123308218 knoledge management

7/29/2019 123308218 Knoledge Management

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Supporting Knowledge Management

The Challenge


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Knowledge Management

One of the enduring topics in the field of IT

since the mid 1990s

Greatest corporate assets walk out the

door every evening

Taking with them another crucial asset,

knowledge


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Attempts to capture knowledge in computer

systems continue

Not something that can be captured in amachine

But, it only exists inside a persons head

Unlike information !! Many feel that the term KM creates a wrong

impression

The M in KM brings in the we can control itmindset


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Knowledge cannot be controlled or engineered

[So, the basic mechanical metaphor is wrong]

However, knowledge can be leveraged throughprocesses and culture

[The biological or ecological metaphor is much

better] The more people are connected, and the more

they exchange ideas, the more their knowledge

spreads,

And can thus be leveraged !!


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This view is still being debated, and raises

questions

If we cannot disembody knowledge, how do we

better manage the knowledge within people to

leverage this asset?

Tony Brewer [Managing Knowledge, Wentworth

Research Program, 1995] researched this topic

As we move from a service economy to a

knowledge economy, organizations move

towards managing their intellectual capital in a

more formal and deliberate way


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In essence, knowledge exists in two states

Tacit/Implicit knowledge

Exists within a persons mind Is private, and

Unique to each person

Combination of intellect, experience and information

Explicit knowledge

Articulated

Made public

Visible resides in documents, books etc.

Easy to capture, transfer


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Western management practices haveconcentrated on managing explicit knowledge

But, cultivating and leveraging tacit knowledge

is just as important Effective knowledge management requires

transferringknowledge between these two

states HOW?

Because knowledge is not a physical asset, itcannot be described in terms of manufacturinganalogies, such as storing it in inventory

It needs to be thought of in ecological terms,such as nurturing it, cultivating it, and

harvesting it


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Furthermore, ways to transfer knowledge back and

forth between its tacit and explicit states are crucial

Generally, a result of encouraging the free flow of

ideas and information Many of todays organizational norms, departmental

boundaries, and national differences inhibit this!!

The process of transferring tacit knowledge to othersis a key part of managing knowledgeknowledge

sharing

IT is an enabler barriers fall, knowledge flows, and

sharing increases

Unfortunately, free time is not seen as important


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A model for Managing Knowledge

Due to the increasing emphasis on knowledge,it is now called intellectual capital that firms

possess

A model proposed by Giga Information Group[Best Practices in Knowledge Management,

1997] for managing intellectual capital


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A knowledge Management Framework


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A cyclic model

Four stages representing what peoplegenerally do with knowledge

First they create it or capture it from a source

Next they organize it and put it intocategories for easy retrieval

Then, they distribute it (push), oraccess it(pull)

Finally, they absorbanothers knowledge for

their own use, or to create more newknowledge

Thus, the cycle begins again


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The four stages create 3 types of intellectual

capital Human Capital

Structural Capital, and

Customer Capital


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Human Capital consists of

Knowledge, skills, and innovativeness of employees

Also company values, culture, and philosophy

Created during the knowledge creation-

capture, and knowledge absorption-reuse

stages

These 2 stages focus on getting people

together to share knowledge

Deal with the people aspects of knowledge

management

Main question How do we get people to have

more knowledge in their heads?

S C


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Structural Capital capabilities embedded inhardware, software, databases, organizationalstructure, patents, and trademarks that support

employees and relationships with customers Formed in the knowledge organization-

categorization and knowledge distribution-access stages

These stages focus on moving knowledge frompeoples heads to a tangible company asset

These stages deal with the technology issues

Main question

How do we get knowledge outof peoples heads and into a computer, aprocess, a document, or another organizational

asset?


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Customer Capital is the strength of a

companys franchise with its customers

Concerned with its relationships and networks

of associates

When customers are familiar with a companys

products or services, the company can call that

familiarity, customer capital

May be

Human relationships with the company

Structural products used from the company

Main question Is there any short-cut to gain

customer capital?

Gi I f di d th t


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Giga Info group discovered that

Human capital and structural capital stagesrequire different mindsets

Companies had to use different approaches togrow each one

The techniques for one do not work for the

other Building human capital needs touchy-feely

people-centric approaches

Building structural capital take the typical ISapproach, using technology for problem solving

To succeed in leveraging intellectual capital,companies need to do both


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Building Human Capital

Main question How do we get people to have

more knowledge in their heads?

Four ways:

Create it

Capture it Absorb it, and

Reuse it


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Knowledge Creation and Capture:

Generates knowledge by nurturing employees,

or

Acquire it from outside

Deals with both human and customer capital

Companies emphasizing this phase ofmanaging knowledge use high-touch

approaches

Creating a sharing culture

Urging people to meet in person, or electronically

Encouraging innovation

C E l B k L b t i


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Case Example Buckman Laboratories

An industrial chemical company in Tennessee

1200 employees around the world

The concept of sharing knowledge and bestpractices has been around in Buckman for over15 years

The companys code of ethics reinforces thesharing culture

They believe that successfully transferring

knowledge depends 90% on having the rightculture and 10% on technology

KNetix a knowledge transfer system, theBuckman knowledge network

Ai /G l t b i th k l d f ll th


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Aim/Goal to bring the knowledge of all theemployees to bear on a customer problemanalysis anywhere in the world whether in

Europe, South Africa, Australia/New Zealand,or Japan

To get people to communicate with each other

Develop trust in each other Trust that one person was interestedin the

others success

Trust that what one person received fromothers was valid and sincere, and

Enough trust in the culture to help someoneelse

T l t l d ll th ld t


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Ten years ago, people traveled all over the world to

see each other with lots of face-to-face meetings

Today they also stay in touch in between meetings

making communications more continuous People ask for information via forums TechForum

One influential company-wide shared conversation

was during Buckmans global sales awards A large cash award was shared among top 3

salespeople worldwide

The entire award structure was restructured in front of

all employees top management did not dictate terms

Rare opportunity for solving an important, sensitive

issue taking along everyone!!

C ti th b i f t f i


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Conversations are the basis for transferring

knowledge

Experts identify threads of conversation

Valuable streams of reasoning are collected, edited

Given key words, and stored in the forum library

Virtual teams are always in action

Self-building knowledge base is created Later used for what-if analyses, and can be mined

later to create new knowledge

Another prime benefit timely, high quality responsesto customer needs

A new employee gets immediate advice from a 25-yr

experienced veteran colleague

K l d Ab ti d R


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Knowledge Absorption and Reuse:

Addresses the notion of getting knowledge into

peoples heads

There it can be enhanced and reused

High touch approaches emphasized in this

phase Also focused on nurturing interactions among

people

Two important actions: Recognize the knowledge brokers

Support communities of practice

R i i K l d b k


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Recognizing Knowledge brokers

Discovering who has what knowledge is a big step in

the right direction to fostering knowledge sharing

Dr. Seemann Patricia [Building KnowledgeInfrastructure: Creating Change Capabilities, 1995]

The Rudy Problem

Suffered during downsizing! Crucial, but unrecognized asset

Giving Rudy a title would have sent a positive signal

that knowledge sharing was recognized in the Co.

They are/can not be appointed. They just emerge from

within!

And when they emerge, they need support !

Support communities of practice T Shaped


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Support communities of practice T-Shapedmanagers: One approach to foster knowledgesharing

Morton Hansen [Harvard Business School] andBolko von Oetinger [Boston Consulting]

Executives who have both a

Vertical role running a business unit, and A horizontal role sharing knowledge with their

peers in other business units

It helps counterbalance the tendency tocompete with each other, and hoard expertise

However, success does not just happenreward!

Building Structural Capital


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Building Structural Capital

Main question How do we get knowledge outof peoples heads and into a computer, a

process, a document, or another organizationalasset?

Dr. Seemann created online yellow pages of

knowledge brokersRudys name was there! These yellow pages are a form of structural

capital

Companies emphasizing building structuralcapital generally use high-tech approaches

Two phases:

Knowledge Organization and Categorization

Knowledge Distribution and Access

Knowledge Organization and Categorization:


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Knowledge Organization and Categorization:

Creating best practices knowledge bases

Valuing intellectual capital

Knowledge Distribution and Access:Emphasizes

Pushing knowledge out to users, and

Accommodating users who pull information tothemselves

Also uses high-tech approaches

Focused on implementing networks andnetworking tools to access human andstructural capital

Intranets and groupware are the IT-based tools

B ildi C t C it l


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Building Customer Capital

Strength of a companys franchise with its

customers

The percentage of customer mindshare in its

industry

Brand recognition is a part of customer capital

Familiarity with ones products is another

The Cultural Side of Knowledge Management


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The Cultural Side of Knowledge Management

Success in KM comes as much from the changing

organization behaviour as from new technology

There will be cultural barriers Red Flags

Being seen as a whistle-bloweror messenger of bad

news (Shoot the messenger) avoid presenting early

warnings Losingones place as a gatekeeper knowledge

brokers may feel threatened with a KM project

KM does take time experts may hide so that they are

not bothered by requests; others may not participateas there is no reward, so they think


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Some Examples

British petroleum uses desktop

teleconferencing to connect its drilling repairspecialists around the world

ONGC is working on a similar idea now

KOL (knowledge online) system of Booz Allenprovide detailed resume of every employees

experience

123308218 knoledge management

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