Message from Nan Gelhard 12/14/2003 5:59 PM
Curriculum and training disconnect
·
a tech-savvy workforce
·
an agile workforce
o
able to respond to changes in information/technology
structure
o
able to use tools creatively
o
able to develop local solutions to regional problems
·
to make information about itself and its products
available to strangers and friends without asking strangers to learn
proprietary access systems
·
access to distributed data sets inside and outside the
organization
·
translation tools, or a language for understanding – a
mechanism for using supplied information and putting it into context for use by
staff and customers
·
to be able to develop and share proprietary information
with its workforce
·
interoperability
o
of various info sets
o
of various processes related to operational activities
based on company information sets
·
equal access to information
·
ability to manipulate their computer environments
·
that computers are only tools; that there is nothing
sacred or magical about a CPU
·
What students need to learn in order to function and be
productive in society (a pompous statement)
·
an understanding of the limits of current computer
processing/information management/content management and available content – an
understanding of what to expect and what not to expect
·
technical ability to use technology tools as they are
now and as they will be (so it is not enough to teach everyone Microsoft
Office)
·
an understanding of algorithms
·
communication skills (not Microsoft Powerpoint)
·
how to evaluate information
·
how to corroborate facts
·
how to put content into context in time and place
·
how to find and evaluate dissenting opinions
As an e-commerce developer (e-commerce, though functional,
is still developing its language and standards), I need a workforce willing and
able to act as developers and implementers. Though there are emerging standards
for the commerce interface, there are many solutions. My staff should be
cogniscent of the state of the world and have an idea about best future state.
Customers’ expectations currently outstrip our ability to
deliver. This is partly due to the availability of information and partly due
to a lack of understanding of how computers parse data and how to construct
information sets. Though we live and work in a computer-enabled world, digital
communication is imprecise, sloppy. Information is almost accessible. Some data is available digitally in computer
accessible tables, some in digital documents, some in print documents, and some
only from the minds of experts. Graphic artists who build digital document
files are not concerned with making the content accessible. Engineers building
data files are not concerned about communication. Though we have the tools, we
lack the understanding to make full use of them. With the help of computers
graphic artists are typesetters; managers do their own secretarial work, and
writers are publishers; but no one is trained in communication. No one seems to
have an understanding of what is possible given current technology. No one is trained
in knowledge systems. It is as if we gave a person a set of carpentry tools,
taught him how to work each one: how to screw a screw, hammer a nail, cut a
board; and asked him to build a house.
Yet, customers notice when information is transformed into a
knowledge base. Consider Crutchfield, purveyors of stereo equipment and
installation tools and accessories. From my point of view, what Crutchfield is
selling is information. What stereo equipment fits what car; what wiring is
needed to install it. How will it sound in a particular automobile. Crutchfield
can answer these questions for its customers, though this information is not
available in the manufacturers’ catalogs. Crutchfield built a knowledge base of
information for its customers. Crutchfield built an interpretation interface
between the makers of stereo equipment, makers of automobiles, and the makers
of wiring harnesses and mobile electronics installation tools. Crutchfield makes every employee go through
database training. Not computer training, database training.
Consider the power of knowledge systems. Consider simple
systems like the Goranimals line of children’s clothing. Tops and bottoms that
“go together” are labeled with the same animal. Kids can understand what
“goes.” Mom’s can understand it and explain it to kids.
Consider using an archive of the iterations of a product’s
packaging as a government-acceptable log of product development.
Consider cross-over tables for upstart products, Upstart Products
#xyz is equivalent to Established Product #abc. It is in upstart products best
interest to make that information available. It is not good new to established
product. It is in the retailer’s best interest to know and be able to report
this kind of info. Especially if there is a difference in price on the items,
or a supply problem with the established vendor.
Change the word customer to stranger and consider the
problem. Search ebay for an object using non-standard terms and find a bargain.
If the seller can’t say what he has in terms his audience can understand, his
universe of potential buyers is diminished. s
To be a successful retailer, I need a workforce with
knowledge base training.
People, to function effectively in an information-based economy,
need knowledge base training. They need to learn how to use computers as tools,
not as replacements for brains – computers are not smart, just fast. To do
that, the black boxes have to be opened, the mechanics and protocols and limits
revealed. Our education has to include computer science and knowledge
management. And if we do that, Americans keep their technology edge.
Nan Gelhard
14 December 2003