Frameworks of Knowledge Management Madz Quiamco AIJC

Working Knowledge: How Organizations Manage What they Know Frameworks of KM Highest ranking authors in KM (Social Science Citation Index, 2008): Ikujiro Nonaka The Knowledge-Creating Company: How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation by Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi (1995) NY: Oxford University Press Thomas Davenport Working Knowledge: How Organizations Manage What they Know by Thomas Davenport and Lawrence Prusak (1998) Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press

Frameworks of KM Differing concepts of knowledge: Nonaka: Knowledge - a dynamic human process of justifying personal belief toward ‘truth’ Western concept: emphasizes the absolute, static, and nonhuman nature of knowledge, e.g., in propositions and formal logic

The Knowledge-Creating Company: How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation

The Knowledge-Creating Company Central idea: knowledge creation through knowledge conversion – from existing to new Knowledge = ‘justified true belief’

The Knowledge-Creating Company Production/Creation of new knowledge through knowledge amplification 1) FROM TACIT… …TO EXPLICIT …to organization 2) From individual…

4 modes of organizational knowledge creation: A. The SECI Model 4 modes of organizational knowledge creation: Interaction Conversion

The Knowledge-Creating Company Socialization – acquiring tacit knowledge by sharing experiences Apprentices learn from masters through - observation - imitation - practice Employees learn new skills through on-the-job training

The Knowledge-Creating Company Externalization – converting tacit knowledge into explicit concepts through - abstractions - metaphors - analogies - models; or triggered by - dialogue - collective reflection

The Knowledge-Creating Company Combination – creating explicit knowledge by bringing them together from different sources Individuals exchange and combine explicit knowledge through - telephone conversations - meetings - memos, etc. Existing info may be categorized, collated, sorted to produce new explicit knowledge

The Knowledge-Creating Company Internalization – embodying explicit knowledge into tacit knowledge, internalizing experiences into individuals’ tacit knowledge bases through shared - mental models, or - work practices Internalization is facilitated by - documents - stories

Four categories of ‘ba’ B. The Concept of ‘Ba’ Four categories of ‘ba’ ‘Ba’ – a shared context in which knowledge is shared, created, and utilized through interaction.

The Knowledge-Creating Company Using the 4 categories of ‘ba’ (Example: 711 Stores in Japan Originating ‘ba’ – the shop floor; enables people to interact with each other and with customers Dialoguing ‘ba’ – employees’ tacit knowledge created through dialogue is used to create sales forecasts Systemizing ‘ba’ – sales forecasts are tested vs. actual sales and are fed back to sales units, i.e., the stores Exercising ‘ba’ – using this info and comparing it with reality, sales staff improve their sales forecasting skills and ability

C. Knowledge Assets company-specific resources indispensable for creating value; the inputs, outputs, and moderating factors of the knowledge creation process

Four categories of knowledge assets

How Organizations Manage Working Knowledge: How Organizations Manage What they Know

Working Knowledge Knowledge = a fluid mix of - framed experience - values - contextual info - expert insight that provides a framework for evaluating and incorporating new experiences and info

Working Knowledge Knowledge among individuals, originates and is applied in the knowers’ mind in organizations, are embedded in - documents - repositories - organizational routines, processes, practices, norms

The Knowledge Market Organizations behave as knowledge markets, with buyers – people seeking knowledge to solve an issue sellers – people with internal reputation to have knowledge about a process or subject brokers – people who connect those who need and have the knowledge, i.e., gatekeepers, boundary spanners, corporate librarians

Knowledge markets require trust to function. Working Knowledge Knowledge markets have pricing and payment mechanisms: reciprocity reputation altruism REMEMBER: Knowledge markets require trust to function.

Working Knowledge B. KM Processes KM processes required to excel: Knowledge generation Knowledge codification Knowledge transfer

Working Knowledge Knowledge generation - activities that increase the stock of organizational knowledge

Modes of knowledge generation: - Acquisition – by hiring, buying another organization, or renting/leasing external knowledge - Dedicating resources – setting up R&D units, corporate libraries developing and providing new knowledge - Fusion – bringing together individuals and groups with different specializations and perspectives to working on a problem or project - Adaptation – organization responding to new conditions in its external environment - Building knowledge networks – linking people who share common work interest, problems, or motivation to exchange knowledge

Working Knowledge Knowledge codification - creating symbols to represent a certain knowledge and the particular process of knowing - codification of tacit knowledge – limited to locating the knowledge (person), pointing seeker to it, and encouraging them to interact

Task Involved Main Actor Principles of knowledge codification: Task Involved Main Actor Decide what business goals the codified knowledge will serve (managers) Identify knowledge existing in various forms appropriate to the goal Evaluate knowledge for usefulness and appropriateness for codification (knowledge managers) Identify an appropriate medium for codification and distribution of knowledge (codifiers)

Working Knowledge Knowledge transfer - market spaces and places where trading and sharing of knowledge can happen; - occurs through personal conversations. Encourage conversations through -- water coolers -- talk rooms -- knowledge fairs -- open forums -- etc.

Working Knowledge Barriers to knowledge sharing: - lack of trust - different cultures, vocabularies, frames of reference - lack of time and meeting places - status and rewards going to knowledge owners - lack of absorptive capacity in recipients - belief and knowledge a prerogative of particular groups - the ‘not-invented-here’ syndrome and intolerance for mistakes or need for help

C. Communities of Practice (CoP) Working Knowledge C. Communities of Practice (CoP) Communities of practice – self-organizing teams that emerge around shared interests and work practices to exchange knowledge Wenger (1998): CoP – groups whose members - face common work tasks and interests - can see the benefits of sharing knowledge - share norms of trust and reciprocity.

Summary Nonaka and Takeuchi - the dynamics of knowledge creation, particularly the conversion of tacit into explicit knowledge Davenport and Prusak – the design of organizational processes that enable knowledge generation, codification, and transfer Both models recognize that knowledge creation, sharing, and use are social activities embedded in a web of cultural norms and human relationships. Davenport and Prusak: ‘communities of practice’ Nonaka and Takeuchi: concept of ‘ba’ (shared contexts for knowledge creation and sharing).