that I see in class, but when I try them at home they don't always work and there is no one to ask for help. Spending time to understand it all has been at times frustrating, especially when I still just don't get it...I wish there was a way to explore the things we learn a little deeper with someone to assist in the process. I feel kind of isolated form others in the class--I think it would be better if we could collaborate a little more outside of class.

New 2008 Social Technographics data reveals rapid growth in adoption

I found it interesting that the growth in consumption of online content is coming from the middle age group an not people in their twenties. What I found to be most interesting an useful is the categories of the online population--creators, critics, collectors, joiners, spectators, inactives. This classification can be used to target your audience more strategically and efficiently not only in HR but in other aspects of a business as well.

HR's struggle with Web 2.0

I agree with this article the four reasons that make web 2.0 difficult to use in HR do seem to hold true in many companies today. I think as technology evolves and HR changes it is important to restructure jobs of HR professionals. I think HR should not be isolated from other parts of the business. Unlike other fields, HR needs to be involved in the business on multiple stages to be more skillful and capable of finding, developing, and maintaining the building blocks of any organization--the people. Hr needs to know technology, HR needs to know legal, HR needs t know how to document and lead--HR is becoming a interdisciplinary field.

The Machine is Us/ing Us

This was a cool video. I watched it before, but didn't realize that I already had. I think its really cool how the machine is "using Us" to make data, information, and communication more accessible and user friendly to us. I just wish I could keep up and apply it in my working environment more. One thing that prevents usability of Web 2.0 technology is fear of security...it is amazing how much money we spend to reduce fear. What are so scared of...access I guess. Access to another job, access to a relationship, access to a reputation. What if one day everyone could know anything and everything about anyone and anything? Why are scared of being transparent? Why are we afraid of knowledge?

Reflections on the 2003 Trends Article

This article was like a bad salad--a little bit of everything about the "future" workforce trends--but as a whole it was not a tasty bite of insight.
Trend # 5 "Companies won't sleep" bothered me the most, particularly because the it implies that running a 24/7 business will require 24/7 employees. I do not believe that This article was like a bad salad--a little bit of everything about the "future" workforce trends--but as a whole it was not a tasty bite of insight. Trend #5 "Companies won't sleep" bothered me the most particularly because it implies that running a 24/7 business will require 24/7 employees: "You may have to offer nighttime child-care providers, who watch kids while they sleep" Rather, I think organization are becoming more global and internationally convenient--with groups of people working collaboratively across the globe by letting projects begin in a workday on one side of the world and allow the project to continue on another side of the world allowing people on all side to sleep and care for themselves according to their own timezone.
Also in trend # 15 "Recruiting Older Workers" although the point an older workforce is a reality, recruiting them by terminology such as "experienced workers" and "age-diverse" appears to be a poor strategy and a mis-focused outlook on the challenge. Instead of world play in the recruitment process, it seems that companies and HR professional should focus their energies on how to enable the older workforce keep up with technological changes that are now increasingly becoming a requirement for successful job performance and how to customize a workforce to enable maximum utilization of the older worker's skill set, dedication, and work ethic.
However the trend #8 "Office Design" and trend #18 "Pay for Wellness Performance" do bring a valid point that does apply, and probably will apply in future. Designing an workspace that is both efficient and comfortable together with accessible opportunities for employees to wellness programs and schedules seem to be areas that will go hand in hand towards better performing organizations.

Thoughts on the article: " Why We Hate HR" by Keith H. Hammonds

The article brings attention to an important gap. But the negativity and these kinds of generalizations about the field and about HR professionals are also contributing to the widening of the gap and lack of change. In my senior year in college, in one of my business classes my professor stated to our entire class something along the lines of: "if you want to grow in business do not get into HR; you'll get stuck in HR." So after I graduated, just like the majority of graduates that this article points to, HR was not even on my list of field to explore. But as explored my interests in respect to my values and goals, I found HR to be a key field for my professional growth. The one think that I realized, and this article confirms, is there is a difference between what HR is and what people think HR that it is. For me, HR is about Performance: both the individual performance of the people and the total performance of the organization. Everything else are just tools and resources that either make or break the way to successful performance.

What does Bill Kutik Podcast #13, has to do with HR S&Tech Class

Basically, it seems to highlight the value of noticing and leveraging on the relationship between technology, talent management, and organizational success. It brings up how Web 2.0 technology can help organizations learn, keep track, develop, and utilize their employee's skills.

However, I do not quite agree with the statement made about privacy--I think that many people still care about privacy which may interfere with the implementation of Web 2.o technology into their people departments for many organizations.

HR Systemen and Technology--first class impression

This week I began the long awaited class that I was hoping to take since I learned about it in early September.

Classes, at times, can be a like gambling--no matter what the description in the catalog may be, until you get to know the instructor and attend the first class it could be a loss, a win, or just enough to last you till the game is over and you walk out of your final exam with just enought information to last you a few weeks and book to add to your reference section. If the instructor's teaching style does not match your learning style, if the medium is dry, or if its poorly organized--it could be a disaster...

Well, let me just say that my first day in the class--the HR Systems and Technology taught by Jun Cruzat--felt like I just hit the jack pot!

The class began with introductions--first, Cruzat began by introducing himself and then everyone had a chance to hear about everyone else in the class. The introductions took a little over an hour--but it was worth the time, because it opened doors to communication and collaboration for the next five weeks.

After the introductions, we took a short break, then went over the structure, the mediums and and the requirements of the class. The medium in which the class is taught is one of the aspects that make it seem that is is going to be worthwhile the time. The medium is mixed and diverse; it is inclusive, stimulating, and probing. It begins with the instructor's voice, student questions and responses, continues with a Google doc presentation, then onto a projected You Tube video clip, then back to the voices, a click on web browser on your personal laptop, then onto bullet points, continued with a the a handful of initial assignments that guide you to explore the world of technology in the now.

In addition to the medium that the class is taught in, the instructor is great.
Jun Cruzat has a very democratic, compassionate and open style of teaching. Yet the openness does not seem to take away from organization or a sense of structure. Also, unlike most other classes that require a textbook--this class has no text book. But be weary--no text book does not mean no homework. There is homework--but in addition to reading and writing it requires you to use additional skills and senses.
Rather then spending another fifty to hundred dollars on book that weights like a brick, spending midnight hours, lunches, and early morning reading through the chapters, and then spending three hours each class listening to the instructor repeat what you just read just so that you could, for the third time, regurgitate the same information on the exams--this class allows you the opportunity to invest your time and money into both aquiring tools and gaining an sense that helps you gain an orienttion and a direction in the exponensialy evolving virtual reality.

I hope my class mates are excited about this class as much as I am. I also hope that everyone can be pro-active in making this class happen the way it is intended to be. I look forward to the next class.