Carnival of Quality Management Articles and Blogs – Volume X – March 2022 Edition

Welcome to March 2022 edition of the X^th volume of Carnival of Quality Management Articles and Blogs.

The theme for the X^th volume of our Carnival of Quality Management Articles and Blogs is inspired from the editorial of the January 2022 special Issue of Prabuddha Bharata (The Awakened India) – Living a Meaningful Life in a Digital World.

For our present episode, we take up the article, Knowledge Revolution in the Digital Age – Human Knowledge at Crossroads by Swami Atmapriyananda.

Here is the excerpt from the article:

With the advent of the digital age, the boundaries of human knowledge seeming to be breaking down a, as the language through which the human knowledge expresses itself has been deconstructed and digitalised.  This transition has affected generation previous to Gen X, GenY, GenZ and the Gen Alpha quite differently…. As can be expected Gen Z seem to have remarkably developed skills of working in a coordinated fashion between ‘work’ and the internet. The more demanding than the technical skill of this coordination is need for developing the soft skill of solving complex problems with a humane approach. This, in effect, calls for a paradoxical mixture of fierce resolve of professional will and persuasive softness of personal humility.[1]

The new-found emphasis on multiple intelligences seems to converge with panch kosha – five sheaths of annamaya (The food), pranamaya (The vital energy or breath) , manomaya (The mind), vijnaanmaya (The intellect) and anandmaya (The bliss ), each having its own Chetana – the intelligence.

The knowledge in the digital age also has seamlessly integrated the two streams of jnana (the knowledge) and the action (karma). The interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary approaches have revived the vison of ancient Indian Rishis of integrated, unified knowledge (akhanda advaita). Also getting revived is the Upanashidic idea of higher knowledge (para-vidya) and lower knowledge (apara-vidya) both need to be equally cultivated  and is found in the concept of knowmad[2] who is the unified version of digital age ‘nerd’ and ‘geek’ personalities.  Knowmads are a different species than knowledge workers and knowledge seekers. They are seamless, unrestricted, open and free, capable of and enjoying swimming courageously on a voyage over an uncharted sea. The vulnerability and flexibility of thought and the ease of navigation and action are the products of unique revolution of the ‘Digital Age’.

For the knowmads, a job is a position, mere form of employment and the work is long term in scope and relates to creation of meaningful outcomes. Thus, for them work is distinct from a career. A career ‘carries’ a person through the life, whereas work is a collection of activities that are backed with elements that are purposive at the individual level. The personal knowledge consists of explicit element, conveyed as information and the tacit element, developed through experience and experimentation. To remain competitive, a knowmad must continuously learn, unlearn and refine what they know. Organizations need to create environment that supports expansion of knowledge ecology to keep the knowmads motivated.

As such, the knowmad society requires new mindsets that encourage greater leadership form all stakeholders – at personal, organizational and policy levels. This is more than an attitude that supportive of knowmads but requires a fundamental cultural transformation to embrace new approaches to the purposive use of individual knowledge with strong social supports to help each one to maximise his /her potential without fear of failure.

We will now turn to our regular section -.

We now watch ASQ TV episode on –

• The Quality Professional’s Changing Workplace – This episode investigates how the global pandemic and digital transformation are changing the quality professional’s workplace

We have taken up one article from Jim L. Smith’s Jim’s Gems

• Change Reality – Reality is what you make of it. Life is defined by the way you choose to live it. So…if it doesn’t fit your expectations, make adjustments suitably. …. i.e., accept the way things are. They are what they are. …. To change your reality, change your expectations and work toward a new reality. …Give your sincere best in every moment, in every situation. Slowly, but surely, your current reality will become your new reality. How quickly that happens depends on many factors, much of which is under your control and influence. Begin today to make your reality of tomorrow achievable. You can determine the greatness that lies within.

‘From the Editor’ (of Quality Magazine) – by Darryl Sealand, we have –

• Environmental Influences – Accelerating evolution, delivery apps, and handicapping – Acceleration can happen through conscious thought or natural reaction, it can wind up being positive or negative, and is part of a large host of things happening on our planet and in our societies…. However, it is a the battle between the irresistible force versus the immovable object – the evolutionary tendency of human being to change, and change fast versus inherent nature of environmental influences to allow the changes to evolve.

I look forward to your views / comments / inputs to further enrich the theme of Living a Meaningful Life in a Digital World.

Note: The images or video clips depicted here above are through courtesy of respective websites who have the copyrights for the respective images /videos.

[1] Level 5 Leadership: The Triumph of Humility and Fierce Resolve – Jim Collins, HBR, I January 2001.

[2] The Paradox of a Knowmad: Daring Not to Know