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CAUL/CAUDIT/ACODE presentation

Knowledge Management in the Learning Environment

Ainslie DeweAuckland University of Technology

May 2003

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“For countries in the vanguard of the world

economy, the balance between knowledge and

resources has shifted so far towards the former

that knowledge has become perhaps the most

important factor determining the standard of

living – more than land, than tools and labour.

Today’s most technologically advanced

economies are truly knowledge-based.”

World Development Report, 1999

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Knowledge Management

Is about creating an environment in which knowledge is created, shared and utilised for business purposes by instinct and as part of daily work

Is about future earning capability Has significant implications for

organisations, people, roles and skills

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NEW ECONOMY

knowledge assets

transdisciplinarity

innovative cultures

permeable boundaries

OLD ECONOMY

physical assets

homogeneous disciplines

fixed cultures

defined boundaries

Uncertainty

Traditional Hierarchy

Networked Companies

Predictability

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Key Trends in the Key Trends in the Transformation of Transformation of Manufacturing ProcessesManufacturing Processes

Mearns, E. “Scottish Enterprise Network” Paper 19, 2000

Industrial Age Knowledge Age

Value from efficiencyInvestment in plantInventoryProduct orientatedMass productionMechanisationLong product life-cyclesLocal manufacturingCareful planningEarly career trainingCompetitive relationships

Value from creativityInvestment in innovationInformationConsumer orientatedFlexible productionDigitisationShort product life-cyclesGlobalisationChange and innovationLifelong learningCo-operative networks

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Knowledge Management

…..is the ability to create, enhance and share intellectual capital across the organisation.

Professor Bill Martin, RMIT University

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KM is used to overcome:

Ad hoc problem solving, reinventing the wheel Loss of knowledge Internal competition, non-collaborative

behaviour Disincentive to sharing knowledge.

Professor Bill Martin, RMIT University

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KM issues Identification

Knowledge assets Knowledge initiatives

Sharing Cultural issues

Ownership Vision Implementation

Utilisation Ability to use Overload

Benefits Metrics

Fad or future www.tfpl.com

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KM – Verna Allee’s 3 levels

Strategic KM: Connect knowledge to business modelHow does knowledge create business value?

Tactical KM: Connect people to knowledge and each other

How can we better create, use & apply knowledge?

Operational KM: Connect knowledge activities to business results

How can we codify & share knowledge of routine tasks, etc?

http://www.vernaallee.com

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Knowledge can be:

Tacit: personal, unarticulated knowledge, embedded in individual experience

Explicit: recorded knowledge, expressed in formal language and transmitted easily

External: e.g. publications, publicly available databases

Internal: e.g. financial records, customer records, online learning objects

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Knowledge Conversion – SECI model

Tacit Explicit

Tacit

Explicit

SocialisationExternalisatio

n

Internalisation Combination

Nonaka, I and Takeuchi, H. (1995). The knowledge creating company.

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Comparing concepts of the learning Comparing concepts of the learning organisation and knowledge organisation and knowledge managementmanagement

Rowley, J. 2001 Journal of Information Science, 27 (4) 227-237

Learning Organisations Knowledge Management

Based on a building metaphor

Based on a mining metaphor

Learning as a process Knowledge as a resource

Maintaining and developing tacit knowledge

Knowledge processing in terms of tacit to explicit knowledge

Key focus is human relations and community

Key focus is knowledge distribution, and cognition

Implemented through organisational projects including focus on culture and structures

Implemented throughout IT projects, with attention to people issues sometimes being focused at the IT user level

Systems-based view of the firm

Resource-based view of the firm

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ContactsContactsContactsContacts

ElectronicElectronicElectronicElectronic

PrintedPrintedPrintedPrinted

OrganizationsOrganizationsOrganizationsOrganizations

Knowledge Knowledge Exchange and Exchange and

knowledge flowsknowledge flows

Knowledge Knowledge Exchange and Exchange and

knowledge flowsknowledge flows

Groups, Divisions, Groups, Divisions, ManagementManagement

Groups, Divisions, Groups, Divisions, ManagementManagement

Marketing dataMarketing dataMarketing dataMarketing data

Best practiceBest practice Best practiceBest practice

CommunitiesCommunitiesCommunitiesCommunities

ExternalExternalExternalExternal InternalInternalInternalInternal

Knowledge Assets Map

Contractual & legalContractual & legalContractual & legalContractual & legal

Operational dataOperational dataOperational dataOperational data

www.tfpl.comwww.tfpl.com

Corporate Staff Clients

Suppliers Alliances and

Partners

Technology Platforms

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COLIS – functional view of system components

http://www.colis.mq.edu.au

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KM and the Managed Learning Environment

“The development of the electronic campus and student-centred-learning have seen academic librarians becoming facilitators of the knowledge development process rather than guardians of resources”

Abell, A. et al. (2002). Fad or future. Library + information update. 1 (7), 30-32.

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Information Landscape and the Learning

Environment Library a hybrid of print and digital

resources Library systems designed to manage

both print and digital objects Full text digital resources linked directly

to online learning Library shares responsibility for

preparing students to be information literate in a digital world

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Information Landscape and the Learning

Environment

Requires technical interoperability in e-space, between: Library systems and learning management

systems Other institutional systems such as student

management, digital rights, finance, HR etc

Interoperability becomes a knowledge management issue (see COLIS)

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Competencies for knowledge working

Knowledge

Knowledge

sharing

ICT literacyInformation

literacy

Managing Information

www.tfpl.com

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Information Literacy

…..combines an awareness of the value of information and knowledge to the organisation with the skills and competencies that enable an individual to play a full, effective and rewarding role in knowledge environments

www.tfpl.com

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Information Literacy

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Learning And Research Centres

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Knowledge Management in R&D

“Historically the focus was on capabilities involving tangible assets: now, knowledge is widely recognized as the source of competitive advantage, with the tangible assets representing the physical manifestation of but a fraction of this knowledge.”

Armbrecht, F. M. R. et al (2001). Knowledge management in research and development. Research technology management, v. 44 (4): 28-48.

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KM in R&D – Priority issues

Culture that facilitates knowledge flow? Capturing the knowledge of experts Accelerating the R&D process Expanding the creativity envelope in R&D

Armbrecht, F. M. R. et al (2001). Knowledge management in research and development. Research technology management, v. 44 (4): 28-48.

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Library role

Information management rather than knowledge management

Manage external (worldwide) knowledge sources rather than internal organisational knowledge sources

Value of external knowledge often overlooked

Seen as more for academic purposes (scholarly communication), than business strategy

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Library role (cont.)

External, explicit information becomes tacit knowledge when those who need it, can locate and use it for the benefit of their teaching, learning and research (internalisation)

Ability to identify, access, evaluate, organise and communicate information and knowledge (information literacy) is a core capability for the knowledge society

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Library role (cont.)

Skills of managing external information (cataloguing, classification)

Transferable to managing internal information (metadata, taxonomies)

Librarians work with IT staff and educational designers to embed these skills into: online courseware intranet design web refurbishment portal development

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Role for IT

IT specialists have expertise in technology platforms used to share

knowledge codification of internal, explicit

knowledge Intranets and portal technologies encourage

increase of explicit knowledge (combination) Knowledge management platforms (eg

groupware) encourage conversion of tacit to explicit knowledge (externalisation)

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Role for learning technology

Share tacit knowledge of educational design (eg through communities of practice)

Online courseware combined with digital libraries, allows information provision and tuition to be brought together at the curriculum design stage

External, explicit information linked to internal, explicit learning objects

Increase the tacit knowledge of learner

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Power of three– Library, IT, e-learning

Sharing expertise between Library, IT and e-learning will: increase the effectiveness of online learning create business value for universities

First step - map the knowledge management processes that underpin university teaching, learning, and research

Additional goal - leverage the University’s strategic knowledge assets and unlock the value of those assets

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Knowledge Strategy ModelKnowledge Strategy Model

What What university university must knowmust know

Knowledge Gap

Strategic Gap

What What university university must domust do

What What university university

knowsknows

What What university can university can

dodo