Knowledge management in a BSC projectExperience of GIG
Razieh HalimiSoftware Engineer, Expert of Business Excellence of GIG, IranRazieh_h@yahoo.com &Nafiseh MottaghianSystem Engineer, Manager of Business Excellence of GIG, Iranexcellence@excellence.ir Abstract
This paper is qualitative, aiming at describing issues that we have identified during knowledge sharing amongBSC projects in
Golrang Industrial Group (
GIG). The work is based on literature review and casestudies in an Iranian Holding company. We found out that knowledge sharing of the projects could beimproved by training and improving culture of knowledge sharing and reserving time for the knowledgesharing. Organizations today, being knowledge-intensive and knowledge-aware, have tried to manageknowledge; many different viewpoints and approaches have been implemented. Depending on knowledgeneeds of particular process, proper KMS should integrate different information sources and tools. BSCProcess in GIG, is considered in order to discover and explain possibilities of KM support and introduction.
Valuable informationfrom the human mind:includes reflection,synthesis, context•Hard to captureelectronically•Hard to structure•Often tacit•Hard to transfer•Highly personal tothe sourceData with relevanceand purpose:•Requires unit ofanalysis•Needs consensus onmeaning•Human mediationnecessary•Often garbled intransmissionSimple observationsof the world:•Easily captured•Easily structured•Easily transferred•Compact,quantifiable
InformationKnowledgeData
Valuable informationfrom the human mind:includes reflection,synthesis, context•Hard to captureelectronically•Hard to structure•Often tacit•Hard to transfer•Highly personal tothe sourceData with relevanceand purpose:•Requires unit ofanalysis•Needs consensus onmeaning•Human mediationnecessary•Often garbled intransmissionSimple observationsof the world:•Easily captured•Easily structured•Easily transferred•Compact,quantifiable
InformationKnowledgeData
More human contributionGreater value
Knowledge Management
There are a lot of differences between data, information and knowledge. We summarized it in table 1.
Table1. The relationships between data, information, and knowledge
KM comprises a range of practices used by organizations to identify, create, represent, and distributeknowledge. It has been an established discipline since 1995 with a body of university courses and bothprofessional and academic journals dedicated to it. Many large companies have resources dedicated to KM,often as a part of 'Information Technology' or 'Human Resource Management' departments. KM is a multi-billion dollar world wide market.
i
In the Table 2 has been described the information processing paradigm. The base of all of them is the samebut different viewpoints drive more applications.
Table 2. The Information Processing Paradigm
ii
The process of collecting, organizing, classifying and disseminating information throughout anorganization, so as to make it purposeful to those who need it. (
Midrange Systems
: Albert, 1998)Policies, procedures and technologies employed for operating a continuously updated linked pair of networked databases. (
Computerworld:
Anthes, 1991)Partly as a reaction to downsizing, some organizations are now trying to use technology to capture theknowledge residing in the minds of their employees so it can be easily shared across the enterprise. KMaims to capture the knowledge that employees really need in a central repository and filter out the surplus.(
Forbes
: Bair
,
1997)
Ensuring a complete development and implementation environment designed for use in a specific functionrequiring expert systems support. (
International Journal of Bank Marketing
: Chorafas, 1987)KM IT concerns organizing and analyzing information in a company's computer databases so thisknowledge can be readily shared throughout a company, instead of languishing in the department where itwas created, inaccessible to other employees. (
CPA Journal
, 1998)Identification of categories of knowledge needed to support the overall business strategy, assessment of current state of the firm's knowledge and transformation of the current knowledge base into a new andmore powerful knowledge base by filling knowledge gaps. (
Computerworld
: Gopal & Gagnon, 1995)Combining indexing, searching, and push technology to help companies organize data stored in multiplesources and deliver only relevant information to users. (
Information Week
: Hibbard, 1997)KM in general tries to organize and make available important know-how, wherever and whenever it'sneeded. This includes processes, procedures, patents, reference works, formulas, "best practices," forecastsand fixes. Technologically, intranets, groupware, data warehouses, networks, bulletin boardsvideoconferencing are key tools for storing and distributing this intelligence. (
Computerworld
: Maglitta,1996)Mapping knowledge and information resources both on-line and off-line; Training, guiding and equippingusers with knowledge access tools; Monitoring outside news and information. (
Computerworld
: Maglitta,1995)KM incorporates intelligent searching, categorization and accessing of data from disparate databases, E-mail and files. (
Computer Reseller News
: Willett & Copeland, 1998)Understanding the relationships of data; Identifying and documenting rules for managing data; andAssuring that data are accurate and maintain integrity. (
Software Magazine
: Strapko, 1990)Facilitation of autonomous coordinability of decentralized subsystems that can state and adapt their ownobjectives. (
Human Systems Management
, Zeleny, 1987)KM programs are typically tied to organizational objectives such as improved performance, competitiveadvantage, innovation, developmental processes, lessons learnt transfer for example between projects and thegeneral development of collaborative practices. KM is KM programs are typically tied to organizationalobjectives such as improved performance, competitive advantage, innovation, developmental processes,lessons learnt transfer for example between projects and the general development of collaborative practices.KM is frequently linked and related to what has become known as the learning organization, lifelong learningand continuous improvement. KM may be distinguished from Organizational Learning by a greater focus onthe management of knowledge as an asset and the development and cultivation of the channels through whichknowledge, information and signal flow.There is a broad range of thought on KM with no unanimous definition. The approaches vary by author andschool. KM may be viewed from each of the following perspectives:
•
Techno-centric: A focus on technology, ideally those that enhance knowledge sharing/growth.
•
Organizational: How does the organization need to be designed to facilitate knowledge processes?Which organizations work best with what processes?
•
Ecological: Seeing the interaction of people, identity, knowledge and environmental factors as acomplex adaptive system.
iii
A key distinction made by the majority of KM practitioners is Nonaka's reformulation of Polanyi's distinctionbetween tacit and explicit knowledge. The former is often subconscious, internalized, and the individual mayor may not be aware of what he or she knows and how he or she accomplishes particular results. At theopposite end of the spectrum is conscious or explicit knowledge, knowledge that the individual holdsexplicitly and consciously in mental focus, and may communicate to others. In the popular form of thedistinction, tacit knowledge is what is in heads and explicit knowledge is what we have codified (Table 2).
Table2. Tacit and Explicit Knowledge
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Knowledge Management in a BSC Project Experience of GIG
This paper is qualitative, aiming at describing issues that we have identified during knowledge sharing among BSC projects in Golrang Industrial Group ( GIG). The work is based...
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