3.

Knowledge management tools

and techniques

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2 KM tools and techniques
 KM can be defined as a systematic discipline and set
of approaches to enable knowledge to grow, flow,
and create value in an organization.
 This involves people, information/knowledge,
enabling tools, best practices, alliances, and
communities of practice.
 KM-enabling tools thus play a useful facilitating role
in learning organizations, especially in dealing with
the information overload

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3 KM tools and techniques…
 Information systems are designed specifically to
facilitate the generation, integration, sharing and
dissemination of organizational knowledge Such
systems are referred to as KM System
 key sets of KM tools, as described in action in
organizations around the world: content
management,CDSS, Big data( database), groupware,
online communities of practice, portals, social
network analysis, e-learning, storytelling, wireless
platforms, and inter-organizational knowledge-sharing
platforms.
Dereje F. 12/15/2022
4 KM tools and techniques…
 Ruggles (1997) provides a classification of KM
technologies as tools that enhance and enable
knowledge generation, codification, and transfer.
 Generate knowledge (e.g., data mining that discovers
new patterns in data).
 Code knowledge to make knowledge available for
others.
 Transfer knowledge to decrease problems with time
and space when communicating in an organization.

Dereje F. 12/15/2022
5 Major KM tools, techniques, and
technologies currently in use
 Knowledge Creation/ Capture/ Acquisition Phase
 Knowledge Application Phase
 Knowledge Sharing Phase

Dereje F. 12/15/2022
 Tacit Knowledge Capture
6

 Major approaches to knowledge acquisition

/capture from individuals and groups:
 1. Interviewing experts.
 2. Stories.

 Or combinations!!!

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 Tacit Knowledge Capture …cont’d
7
 The major tasks carried out by knowledge engineers
in capturing tacit knowledge:
 Analyzing information and knowledge flow.
 Working with experts to obtain information.
 designing and implementing a knowledge management
system or knowledge repository
 On the other side are the subject matter experts, and they had to be able to:
 Explain important knowledge and know-how.
 Be introspective and patient.
 Have effective communication skills.

Dereje F. 12/15/2022
 Tacit Knowledge Capture …cont’d
8

 Multiple experts are often participants in knowledge

engineering sessions
 cover the range of expertise they represented,
 validate the content,
 provide different perspective, etc.

 Group knowledge acquisition techniques can also be adopted

- for knowledge acquisition at the community of practice
level

Dereje F. 12/15/2022
 Interviewing Experts
9
 To extract key tacit knowledge of an individual into
more explicit forms.
 Structured interviewing of subject matter experts is the most
often used technique
 In many organizations structured interviewing is
performed by knowledgeable staff near retirement age.
 Lessons learned and best practices accumulated over
their years of experience at the organization can be
extracted and published.

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 Interviewing experts …cont’d
10

 Structured interviewing techniques require

 strong communication and conceptualization skills.
 a good grasp of the subject matter at hand.
 Structured interviews may also be used to clarify or
refine knowledge originally elicited during
unstructured interactions.

Dereje F. 12/15/2022
Stories
11 Stories are another excellent vehicle for both capturing and
coding tacit knowledge.
 A story can be defined as the telling of a happening or a
connected series of happenings
 An organizational story can be defined as a detailed narrative
of
 past management actions,
 employee interactions,
 or other key events that have occurred and that have been
communicated informally
 Stories can greatly increase organizational learning,
communicate common values and rule sets, and serve as an
excellent vehicle for capturing, coding, and transmitting
valuable tacit knowledge.
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12
 Key elements required to use stories to encapsulate
valuable knowledge
 The story should spring the listener to a new level of
understanding;
 The story should have a happy ending
 The story must be brief and detailed
 Listeners should be encouraged

Dereje F. 12/15/2022
13 Other methods of tacit knowledge
capture
 Learning by doing
 Learning by observations
 Ad hoc sessions.
 E-learning.
 Learning from others through business
guest speakers and benchmarking

Dereje F. 12/15/2022
14 Tacit knowledge capture at
organizational level
 Organizational knowledge acquisition is a
qualitatively different process from that which
occurs at individual and group levels.

 At the group level we are primarily concerned with

identifying and coding valuable knowledge, which is
mostly tacit in nature,

Dereje F. 12/15/2022
 Tacit knowledge capture ……..
15
 Malhotra (2000) proposed and outlined an approach for
knowledge capture at organizational level.
 Four major organizational knowledge acquisition
processes:
 (1) grafting,
 (2) vicarious learning,
 (3) experiential learning, and
 (4) inferential processes.

Dereje F. 12/15/2022
 1. Grafting
16
 Involves the migration of knowledge between firms.
 It is a learning process whereby the firm gains access to
task- or process-specific knowledge that was not
previously available within the firm.

 Typically achieved through mergers, acquisitions, or

alliances in that there is a direct passing of knowledge
between firms
 An example would be technology transfer or other forms of
knowledge.

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 2. Vicarious learning
17
 Vicarious  indirect, mediated, remote
 processes occur through one firm observing other firms’
demonstrations of techniques or procedures.
 Examples are benchmarking studies where companies can adopt
the best practices of other industry leaders.
 This knowledge is more tacit than that obtained through
grafting as it involves learning how to do something or
know-how.

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 3. Experiential Learning
18

 Experiential knowledge acquisition involves knowledge

acquisition within a given firm—that is, knowledge created by
doing and practicing.
 Repetition based experience relies on the learning curve to
establish routines and procedures.
 This type of knowledge is initially tacit but can be easily
codified and transferred

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19 (4) inferential processes

 The reasoning involved in drawing a conclusion

or making a logical judgment on the basis of
circumstantial evidence and prior conclusions
rather than on the basis of direct observation
 Based on interpretation; not directly expressed

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Knowledge sharing(KS) communities

20  Knowledge sharing has been identified as the most critical area for
KM not only to facilitate the exchange of ideas, experience and
problems, but also to provide a link between knowledge workers,
where knowledge resides, and institutions
 KS is considered as the most prominent challenge as compared to
other components of KM because it is very difficult to attain and
encourage people to share their knowledge
 Two forms of KS Communities
 Traditional communities –
 which often use face to face meetings
 Virtual communities –
 who use the Internet or technology-mediated communication

Dereje F. 12/15/2022
21 Knowledge sharing(KS) communities …

Virtual organizations face additional challenges

such as:
 No formalization, with each organization following its own
norms, styles, and ideas.
 No shared values, beliefs, ideas, or norms.
 No frameworks or policies that guide individuals working
in the organization.

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22 Benefits of knowledge sharing
Some of the strategically important benefits of
knowledge sharing include:
 Connecting professionals across platforms, across
distances.
 Standardizing professional practices.
 Avoiding/Reducing mistakes.
 Leveraging best practices.
 Reducing time to talent.
 Building reputation.

Dereje F. 12/15/2022
 Tools for Knowledge creation and capture
23

 Authoring tools( for written works)

 Templates->models
 Expertise profiling
 observations/comments/explanations
 Blogs-A shared on-line journal where people can post daily entries
about their personal experiences and hobbies
 Data mining

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 Tools for content management
24
- Content management refers to the management of valuable content
throughout the useful lifespan of the content.
- Content lifespan will typically begin with content creation, handle
multiple changes and updates, merging, summarization, and other
repackaging, and will typically end with archiving.
 Metadata tagging
 Classification
 Archiving
 Abstracting/Summaries

Dereje F. 12/15/2022
 Knowledge Sharing and Dissemination Tools
25

 Groupware and Collaboration Tools-Software that

can be used by a group of people who are working on the
same information but may be distributed in space
 Wikis-set of web pages that allows almost anyone to edit
and add content
 Networking Technologies
- Portals: are considered to be virtual workplaces
that Promote knowledge sharing among different
categories of end users
- Facilitate collaboration among employees
- Allow producers and users of knowledge to interact.

Dereje F. 12/15/2022
 Tools for Knowledge Sharing and Dissemination..
26

 Communication and collaboration technologies;

 Telephone
 Fax
 Video conferencing
 Chat rooms-are text-based but synchronous. Participants communicate with one
another in real time via a web server that provides the interaction facility.
 Email
 Discussion forums
 Social medias especially web 2.0( wiki,youtube,facebook..)-w/c
facilitates interaction b/n web users and sites so it’s participatory
 read the difference b/n web 1.0 and web 2.0
Dereje F. 12/15/2022
27 Knowledge Sharing Metrics
 Number of shared documents published
 Number of improvement suggestions made
 Number of patents approved
 Number of presentations made
 Number of members in discussion lists
 Number of conferences attended
 …….

Dereje F. 12/15/2022
 Barriers on km( sharing)
28
 Currently sharing knowledge is considered as loosing guarantee of
work.
 knowledge is property,
 knowledge is power,
 weakened Sense of belongingness to the organization
 Low sociability and low solidarity in the company results a
fragmented organizational culture.
 Media barriers for knowledge sharing and their facilitating tools
 Poor Promotion system
 Lack of a common IT platform

Dereje F. 12/15/2022
29 Barriers on knowledge sharing…
 Lack of time, past mistakes, differences in levels of
experience, lack of interaction
 Lack of leadership, lack of formal and informal space to
share
 Being Reluctant, lack of training, and lack of
communication.
 Nature of knowledge (tacitness)
 Opposition by knowledge donor
 Opposition by knowledge recipient
 ………….

Dereje F. 12/15/2022
TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES FOR IMPROVING COLLABORATIVE WORK

Group Development, Communities

of Practice (CoPs) and Action
Learning Sets can be used to develop
shared visions, assess and improve ways
of working together.
TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES FOR IMPROVING COLLABORATIVE WORK

Storytelling,
developing good online
strategies and using e-mail
guidelines can be used to
improved the flow of
knowledge across different
stakeholders.
32 e-learning as a new approach to KM
 E-learning is the development of an individuals’ knowledge,
competencies, and attitudes or dispositions through a pedagogically
designed learning process delivered via multimedia technology
 synergistic relationships should increase between KM and e-learning.
 For example, both disciplines deal with knowledge capture, sharing,
application, and potentially knowledge generation.
 Both the disciplines of KM and e-learning have important
technological components to enhance learning.
 Both disciplines ultimately contribute to building a continuous
learning culture,
 Both KM and e-learning are maturing to the point where there are
numerous journals and associated communities that deal with KM and
e-learning—including the international journal KM and E-Learning,
which has recognized the importance of the synergy between the two
disciplines.

Dereje F. 12/15/2022
33 e-learning as a new approach to KM…

 Wild et al. (2002) developed a framework for e-

learning as a tool for KM.
 They claim that “many corporations are
discovering that e-learning has many of the same
attributes as basic KM processes and thus can be
used as a tool for knowledge management”
 E-learning can assist in the “dissemination and
applying knowledge acquired” process
associated with the KM value chain.

Dereje F. 12/15/2022
34 SUMMARY
 Content creation and management tools are used
to structure and organize knowledge content for
each retrieval and maintenance.
 Groupware and other collaboration tools are
essential enablers of knowledge flow and
knowledge-sharing activities among personnel.
 A knowledge repository will often be the most
frequently used and most visible aspect of a KM
technology.

Dereje F. 12/15/2022
35 SUMMARY..
 Knowledge management technologies help
support emergent phenomena involved in the
creation, sharing, and application of valuable
knowledge assets.

A paradigm shift has to occur from

“knowledge is power” to “sharing
knowledge is more powerful”

Dereje F. 12/15/2022
36 An inventory of available knowledge resources
 a. Knowledge capital: tacit and explicit knowledge, know-how,
expertise, experience in the minds of individuals and in
communities or embedded in work routines, processes,
procedures, roles, artifacts such as documents or reports.
 b. Social capital: culture, trust, context, the informal networks,
and reciprocity (e.g., willingness to experiment and take risks, or
able to fail without fear of effects).
 c. Infrastructure capital: physical knowledge resources; e.g.,
LAN/ WAN, file servers, intranets, PCs, applications, physical
workspaces and offices, and the organizational structure.

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37 ASSIGNMENT

 Assessment of knowledge management practices in--------

General Objective
 Assessment of knowledge management practice
Specific objective
 To identify the organization knowledge sharing practice
 To observe the flow of knowledge ,how its captured ,codified,
stored and disseminated
 Assessing the existing knowledge management technologies
 Investigating the barriers for the deployment of knowledge
management system

Dereje F. 12/15/2022