Christine Welch Principal Lecturer in Business Information Systems, Department of Strategy & Business Systems Course Leader, MSc Knowledge Management
Communication Strategies Harnessing Knowledge
Why are we overloaded? Data Information Knowledge Knowledge leads to action
Data Overload Pace of working life Electronic systems Psychology of communication
Good quality information Meaningful Accurate Timely Relevant Concise Accessible
Channels How does data reach you? From whom does it come? How do you access it? How were these channels designed?
Knowledge How can I inform myself? Who could I consult? Where could I find the data? Has this problem arisen before? What is ‘best practice’? Is this problem new? How did I solve it? How can I pass on this experience?
Knowledge Management Thinking about: Knowledge creation and sharing Consultation Accessibility Knowledge exploitation Designing channels and repositories Training staff Using appropriate IT systems
Examples – from HP Intranet Repository for papers, presentations, technical specifications, pointers to external sites Classified using metadata – type, format, etc. Search engine, browsing, archiving Document imaging systems Incoming mail and other paper based documents can be digitised Artificial Intelligence – e.g. case based systems
Examples ‘Connex’ Allows person to search for an ‘expert’, e.g. ‘I need to consult someone with a doctorate in engineering, who knows ISDN well and lives in Germany’ ‘Trainer’s Trading Post’ Allows trainers/educators to exchange experiences Network News – for partners ‘Grapevine’ – targets distribution of knowledge based on content categories
Knowledge Management Tools KM is not just about technologies, it is about organizational, cultural and personal change IT won’t manage your business for you – it’s what you do with it