Knowledge management

Knowledge Knowledge ManagementManagement

Canadian Institutional Research and Planning Association

L’Association canadienne de planification et de recherche institutionnelle Conference 2004, Montreal

Jim GohoRed River [email protected]

.ppt available at www.rrc.mb.ca/researchplan

Concepts and methods for delivering knowledge in the digital age

Objectives for this sessionObjectives for this session

• To explore the concepts & theory of Knowledge Management (KM)

• To learn about some KM programs

• To discuss the idea of KM in Postsecondary Education and in IR

• To identify some of the controversies around KM

Knowledge ManagementKnowledge Management

© United Features Syndicate, Inc.

What is Knowledge What is Knowledge Management?Management?

• Defined in a variety of ways.• KM in education: a strategy to enable people

to develop a set of practices to create, capture, share & use knowledge to advance.

• KM focuses on:• people who create and use knowledge.• processes and technologies by which knowledge is

created, maintained and accessed.• artifacts in which knowledge is stored (manuals,

databases, intranets, books, heads).Sources: Petrides, L.A. & Nodine, T.R (2003). Knowledge management in education: Defining the landscape. Edvinsson, L. & Malone, M.S. (1997). Intellectual capital: Realizing your company's true value by finding its hidden brainpower. Ford, N. (1989). From information- to knowledge-management. Journal of Information Science Principles & Practice.

“Knowledge management is a discipline that promotes an integrated approach to identifying, managing and sharing all of an enterprise’s information needs. These information assets may include databases, documents, policies and procedures as well as previously unarticulated expertise and experience resident in individual workers.”

Source: GartnerGroup Research.

What is Knowledge What is Knowledge Management?Management?

A Community College’s A Community College’s DefinitionDefinition

“A discipline and framework designed to help our organization acquire, package and share “what we know” to enable decision-making, creativity, innovation and communication.” (Cuyahoga Community College)

Where does KM come from?Where does KM come from?• Technology

• Infrastructure, Database, Web, Interface

• Globalization• World wide markets, North American integration

• Demographics• Aging population, workforce mobility, diversity

• Economics• Knowledge economy

• Customer relations• Quality

• Increase in information• Specialization, Volume, Order

Sources: Brown J.S. & Duguid, P. (1991). Organisational learning and communities-of-practice. Organisational Science. .O’Dell C. & Grayson Jr., C.J. (1998). If only we knew what we know. Stewart, T. (2002). The wealth of knowledge.

The Rise of the The Rise of the Knowledge WorkerKnowledge Worker

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

farmworkers labourers & operators crafts

service clerical sales

managerial & admin. prof. & tech.

Source: Stewart T.A. (1997). Intellectual capital.

Labour market employment Labour market employment shift to a knowledge economyshift to a knowledge economy

Average annual rate of growth in Canadian labour market sectors (%) 1971-1996

4.1

7.6

2.2

2.6

0.6

2.1

0 2 4 6 8

Knowledge

Management

Data

Services

Production

Overall

Source: Lavoie, M. & Roy, R. (1998). Employment in the knowledge-based economy.

Digital StudentsDigital Students

By age 21, the average college student will have spent:

• 10,000 hours video games• 200,000 emails• 20,000 hours TV• 10,000 hours cell phone• Under 5,000 hours reading

Source: F. Prochaska, Students and Faculty Today: Inhabiting the Evolving Universe of Teaching, Learning, and Technology, 2003.

Why KM?Why KM?

Source: Luan, J & Serban, A. (2002, June). Knowledge management concepts, models and applications. Paper presented at Annual AIR Forum, Toronto.

What is Knowledge?What is Knowledge?• Knowledge is justified true belief. Ayer, A.J. (1956). The

Problem of Knowledge.

• Knowledge is a fluid mix of framed experience, values, contextual information and expert insight that provides a framework for evaluating and incorporating new experience and information. It originates and is applied in the minds of knowers. In organizations it often becomes embedded not only in documents or repositories but also in organizational processes, practices and norms. Davenport, T.H. & Prusak, L (1998). Working Knowledge.

• Knowledge is information in action. O’Dell C. & Grayson Jr., C.J. (1998). If only we knew what we know.

Data, Information & KnowledgeData, Information & Knowledge

DATA INFORMATION KNOWLEDGE

Definition Raw facts, figures and records

contained in a system.

Data placed into a form that is

accessible, timely and accurate.

Information in context to make it insightful and

relevant for human action.

Reason Processing Storing / Accessing.

Insight, innovation,

improvement.

"We are drowning in information but starved for knowledge"Naisbitt , J. (1984) Megatrends: Ten new directions transforming our lives.


Two types of knowledgeTwo types of knowledge

Explicit knowledge• Formal or codified• Documents: reports,

policy manuals, white papers, standard procedures

• Databases• Books, magazines,

journals (library)

Implicit (Tacit) knowledge• Informal and uncodified• Values, perspectives &

culture• Knowledge in heads• Memories of staff, suppliers

and vendors

Documented information that can

facilitate action.

Know-how & learning embedded within the

minds people.

Knowledge informs decisions and actions.Sources: Polanyi, M. (1967). The tacit dimension. Leonard, D. & Sensiper, S. (1998). The Role of Tacit Knowledge in Group Innovation. California Management Review.

Layers of knowledgeLayers of knowledge

Implicit (Tacit)Explicit

Individual

Organizational

In people’s heads.

• Undocumented ways of working in teams, teaching.• Cultural conventionsknown and followed but not formalized.

Personal documents on my C:\

• Formalized process for developing curriculum.• Corporate polices and procedures.


In the Business WorldIn the Business World• KM is becoming a “big deal” in industry.

• KM involves collaboration, organizational learning, best practices, workflow, IP management, document management, customer focus and using data meaningfully [data mining].

• KM requires understanding the soft skills necessary to work with people.

Source: Clare Hart, President and CEOFactiva, Knowledge Management London 4 April 2001

What are USA companies doing?What are USA companies doing?

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Capture & sharebest practices

Corporate learningstrategies

CRM

Competitiveintelligence

[Source: Milan, J. (2001) KM: A revolution waiting for IR. Paper presented at the 41st Annual AIR Forum.]

81% of businesses with KM solutions see productivity improvements. [Malhotra, Y. (2001).

If Statistics Canada If Statistics Canada Measures KM It Must Exist.Measures KM It Must Exist.

Proportion of firms with dedicated spending on KM practices

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Less than 50 workers

50-249 workers

250-499 workers

500-1,999 workers

2,000 & more workers

Source: Statistics Canada. (2002) Are we managing our knowledge?

What are organizations doing What are organizations doing in Canada?in Canada?

1. Knowledge capture and acquisition• E.g., environmental scanning.

2. Developing strategies for implicit K sharing:

• E.g., CoPs, virtual teams, list of experts & mentoring.

3. Using technologies to store, analyze & distribute explicit K.

• Corporate portals, business K base, process control inventories, CRM.

Source: Statistics Canada. (2002) Are we managing our knowledge?

Relevance to PSERelevance to PSE

• Not on the agenda of most (Kidwell, Vander Linde & Johnson, 2000).

• However, universities and colleges are in the knowledge business.

• Many have KM organizational initiatives (e.g., Washington State Univ., Jackson State Univ., Santa Barbara City College, Cuyahoga Community College)

• Some use technology• and some offer KM education.

• George Mason, Dominican Univ., Univ. of Washington, RRC

Technology Components of a Technology Components of a KM SolutionKM Solution

• Portals• Websites• Search Engines• Shared Drives• Specialty Knowledge Applications

• Share Point• FAQ and Lessons Learned• Online survey tool

• Knowledge and Information Tools

Campus Web PortalsCampus Web Portals((2003 National Survey of IT in US Higher Education)2003 National Survey of IT in US Higher Education)

28% of institutions have web-based campus portals (21% in 2002)

Source: Green, K.C. The Campus Computing Project

Web PortalsWeb Portals

An electronic gateway to a comprehensive pool of information and services that is organized and presented to serve the needs of a defined user population.

Source: Green, K.C. The Campus Computing Project

Characteristics of Web Characteristics of Web PortalsPortals

• Visual appeal; ease of navigation• Organized around user’s information and

transaction needs• Is customized by system to meet user’s

needs and convenience• May be personalized by user to meet user’s

preferencesSource: Green, K.C. The Campus Computing Project

What’s KM in IR?What’s KM in IR?

• Information authority.

• Spin doctor.

• Policy wonk.

• Scholar & researcher.

• Manager of knowledge.

Source: Serban, A.M. (2002). KM: The fifth face of IR.

three

two

one

three

Illustrated KM ModelsIllustrated KM Models Tiered Knowledge Management Model (TKMM)Tiered Knowledge Management Model (TKMM)

in Institutional Researchin Institutional Research

Tacit Knowledge

PortalsCRM

Data WarehousesEnterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

QueryingOLAP

Data MiningClassical multivariate statistics

Collaborative Working Environment (CWE)

Knowledge Base Knowledge Workers

KnowledgeMapping

Tiers:Tiers:

two

one

Explicit Knowledge

Source: Luan J. & Serban A.M. , (2002). KM: Building a competitive advantage in higher education.

KM at RRCKM at RRC

• Learning about KM.

• Knowledge capture & acquisition.

• Knowledge sharing.

• KM strategy.

• ConnectRRC!

• Continuing Education program.

IR and KMIR and KM

• Documentation – data dictionary.• Enrolment management (forecasting

model).• Academic curriculum renewal – program

benchmarking – best practices.• Strategic planning.• Web deployment of IR.

Environmental ScanningEnvironmental Scanning

• Formalized annual scanning process.• Internal and external.• Tested against knowledge of College Board,

leaders, faculty and staff.• Face to face• Web consultation.

• Used to inform strategic and operational plans.• Vision, mission, values, goals, and objectives.

www.rrc.mb.ca/researchplan

Learner ManagementLearner Management• Go from reporting what happened to why it

happened to forecast what will happen.• Graduate outcomes

• Employment – logistic and multinomial regression.• Earnings – linear regression.

• Collapsing satisfaction questions – factor analysis.

• Effectiveness of selection interviews – meta-analysis.

• Goal – Forecast which prospective students will be consistent donors as alumni.

ConnectRRC!ConnectRRC!

• Community of interests.• Will build for the future.• Start at the grassroots level.• Bring together people who have an interest in

KM.• Work together to connect and share.• Promote an understanding and use of KM. • Website: http://connect.rrc.mb.ca

Source: George Siemens, RRC.

ActivitiesActivities• Blogging/aggregation.

• New model innovation built on the unique attributes of the Internet/

• Listserv.

• Face to face forums.

• Collaborate, e.g., RROC.


Other thingsOther things

- Sharepoint - small team collaboration - already being used by several committees, connect, instructors, etc..

• Informal knowledge sharing

• College-wide FAQs


KM CoursesKM Courses• Knowledge Management - An Overview .• Organizational Culture – Adapting to Change.• Knowledge Mapping an Organization.• Training and Development.• KM Process Management:

• Creating, structuring, storing knowledge.• Retrieving, acquiring and using knowledge.

KM is NonsenseKM is Nonsense• KM is a management consultant conspiracy

(search and replace marketing).

• KM practitioners don’t know what “knowledge” really is.

• KM is the ‘Learning Organization’ rebranded.

• KM cheerleaders misunderstand tacit knowledge (Polanyi’s sense).

• KM is nothing new.

Source: Wilson, T.D. (2002). The nonsense of ‘knowledge management.’Information Research, 8(1).

KM is here to stayKM is here to stay

KNOWLEDGE IS LIKE LIGHT. Weightless and intangible, it can easily travel the world, enlightening the lives of people everywhere. Yet billions of people still live in poverty unnecessarily. Knowledge about how to treat such a simple ailment as diarrhea has existed for centuries but millions of children continue to die from it because their parents do not know how to save them.

Source: Opening statement of the World Bank 1998/99 World Development Report: Knowledge for Development.

Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H.G. Wells.