knowledge management webinar
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Knowledge Management lectureTRANSCRIPT
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Self Guided Lecture #3
Knowledge Management
Cristin Howell-Vischer, MIM
MANAGEMENT II – MAN 2600
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Knowledge Management
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Knowledge Management: The Challenge
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History of Knowledge Management
The trend towards Knowledge Management (KM) was fueled by the development of IT systems which made it simple to store, display and archive classified, indexed information
In the 1980’s KM began to be viewed as a competitive asset
KM has many connections to:
Change management
Benchmarking
Risk Management
Best Practices
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Why is KM Important?
Organizations now face the following challenges:
The increasing value of the intellectual capital which is embedded in end products and services
The increasing convergence of technologies that enable organizations to globalize at the press of the button
The rapid growth of Internet
"Economies are increasingly based on knowledge….What is new is that a growing chunk of production in the modern economy is in the form of intangibles, based on the exploitation of ideas rather than material things…"
Economist Newspaper. September, 23, 2000
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The Value of KM
It is important to manage knowledge assets because – Organizations compete increasingly on the base of
knowledge (the only sustainable competitive advantage, according to some)
Most of our work is information based (and often immersed in a computing environment)
Our products, services, and environment are more complex than ever before
Workforces are increasingly unstable leading to escalating demands for knowledge replacement/acquisition
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KM – A Cross-Disciplinary Approach
Knowledge management draws from a wide range of disciplines and technologies:
Cognitive science: How do we learn?
Expert systems & “Artificial Intelligence”: Using computers to understand human intelligence
Technical writing
Document management
Decision support systems
Relational and object databases
Simulation
Organizational science
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What is Knowledge Management?
1. Treating the knowledge component of business activities as an explicit concern of business reflected in strategy, policy and practice at all levels of the organization
2. Making a direct connection between an organization’s intellectual assets and positive business results
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Aren’t we Already Managing Knowledge?
Well, no…..
In fact, most of the time we’re making a really ugly mess of managing information
The terms information and knowledge are often used interchangeably
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Data vs. Knowledge
Data is unorganized words, numbers and images Data alone has no meaning or context. Example:
The name Bob Jones in a database is merely data
Bob Jones is a regular customer of our products. This is information Information is - organized or categorized data. It has meaning or
value Knowledge is the use of information An organization using information that Bob Jones is a regular
customer of our products and take initiative to establish a special relationship with Bob Jones is using the information and thus creating customer knowledge
If the information we gained is not used, then the knowledge remains passive. It cannot be considered as an active intangible asset
Similarly if employees have skills but he/she does not use them, then such skills remain passive and of no benefit to the organization
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2 Key Thrusts
Sharing existing knowledge“I know what you know”
Developing knowledge for Innovation“Creating and Converting”
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Two “Tracks” of KM – According to Sveiby
Data
Information
Knowledge
Intelligence
Two: Management of InformationCodifiableExplicitEasily transferable
One: Management of People•Human•Judgmental•Contextual•Tacit•The transfer requires learning
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Knowledge Assets
There are two types of knowledge assets
Explicit or formal assets
copyrights, patents, templates, publications, reports, archives, etc.
Tacit or informal assets
Which are rooted in human experience and include personal belief, perspective, and values
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Knowledge Agenda ... in Practice
Knowledge Teams - multi-disciplinary, cross-functional
Knowledge (Data)bases - experts, best practice
Knowledge Centres - hubs of knowledge
Learning Organization - personal/team/org development
Communities of Practice - peers in execution of work
Technology Infrastructure - Intranets, doc mgt
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Seven Levers
Customer Knowledge - the most vital knowledge
Knowledge in Products - ‘smarts’ add value
Knowledge in People - but people ‘walk’
Knowledge in Processes - know-how when needed
Organizational Memory - do we know what we know?
Knowledge in Relationships - richness and depth
Knowledge Assets - intellectual capital
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Knowledge-Management-
System*(Strategy)
InformalOrganisation(Values and
Culture)
Formal Organisation(Roles andStructure)
ProcessesProcesses
IT- Technology
&Infrastructure
IT- Technology
&Infrastructure
Competence(People)
Competence(People)
Balanced Approach To Successful KM
Source: SBS Consulting
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Knowledge Discovery
Knowledge discovery may be defined as the development of new tacit or explicit knowledge from data and information or from the synthesis of prior knowledge
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Knowledge Management Processes
Discovery•Combination•Socialization
Capture•Externalization•Internalization
Sharing•Socialization•Exchange
Application•Direction•Routines
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Discovery
Combination: When multiple bodies of explicit knowledge (information + data) are
synthesized to create new, more complex sets of explicit knowledge
This happens: through communication via integration and systemization of multiple streams of explicit
knowledge when existing explicit knowledge, information, and data are
reconfigured, recategorized, and recontextualized
Example: Data mining techniques may be used to uncover new relationships among explicit data, to produce predictive or categorization models that create new knowledge
Discovery•Combination•Socialization
Capture•Externalization•Internalization
Sharing•Socialization•Exchange
Application•Direction•Routines
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Discovery
Mechanisms that facilitate combination
collaborative problem solving joint decision making collaborative creation of documents
Discovery•Combination•Socialization
Capture•Externalization•Internalization
Sharing•Socialization•Exchange
Application•Direction•Routines
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Discovery
Socialization: Synthesis of tacit knowledge across individuals
This happens: through joint activities instead of written or verbal instructions
Examples:
By transferring ideas and images, apprenticeships or internships help newcomers to see how other think.
Conversations at the water cooler helped knowledge sharing among groups at IBM
Discovery•Combination•Socialization
Capture•Externalization•Internalization
Sharing•Socialization•Exchange
Application•Direction•Routines
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Discovery
Mechanisms that facilitate socialization
apprenticeships employee rotation across areas conferences brainstorming retreats cooperative projects across departments initiation process for new employees
Discovery•Combination•Socialization
Capture•Externalization•Internalization
Sharing•Socialization•Exchange
Application•Direction•Routines
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Knowledge Capture
Knowledge capture is defined as the process of retrieving either explicit or tacit knowledge that resides within people, artifacts or organizational entities
Examples:
Knowledge may reside within an individual’s mind, without that individual having the ability to recognize it and share it with others (tacit knowledge)
Knowledge might reside in an explicit form in a manual, but few people might be aware of it (explicit knowledge)
Knowledge capture might reside outside the organizational boundaries including consultants, competitors, customers, suppliers and prior employers of the organization’s new employees
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Capture
Externalization: Involves converting tacit knowledge into explicit forms such as words concepts visuals figurative language (metaphors, analogies, narratives, etc.)
Examples:
Use of metaphor: understanding and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another
A consultant team writing a document that describes the lessons the team has learned by observing a client organization, executives and approaches
Discovery•Combination•Socialization
Capture•Externalization•Internalization
Sharing•Socialization•Exchange
Application•Direction•Routines
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Capture
Mechanisms that facilitate externalization
An Example from the consulting company Viant:
Before every project, consultants are required to complete a “quicksheet” describing:
the knowledge they need what aspects of knowledge can be leveraged from prior projects what they need to create the lessons they hope to learn that they can share with others later
Discovery•Combination•Socialization
Capture•Externalization•Internalization
Sharing•Socialization•Exchange
Application•Direction•Routines
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Capture
Internalization: The conversion of explicit knowledge into tacit knowledge Internalization represents the traditional notion of “learning” Explicit knowledge may be embodied in action and practice Or, individuals can acquire tacit knowledge in virtual situations
Vicariously through reading manuals or other’s stories Experientially through simulations or experiments
Example:
A new software consultant reads a book on innovative software development and learns from it.
Discovery•Combination•Socialization
Capture•Externalization•Internalization
Sharing•Socialization•Exchange
Application•Direction•Routines
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Capture
Mechanisms that facilitate internalization learning by doing on-the-job training learning by observation face-to-face meetings
Example:
A firm’s Product Division sends their new-product development people to the firm’s telephone call center to chat with the telephone operators, thereby `re-experiencing’ their experiences
Discovery•Combination•Socialization
Capture•Externalization•Internalization
Sharing•Socialization•Exchange
Application•Direction•Routines
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Knowledge Sharing
Knowledge sharing systems support the process through which explicit or implicit knowledge is communicated to other individuals
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Sharing
Socialization: Promotes sharing of tacit knowledge and exchange or sharing of explicit
knowledge
Technologies which help facilitate Socialization include: Instant messaging Social chat groups VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Video-conferencing Electronic support for communities of practice (COPs)
Discovery•Combination•Socialization
Capture•Externalization•Internalization
Sharing•Socialization•Exchange
Application•Direction•Routines
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Sharing
Mechanisms and Technologies that facilitate socialization:
May play an equally important role for knowledge sharing as in knowledge discovery
Example:
Topically focused discussion groups (or technology-enabled chat groups) facilitate knowledge sharing by enabling individuals to explain their knowledge to the rest of the group.
Discovery•Combination•Socialization
Capture•Externalization•Internalization
Sharing•Socialization•Exchange
Application•Direction•Routines
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Sharing
Exchange: Mechanisms facilitating exchange: memos & letters manuals progress reports presentations
Technologies facilitating exchange: Groupware & other team collaboration mechanisms web-based access to data and databases repositories of information including best practice databases, lessons learned
systems and expertise locator systems
Discovery•Combination•Socialization
Capture•Externalization•Internalization
Sharing•Socialization•Exchange
Application•Direction•Routines
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Knowledge Application
Knowledge Applications systems support the process through which some individuals utilize knowledge possessed by other individuals without actually acquiring, or learning that knowledge
Mechanisms and technologies support knowledge application systems by facilitating routines and direction
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Example: Merck Yellow Pages
Yellow pages aim at personal skills of Merck staff
Basic information (no details) comes from HR data bases
Staff may enhance personal information on education and professional experience
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Merck’Blue Pages
Collects and structures information and experience with third party companies
Supported by incentive system
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Application
Mechanisms that facilitate direction include: traditional hierarchical relationships in organizations help desks support centers
Technologies that support direction include: Experts’ knowledge embedded in expert systems and decision support
systems Troubleshooting systems based on the use of technologies like case based
reasoning
Discovery•Combination•Socialization
Capture•Externalization•Internalization
Sharing•Socialization•Exchange
Application•Direction•Routines
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Application
Mechanisms that facilitate routines include: organizational policies work practices standards
Technologies that support routines include: expert systems enterprise resource planning systems traditional management information systems
Discovery•Combination•Socialization
Capture•Externalization•Internalization
Sharing•Socialization•Exchange
Application•Direction•Routines