Knowledge Management in Theory and Practice Lecture 2: The Knowledge Management Cycle

Overview Major KM Cycles Knowledge-Information Cycle (ACIIC Knowledge Economy) Meyer and Zack KM Cycle Bukowitz and Wiliams McElroy KM Cycle Wiig KM Cycle

KM Cycle Processes Knowledge Capture Knowledge Creation Knowledge Codification Knowledge Sharing Knowledge Access Knowledge Application Knowledge Re-Use

Bukowitz and Williams Knowledge ASSESS GET BUILD/SUSTAIN USE LEARN CONTRIBUTE OR: DIVEST

Bukowitz and Williams /2 Get: seeking out information Tacit and explicit Being selective when faced with information overload Use: combine content in new and interesting ways to foster innovation in the organization Learn: learning from experiences Creation of an organizational memory

Bukowitz and Williams/3 Contribute: motivate employees to post what they have learned to a knowledge base Link individual learning and knowledge to organizational memory Assess: evaluation of intellectual capital Identify assets, metrics to assess them and link these directly to business objectives

Bukowitz and Williams/4 Build and Sustain: allocate resources to maintain knowledge base Contribute to viability, competitiveness Divest: should not keep assets that are no longer of any business value Transfer outside the organization e.g. outsourcing Patent, spin off companies etc.

Wiig KM Cycle Processes by which we build and use knowledge How we: As individuals As teams (communities) As organizations How we: Build knowledge Hold knowledge Pool knowledge Apply knowledge Discrete tasks yet often interdependent & parallel

Wiig KM Cycle/2 Build Knowledge Hold Knowledge Pool Knowledge Personal experience Formal education and training Intelligence sources Media, books, peers Build Knowledge Hold Knowledge In people In tangible forms (e.g. books) Pool Knowledge KM systems (intranet, dbase) Groups of people- brainstorm In work context Embedded in work processes Use Knowledge

Wiig KM Cycle/3 Build Knowledge Hold Knowledge Pool Knowledge Personal experience Formal education and training Intelligence sources Media, books, peers Build Knowledge Hold Knowledge In people In tangible forms (e.g. books) Pool Knowledge KM systems (intranet, dbase) Groups of people- brainstorm In work context Embedded in work processes Use Knowledge

Building Knowledge Learning from all kinds of sources to: Obtain Knowledge Analyze Knowledge Reconstruct (Synthesize) Knowledge Codify and Model Knowledge Organize Knowledge

Building Knowledge - Examples Market research Focus groups Surveys Competitive intelligence Data mining on customer preferences Create taxonomy of customer types Synthesis of lessons learned (what worked, what didn’t) – generate hypotheses Project management lessons learned Identify attribute of suppliers who were most responsive, use this to select future suppliers, also to develop requirements to include in RFP

Wiig KM Cycle/4 Build Knowledge Hold Knowledge Pool Knowledge Personal experience Formal education and training Intelligence sources Media, books, peers Build Knowledge Hold Knowledge In people In tangible forms (e.g. books) Pool Knowledge KM systems (intranet, dbase) Groups of people- brainstorm In work context Embedded in work processes Use Knowledge

Holding Knowledge In people’s minds, books, computerized knowledge bases, etc. Remember knowledge – internalize it Cumulate knowledge in repositories (encode it) Embed knowledge in repositories (within procedures) Archive knowledge Create scientific library, subscriptions Retire older knowledge from active status in repository (e.g. store in another medium for potential future retrieval – cd roms, etc.)

Holding Knowledge - Examples Company owns a number of proprietary methods and recipes for making products Some knowledge documented in the form of research reports, technical papers, patents Other tacit knowledge can be elicited and embedded in the knowledge base in the form of know-how, tips, tricks of the trade Videotapes of specialized experts explaining various procedures Task support systems

Wiig KM Cycle/5 Build Knowledge Hold Knowledge Pool Knowledge Personal experience Formal education and training Intelligence sources Media, books, peers Build Knowledge Hold Knowledge In people In tangible forms (e.g. books) Pool Knowledge KM systems (intranet, dbase) Groups of people- brainstorm In work context Embedded in work processes Use Knowledge

Pooling Knowledge Can take many forms such as discussions, expert networks and formal work teams Pooling knowledge consists of: Coordinating knowledge of collaborative teams Creating expert networks to identify who knows what Assembling knowledge – background references from libraries and other knowledge sources Accessing and retrieving knowledge Consult with knowledgeable people about a difficult problem, peer reviews, second opinions Obtain knowledge directly from a repository – advice, explanations

Pooling Knowledge - Examples An employee realizes he or she does not have the necessary knowledge and know-how to solve a particular problem She contact others in the company who have had similar problems to solve, consults the knowledge repository and makes use of an expert advisory system to help her out She organizes all this information and has subject matter experts validate the content

Wiig KM Cycle/6 Build Knowledge Hold Knowledge Pool Knowledge Personal experience Formal education and training Intelligence sources Media, books, peers Build Knowledge Hold Knowledge In people In tangible forms (e.g. books) Pool Knowledge KM systems (intranet, dbase) Groups of people- brainstorm In work context Embedded in work processes Use Knowledge

Using Knowledge Use established knowledge to perform routine tasks, make standard products, provide standard services Use general knowledge to survey exceptional situations, identify problem, consequences Use knowledge to describe situation and scope problem Select relevant special knowledge to handle situation, identify knowledge sources Observe and characterize the situation, collect and organize information Analyze situation, determine patterns, compare with others, judge what needs to be done

Using Knowledge (con’t) Synthesize alternative solutions, identify options, create new solutions Evaluate potential alternatives, appraise advantages and disadvantages of each, determine risks and benefits of each Use knowledge to decide what to do, which alternative to select Rank alternatives & test that each is feasible, acceptable Implement selected alternative Choose and assemble tools needed Prepare implementation plan, distribute it, authorize team to proceed with this solution

Using Knowledge - Examples Expert mechanic encounters a new problem Gathers info to diagnose and analyze Synthesizes a list of possible solutions with the tools he knows are available to him Decides on the best option and uses it to fix the part Non-routine tasks are approached in a different way than familiar, standard ones

KM Cycle Processes Knowledge Capture Knowledge Creation & Contribution Knowledge Codification & Refinement (inc. Sanitize) & Reconstruction (e.g. synthesis) Selectively filter contributions Knowledge Modeling Knowledge Sharing & Pooling Knowledge Organization &Access Knowledge Learning &Application Knowledge Evaluation & Re-Use OR Divest

Five Critical Knowledge Functions for each KM Cycle Step Type of knowledge or skill involved Securities trading expertise Business use of that knowledge Increase the value of a retirement fund portfolio Constraint that prevents knowledge from being fully utilized Expert will retire at the end of the year with no successor Opportunities, alternatives to manage that knowledge Elicit and codify knowledge before person retires Expected value-added of improving the situation Valuable knowledge is not lost to organization