Working with Individual and Organizational Knowledge

Introduction

Introduction

An approach to knowledge management that focuses on organizational knowledge without understanding individual

contributions will certainly fail.

On the other hand, knowledge management that focuses on individual knowledge without creating value for the

organization is blind and dangerous.

Effective knowledge management requires that both individual and organizational knowledge be addressed: where programs and systems are developed to encourage

individual contributions and provide distinguishable value to the organization.

Understanding Knowledge

Knowledge is: DECLARATIVE (What) PROCEDURAL (How)

The scope of knowledge can be described as:

INDIVIDUAL ORGANIZATIONAL COLLECTIVE

Knowledge can be expressed as:

EXPLICIT IMPLICIT TACIT

There are two methods of transferring knowledge:

Technical - CODIFICATION Relational - PERSONIFICATION

EXPERIENCE

Knowledge, Learning, and Experience

KNOWLEDGE

KNOWLEDGE

LEARNING

KM Capabilities

CODIFICATION PERSONIFICATION

EXPLOITATION HARVEST HARNESS

EXPLORATION HUNT HYPOTHESIZE

Knowledge Assets and Processes

Knowledge Assets – definable, often explicit, property in the form of knowledge which must be nurtured, protected, and used to the largest extent possible

Knowledge Processes – the prescribed activities for creating, building, compiling, organizing, transforming, transferring, applying, and securing knowledge assets

Knowledge Bases

From a technical context, a knowledge base is a repository of knowledge assets managed by the organization and accessible by authorized individuals.

From an organizational context, a knowledge base comprises:

– Knowledge possessed by members of the organization

– A framework connecting knowledgeable members– Structures promoting interaction and

communication between members

Roles in Knowledge Management

Knowledge Seeker

Knowledge Provider

Knowledge Worker

Organization

Spheres of influence

Indirect Influence

Direct Influence

Person

Communities of Practice

Groups of people who share a common passion and learn as they regularly interact.

Social Networking

Understanding the connections, distributions, and segmentation of knowledge assets

Roles in Knowledge Management

Five Archetypes:CompassConnectorCaptainMinerScout

Motivation in KM

All action requires knowledge.

Knowledge can be explicit or tacit.

Data is the product of taking action.

Organizational Knowledge

What is organizational knowledge?– Knowledge known or available to all persons in

the organization– Is explicitly available, but transferred tacitly

most of the time– Its value can be quantified– Has quality (accuracy, completeness,

appropriateness)

Collective knowledge speaks to knowledge belonging to a group of people not bound by the organization, but also not composing the entire organization.

Creating Alignment

Corporate Goals

Personal Goals

GroupsKnowledge

Management at Organizational Level

Knowledge Management at Collective Level

IndividualsKnowledge

Management at Individual Level

Knowledge Management at the

Personal Level

Organizational Structures

Personal versus Impersonal

Specialized versus Generalized

Competition versus Collaboration

Decentralized versus Centralized

Heterarchical versus Hierarchical

Autonomy versus Control

Innovation versus Practicality

Informal versus Formal

Trust versus Regulation

INDIVIDUAL ORGANIZATIONAL

Implementing KM

Sc

op

e Individual

Organizational Knowledge

Learning

Man

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InformationPeople

Tracking

Tracking People

General Purpose: To identify and assess knowledgeable people, their skills and how they can best serve the organization or improve their knowledge capabilities

Possible Solutions: Skill assessments, communities of practice, peer and performance reviews, directories, expert locators

Rationale: People with knowledge provide the foundation for success by the organization; the right people with the proper level of support from the organization will be loyal contributors to innovation, competitive advantage, and operational effectiveness.

Tracking Information

General Purpose: To identify and assess actual and potential data, information, and/or knowledge which is valuable to the organization, in general, and individuals, in particular. The expression of these assets can be explicit, implicit, or tacit and takes on a natural flow through the organization.

Possible Solutions: Databases, repositories, catalogs, logs, reports, surveys, publications, etc., as well as brain trusts, projects, strategy meetings, research and development

Rationale: Tapping the flow of information into, across, and out of the organization will enhance capabilities in communicating and enforcing organizational knowledge.

Managing Knowledge

General Purpose: To ensure the right knowledge is available to the right person at the right time and under the right conditions. This can be achieved passively through repositories to be searched, or actively through alerts and notifications of changes in knowledge.

Possible Solutions: Skill assessments, communities of practice, repositories, content generation tools, management tools, search engines, RSS feeds and subscriptions, and standards

Rationale: Knowledge is useless if it cannot be accessed and used. Any solution in this aspect is focused on ensuring that the knowledge needed by a person or organization is accessible at any given time.

Managing Learning

General Purpose: To provide avenues for increasing or improving knowledge at the organizational and individual levels in a controlled environment

Possible Solutions: Online training, communities of practice, RSS feeds and subscriptions, presentations, workshops, lessons learned

Rationale: A growing organization is a learning organization. Understanding what knowledge is available and what knowledge is required for the future is essential for success whether by an organization or an individual.

Technologies - General

Knowledge Management tools will fall into one or more of the following function:

– Identification– Capture– Evaluation– Retrieval– Sharing

Technologies - Communication

Communication tools are used to transfer information and knowledge between people and groups, sometimes across far reaching geographical or specialization areas.

Monitoring of communication tools can identify existing information flows, potential and actual experts and communities of practice.

Communication tools comprise any form of electronic communication, including e-mail, video conferencing, instant messaging, Twitter, blogs, wikis, and social networking.

Technologies - Collaboration

Collaboration tools are designed to bring several individuals together for a common purpose, usually on a temporary basis but with the potential of building permanent basis.

These types of tools are ideal for building community and cooperation in generating knowledge. Often, the knowledge is more robust and far from error than knowledge created by an individual.

Collaboration tools commonly consist of project tools, development environments, video conferencing, research panels, and wikis.

Technologies – Document Management

The purpose of document management solutions is restricted to managing the containers, such as documents o files, which contain knowledge. Management of knowledge content is often regulated to content management tools, but either focus serve the same purpose—to collect, manage, and make available explicit data, information, and/or knowledge.

A major benefit of document management is the ability to search the repository. Document management solutions in this sense include any database, document repository, search engine, file directory, records, or library.

Technologies – Content Generation

The focus of content generation technologies is the automatic creation and/or organization of data, information, and knowledge in a format useful to the organization. While some tools focus on the authoring of content, others focus on categorizing and organizing content.

Technologies such as Big Data Analytics, Tagging, and Bookmarking are common solutions in this field. Solutions to pre-fill forms based on personal preferences also fall in this category.

Summary