Understanding Knowledge Management

Introduction

Introduction

Decision. Action. Collaboration. Cooperation. Success. Failure. Enterprise. Strategy. These words and more are common vocabulary within an organization, and they all have something in common—the need for

knowledge.

Every organization seeks out and improves its foundation in knowledge, whether it is in the form of training and

education, research and development, projects, or subscription to relevant publications. The discipline of knowledge management is simply a means of focusing

one’s effort in the right direction.

Defining Knowledge Management

Knowledge Management as a discipline in business began in the early 1990s and was built on previous efforts in information management, data management, and document management.

The problem is that knowledge management is still vaguely defined and often incorrectly construed as an offshoot of some other disciplines like those mentioned before or content management, business intelligence, or the like.

Additionally, many organizations seeking to exploit knowledge management will typically think in terms of technology, attempting to develop and implement the latest and greatest software package to capture and disseminate knowledge. However, knowledge management in its purest sense is not a function of the IT department or the Human Resources department. It is a cultural phenomenon of the entire enterprise.

Defining Knowledge Management

There are two definitions familiar to people working in knowledge management.

The first is the most quoted definition by Thomas Davenport (1994):"Knowledge management is the process of capturing, distributing, and

effectively using knowledge."

The second is the most cited definition by Bryant Duhon (1998)"Knowledge management is a discipline that promotes an integrated approach to identifying, capturing, evaluating, retrieving, and sharing

all of an enterprise's information assets. These assets may include databases, documents, policies, procedures, and previously un-

captured expertise and experience in individual workers."

Understanding Knowledge

Knowledge is:

DECLARATIVE (What)

PROCEDURAL (How)

Understanding Knowledge (Expression)

Knowledge can be expressed as:

EXPLICIT

IMPLICIT

TACIT

Understanding Knowledge (Scope)

The scope of knowledge can be described as:

INDIVIDUAL

ORGANIZATIONAL

COLLECTIVE

INDIVIDUAL

COLLECTIVE

ORGANIZATIONAL

AUTONOMY MOTIVATION

Understanding Knowledge (Transfers)

There are two methods of transferring knowledge:

Technical – CODIFICATION

Relational - PERSONIFICATION

Knowledge and Learning

Knowledge Management

and

Organizational Knowledge

or

Organization Learning

and

Learning OrganizationKNOWLEDGE

KNOWLEDGE

LEARNING

KM Capabilities

CODIFICATION(Organizational

Knowledge)

PERSONIFICATION(Individual

Knowledge)

EXPLOITATION

(Directed Access to Knowledge)

HARVEST HARNESS

EXPLORATION

(Browsing and Research)

HUNT HYPOTHESIZE

Harvesting Knowledge

To harvest means to gather.

In the previous diagram, harvesting knowledge is a process of directly accessing codified or explicit knowledge. The most common example of this is a centralized knowledge database or document repository.

Harnessing Knowledge

To harness means to trap.

Harnessing knowledge is a process of directly accessing personal or tacit/implicit knowledge. The most common example of this is training program or mentoring.

Hunting Knowledge

To hunt means to pursue.

Hunting knowledge is a process of chasing down codified or explicit knowledge. The most common example of this is the use of a search engine.

Knowledge Hypothesis

An hypothesis is an assumption.

Knowledge is the result of a process where personal or tacit knowledge is accessed to formulate or prove a hypothesis. The most common example of this is research and development.

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 Management—Policies

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Data

Context

Understanding

Wisdom

Why?

Knowledge

How?

InformationWho, what,when, where?

Data

Context

Understanding

Wisdom

Why?

Knowledge

How?

InformationWho, what,when, where?

Knowledge Management—SKMS

SKMS (Service Knowledge Management System)

CMS (Configuration Management System)

CMDB

(Configuration Management Database)

KEDB

(Known Error Database)

Decisions

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 is composed of:

– Knowledge possessed by members of the organization

– A framework connecting knowledgeable members– Structures promoting interaction and communication

between members

Knowledge Management Objectives

The strategic objectives of knowledge management for most organization revolve around the following statements:

– Transform knowledge into value add components serving business processes and operations.

– Leverage knowledge to accelerate growth, generate innovation, and provide competitive advantage.

Within this context, knowledge management initiatives will typically focus on:

– Creating a knowledge repository– Managing knowledge as assets– Improving knowledge quantity and/or quality– Enhancing a culture for knowledge sharing

Purpose of KM

Purposes from a Enterprise Architecture perspective:– Executive – making strategic decisions about products,

services, acquisitions, and alliances based on knowledge-related factors

– Business Management – determining why, where, and to what point, knowledge should be invested in or exploited

– Architect – defining practices to identify, organize, direct, promote, and monitor knowledge-related activities

– Engineer – incorporating defined practice in daily operations to create a knowledge-focused culture

– Technician – applying practices to create/use explicit knowledge and leverage tacit knowledge

Benefits of KM Improves decision-making capabilities by ensuring appropriate

knowledge is available to the right people at the right time Provides a framework for capturing knowledge and promoting

learning within the organization Stimulates cultural change and innovation by encouraging the free

flow of ideas Enhances employee retention rates by recognizing the value of

employees' knowledge and rewarding them for it Streamlines operations and reduces costs by eliminating

redundant or unnecessary processes Improves customer service by reducing response time and

increasing quality of service Gets products and services to market faster, thus boosting

revenues and improving competitive advantage

Challenges in KM

Lack of Participation

Lack of Definition/Too Much Definition

Contributions Misunderstood/Restricted

Data Deluge

Ongoing Maintenance

Implementing KM

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Tracking

Tips on Implementing KM

Try not to use the term Knowledge Management

Move away from a technology-centric paradigm

Start small

Be user-friendly

The Toolkit

The Toolkit is designed to be holistic in its approach to Knowledge Management. Its intent is to identify the potential dangers in improving an organization’s capabilities and to provide a practical approach to implementing Knowledge Management solutions. The technologies are too broad and diverse to be covered in a single toolkit, so templates and aids are provided, which can be used across several implementation projects.

The goal of the Knowledge Management Toolkit is to define what knowledge management is, how it can be used effectively by an organization, and support an organization’s attempt to develop its capabilities in knowledge management.

Moving Forward

The toolkit is designed to accept one basic premise: that an organization already has capabilities in knowledge management, whether they are seen as such or not. A specific organization may find individual presentations or documents more valuable than others, but it is our hope that the overall toolkit sufficiently covers the broad spectrum of knowledge management for all organizations.

The core documents of the toolkit focus on developing an organization in the three major focus areas of knowledge management:

– Discovering Knowledge– Capturing Knowledge– Sharing Knowledge