Chapter

Essentials of Knowledge Management

Knowledge
Knowledge needs to be defined in relation to intelligence, experience, and common sense. Knowledge is an understanding gained through experience or study. It is know-how or a awareness of how to do something, that enables a person to perform a specialized task. It may also be an gathering of facts, procedural rules, or heuristics.

These elements are defined as follows: A fact is a statement with some element of truth about a subject matter or a realm.

A procedural rule is a rule that describes a series of associations relative to the main.
A heuristic is a rule of thumb based on years of experience.
Cont.

Types of Knowledge Knowledge is categorized into a variety of types. When considering knowledge

management, the knowledge developer should be familiar with each type and know how to tap into it during knowledge capture.

Types of Knowledge

Shallow and Deep Knowledge Knowledge as Know-how Common Sense as Knowledge Reasoning and Heuristics Procedural Knowledge to Episodic Knowledge Explicit and Tacit Knowledge

Organizational Knowledge Management

Organizational Knowledge is the collective sum of human centred assets, intellectual property assets, infrastructure assets and market assets (Brooking, 1996). Organizational Knowledge centres around intellectual-capital.
OK consist of 5 types of Knowledge

Knowing which information is needed (know What)

Knowing how information must be processed (know How)

Knowing why information is needed (know why)

Knowing where information can be found (Know Where)

Knowing when which information is needed (know When)

Cont.

Organizational Knowledge Types Other than the ones mentioned the organizational knowledge also include the following types: Social Knowledge Axiomatic Knowledge

Organizational Knowledge Capital

Cont.

Organizational Knowledge Creation Process Knowledge Creation

Knowledge Acquisition/Capture

Knowledge Organization

Knowledge Sharing

Knowledge Renewal
Cont.

Knowledge Creation
Initial Knowledge

Knowledge Creation/Knowledge Sharing via Teams

A job is performed by a team

Outcome is realized

Outcome is compared to action

New experience and/or knowledge is obtained New Knowledge to be reused by the team for next job Knowledge captured & coded usable by others

Cont.

Knowledge Acquisition/Capture An applied Brain Drain. Transfer of problem-solving expertise from some knowledge source to a repository. Knowledge acquisition is a process by which the experts thoughts and experiences are captured. The capture of knowledge can be accomplished in many ways and no single way is best. Knowledge Capture Techniques On-site observation process of observing, interpreting and recording an experts problem-solving behavior while it takes place Brainstorming unstructured approach to generating ideas about a problem Electronic Brainstorming computer aided approach Protocol Analysis a diagnostic process Repertory Grid establishing own model Delphi Method a series of questionnaires are used
Cont.

Knowledge Organization Knowledge organization refers to the design and development of Knowledge Repositories. Ensure easier retrieval, creation and sharing of knowledge. Also, ensure all important knowledge flows are known, utilized and enhanced. It includes: Indexing keywords Abstracting Conceptual/concrete Cataloguing Sorting/classification

Records management
Bibliography.
Cont.

Knowledge Sharing Knowledge, unless effectively shared and acted upon, does not possess value for an individual/ organization. The desire to collaborate through knowledge sharing and reuse has arisen within the work community.
Organizational Culture Knowledge Sharing Company Policies & Strategies

Personality

Vocational Reinforcers

Attitude

Work Norms

Compensation, Autonomy, Recognition, Job Security, Ability Utilization, Creativity, Good Work Environment, Advancement,. Moral Values, Social status, Achievement, Independence, Variety Impediments to Knowledge Sharing

Cont.

Knowledge Renewal The processes used to create, communicate and apply knowledge results in the generation of new knowledge and resultant expansion of the organizations knowledge base.

It is a cyclic process transforms data into information, converted into

knowledge whose application creates new data and information thereby repeating the cycle.

Nonakas

Model

of

Knowledge

Creation

&

Transformation
In 1995, Nonaka coined the terms tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge as the

two main types of human knowledge. The key to knowledge creation lies in the
way it is mobilized and converted through technology.

Cont.

Nonakas Model of Knowledge Creation & Transformation Team Meeting and Discussions Dialog within team Answer questions

Tacit to Tacit (Socialization) Explicit to Tacit (Internalization)

Tacit to Explicit (Externalization) Explicit to Explicit (Communication)

Learn from a report

E-mail a report

Organizational Knowledge Creation

Organizational knowledge is shaped through the personal as well as collective knowledge creation cycles. During this flow; the knowledge is enriched by the addition of the personal knowledge of every individual which is the tacit knowledge including their

insights, judgments,
knowledge base.

experiences, the collective knowledge of the

departments, divisions as well as project teams, and finally flows back to the

New knowledge so acquired is added to the organizational knowledge base and outdated knowledge is deleted. The process mentioned is recurring and self supporting.
Cont.

OK Creation Cycle

PKCC Personal

CKCC Collective

Knowledge Management Architecture

Knowledge architecture can be regarded as a prerequisite to knowledge sharing. The infrastructure can be viewed as a combination of people, content, and technology. These components are inseparable and interdependent.
Knowledge Management A Conceptual View

People

Technology

Content
Cont.

The Architectures Characteristics

1. 2. 3. 4. Available (if knowledge exists, it is available for retrieval) Accurate in retrieval (if available, knowledge is retrieved) Effective (knowledge retrieved is useful and correct) Accessible (knowledge is available during the time of need)

Knowledge Management Systems, Techniques and Tools

The systems, techniques, and tools necessary to accomplish Knowledge Management in organizations would unravel the overall organizational architecture as well as suggested implementation strategies. The knowledge acquisition, modeling and representation communities have developed a wide range of tools relevant to the development and management of large-scale knowledge-based systems. A Knowledge Management System [KMS] can be described as, A system for managing, organizing, filtering, analyzing, and disseminating knowledge in all of its forms within an organization. It supports organizational functions while addressing the needs of the individual within a purposeful background of the departments or divisions.

Organizational Knowledge Ecosystem

A knowledge ecosystem can be construed as a tri-layered network comprising of the following: 1. 2. 3. People network Knowledge network Technology network

Knowledge ecology is an interdisciplinary field of management practice, emerging from the confluence of management strategy, communities of practice, adaptive systems and knowledge management.

Organizational Network Analysis

Organizational Network Analysis [ONA] is a software supported methodology that reveals the inner workings of an organization. It uses the severity of systems analysis to reveal the behavior inside and between organizations. Knowledge networks are mapped that uncover interactions within and across the boundaries of the organization. ONA is an outgrowth of many knowledge disciplines including social network theory, organizational behavior, interpersonal communications, chaos theory, complex adaptive systems and a branch of mathematics called Graph Theory.
Cont.

Tools Network 4.2: It is a new and improved package to analyze a network at several hierarchical levels. The bilateral relationships between any two system components via all pathways are quantified. InFlow 3.0 - Network Mapping Software: Inflow is designed for consultants, by consultants. Inflow has been used to map and measure organizational networks since 1988. InFlow has been successfully applied in the following projects:
Post-merger integration
Team building Network vulnerability assessment Industry ecosystem mapping Building productive networks

Knowledge management
Organization design Internet work design Workforce diversity Diffusion of innovation Community development

Organizational Knowledge Mapping Techniques

Knowledge mapping represents the ongoing mission within an organization, including its supply and customer chain, to help discover the location, ownership, value and use of knowledge artifacts. Knowledge mapping is an important practice consisting of survey, audit, and synthesis. It aims to track the acquisition and loss of information and knowledge. Core Implementation Issues 1. An escalating rate in the growth and diversity of knowledge and information available to and within an organization. 2. The fractionation of the disciplines into narrow specialty fields, thereby augmenting a trend towards depth rather than breadth. 3. An increase in professional mobility, leading to a discontinuity of focus and experience within an individuals career (the saying jack of all trades, master of none is very valid in the current recessionary markets), and ultimately fewer real subject matter experts.

Knowledge Generation
This includes the actions of knowledge acquisition, knowledge creation,

knowledge fusion, knowledge synthesis, and knowledge adaptation.

One of the most interesting characteristics of most of these activities is the need for concentrated communication, and a culture that is tolerant of new ideas and is prepared to support exploration. In addition, interestingly though, there is a need to provide barriers. New knowledge will not be created if there are not barriers to rail against. There needs to be a structure, established knowledge that categorizes the process.
Cont.

Web-Enabled Information Technology Tools There are varied reasons for focus on Web-enabled tools. The most important is that the Web offers a very powerful stage for tools supporting all phases of knowledge management. The Web allows for an extraordinary degree of integration of different representational and communicational media. This allows us to make the most of existing tools while developing a variety of new tools. Some of the tools that are Web relevant are: Database Tools Process Modeling and Management Tools Workflow Management Tools Search Engines, Navigation Tools, and Portals Visualizing Tools Collaborative Tools Virtual Reality

Implementing Knowledge Management

The most important element of the implementation of the KM process is the acknowledgment that all stakeholders require to be covered, and the best possible route taken will guarantee success of the knowledge management solution deployment.
Once the knowledge elements are recognized, a knowledge map is developed identifying the knowledge sources within or outside the organization.

Implementing KM in Organizations Knowledge management practitioners primarily have two major questions:

How can knowledge management be knitted into the organizations typical functioning rather than be looked upon as a independent experiment?
In support of an organization to get on and carry on successful knowledge management programs is there a clear implementation methodology that can be pursued?

The Four Phase of KM Style

1.
2. 3. 4.

Knowledge -Need Identification: K-Need

Knowledge-Acquisition Framework: K- Acquisition Knowledge-Net Design: K-Design Knowledge -Net Implementation: K-Net

There are other activities which are forerunners to most knowledge solution implementations. Some of them are: 1. Content Population and Organization

2.
3. 4. 5.

Cataloguing or Listing of Knowledge Objects

Identifying the Knowledge Workers Setting up the Capability Database Processes, Roles and Responsibilities