Harvesting Knowledge From Frontline Employees

In changing environments, cues about opportunities and challenges often come from employees in roles that interact with people outside the organization, including those dealing with customers, suppliers, and regulators, for example. Many organizations inadvertently stifle the flow of new information from employees working at the edge. This workshop focuses on helping managers understand why the cues about new threats and opportunities will come from employees at the edges of the organization and not themselves. It also will identify and show how to remove obstacles inhibiting those employees in external-facing roles from voicing suggestions about how to respond to changes in the environment.

Learning Objectives

• Be able to lead continuous improvement processes in your organizations by removing barriers to internal communication
• Develop incentives and processes to encourage employees with information about new threats and opportunities to voice these to their managers.

Who Should Attend

Individuals in leadership roles and managers with direct reports will benefit from this topic. Those who will be moving into these roles in the future also would benefit from exposure to workshop discussions and tools.

Faculty

Gerry Keim is a professor of management, chair for the management department, and associate dean for international programs. His interests include organizational entrepreneurship, especially the micro foundations of continuous improvement in existing organizations, the interaction of business firms with their institutional environments in advanced and developing countries. His teaching interests include strategic management, business and its external environment, and international business/management. He is the recipient of several awards, including the John W. Teets Award, Outstanding Graduate Teacher, ASU (2004), Dean’s Commendation for MBA teaching, Ivey Business School (2000), and the MBA Core Faculty teaching Award, Texas A&M University (1998).

Registration Procedures and Deadlines

Registration deadline has passed.

Cancellation Policy

A cancellation request received at least one week prior to the program will be refunded in full minus a 10% cancellation fee. Or, you have the option to apply registration to another 2012 course.

A cancellation request received less than one week prior to the start of the program will have the option to apply registration to another 2012 course.

A cancellation request received on or after the day of the program will not be eligible for a refund.