- Dora Cheng- Tomasz Skazinski- Serena Wong

Knowledge Management - People Issues

Written, Produced & Directed by:

Starring:

- Computas WoX System- Techtronics- Q&A

- Knowledge Contributors- Users- Managers- IS Managers

Special Appearances by:

Definition

Knowledge: the insights, understandings, and practical experience that we possess

Knowledge Management (KM): the identification, growth and effective application of an organization’s knowledge

A KM System (KMS): a medium that stores or makes available the cumulative knowledge recorded by the contributors

Importance of KMKMS can be leveraged to:

Improve efficiencyAvoid duplicated effortsReduce dependency on experienced employeesImprove training

KMS provides technological benefits, such as easy retrieval, universal accessibility, and more effective management means

KMS is very efficient at capturing explicit knowledge, but also has the ability to capture tacit knowledge

People issues: ContributorsContributor:Contributes knowledge to the KMS, without this knowledge the system would be an empty container

Issues:Reasons for not sharing knowledgeLack of motivationDifficulty of knowledge capture

C

Reasons for not sharing knowledge

C

Job Security (expendable to employer)Knowledge is a valuable asset and is often key to success, so why share it?Organizations creating a negative outlook for employees, treating them as ‘skill sets’ or ‘knowledge sources’ rather than a whole personTime and effort required to analyse and record what has been learntLack of recognition for individual contributions to the organisational knowledge pool

Reasons for not sharing (con’t)

C

SolutionCreate IncentivesImprove loyalty and sense of value to the employeesImprove training and reduce employee turnover rateFoster a sharing culture in the organization

Lack of motivation

C

Motivating contributors with incentives:Financial rewardEmployee recognitionNurturing employee creativityMarketing KM as an opportunity for social interaction

Case Study: Computas WoX System

C

Created a KM tool called WoX to motivate contributionReplacement of post-it notes by virtual notes that reside on the WoX system accessible among everyoneWoX system rewards user credits for useful notes, based on other user ratingsCreated a healthy competition among the WoX users to get most creditsRewards included ‘knowledge sharer of the month’which was accompanied by a prizeContributors could see that their contributions were actually used

(Dingsøyr et al. 2003).

Difficulty of knowledge capture

C

Knowledge sharing occurs during conversations, e-mails, seminars, meetings, etc

It is tedious and time consuming to manually add knowledge into the KMS

We need KM tools that capture this knowledge with minimal interference

Difficulty of knowledge capture (con’t)

C

Ideally knowledge is populated into KMS automatically or with little user effort

Example: have the email system that automatically captures knowledge

Case Study: MILK system uses a tool called Limbo workspace that gives users extra functionality in knowledge creation and collaboration in a private workspace and with a click can be populated into the KMS

(Agostini et al. 2003).

Knowledge Users/Receivers

Must build a Learning OrganizationEmployees must be willing to shareBarriers

Cultural resistance

U(Squier and Snyman 2004)

Cultural ChangesEnhance employees’ learning abilities

Know how to use knowledge creatively

Treat employees as “reflective learners”Real-world problems for reflection on the process

Collaborative learningEffective for “tacit” knowledge

U

Individual Commitment

Provide incentives for employees to improve on current process

New compensation systemReward risk-taking and collaborative learning

Take feedback seriouslyInvolvement as incentive

U

Case Study: Techtronics

Call Centre outsourcing service

Technicians have little to no technical background

Tens of millions of dollars annually on training

KM tool decrease costs and talk time?

U

Case Study: TechtronicsFAILED

KM tools time-consumingLack of training on toolsTool does not fit with current culture of face-to-face communicationNo personal satisfactionTechnical problemsLack of management support

U

(Downing 2004)

Management (they’re people too.. sort of)

Key Idea: Managers need to plan KMS with people as their focus, rather than technology

Studies show: companies where knowledge is not shared among employees don’t change when sophisticated technology is implemented (Alavi and Leidner 1999).

While technology can help streamline the process of knowledge sharing, the people are the crucial determining factor in whether KM works (Alavi and Leidner 1999).

M

Management (cont’d)

Some important steps for management:Conduct knowledge auditTake a long-term view of KMClarify the organization’s KM goalsDevote resources to developing a company culture conducive to knowledge sharing

M

Knowledge AuditUsed to identify current state of an organization’s knowledge structure

Goal is to find out:types of knowledge availablewhere it’s locatedhow it’s maintained and storedwhat it’s used for and it’s relevancy

Generally consists of “the identification of knowledge needs through the use of questionnaires, interviews and focus groups” (Burnett et al. 2004)

Time-consuming but necessary. Else, could end up with a KMS that’s very difficult to use or unusable

M

Long-term ViewKM initiatives can fail because they don’t produce immediate returns on investment (unlike a new supplier price on widgets)

Decide early on if willing to take a long-term view of KM

Information (knowledge) in a KMS grows as the system is used - KMS usefulness grows with time

Employees must expend extra effort for a KMS to work so they must have management’s continual support of the initiative

M

Clarify GoalsWhat’s the goal?

improve productivity, make better decisions based on improved knowledge, etc.create a system to glean the necessary knowledge and store it away so that employees can be let go or replaced

Resolve conflicting strategies KM strategy needs to work with other business strategies HR’s cost-reduction strategies like removing career development programs and replacing employees with ever-cheaper labour undermines the KM initiative

M

Clarify Goals (con’t)If the company isn’t committed to employees, employees will focus on job security by keeping their tacit knowledge to themselves (Trauth 1999)

Can’t make a case for knowledge sharing and organizational productivity while advocating HR practices that force employees to fend for themselves (Trauth 1999)

There has to be a trade-off:Either HR practices will have to value experienced workers and thus accept paying higher salariesOR compensate workers for proffering tacit knowledge –offering career development programs and training (Trauth 1999)

M

Company CultureOrganizations that foster and encourage an environment of sharing have a better chance of success in leveraging knowledge to their advantage

Provide initial support, financial and otherwise, for communities of practice and sharing-friendly environment

Continue to encourage and develop the company culture and not let the endeavour peter out

Must continually review the KM strategy and make adjustments – including:

adjusting incentive programsupgrading or replacing the KM technology used

M

Why Should IS Managers Care?General Business Reasons:

knowledge is an asset to be leveraged to improve bottom line

KMS Implementer:IS managers need to worry about both the contributors and the users of the information in a KMS – it’s crucial

IS Dept’s high turnover rate:trend of info. professionals leaving within a few years of joining, voluntarily (for better jobs) or involuntarily (lay-offs) Problem for knowledge retention – there are decreasing numbers of experienced people who know about existing systems, the business, and its processes. (Trauth 1999)

M

ConclusionKnowledge is an asset that can be leveraged to help the business

KMS must be populated by possessors of knowledge in an organization – the employees. Thus, must ensure employees are willing to contribute to KM initiatives and fully utilize KMS

Employees must be motivated to share their knowledge – especially if it seems the company’s motivation is to make them expendable

M

Conclusion (con’t)Ways to Motivate:

Incentives - intellectual stimulation or bonusesNurture environment conducive to learning: communication, collaborative efforts for solving real-world problems

Management needs to:Ensure longevity of KM initiativeConduct knowledge auditClarify and ensure KM goal is compatible with other goals

IS managers should be concerned with KM because:Competitive advantage KM system is their responsibilityIS dept’s high turnover rates

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