EXAMPLES OF QUESTIONS FOR KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT WRITTEN

EXAM 2007- 2010

1. Knowledge management
From an interdisciplinary perspective, it can be defined as: ‘the effective learning
process associated with exploration, exploitation, and sharing of human knowledge
(tacit and explicit) that use appropriate technology and cultural environments to enhance
an organization’s intellectual capital and performance.’

Knowledge management is at the foundation of organizational learning. At this point and

from organizational learning‘s aspect, knowledge management defined as the process of
managing knowledge. As such, knowledge management limited to the activities that do not
add value to knowledge. Therin (2000) mentioned that, knowledge management is
concerned with the acquisition and communication of knowledge. Just as not instance but a
simple notation, imagine an organization in which all the physical records disintegrate
overnight, a simple break up. Suddenly, there are no reports, no computer files, no employee
record sheets, no operating manuals, no calendars, and all that remain are the people,
buildings, capital equipment, raw materials, and inventory. Now imagine an organization
where all the people simply quit showing up for work. New people, who are similar in many
ways to the former workers but have no familiarity with that particular organization, come
to work instead. Which of these two organizations will be easier to rebuild to its former
status?
2. Leadership
Leadership and Leadership Style
A common difference between a manager and leader is a manager
does right things where a leader is more concerned with doing the
right things. A leader who himself involves in processes and activities
that are core related with the goals which eventually achieve a vision.
A leader has the ability to read the situation and call for his situational
skills in complex and intense situation. A leader has the natural skills
of providing his team the direction, faith, motivation and moral and
financial support to take the best of his team who are in pursue of a
clear roadmap to vision. Contrary to a manager who himself is more
interested in dealing the everyday routines and calling the everyday
or weekly progress without providing the necessary alignment and
direction to his team. Since in Science co the management seems to
be consist of a few people where the authority seems to be more with
the founder who tries to implement a flat culture without interfering
the consultant’s outdoor activities for invention and innovation
purposes. Such kind of leadership would quality for Laissez-Faire
where a leader has the power of final decision but he allows his team
to grow in confidence as a leader is confident of their high skill
expertise in the concerned areas and diverse situations.
3. Human capital
Human Capital: Human capital refers skills and knowledge that increase human
productivity Becker (1993) defines capital as being something that yields income and
other useful outputs over long periods of time (p. 15). Since 1964 this theory becomes
well accepted with this claim that skilled labor is more productive than other labor
simply because more resources have been invested into the training of that labor. In
same manner machine that has had more resources invested into it is likely to be more
product (Mueller, 1982). One of the basic beliefs is that if we spend investment in
skilled labor environment would be more profitable and more likely to be undertaken the
longer the period over which returns from the investment can accrue (p. 94). HC refers
to the unique values that each individual have which are consider assets to an
organization. The knowledge contained within an organization becomes plus point for
organization .This theory is easiest theoretical foundation to identify and describe
intellectual capital.

4. Organizational capital
The root of concept of organizational capital come from research exploring ways of
increasing efficiencies in organizations where employee effort was considered to be
suboptimal (Tomer 1987). Hence, organizational capital has been seen as an extension
of human capital as it contains both organizational and behavioral variables. It is based
on the level of knowledge sharing, cooperative effort and conflict resolution within
organization.
Tomer (1998) identified two types of organizational capital: a pure form (such as its
organizational structure) and hybrid form (embodied in individuals through investment
in activities such as socialization). The assumption underlying this concepts is that
investment in organizational capital will lead to a range of benefits in term of worker
productivity. The types of intervention may include:
Changing formal and informal relationships and patterns of activity within the
organization:
Changing certain attributes key to organizational effectiveness;
Developing information to match the optimal worker to a given situation.
It is clear that the literature on organizational capital is closely linked with the
concepts of structural capital within the intellectual capital literature. However, there is a
danger of the hybrid conception of organizational capital creeping into intellectual
capital frameworks and resulting in confusion between human and organizational
capital.

5. Intellectual capital
Intellectual Capital
Every organization includes two forms of assets, tangible and
intangible assets. According to the organization of economic co-
operation and development (OECD) in 1999; the economic value of
two categories of intangible and tangible assets of a company that is
organizational capital and human capital (Jashapara, 2004 p. 269).
Another definition of intellectual capital by Sveiby (1997) as revealed
by Jashapara is “the difference between the market value of a publicly
held company and its official net book value is the value of its
intangible assets” (2004, p. 268). The economic value of any company
is dependent on the political and social norms on organization and
political stability situation of the world. Any organization contains both
tangible and intangible assets which are physical existing in
Knowledge management systems and the skulls on the employees.
The need of understanding the intellectual capital is enormous as one
would be able to understand the organization response to diverse
changeability processes and transformation of the firm when it goes
through such processes and how the cope with these never lasting
drastic situations. The notion of intellectual capital is very rich and
could be used in the meaning of social and human resources (tangible
and intangible assets), information technology (Knowledge
management system and IT resources) (Jashapara, 2004 p.268).
However in each literature the notion of knowledge management is
involved and that is our area of interest to elaborate and see its
affect.

“Information and knowledge are the thermonuclear competitive weapons of our time.
Success goes to those who manage their intellectual capital wisely” (Stewart, 1997, p.
68) . Many view the accessibility of knowledge as the foundation for establishing a
competitive advantage in the new millennium (Edvinsson & Malone, 1997; Stewart,
1997). Intellectual capital theory introduced in past decade with the advancement within
organization According to (Svieby 1997), “Intellectual Capital is the difference between
the market value of a publicly held company and its official net book value is the value
of its intangible assets”. Stewart (1997) has proposed “that intellectual capital is the
intellectual material – knowledge, information, intellectual property, experience – that
can put to create wealth”. Ulrich (1998) defines intellectual capital as “competence
multiplied by commitment” (p. 125), meaning that intellectual capital equals the
knowledge, skills, and attributes of each individual within an organization. The most
common theory of IC is presented by Stewart, and Edvinsson and Malone. Edvinsson
and Malone (1997) that “the possession of the knowledge, applied experience,
organizational technology, customer relationships and professional skills that provide a
competitive advantage in the marketplace” (p. 40).The overall theory is that IC is an
assets, like money or equipment, exist and are worth cultivating only in the context of
strategy [p. 70].
 Figure 11 conceptual roots of intellectual capital

There are three types of Intellectual capital:

• Human Capital
• Structural Capital
• Customer Capital
 Figure 12 intellectual capital framework

6. Organizational learning
 Cognitive perspective Definition: It means the process of improving actions through
better knowledge and understanding.
A recent ethno methodology framework of organizational learning builds on the
tension between exploration and exploitation in organizations and places these
notions at the heart of strategic renewal. Renewal is based on organizations
exploring and learning new ways while at the same time exploiting what they have
already learnt.
Three learning levels: individual, group and organization
 Four learning process: intuiting, interpreting, integrating and institutionalizing.
 Intuiting: this is largely a subconscious process that often requires some form of
pattern recognition. For instance, an expert may be able to foresee a pattern in a
problem that a novice may not. This pattern recognition will support
exploitation. However, intuition is also important for exploration to help
generate new insights and novel applications. Metaphors and the use of imagery
can help provide the language to communicate one’s insight to someone else.
 Interpreting: this is the process of explaining through words and/or actions an
insight or an idea to one’s self or to another person. We develop our own
cognitive map of a domain and can interpret the same stimulus differently due to
our established cognitive map. In a group situation, this can result in multiple
and potentially conflicting interpretations of the best course of action.
  Integrating: this learning process is about developing shared understanding and
taking coordinated action through mutual adjustment. Group dialogue and
storytelling are seen as major tools for developing new and deeper shared
understandings.
 Institutionalizing: this learning process is to ensure that routinised actions occur.
Successful actions over time often become embedded in organizational routines.
Such routines have an effect on the systems, structures and strategies of an
organization. One characteristic of institutionalization is the endurance of the
behavior over a period of time..
 Behavioral perspective Definition: an entity learns if, through its processing of
information, the range of its potential behaviors is changed.
Four constructs:
 Knowledge acquisition is seen as the process by which knowledge is obtained.
 Information distribution is the process by which information is shared, which can
often lead to new information or understanding.
 Information interpretation is the process by which information is given one or
more interpretations.
 Organizational memory is the means by which knowledge is stored for future
use.
There is a danger that it may lead to a tendency towards exploitation rather than
exploration in organizations. It may create a tendency to hold on to old views and
practices rather than questioning them.
7. Organizational culture
Organizational culture refers to the general culture within a company or organization, and is
often also referred to as corporate culture, though that isn‘t the best description since a large
non-profit organization or charity could also have its own organizational culture even
though they are definitely not corporations. Culture is a nebulous subject with a variety
30racticing30 and interpretation. Here are some of the many definitions of organizational
culture that can be found.
Definition of organization culture given by Deal and Kennedy (1982) defined as ―the way
we do things around here‖. This definition may sound so simple but in management
literature created a big debate. In more of anthropological sense, culture is defined as ―the
set of important understandings that members of a community share in common‖ by Sathe
(1985).
Smircich (1983) has distinguished between culture as a variable and culture as a root
metaphor. Researchers, who see culture as a variable, draw upon objectivist and
functionalist view and try to improve models of organization. In contrast, researchers who
see culture as a root metaphor approach organization as if they are cultures, behaviors and
draw upon anthropology in developing new theories and paradigms.
Gareth Morgan has described organizational culture as: ―The set of the set of beliefs,
values, and norms, together with symbols like dramatized events and personalities, that
represents the unique character of an organization, and provides the context for action in it
and by it.‖ Norms might be described as traditions, structure of authority, or routines.
Edgar Schein, another of the most famous and most respected theorists dealing with
organizational culture says that the definition of organizational culture has to be general, or
else you start to eliminate factors that actually are part of corporate culture. Schein‘s
definition of organizational culture is: ―A pattern of shared basic assumptions that the
group learned as it solved its problems that has worked well enough to be considered valid
and is passed on to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation
to those problems.‖ Basic assumptions are taken-for-granted solutions to particular
problems. They are the ―theories-in-use‖ that perpetuate organizational routines ans single-
loop learning (Jashapara, 2004)
At more surface or superficial level, Jashapara (2004) had the manifestation of culture as
norms, artefacts and symbols. Norms are expectations of appropriate and inappropriate
behavior. Norms attach approval or disapproval to hoking certain believes and attitudes and
acting in particular way. Artefacts also provide as with shared systems of meaning that
construct organizational life. They can exist like material objects, physical layouts,
technology, language and behavior patterns as well as procedures and practices in
organization (Brown 1998). Symbols can act to reflect aspects of organizational culture,
frame experiences that may be vague or controversial, and mobilize members to action
through their emotional response to a symbol (Ashkanasy, 2000).
So while there are many definitions of organizational culture, all of them focus on the
same points: collective experience, routine, beliefs, values, goals, system and norms.
These are learned and re-learned, passed on to new employees, and continues on as
part of a company‘s core identity.
8. Organizational culture types
Two popular typologies of organization culture are provided below. The Handy typologies
(Handy, 1985) have been very influential among cultural scholars and suggests for types of
culture:
1.Power culture. There is one source of power and influence (a group of leaders) striving to
maintain absolute control over the organization along ―rays‖ diverging from the centre to
the outside of the organization. The horizontal ―rings‖ in the web represent other relations
(e.g. functional, social) but they are not as strong as the central lines. The related decisions
are made under the influence of the leaders‘ priorities rather than with respect to logical
procedures. Individuals from the heart of the web have full control and information. This
type of organizational culture is suitable for an unstable environment when new stimuli
necessitate quick response. However, the quality of the actions depends chiefly on the
leaders‘ competence. Power culture is most suitable for small organizations. When they
grow too much the culture may break down. A loss of the leader may be critical, equivalent
to the end of the organization.
2.Role culture. The role culture‘s strength lies in its specialization. Every ―pillar‖ is
almost an independent department or project; the specialists and their functions may also be
―pillars‖. Each pillar‘s operation and cooperation among them is coordinated by the Board
which may be referred to as the temple‘s roof. It tends to be a highly bureaucratic
organization. Cooperation among the pillars is based upon procedures and job descriptions.
In this culture, effectiveness depends on rational goal setting and allocating financial means
to the pillars. Power depends on the formal position in the organization‘s structure rather
than personality traits. The employee‘s role is more important than the person assuming this
role. This type of culture is suitable for a stable environment when the goals do not change
on an annual basis and specialized teams can be established for each goal. Problems arise
when a sudden change takes place in the environment and one of the ―pillars‖ is no longer
needed. The organization may fall apart when the ―roof‖ is gone.
3.Task culture. This culture may be portrayed as a net with some ropes thicker and stronger
than the other. In this culture, emphasis is placed on doing the job (programme, project,
task). Power stems from knowledge and experience in tackling this type of task. Task
culture is targeted at teamwork and a group achieving a common goal. This culture‘s chief
advantage lies in its great flexibility and ability to adjust to changing conditions. Working
groups are created to handle specific tasks and dissolved when the task is over for the same
individuals to create new teams tailored to the latest needs. Task culture is capable of rapid
actions. It is managed by experts rather than the positions. Control is very difficult to exert;
it is actually possible only when resorting to ―milestones‖ or by monitoring the key
individuals‘ work. Effectiveness is ensured by quickly moving around resources from
individuals to projects and back. Problems may arise when access to information and
resources is limited. With long-term projects and a stable environment, task culture may
transform into role culture.
4.Personal cultures. The individual is placed at its centre. These companies exist to satisfy
the requirements of the particular individual(s) involved in the 31racticing31n. The
company‘s role is reduced to organizing a comfortable workplace. They typically exist
among lawyers, accountants, architects and consultants: specialists often 31racticing the so-
called liberal professions. An individual may leave the company but the company has no
right to make decisions about the employee.

Another cultural typology (Brown 1998; Deal and Kennedy 1982) is based on the degree of
risk in company activities and the speed of feedback on actions and decisions. In this
framework, the four idealized cultural typologies are:
1.Tough-guy, macho culture . One of the most common aspects of the tough-guy or macho
culture is the quick feedback and high rewards. The pace can be break neck at times, but the
obvious reward of the action is seen very quickly. From a corporate stand point, this type of
organizational culture will be most often associated with really fast financial activities, such
as currency trading, and brokerage. This can also apply to organizations such as a police
force, or an individual athlete on a sports team. If a receiver catches a touchdown pass, you
see the impact right away. This tends to be a stressful type of organizational culture that
requires a certain mentality to thrive and succeed.
2.Work-hard, play-hard culture This type of an organizational culture that doesn‘t take a
lot of risks, but it does take a few, and all receive fast feedback. This is something most
likely to be see in a very large company which is dependent on strong customer service.
This type of organizational culture is often characterized by multiple team meetings,
specialized jargon, and buzzwords. These cultures can be fun and action oriented but may
suffer from ―quick-fix‖ solution and lack of reflection in crisis situation.
3.Bet-your-company culture characterized by high-risk but low-feedback environments.
This is a type of company where huge decisions are made over high stakes endeavors. In
this type of culture, the end results of these decisions may not be seen for months or even
years. The most common type of company that would have this type of a culture is one that
is involved in experimental projects or searches. Two great examples would be like
prospecting for new oil fields and designing experimental military weapons.
4.Process cultures exist in low-risk and slow-feedback environments. A process culture is
most often fold in organizations where there is actually no feedback. This is rarely a good
culture. In this type of a organizational culture people are so obsessed with the process of
how things are done that the focus is lost on what the goal is. Process organizational culture
is a synonym for bureaucracy. These cultures are overly cautious, obsessed with the letter of
the law as opposed to the idea of the law. The only positive argument for this culture is that
the consistency of results makes it good for public services.
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9. Organizational memory
 The old oral traditions utilized the human memory and highlighted its limitations.
Long periods of time were spent memorizing information, leaving little room for
critical evaluation. In an organizational context, organizational memory may reside
in people’s mind as repositories of organizational knowledge. However, as people
leave a firm; this precious organizational memory may be lost forever. This soft
form of organizational memory can be invaluable in a variety of circumstances:
diagnosing an error in a complex piece of technology; knowledge of organizational
skills, experts and resources; locating non-traditional information sources.
 General/semantic memory comes from shared interpretation of significant events
that are not personally experienced and may take the form of handbooks and
procedural manuals.
Context-specific/episodic memory is shared interpretations and collective
understanding of personally experienced event.
 The hard forms of organizational memory relate to storage and retrieval processes
and computer based organizational memory.(data warehouse). Such notions of
organizational memory treat the construct as a set of repositories of stored
information from an organization’s history. The repositories may contain
knowledge about individuals, culture, transformations, structure and ecology.
10. Single loop learning & Double loop learning
 Single loop learning refers to the process that maintains the central features of the
organization’s ‘theory-in-use’ by detecting and correcting errors within a given
system of rules. This means that, given any set of problems, an organization is
likely to act in the same traditional ways and patterns. Exploitation behaviors are
concerned with the refinement of existing processes and emphasize efficiency goals.
Effective in the short term but self destructive in the long term.
 Double loop learning is where current organizational norms and assumptions are
questioned to establish a new set of norms. Firms do not continue with their age-old
patterns but question their assumptions and values. This often leads to new ways of
working and acting. Exploration behaviors are where organizations engage in risk
taking, play with ideas, experiment, discover and innovate.

Example:
 A firm may be faced with the problem of drastically diminishing sales. The firm
may place the blame for the problem on the poor sales force and introduce measures
to make them work harder or face redundancy. This would be an example of single
loop learning where the firm responds in a tried and tested manner but assumes it
can accomplish its goals by pushing harder.
 Double loop learning would be if the firm tried to assess the problem more closely
and look at the underlying assumptions. It might discover that the customers find its
products or services dated, unappealing and poor value for money compared with
competitive offerings. In this situation, the firm might decide to innovate its product
or service by engaging the collective talents of its marketing, design and operations
teams. The new product or service might compete more effectively in the changing
competitive markets.
11. Data & Information & Knowledge & Wisdom
Data:
‘known facts or things used as a basis of inference or reckoning’. It depends on context.
 We acquire data from the external world through our sense and try to make sense of
these signals through our experience. This external data becomes internal fact. The
assumption about facts is that they are true, but our senses can play games with us.
Example: the optical illusion of Escher’s drawings that can be seen in two
different ways. Escher made an art of creating impossible figures such as people
ascending and descending stairs at the same time that were clearly contradictory.
 Exclude data in a number of ways.
Example: ‘cocktail party’ ignore background noise and concentrate on the data of
the person speaking to us, putting on a blindfold or inserting ear plugs.
 The source of data and the channel or medium through which it is transmitted will
be distorted. Example: ‘Chinese whisper’ game.
 Qualitative and quantitative data. Quan. Numbers is highly depended on context.
Qual. It depended on perception of the transmitter and receiver of data. Example:
Chinese and European artists paint the same landscape.

Information:
 ‘something told’ or ‘the act of informing or telling’, ‘systematically organized data’
Example: libraries classify their books using a bibliographic classification scheme. A
common one is the Dewey Decimal Classification which is based on dividing all of
knowledge into ten fields ranging from 0-999.
 Another conception of information is data endowed with meaning, relevance and
purpose. This meaning can be a subjective meaning given by the receiver of the
data. Example: a consultancy report may be written to inform senior manager of
critical issues but may be judged as ramblings and noise by the recipients.

Knowledge:
‘Actionable information’, which allows us to make better decisions and provide an
effective input to dialogue and creativity in organizations. This occurs by providing
information at the right place, at the right time and in the appropriate format.
Challenge is that converting tacit knowledge(know how) into explicit knowledge(know
what)

Wisdom:
‘Wisdom is the ability to act critically or practically in a given situation. It is based on
ethical judgment related to an individual’s belief system. It is often captured in famous
quotes, proverbs and sayings.’
Example: there is a plenty of sound in an empty barrel.
12. Knowledge management cycle
13. The learning Organization
P 252
The learning organization focuses on enhancing its systems (including people) to
continually increase the organization's capacity for performance. Ratner (1997) defines a
learning organization as "one in which people at all levels, individually and collectively,
are continually increasing their capacity to produce results they really care about."

Becoming a Learning Organization A. P. Moller Maersk made a cultural change for the
entire organizations. To be successful, Maersk work with all staff members to:
- Firstly create and communicate a shared vision for the organization
- Make information in the organization accessible to all.
- Help employees manage change by anticipating change and creating the types of
change desired by the organization.
- Empower employees to act (by the train programs mentioned before)
- Acknowledge and support the need to take risks.
- Learn to manage the organization‘s knowledge by:
o Keeping information current.
o Maintaining historical knowledge.
o Addressing increasing volumes of information.
- Establish and use individual and organizational learning strategies.
14. Knowledge sharing tools
Internet, extranets and intranet
All software used on the internet is based on client/server technology. This means that the
software either acts as a server offering services to other computers on the network or acts
as a client requesting a service from the server.
The basic document on the web is a page with its own particular location. This location or
URL (uniform1 resource locator) is simply a web identifier starting with a such as 'http' or
―ftp‖. When you click on a link your web browser (client) sends off a packet to that
address asking for the URL and, subsequently, the server sends back the requested page to
your computer. In the past, most pages have been written in a markup language called
HTML (hypertext markup language). Each HTML page contains a number of tags or
instructions on how text, video, graphics and sound are placed on the page and how links to
other documents can be created. A recent development to markup languages has been the
introduction of XML (extensible markup language) to complement HTML and to improve
the usefulness of the web. Whereas HTML has provided a predominantly formatting
function for data on a page, XML provides valuable information on what the data means.
Metadata is directly linked to the resource and provides direct access to it. In bibliographic
circles, a metadata standard or schema named 'Dublin Core' was developed in 1995 to allow
greater bibliographic control over networked resources. The data elements include title,
author, subject and keywords, description, publisher, other contributor, date, resource type,
format, resource identifier, source, language, relation, coverage and rights management.
Other standards are emerging across different industries and the standards are contained
within an XML document type definition (DTD), often simply called a dictionary. To allow
internationalization of the web, XML has been firmly rooted in Unicode which provides all
kinds of text characters from different languages around the world.
The future direction of the web as described by Tim Berners-Lee, its inventor, is one
moving more towards a semantic web. This would allow the user to access precise
information for decision making immediately rather than having to browse through lots
documents to find the information. The goal is to make the web more intelligent. The
language and schemas chosen for the semantic web are RDF rather than XML as
information found in RDF (Resource Description Framework) maps links directly and
unambiguously to a decentralized model and there are instruments known as that can
decipher this information more easily. An intranet is a network that exists exclusively within
an organization and is based on internet technology. It can provide an e-mail system, remote
access, group collaboration tools, an application sharing system and a company
communications network.
Some traditional applications of intranets are:
- Access to databases;
- Forum for discussion;
- Distribution of electronic documentation;
- Providing on-line training;
- FAQs

E-learning tools
E-learning is the generic term used to describe online learning, computer-based training and
web-based training. It is the application of internet technologies to support the delivery and
management of learning, skills and knowledge. E-Learning does not have to occur
exclusively on the internet. More reputable offerings tend to provide an integration of
various learning technologies such as:
- mentoring;
- chat forums;
- expert-led discussions;
- web seminars;
- online meetings;
- Virtual classroom sessions.

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15. KM Personalization strategy
Knowledge Management Strategy (Personalization)
Knowledge is been an intangible asset for any organization based on
making the concrete strategies evolving the tacit and explicit form
(Choi et al, 2008 p. 236). There is a greater need for almost every
organization to put more stress on managing the knowledge when it
comes to constructing the strategies based. Any knowledge
management strategy must enforce, unfold and apply coherence
among the vital factors of organization such as culture, IT,
deployment of resources to produce the better knowledge creation
models and methods, sharing such knowledge and ultimately using
such knowledge to compete (Choi et al, 2008 p. 235). There are
numerous models which conduct such organizational routines in the
form of socialization, community of practice, transformation of tacit to
explicit knowledge through metaphors, imaginary maps and several
cognitive maps. Thus a knowledge management strategy must
contain the basic ingredients that help such an asset to nourish and
grow in adverse situations by having the aim for increasing the
organizational economics values and transformation. Modern day
research suggests a Knowledge management strategy can be
categorized into personalization (Tacit-oriented) and codification
(Explicit-oriented) (Jashapara, 2004). The resources vary from strategy
to strategy as personalization strategy enforces the knowledge
creation mechanisms and methods through the process of
socialization, group meetings, mentorship, dialogues and with an
outcome of high profits in economics where the codification strategy
encompasses the heavy investment of technology like up to date
Knowledge management systems, hiring fresh people, developing
their skills through enforcing the measures of single and double loop
learning, giving them online programming, codify the knowledge and
with the output of high turnover for economic values (Choi et al, 2008
and Jashapara, 2004). However many researchers are still unable to
see the effects of organization performance against mixed Knowledge
management strategies and solitaire one (Choi et al, 2008).

Personalization Strategy
Knowledge management personalization strategy is a strategy to management the
knowledge that the core of the personalization approach to knowledge management is to
develop an information system infrastructure that facilitates the communication of
individuals in a company, so that they can easily exchange idea and share their
knowledge through socialization and interpersonal relationship to mobilize and share
knowledge in tacit form across the organization, thus, the organization aim to create and
facilitate networks between people to share and learn from their individual skills,
experiences, and expertise. In a personalization strategy, IT is used to extend
interpersonal networks and the ability to connect and communicate with one another
(Hansen et al., 1999).

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16. Knowledge acquisition & 5 forms of knowledge acquisition
Organizations acquire new knowledge through the processes of congenital learning,
experiential learning, and vicarious learning, grafting, and searching and noticing.
 Congenital learning is the learning influenced by the founding fathers of the
organization. This inherited knowledge can affect the way a firm acts and interprets
new knowledge.
 Experiential learning is acquired from direct experience and can be found in a
number of guises. (Jashapara P70 or next headline)
 Vicarious learning means that they seek to borrow competitors’ strategies, practices
and technologies, since they do not have time to gain certain knowledge to meet
competitive pressures. And it adopts imitation or mimicry of other firms. Gaining
the ‘know how’ of other firms is termed ‘corporate intelligence’ and can be gained
from consultants, professional meetings and publications.
 Grafting means that acquiring knowledge by employing new members with the
knowledge and skills lacking within the organization. On bigger scale, firms engage
in acquisitions of other companies where the acquisition may have core
competences lacking within the parent firm.
 Intentional search and unintentional noticing behaviors. Scan; focused search linked
to a particular organizational problem; performance monitoring of internal targets
and measures as well as satisfying the needs of external stakeholders.
17. Experience based learning
Experiential learning is acquired from direct experience and can be found in a number of
guises:
Organizational experiments may take the form of pilot studies with feedback of findings
and recommendations to the organization.
Move from behavioral learning to cognitive learning through questioning key
assumptions and values.
Enhancing adaptability as an experimenting organization with a greater emphasis on
exploration rather than exploitation.
Unintentional learning through the haphazard and multi-faceted lives of workers.
Learning curves or “learning by doing” show that as an organization produces more of a
product, the unit cost of production decreases at a decreasing rate. The beauty of this
experiential learning is that performance over time can often be predicted using a
mathematical model. Such learning can be explained through individuals learning over
time as well as the organization, such as the effective use of technology. effective
decisions can be made by managers on how best to balance technology against working
practices.
Jashapara P70
18. Knowledge management strategy plan
P 170

INCLUDE CODIFICATION AND PERSONALIZATION STRATEGY

19. Knowledge codification strategy

Codification Strategy
Knowledge management codification strategy is a strategy to manage the knowledge
that the core of codification approach to knowledge management is to develop an
electronic document system that codifies store, disseminates, and allow reuse of
knowledge (Hansen et al., 1999). A codification strategy aims to capture and codify
knowledge in explicit form for subsequent transfer and reuse by others within the
organization. Within this approach, organizations invest once in the development of
explicit knowledge, store it, and are able to reuse it as often as required. As a result, this
‘reuse economics’ avoids the cost associated with the ‘reinvention’ of knowledge assets.

20. Community of practice

Communities of practice are formed by people who engage in a process of collective
learning in a shared domain of human endeavor: a group of engineers working on similar
problems, a gathering of first-time managers helping each other cope. In a nutshell the
Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for
something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly. Note that this
definition allows for, but does not assume, intentionality: learning can be the reason the
community comes together or an incidental outcome of member's interactions. Not
everything called a community is a community of practice. A neighborhood for instance, is
often called a community, but is usually not a community of practice. Three characteristics
are crucial: The domain: A community of practice is not merely a club of friends or a
network of connections between people. It has an identity defined by a shared domain of
interest. Membership therefore implies a commitment to the domain, and therefore a shared
competence that distinguishes members from other people. (You could belong to the same
network as someone and never know it.) The domain is not necessarily something
recognized as "expertise" outside the community. A youth gang may have developed all
sorts of ways of dealing with their domain: surviving on the street and maintaining some
kind of identity they can live with. They value their collective competence and learn from
each other, even though few people outside the group may value or even recognize their
expertise. The community: In pursuing their interest in their domain, members engage in
joint activities and discussions, help each other, and share information. They build
relationships that enable them to learn from each other. A website in itself is not a
community of practice. Having the same job or the same title does not make for a
community of practice unless members interact and learn together. The claims processors in
a large insurance company or students in American high schools may have much in
common, yet unless they interact and learn together, they do not form a community of
practice. But members of a community of practice do not necessarily work together on a
daily basis. The Impressionists, for instance, used to meet in cafes and studios to discuss the
style of painting they were inventing together. These interactions were essential to making
them a community of practice even though they often painted alone. The practice: A
community of practice is not merely a community of interest--people who like certain kinds
of movies, for instance. Members of a community of practice are practitioners. They
develop a shared repertoire of resources: experiences, stories, tools, ways of addressing
recurring problems—in short a shared practice. This takes time and sustained interaction. A
good conversation with a stranger on an airplane may give you all sorts of interesting
insights, but it does not in itself make for a community of practice. The development of a
shared practice may be more or less self-conscious. The "windshield wipers" engineers at an
auto manufacturer make a concerted effort to collect and document the tricks and lessons
they have learned into a knowledge base. By contrast, nurses who meet regularly for lunch
in a hospital cafeteria may not realize that their lunch discussions are one of their main
sources of knowledge about how to care for patients. Still, in the course of all these
conversations, they have developed a set of stories and cases that have become a shared
repertoire for their practice. It is the combination of these three elements that constitutes a
community of practice. And it is by developing these three elements in parallel that one
cultivates such a community.

WHAT COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE LOOK LIKE Communities develop their

practice through a variety of activities like for example: Problem solving (work on a design
and brainstorm some ideas when you are stuck), Requests for information ( where can I find
some code to connect to one server), Seeking experience (if anyone dealt with a customer in
some specific situation), Reusing assets (if you have a proposal for a local area network that
you wrote for a client last year and can easily adapt it for a new client), Coordination and
synergy (combine our purchases of something to achieve bulk discounts), Discussing
developments (what do you think about the new system and if it really helps),
Documentation projects (have faced a problem five times and write it down to have all the
information), Visits (see a program in other company that we need to establish in our),
Mapping knowledge and identifying gaps (who knows what, what are we missing, what
other groups should we connect with, and this kind of questions). Communities of practice
are not called that in all organizations. They are known under various names, such as
learning networks, thematic groups, or tech clubs. While they all have the three elements of
a domain, a community, and a practice, they come in a variety of forms. Some are quite
small; some are very large, often with a core group and many peripheral members. Some are
local and some cover the globe. Some meet mainly face-to-face, some mostly online. Some
are within an organization and some include members from various organizations. Some are
formally recognized, often supported with a budget; and some are completely informal and
even invisible. Communities of practice have been around for as long as human beings have
learned together. At home, at work, at school, in our hobbies, we all belong to communities
of practice, a number of them usually. In some we are core members. In many we are
merely peripheral. And we travel through numerous communities over the course of our
lives. In fact, communities of practice are everywhere. They are a familiar experience, so
familiar perhaps that it often escapes our attention. Yet when it is given a name and brought
into focus, it becomes a perspective that can help us understand our world better. In
particular, it allows us to see past more obvious formal structures such as organizations,
classrooms, or nations, and perceive the structures defined by engagement in practice and
the informal learning that comes with it.
Community of Practice
“Community of practice is group of people who share a concern, a set
of problems or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their
knowledge and expertise in this area by interacting on an ongoing
basis” (Jashapara, 2004 p. 203). The main idea behind a community of
practice is the double loop learning and the tacit knowledge
acquisition and sharing. This form of community evolves with time to
time as it is dependent on dialogues and sharing and includes the
individual mental map in open forums to share the wisdom of
knowledge and expertise. Since the Science co is been stuck with the
field of innovation and invention where a community of practice may
enroll the mechanism of several separate divisions of how they
conduct their tasks, arranging the meetings, conferences and even on
online basis how useful those video conferencing are for share
community of innovation domain.

P 299 203
21. Learning organization
The learning organization focuses on enhancing its systems (including people) to
continually increase the organization's capacity for performance. Ratner (1997) defines a
learning organization as "one in which people at all levels, individually and collectively, are
continually increasing their capacity to produce results they really care about."

Learning organization concept not only covers business organizations but also
educational and non-profit organizations. The model of a learning organization is
replacing the beaurocratic model that exists in the West for a long time. Competition
among various organizations is very powerful because of they make significant changes
that apply a new organizational model for survive. There is not a single definition for
learning organization model exist on which all researcher agreed most common
definition are.
Learning organization is a philosophy or an approach to what an organization is and
what the role its employees play in it. If we speak about the principles of management as
a learning activity, we may maintain that learning is usually described as "change in
individual’s actions depending on his experience" (P.Thompson; 1995).
"Learning which encompasses changes, is open to innovations, has available sources so
that technologies intended for learning be advanced, also meeting the organization’s
need for learning and knowledge" (J.Henry; 1994) .
"Such themes as a mode of solving uncertainty of the environment are often
characterized in literature as such systems which are often called learning organizations"
(P.Thompson; 1995, p. 315).
Organizations encompass to enhance values, knowledge bases, processes and skills
which encourage an effective reaction for prompting changes higher cultures, systems
and employee knowledge formed on the basis of confidence which are valuable in
decision-making and problem solving.
 Figure 13 Management scheme

Learning organizations are those in which employees always try to achieve desired
results, collective objectives are freely developed. The key tasks of a learning
organization are according to (B.O.Leonien, 2001):
To observe the environment
To understand the importance of novelties
To consider each new task as an opportunity to learn
To continuously renovate
To employ people who are willing to learn new working methods, to acquire new skills
To create the possibility for employees to adapt and change
To encourage aspirations for knowledge, curiosity
To help everyone to find and make use of opportunities to learn
To create learning support systems
To regard executives of an organization as encouragers of improvement of employee
skills
To acknowledge and rank those executives who take care of improvement of employee
skills to learn from success and failures
To ensure learning throughout the whole organization
It’s important to identify that organizations where learning is continuous and external
environment observed it with aim to adapt it then certain processes remain in progresses
which have influence the way in which opinion is shaped, specific knowledge is created,
decisions are made.
 Figure 14 Learning organization

Learning organization created to change methods applied in management and goals are
production and profit then this action strategy go through changes by orienting them to
knowledge. In simple means management that was economic management for long time
now becomes a knowledge strategy. These happen when organization adopts knowledge
and its maximum use to change environment become the key goal of activities.

Main values of company employees were loyalty and discipline in past but now this
situation is totally change. Competence, capacity to learn continuously and know more
than their competitors are the main value of any organization. If they learn constantly
and modify their work regularly according to the user needs, then they are fruitful for
the company’s greatest favor .Ideas of change environment, economics, and
globalization highlight the importance of learning not only at individual, group and
organizational levels, but also at regional and national levels.

22. Innovation process

As for innovation, learning may occur at the individual, group, organization and industry
levels. As new outputs, innovations may come from new knowledge as well as from the
combination of existing knowledge to create architectural innovations (Henderson, and
Clark, 1990, pp 9], using combinative capabilities (Kogut and Zander, 1999, pp386).
Radical and incremental innovations refer to high and low degrees of new knowledge
(Dewar, and J.E. Dutton, 1986, pp 1422), involving high and low degrees of organizational
transformation.As researchers argue that learning means integrating new knowledge or
mixing existing knowledge in different ways, learning leads to newness, and thus to
innovation. Innovation will be the by-product of a learning organization. A learning
organization is an innovative organization.
Culture and Climate for innovation
Innovation is related with the development and implementing of new
ideas in an organizational context who themselves are been engaged
in transaction with others (Ahmed, 1998). Innovation is always a
frightening because it comes with a big factor of risk. Many
organization try to implement the importance of doing the innovation
and some actually do it but only a very few at the end succeeded in
doing so (Ahmed, 1998). Innovation is related with double loop
learning and that is learning by doing which involves a risk as some
organization may not afford a financial allocation to drop to fund for
such experimentation. As Science co organization works as a
consultancy to bring the innovation in their products so it is subtle for
demanding a creation of a culture which could support it. Many
organizations tend to be calling the meetings and conferences and
eventually throw the funds for innovation but more or less the
commitment to bring the innovation stops here (Ahmed, 1998).
According to Ahmed, the innovation requires an organizational culture
that does not only rely of the allocation of funds but also strives for
creating the environment constantly to guide the workers to be more
creative (1998 p. 30). Innovation is a consistent pursuance rather than
a constant entity which is to be felt that ultimately enables the
business to see beyond the present and create a future (Ahmed, 1998
p.31).
23. Team learning with Dialogue and discussion
Team learning can be viewed as the capacity of a group to engage appropriately in
dialogue and discussion. There are three characteristics of effective team learning.
 Ability to think insightfully about complex issues and bring together the collective
intelligence of the team rather than the insight of the dominant individuals.
 Ability to provide innovative and coordinated action. This implies alignment of
minds between team members and a conscious awareness of other team members
and their actions. The example of great jazz ensembles provides a useful metaphor
for spontaneous and coordinated action.
 Ability to share practices and skills between teams in organizations.

Dialogue: is the free and creative exploration of complex issues involving active
listening and suspending one’s own view. The purpose of dialogue is to go beyond one’s
own understanding and become an observer of one’s own thinking. This means
suspending one’s own assumptions and playing with different ideas. Dialogue means
letting go of power differentials between team players and treating each member
equally. It means exploring our assumptions behind our closely held views. Dialogues
are particularly useful for divergent thinking where we want a richer grasp of a
complex issue rather than fostering agreement. All the early western philosophers such
as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle used dialogue in their development of knowledge.

Discussion: is complementary to dialogue and is best employed in situations of

convergent thinking and decision making. In discussion, different views are presented
and defended and there is the search for the best view and arguments to support the
decision that needs to be made. Discussions converge to a conclusion and a course of
action. The assumption is that the best argument tends to win in discussions. However, it
can be the best arguer using rhetoric or emotive language rather logic that wins as
objective criteria against which the quality of and validity of an argument are rarely
tested.
Defensive routines of discussion: if an individual digs in their heels with their own
perspective, this can lead to team conflict. Another is that individuals not wishing to
confront their own thinking to save themselves from threat or embarrassment
24. Data mining
P108

25. Leveraging knowledge

26. Compliancy (Kotters definition)

27. Vision

28. Kurt Lewin’s change model

29. Change management

30. Change management: short term wins

31. Power of vision (in change management)

32. Intangible assets

33. Sense of urgency (in change management)

34. Knowledge management system

35. Resource based view of the firm

P 166

36. Know-how and Know-what

37. Knowledge management tool
P 89

38. Explicit knowledge & Tacit knowledge

39. Management

40. Core competence

41. Information system

P167