What is Knowledge?

Context Independence Wisdom Understanding Principles Knowledge Understanding Patterns Information Understanding Relations Data

Data Pyramid

Wisdom Knowledge Information Data

Knowledge + experience Information + rules Data + context

Explicit and Tacit knowledge

Explicit
        Expressed in words Found in documents Shareable Static Uncodified Experience Difficult to share Dynamic

Explicit Tacit

Tacit

KM - Definitions
a discipline that promotes an integrated approach to identifying, managing and sharing all of an enterprise s information assets. These information assets may include databases, documents, policies and procedures, as well as previously unarticulated expertise and experience resident in individual workers Gartner Group Inc, 1996

Two Kinds of Knowledge

Knowledge is intangible, dynamic, and difficult to measure, but without it no organization can survive. Tacit: or unarticulated knowledge is more personal, experiential, context specific, and hard to formalize; is difficult to communicate or share with others; and is generally in the heads of individuals and teams. Explicit: explicit knowledge can easily be written down and codified.

Knowledge Management
The new source of wealth is knowledge, and not labor, land, or financial capital. It is the intangible, intellectual assets that must be managed. The key challenge of the knowledge-based knowledgeeconomy is to foster innovation.

Definitions
Designing and installing techniques and processes to create, protect, and use known knowledge. Designing and creating environments and activities to discover and release knowledge that is not known, or tacit knowledge. Articulating the purpose and nature of managing knowledge as a resource and embodying it in other initiatives and programs.

Do You Really Need KM?

Competitive success will be based on how strategically intellectual capital is managed Capturing the knowledge residing in the minds of employees so that it can be easily shared across the enterprise Leveraging organizational knowledge is emerging as the solution to an increasingly fragmented and globally-dispersed globallyworkplace

Do You Really Need KM?

If your department wants to stop constantly reengineering and downsizing: talented people are assets to be developed for a global 21st Century If you are interested in the Knowledge Grid If you understand that reuse of knowledge saves work, reduces communication costs, and allows a company to take on more projects

Whats the Strategy?

There are two very different knowledge management strategies: Codification Strategy Personalization Strategy

For Successful Managing of Knowledge

Focus on five tasks: Generating knowledge Accessing knowledge Representing and embedding knowledge Facilitating knowledge Transferring knowledge It is a process of instilling the culture and helping people find ways to share and utilize their collective knowledge.

Why KM? Whats the Big Deal?

By instituting a learning organization (KM(KMintensive), there is an increase in employee satisfaction due to greater personal development and empowerment. Keeps your employees longer and thereby, reduces the loss of intellectual capital from people leaving the company. Saves money by not reinventing the wheel for each new project.

Why KM? Whats the Big Deal?

Reduces costs by decreasing and achieving economies of scale in obtaining information from external providers. Increases productivity by making knowledge available more quickly and easily. Provides workers with a more democratic place to work by allowing everyone access to knowledge.

What is Knowledge Management?

What are your ideas? What have you read? What have you heard? What do you imagine?

One Perspective of KM
KM [Knowledge Management] involves blending a company s internal and external information and turning it into actionable knowledge via a technology platform.
Susan DiMattia and Norman Oder in Library Journal, Journal, September 15, 1997.

Understanding KM
Understanding Knowledge Management requires an understanding of knowledge and the knowing process and how that differs from information and information management. management.

Peoplenets & Processnets have a role to play in KM

For group learning applications To connect individuals with each other for mentoring and knowledge sharing For decision support & decision making To sense, share, and respond to the signals coming from the environment To capture ideas and turn them into action

So what is knowledge management?

Knowledge management (KM) is an effort to increase useful knowledge within the organization. Ways to do this include encouraging communication, offering opportunities to learn, and promoting the sharing of appropriate knowledge artifacts.
McInerney, C. (2002). Knowledge management and the dynamic nature of knowledge. JASIST, 53 (2).

What is Knowledge?
The Old Pyramid
 data
information
 knowledge wisdom

Information that changes something or somebody becoming grounds for action by making an individual, or institution capable of different, more effective action Drucker, The New Realities

A few Foundation Principles and Building Concepts

Knowledge Influences Success Knowledge Resides in the Heads of People Two Types of Knowledge  Codified  Personalized Knowledge Sharing Requires a Conduit to Happen Systemically Technology is the conduit Knowledge Sharing Requires Trust KM embraces both the Knowledge Based organization and the Learning Organization KM has planned architectural frameworks

Knowledge Originates and Resides in the Heads of People and the Two Types of Knowledge
Explicit knowledge that is codified, recorded, or actualized into some form outside of the head
 Books, periodicals, journals, maps, photographs, audioaudiorecordings  Webpages, websites, portals

Tacit Knowledge from experience and insight, not in a recorded form, but in our heads, intuition Intellectual capital  Doesn t mean much unless packaged in useful ways  technology and global environment is redefining useful ways

Knowledge Requires Capture, Organization, Access and Leverage

OLD WAY
 Capture form is written, auditory or graphical representations  Organization is via tables of content, indexes, classification systems used by publishers, libraries, etc  Access when physical body goes to where the knowledge is located a library, a company, a research laboratory, a school  Tacit knowledge rarely tapped  Leverage is a sum game

NEW WAY
 Capture from is digits in cyberspace  Organization via software programs designed upon engineering principles, mathematical equations, word associations in cyberspace 24/7/365  Access wherever the physical bodies link via computers  Tacit knowledge tapped using many different technological tools  Leverage is exponential, multiples upon multiples

Knowledge Work Activities

Ac qu i r e An a l yz e O r g a n i ze C o d i fy Co m m u n i c a ttei l i z e U Re sult

Knowledge Architectures: It Takes a Lot -- the Four Pillars KM

Environmental Influences
Political Social Governmental Economic

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT The Architecture of Enterprise Engineering

LEADERSHIP
Business Culture Strategic Planning - Vision and Goals Climate Growth Segmentation Communications

ORGANIZATION
BPR - Processes - Procedures Metrics MBO TQM/L Workflow Communications

TECHNOLOGY
E-mail OLAP Data Warehousing Search Engines Decision Support Process Modeling Management Tools Communications

LEARNING
Intuition Innovation vs. Invention Learning Community Virtual Teams Shared Results Exchange Forums Communications

LEADERSHIP

ORGANIZATION MULTIPLE

TECHNOLOGY DISCIPLINES
Systems Management

LEARNING

Systems Engineering

Organization Development

Organization Behavior

Stankosky, Calabrese, Baldanza, 1999

KM is different from a KMS

KM is whole ball of wax (people, technology, processes, learning, business) KMS is a knowledge management system that makes it happen KMS is comprised of four components
    Content management applications Expertise locator applications Collaboration Portal

All tightly integrated

Figure 12.1 The relationships between data, information, and knowledge.

Data
Simple observations of the world: Easily captured Easily structured Easily transferred Compact, quantifiable

Knowledge
Data with relevance and purpose: Requires unit of analysis Needs consensus on meaning Human mediation necessary Often garbled in transmission

Information
Valuable information from the human mind: includes reflection, synthesis, context Hard to capture electronically Hard to structure Often tacit Hard to transfer Highly personal to the source

Definitions
Knowledge management - processes necessary to capture, codify and transfer knowledge across the organization to achieve competitive advantage Intellectual capital - knowledge that has been identified, captured and leveraged to produce higherhigher-value goods or services or some other competitive advantage for the firm Intellectual property type of property related to individual s creativity and innovation

Definitions
Data - Simple observations of states of the world; facts Information data endowed with relevance and purpose
 Must consider context

Knowledge valuable information form the human mind; includes reflection, synthesis, context

Figure 12.2 Taxonomy of Knowledge

Types of Knowledge
Tacit knowledge
 context-specific context personal  hard to formalize and communicate

Explicit knowledge
    easily collected, organized and transferred can be codified objective Theoretical

Figure 12.3 Examples of explicit and tacit knowledge

Tacit Knowledge
Knowing how to identify the key issues necessary to solve a problem Applying similar experiences from past situations Estimating work required based on intuition & experience Deciding on an appropriate course of action

Explicit Knowledge
Procedures listed in a manual Books and articles News reports and financial statements Information left over from past projects

Why Manage Knowledge?

Sharing best practices Globalization Rapid change Downsizing Managing information and communication overload Knowledge embedded in products Sustainable competitive advantage

Sustainable Competitive Advantage

Shorter life-cycle of innovation Knowledge as an infinite resource Direct bottom-line returns

Managing Overload
Inability to assimilate knowledge Data organization and storage is needed

Sharing Best Practices

Avoid reinventing the wheel Build on previous work

Downsizing
Loss of knowledge Portability of workers Lack of time and resources for knowledge acquisition

Globalization Why Manage Knowledge?

Decreased cycle times Increased competitive pressures Global access to knowledge Adapting to local conditions

Embedded Knowledge
Smart products Blurring of distinction between service and manufacturing firms Value-added through intangibles

Rapid Change
Avoid obsolescence Build on previous work Streamline processes Sense and respond to change

Figure 12.4 Reasons for Managing Knowledge. IBM Global Services

Shared Problem Solving Buy or Rent Creating (R&D)

KNOWLEDGE GENERATION

Adaptation

Communities of Practice

Figure 12.5 Knowledge Generation Strategies

Knowledge Management Process

Knowledge generation - discover new knowledge Knowledge capture scan, organize and package knowledge after it has been generated Knowledge codification - represent knowledge so it can be accessed and transferred
 define strategic intent  identify & evaluate existing knowledge  consider use

Knowledge transfer- transmit knowledge from transferperson or group to another and absorb that knowledge

Modes of Knowledge Conversion

TO Tacit Knowledge FROM TO Explicit Knowledge TO

Tacit SOCIALIZATION EXTERNALIZATION Knowledge Shared experiences Use of metaphors, Water cooler analogies and FROM
Apprenticeship models INTERNALIZATION COMBINATION Explicit Exchange and Knowledge Learning by doing Studying previously synthesis from FROM captured knowledge existing explicit (manuals, knowledge
documentation)

Communities of Practice
Achieved by groups of workers with common interests and objectives, but not necessarily employed in the same department or location, and who occupy different roles on the organization chart. Workers communicate in person, by telephone or by e-mail to solve problems together. eCommunities of practice are held together by a common sense of purpose and a need to know what other members of the network know

Four Basic Principles of Knowledge Codification*

1.

2. 3. 4.

Decide what business goals the codified knowledge will serve (define strategic intent). Identify existing knowledge necessary to achieve strategic intent. Evaluate existing knowledge for usefulness and the ability to be codified. Determine the appropriate medium for codification and distribution.

*Davenport and Prusak (1998)

Learning Organization

Business Transformation (BPR, TQM, culture) Innovation Knowledge Management

Intellectual Assets/Capital Knowledge-based Systems

Information Management

Intelligence Knowledge Information Data

Human, judgemental Contextual, tacit Transfer needs learning

Codifiable, explicit Easily transferable

Chaotic knowledge processes

Human knowledge and networking

Information databases and technical networking

Systematic information and knowledge processes

Knowledge Management is the explicit and systematic management of vital knowledge - and its associated processes of creation, organisation, diffusion, use and exploitation.

Sharing existing knowledge Knowing what you know

Knowledge for Innovation Creating and Converting

Innovation Cycle
Codify Identify Embed Product/ Process Create

KM Cycle
Collect Classify

Knowledge Repository

Organize/ Store

Diffuse

Use/Exploit Access

Share/ Disseminate

Enablers

Leadership
Structures - Cultures - HR Policies - Vision

Levers Processes Peopl e

Measure ment

Information

Space

Foundations Hard infrastructure - Intranet, groupware etc. Soft - Skills, learning,

Tools and Techniques

Why KM? Whats the Big Deal?

Learning faster with KM Learning faster to stay competitive KM software and technological infrastructures allow for global access to an organizations knowledge, at a keystroke

In Successful KM Programs
Information is widely disseminated throughout the organization. Wherever it is needed, it is accessible. Accessible at a fast rate of speed. Virtual communities of practice share what is known in a global fashion, independent of time zones and other geographic limitations. Business boundaries are broad, and often virtual in nature. Collaboration to support continuous innovation and new knowledge creation.

KM and Future Planning

Where are we going? What are we here for? People need awareness of the whole: in what direction is the organization going? To have a goal to reach in the future can provide great incentive for a KM initiative. Effective leveraging lies within an organizations capacity for rethinking and recreating. Scenario thinking can help us to see the blind spots, and help to create the future we want.

KM Software Tools
Globalserve Knowcorp Hyperknowledge MicroStrategy The Molloy Group KnowledgeX Inc. WebFarming.com Softlab Enabling Tools Imagination Excalibur Technologies Imaging Solutions Grapevine Technologies Intraspect Software Milagro: The Power of Imagination

Knowledge Management?
The essence of knowledge management is understanding and valuing intangible assets over tangible Understanding that human and intellectual capital are the greatest resources Managing the skills and competencies that lie within an organization, and allowing them to blossom Allowing people to be the best that they can be; optimizing performance

KM - Definitions
Knowledge management is the explicit and systematic management of vital knowledge and its associated processes of creating, gathering, organising, diffusion, use and exploitation. It requires turning personal knowledge into corporate knowledge that can be widely shared throughout an organisation and appropriately applied. David Skyrme Associates, 1997

KM Concepts
From data through information to knowledge, knowledge, but one person s knowledge is another s data Explicit knowledge is formal and systematic Tacit knowledge is unrecorded and unarticulated, also known as implicit or experimental knowledge Intellectual capital is a firm s intangible assets, includes competence, innovation, learning, processes, relationships, systems, etc Making formal knowledge more visible and

KM and Information Technology

Suite of tools - online databases, groupware, document management systems, web/intranets, specialist search engines, videovideo-conferencing Significant contribution - rapidly disseminating information, integrating and linking knowledge and facilitating crosscrossfunctional teamwork Seen as people and process issue - not as an expansion of the information systems function

Knowledge Harvesting
Knowledge

Elicit Tacit Knowledge one-to-one interviews focus groups

Creating Knowledge Assets Knowledge on Demand Organizing & Packaging Knowledge Improved Performance New capabilities Strategic changes

Mining Explicit Knowledge documents processes

Information

FIND
Focus Find Elicit

PACKAGE
Organize Package Share

LEVERAGE
Apply Evaluate Adapt

From Data to Knowledge Data mining: the core

of knowledge discovery process.
Pattern Evaluation Data Mining Task-relevant Data Selection

Data Warehouse Data Cleaning Data Integration Databases

Sample KM Architecture
Client Windows NT Server Data Stores
Office & HTML Docs Exchange Public Folders Internet Explorer

Office

HTML

SQL Server

Video Audio

Other Web Sites

User Interface

Middleware/Business Process

Integrated Storage

Knowledge Management
Leadership & strategy People

Processes

Technology Culture

Knowledge Management
A means to an end

Not an end in itself

Without knowledge management I was lost

In the end, the location of the new economy is not in the technology, be it the microchip or the Internet. It is in the human mind.
Alan Webber

"Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance." -Confucius