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> What other tasks, other than instructional, might be
completed by TWs in
> the course of your jobs?
This is an abstract thought, but I think TWs today
play a very important
role in any organization, as they are a key resource
for Knowledge
Management (KM). With attrition rates increasing day
by day, companies are
trying to record and "save" as much of the employees'
knowledge as possible.
Knowledge in an organization is created and captured
not only at various
points in the organization's Information System
(reports based on sales,
customer interactions, market reports etc.), but is
also inherent in every
employee -- in fact, this is the most important type
of knowledge which KM
targets.
For example, a workshop is conducted in an
organization -- knowledge is
created during the proceedings of the workshop. An
executive attends a
conference or an expo -- again knowledge is created.
As employees work, they
gain experience -- this is knowledge. How do these get
recorded?
I would think TWs can play a very crucial role as
"journalists" within the
organization. They can cover these events and prepare
reports. They can
interview some of the exceptional employees and
experts and write articles
on how they managed various tasks, or how they
overcame certain tough
situations, or gather tips from them on how to perform
well, and so on, and
post these on their company's website or newsletter
for all to benefit. In
the process, this knowledge gets stored for posterity.
Ideally, TWs would have both technical and language
skills, so covering
conferences or interviewing experts will not be a
tough task for them. It
would also be fun, you know... a good break from
routine work! After all,
all this comes under Technical Communications.
Do any of you handle such responsibilities in your
organization, or is this
just one of my weird thoughts?
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