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Unit 4 Knowledge Management

Unit 4 discusses knowledge management. It defines knowledge management as designing processes to create, protect, and use known knowledge as well as discover unknown knowledge. The modern economy relies on knowledge as the key resource rather than physical resources. Organizations must foster innovation and manage their intellectual capital to gain a competitive advantage. Knowledge management involves generating, accessing, representing, facilitating, and transferring knowledge throughout an organization. Technology and leadership are important enablers of effective knowledge management.

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193 views

Unit 4 Knowledge Management

Unit 4 discusses knowledge management. It defines knowledge management as designing processes to create, protect, and use known knowledge as well as discover unknown knowledge. The modern economy relies on knowledge as the key resource rather than physical resources. Organizations must foster innovation and manage their intellectual capital to gain a competitive advantage. Knowledge management involves generating, accessing, representing, facilitating, and transferring knowledge throughout an organization. Technology and leadership are important enablers of effective knowledge management.

Uploaded by

Hannan Wani
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Unit 4

Knowledge Management
Definitions
 Designing, installing techniques and processes to create,
protect, and use known knowledge.

 Designing and creating environments and activities to


discover and release knowledge that is not known.

 Articulating the purpose and nature of managing


knowledge as a resource and embodying it in other
initiatives and programs.
Knowledge Management
The move from an
industrially-based economy to a knowledge
or information-based one in the 21st Century
demands a top-notch knowledge
management system to secure a competitive
edge and a capacity for learning.
Knowledge Management

 The new source of wealth is knowledge, and


not labor, land, or financial capital. It is the
intangible, intellectual assets that must be
managed.

 The key challenge of the knowledge-based


economy is to foster innovation.
The Knowledge Economy
For several decades the world's best-known
forecasters of societal change have predicted “the
emergence of a new economy in which brainpower,
not machine power, is the critical resource.” But the
future has already turned into the present, and the
era of knowledge has arrived.

--"The Learning Organization," Economist Intelligence Unit


Four Modes of Knowledge Conversion
• Socialization:
– A process of sharing experiences
– Apprenticeship through observation, imitation, and practice
• Externalization:
– A process of articulating tacit knowledge into explicit concepts
– Created through dialogue or collective reflection
• Internalization:
– Learning by doing
– Shared mental models or technical know-how
– Documents help individual internalize what they experience
• Combination:
– A process of systemizing concepts into a knowledge system
– Reconfiguration of existing information and knowledge
Knowledge Categorization

• Knowledge of products/services

• Knowledge of processes/procedures

• Knowledge of production technology

• Knowledge of customers and markets

• Knowledge of your competitors

• Knowledge of your own people


Organizational Knowledge:
Why Is It Important?

 Knowledge can be embedded in processes,


products, systems, and controls.

 Knowledge can be accessed as it is needed from


sources inside or outside the firm.

 It is versatile and can be transferred formally,


through training, or informally, by way of workplace
socialization.

 It is the essence of the competitive edge!


Knowledge Management Types
1. Competency Management

2. Knowledge Sharing

3. Competitive Knowledge Management


For Successful Managing of Knowledge

Focus on five tasks:

 Generating knowledge
 Accessing knowledge
 Representing and embedding knowledge
 Facilitating knowledge
 Transferring knowledge

It is a process of instilling the culture and helping


people find ways to share and utilize their collective
knowledge.
Knowledge Management Enablers

• Leadership
• Knowledge champions, such as CKO’s
• Culture
• Access
• Technology
• Learning Culture
The Technological Divide
 Generating organizational knowledge invariably
means converting the tacit knowledge of the
individual into explicit knowledge accessible by all.
Information technology is most effective when it
enables this social process.

 Companies must think through their technological


systems.

 Technology such as Intranets and advanced


collaborative software have made Knowledge
Management possible.
In Successful KM Programs

 Information is widely disseminated throughout the


organization. Wherever it is needed, it is accessible.

 Accessible at a fast rate of speed.

 Virtual communities of practice share what is known in a


global fashion, independent of time zones and other
geographic limitations.

 Business boundaries are broad, and often virtual in


nature.

 Collaboration to support continuous innovation and new


knowledge creation.
Symptoms of KM Diffusion Challenges

• No internal learning communities

• Lack of psychological safety

• Lack of workplace trust

• Arrogance of people who believe they know everything, so why


try?

• Lack of communication within an organization made evident by


continually reinventing the same wheel

• Negativity and unrealistic expectations


Sustainability of a KM Endeavor
There are three fundamental processes that sustain
profound changes such as the introduction of a KM
system:

 developing networks of committed people

 Improving business results

 enhancing personal results


To achieve sustainability, there must be a focus on
learning, and learning how to harness the learning
capabilities that lead to innovation.
Sustainability of a KM Endeavor

 The emergence and development of informal


networks must be supported so that people can
share their tacit knowledge and help one
another.

 Managers need to surrender control.

 And mental models need to be examined.


Knowledge Management: Summary
 The essence of knowledge management is
understanding and valuing intangible assets over
tangible

 Understanding that human and intellectual capital


are the greatest resources

 Managing the skills and competencies that lie within


an organization, and allowing them to blossom

 Allowing people to be the best that they can be;


optimizing performance
Knowledge Management Context
• IT infrastructure is a critical component of knowledge
management (KM); however, KM encompasses much more than
IT does.
• Business strategy/goals
• Customer/supplier alliance
Business Environment
• Competitive factors

• Collaborative processes
• Information sharing Business Process &
• Process teams Work Environment
• Reward system

• Best practices
• External/internal knowledge
• Process models/templates Context & Content

• Intranets/groupware/e-mail
• Object databases
• Document management
• Videoconferencing/EMS
IT Infrastructure
Ernst & Young’s Framework for KM
Storage
• Input, Archive,
Abstract
• Index, Catalog Deploy
Acquire • Coordinate • On-demand
• Engagement • Content • Repeatable
• Event-based
based
• Non • Subscription
• Commercialize
engagement
based
Add Value • Monitor usage
• Identify needs • Measure
• External
• Research satisfaction
• Develop
proprietary
• Package

Provide Infrastructure
Organization - Culture - Technology - Public Relations

Source: Ernst & Young, and “A Note on Knowledge Management,” Harvard Business School 9-398-031, 1997

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