Andersen Consulting – Knowledge

Management System
Supriya S
About Anderson Consulting

 Arthur Andersen LLP, based in Chicago, was once one of the "Big Five"

accounting firms among PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte Touche

Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young and KPMG, providing auditing, tax,

and consulting services to large corporations.

 In 2002, the firm voluntarily surrendered its licenses to practice

as Certified Public Accountants in the United States after being found

guilty of criminal charges relating to the firm's handling of

the auditing of Enron.
Cont…

 The consulting wing of the firm became increasingly important during the
1970s and 1980s.
 Disproportionate growth, and the consulting division partners' belief that
they were not garnering their fair share of firm profits, created increasing
friction between the two divisions.
 In 1989, Arthur Andersen and Andersen Consulting became separate units
of Andersen Worldwide Société Coopérative. The two businesses spent
most of the 1990s in a bitter dispute.
Cont…

 In August 2000 the conclusion of the International Chamber of

Commerce granted Andersen Consulting its independence from Arthur
Andersen and declared that Andersen Consulting could no longer use the
Andersen name.
 Andersen Consulting changed its name to Accenture on New Year's
Day 2001 and Arthur Andersen meanwhile now having the right to the
Andersen Consulting name rebranded itself as "Andersen".
Knowledge Management
What is Knowledge Management?

 Knowledge n. 1. The state or fact of knowing. 2. Familiarity, awareness,

or understanding gained through experience or study. 3. That which is
known; the sum or range of what has been perceived, discovered, or
inferred.
 Management n. 1. The act, manner or practice of managing, handling, or
controlling something. 2. The person or persons who manage a business
establishment, organization or institution
What is Knowledge Management?
 Andersen Consulting Definition:

“A systematic process for creating, acquiring,

synthesizing, sharing and using information, insights
and experiences to achieve your organizational
goals.”
KM: a Business Enabler
Typical Company Scenario Knowledge Management
Approach
Knowledge is seen as a valued corporate asset;
Information is power, hence, it is hoarded people sharing knowledge is the only way to
improve

Work is optimized in silos, delivering Work is optimized by virtual, integrated teams,

value within work units delivering value as an enterprise

Information, experts, and lessons learned Corporate memory is captured, measured,

are hard to locate improved, and easily accessed

Underutilized investment in technology Technology fully supports business needs and

delivers value

Local focus on information, reacting to Global focus on corporate knowledge

situations proactively seizes upon opportunities
KM at Andersen Consulting
KM Roles at Andersen Consulting
Knowledge Sponsor Sponsors development and implementation of KM
solutions; acts as KM role model and ensures that KM
is successful
Knowledge Works with engagement management, relevant client
Champion team members and the KM Community to ensure that
KM services are delivered effectively
Subject Matter Expert Approves collected knowledge for broad/final use,
helps repackage knowledge for distribution,
augments/creates knowledge as required
Knowledge Manager Enables KM at user sites, facilitates knowledge
contribution and access to knowledge capital, assists in
use and re-use of knowledge
Knowledge Integrator Maintains and refines knowledge capital

KM Technical Develops and administers KM systems. Typically two

Support roles:
* KM Technical Development
* KM Technical Administration and Operations
Knowledge Sharing - Evaluation

Doug Q. Public
KM at Andersen Consulting: Knowledge Xchange
 A knowledge management architecture
 Standards, infrastructure, tools that enable the global exchange of
knowledge capital
 A portfolio of applications that help distribute, retrieve and foster
discussion around internal and external content
 A system that transcends the barriers of geography, enabling
Andersen Consulting personnel access any time, any where.
KM at Andersen Consulting: KX Technology
 Full access to internal, external information, from anywhere, at any
time
 Instantaneous information capture and availability
 Electronic search and search agents
 Profiles, automated Push
 Integrates administrative system
 Paper a display tool, not filed
How Is the Knowledge Xchange Organized?

Directory Databases
(e.g., KX Yellow Pages, KX Front Page)

Reference Databases
(e.g., Industry/Competency Libraries)
Discussion Databases
(e.g., Change Management Forum,
Financial Services Discussion)
External Databases
(e.g., Newsfeeds, Gartner Group)

Application Databases
(e.g., Call Tracking)
KX Front Page - A “portal” to the Knowledge Xchange to help you find
information, access databases, receive announcements and perform
your work more efficiently.
KX Yellow Pages - The easiest way to find a database on
the Knowledge Xchange is via the Yellow Pages
People and Places

Name and Address Book - listing

of all mailing lists and Lotus Notes
Ids in the firm

Chicago Metro Office Directory -

Directory of employees and guests
in Chicago Metro area (including
St. Charles, and Northbrook)

AC Client Service Directory -

directory of AC offices and
executive personnel in the firm
AC Client Experience - To help you answer basic questions at any
stage of work you may be doing for a target or current client.
Library Databases
To support communities by encouraging your contribution of community-
related information on proposals and engagements. They contain
engagement support information; Market Unit and Competency knowledge
capital; engagement deliverables, technical and functional designs,
workplans, presentations, white papers, proposals, etc.
Discussion Databases

Discussion Databases - Support communities by providing a general forum

for community specific discussions. Contains announcements, marketing
memos, newsletters; requests for project advice and/or expertise from other
readers; responses to queries; Opinions, ideas, experiences, etc.
News

First! Newsfeed is a database which provides current news stories on selected

topics and companies within various industry groups. First! in Brief, enables each
subscriber to receive, via Notes mail, a tailored subset of news from the a First!
Newsfeed.
Industry Analysts

Industry Analyst databases are databases which provides reports, research, etc.
on selected topics and industries. Some databases are subscription-based and
some are open for public access. We also have access to internet sites only (such
as Computer Economics, Dow Jones, etc.). Please see the KX Yellow Pages for a
complete listing of external resources.
KM at Andersen Consulting: How is it used
 E-mail request
 Search a Library
 Post a request to Discussion
 Start a search, internal & external
 Review Methodology, Best Practices
 Retrieve related proposals, work-product
 Evaluation contributions
KM at Andersen Consulting: Benefits
 Supports global complexity
 Rapid institutional learning
 Global communication and coordination
 Keeps professionals close to the business
 Changes all aspects of business:
 Opportunity management
 Service delivery
 Practice management
THANK YOU