Knowledge management

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Knowledge management (or KM) is an approach to improving organizational outcomes and organizational learning by introducing into an organization a range of specific processes and practices for identifying and capturing knowledge, know-how, expertise and other intellectual capital within the organization, and for making such knowledge assets available for transfer and reuse across the organization.

Knowledge management programs are typically tied to specific organizational objectives and typically lead to the achievement of specific targeted results such as improved performance, competitive advantage, or higher levels of innovation.

While knowledge transfer (an aspect of KM) has always existed in one form or another, for example through on-the-job discussions with peers, formally through apprenticeship, professional training and mentoring programmes, and - since the late twentieth century - technologically through knowledge bases, expert systems, and other knowledge repositories, KM programs seek to consciously evaluate and manage the process of accumulation and application of intellectual capital. KM has therefore brought together various strands of thought and practice relating to intellectual capital and the knowledge worker in the knowledge economy, the idea of the learning organization, various enabling organizational practices such as Communities of Practice and corporate Yellow Page directories for accessing key personnel and expertise, and various enabling technologies such as knowledge bases and expert systems, help desks, corporate Intranets and extranets, Content Management, Wikis, and Document Management.

The rise of KM has seen the emergence of the Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO), an increasing understanding of the relevance of the distinction between tacit vs. explicit knowledge, and increasingly sophisticated perspectives on the management, reuse and assessment of intellectual capital.

Contents

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Key concepts in KM

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Tacit vs explicit knowledge

A key distinction made by KM practitioners is between tacit and explicit knowledge. The former is often subconscious, internalised, and the individual may or may not be aware of what he or she knows and how he or she accomplishes particular results. At the opposite end of the spectrum is explicit knowledge - knowledge that the individual holds explicitly and consciously in mental focus, and may communicate to others.

Nonaka and Takeichi (1995) argued that a successful KM program needs to, on the one hand, convert internalised tacit knowledge into explicit codified knowledge in order to share it, but also on the other hand for individuals and groups to internalise and make personally meaningful codified knowledge once it is retrieved from the KM system.

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Knowledge capture stages

Knowledge may be accessed, or captured, at three stages: before, during, or after knowledge-related activities.

For example, individuals undertaking a new project for an organization might access KM resources to learn best practices and lessons learnt for similar projects undertaken previously, access the KM network again during the project implementation to seek advice on issues encountered, and access the system afterwards for advice on after-project actions and review activities.

Similarly, knowledge may be captured and recorded into the system before the project implementation, for example as the project team learns information and lessons during the initial project analysis. Similarly, lessons learnt during the project operation may be entered into the KM system, and after-action reviews may lead to further insights and lessons being recorded in the KM system for future access.

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Ad hoc knowledge access

One alternative strategy to encoding knowledge into and retrieving knowledge from a knowledge repository such as a database is for individuals to instead access expert individuals on an ad hoc basis, as needed, with their knowledge requests. A key benefit of this strategy is that the response from the expert individual is rich in content and contextualized to the particular problem being addressed and personalised to the particular person or people addressing it. The downside is, of course, that it is tied to the availability of specific individuals in the organization, and does not capture their insights and experience for future use should they leave or become unavailable, and that expert's memories of particular technical issues or problems previously faced may change with time.

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Drivers of KM

There are a number of 'drivers', or motivations, leading to organizations undertaking a Knowledge Management program.

Perhaps first among these is to gain the competitive advantage that comes with improved or faster learning and new knowledge creation. KM programs may lead to greater innovation, better customer experiences, consistency in best practices and knowledge access across a global organisation, as well as many other benefits, and KM programs may be driven with these goals in mind.

Considerations driving a knowledge management program might include:

  • making available increased knowledge content in the development and provision of products and services
  • achieving shorter new product development cycles
  • facilitating and managing organisational innovation
  • leverage the expertise of people across the organization
  • Benefiting from 'network effects' as the number of productive connections between employees in the organization increases and the quality of information shared increases
  • managing the proliferation of data and information in complex business environments and allowing employees to rapidly access useful and relevant knowledge resources and best practice guidelines
  • facilitate organizational learning
  • managing intellectual capital and intellectual assets in the workforce (such as the expertise and know-how possessed by key individuals) as individuals retire - in larger numbers than they have in a long time - and new workers are hired
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KM enablers

Historically, there have been a number of technologies 'enabling' or facilitating KM practices in the organization, including expert systems, knowledge bases, software help desk tools, document management systems and other IT systems supporting organizational knowledge flows.

The advent of the internet brought with it further enabling technologies, including E-learning, web conferencing, collaborative software, Content management systems, corporate 'Yellow pages' directories, email lists, Wikis, Blogs, and other technologies. Each enabling technology can expand the level of inquiry available to an employee, while providing a platform to achieve specific goals or actions. The practice of KM will continue to evolve with the growth of collaboration applications available by IT and through the Internet.Since its adoption by the mainstream population and business community, the Internet has led to an increase in creative collaboration, learning and research, e-commerce, and instant information.

There are also a variety of organizational enablers for KM programs, including Communities of Practice, before-, after- and during- action reviews (see After Action Review, peer assists, information taxonomies, coaching and mentoring, and so on.

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KM professionals

KM programs are typically driven initially in a top-down fashion by an individual or a small group of individuals, linked to tangible business objectives, and backed by key stakeholders in the organization.

Organizations committed to Knowledge Management on an ongoing basis typically create a position such as a Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO) or similar, or assign those responsibilities to a related function (e.g. to Human Resources to manage intellectual capital, to IT to manage IT systems for Content Management and Document Management, etc.) Knowledge Management activities may be centralised in a Knowledge Management Office (KMO) or responsibility for Knowledge Management may be located in existing departmental functions, such as the HR or IT departments.

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KM lexicon

KM professionals may use a specific lexicon in order to articulate and discuss the various issues arising in Knowledge Management. For example, terms such as intellectual capital, metric, and tacit vs explicit knowledge typically form an indispensable part of the KM professional's vocabulary.

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Further reading

A good introduction to and overview of the central issues in Knowledge Management is provided by Rumizen (2001).

Garvin (2000) provides a good overview of the issues inherent in organisational learning.

The edited collection by Easterby-Smith and Lyles (2003) provides a broad overview of the literature on both Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning, and offers a framework through which to relate those two branches of the academic literature.

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Related definitions

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See also

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References

  • Dixon, N. M. (2000), Common Knowledge: How Companies Thrive by Sharing What They Know, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA.
  • Garvin, D. A. (2000), Learning in Action: A Guide to Putting the Learning Organization to Work, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA.
  • Easterby-Smith, M. and M. A. Lyles (editors). (2003). The Blackwell Handbook of Organizational Learning and Knowledge Management, Oxford, Blackwell Publishing.
  • Hansen, M. R., N. Nohria and T. Tierney (1999). 'What's your strategy for managing knowledge?' Harvard Business Review (March-April).
  • Nonaka, I. and H. Takeuchi (1995), The Knowledge-Creating Company: How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation, Oxford University Press, Oxford and New York.
  • O'Dell, C., C. J. Grayson Jr. and N. Essaides (1998), If Only We Knew What We Know: The Transfer of Internal Knowledge and Best Practice, Free Press, New York.
  • Polanyi, M. (1967), The Tacit Dimension, Doubleday, Garden City, N.Y.
  • Rumizen, M. C. (2001), Complete Idiot's Guide to Knowledge Management, Alpha.
  • Tiwana, A. (2002), The Knowledge Management Toolkit: Orchestrating IT, Strategy, and Knowledge Platforms (2nd Edition), Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2002.
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External links

de:Wissensmanagement fr:Gestion des connaissances he:ניהול ידע ja:ナレッジマネジメント nl:Kennismanagement pl:Zarządzanie wiedzą zh:知识管理

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