Knowledge Utilization 1

 The 1960s saw the emergence of “knowledge utilization” as a field of study  The study of knowledge utilization emerged because of knowledge explosion and the expectation that knowledge should be useful to humankind.  This process called also, using knowledge; knowledge retrieval ; implementation & exploitation of knowledge and responsiveness to knowledge 2

 The most important aspect of the knowledge - based theory of the firm is that the source of competitive advantages resides in the application of the knowledge rather than in the knowledge itself  Unless this final step of applying knowledge is achieved, all the preceding process of km are in vain. 3

 All KM activities mostly depends on how knowledge has been efficiently used.  On the other hand no firm can survive in the long run unless the knowledge it creates is exploited. 4

 Three model have been developed for knowledge utilization:  The Problem Solver Model  The Research, Development and Diffusion Model  The Social Interaction Model 5

2. Articulated as a problem 3. Search for solutions 4. Choice of solution 5. Application of solution 1 Felt need 2 Need reduction 6

 This model centralizes the user: the need of a client (stated, implied or assumed) is the starting point for an analysis of knowledge utilization  The model follows a need reduction cycle 7

 Centralizes the researcher: the research is the starting point for an analysis of knowledge utilization  Research represents a set of facts and theories about the nature of the universe, which can be made useful to society through a process of development 8

Basic Research Planned dissemina tion activities Production & packaging Develop ment & testing Applied Research The User 9

 Centralizes the diffusion aspect:  the movement of messages and innovations from person to person and from system to system  Emphasizes factors such as personal contact, opinion leaders, social integration, power etc.  10

 Knowledge utilization cannot be examined as a single discrete event in one point in time  It is a process consisting of several events, e.g.: 11

 Information is retrieved/received  Information is understood  Information is tested for validity/reliability  Information is tested against one’s own intuition and assumptions  Information is applied Information pickup Information Application Information Processing 12

 The relationship between KM processes and organizational learning is attracted much attention of many authors  companies that are not able to embrace both of OL and KM process at organizational level simply will disappear  actually,using knowledge can be defined as “learning process” 13

" The question about the relationship between OL and KM like the question about the egg and the chicken, impossible to answer " 14

 Since OL occurs for increasing an organization's capability to take effective action,and km is determined as an organizational capability which increase firm's ability to renew and develop its knowledge resources through some activities.  The output of the learning process is a new knowledge, which is considered as the input of the knowledge utilization process, so we can recognize that OL will support all km processes (creation – sharing – storage - implementation ). 15

 On the other hand, hence the organization will be a learning organization only if such knowledge is applied and systemized used to benefit the entire organization,  as a result the inherent feature between KM & LO is the utilization of knowledge.  the aim of OL is the continuous development of new knowledge through applying the knowledge in new ways, new polices, new product..etc which may lead to create a new k,  So the km is affected by and effects the OL in all process 16

 However, the most important synergy is on the k. utilization process in which the management must apply the same learning process  as a result k. utilization (learning) can be considered as the intersection between KM and OL as the following figure shows. 17

Organizational learning k. utilization Knowledge Management Organizational learning k. utilization Knowledge Management 18

 “New” is expressed subjectively and in relative terms – if something is perceived as new or considered for the first time by a potential adopter, regardless of how old it is, it is seen as an innovation  The characteristics of an innovation play a role in its adoption.  19

Adoption = decision to make full use of an innovation 20

 Having relative advantage, i.e. being better than the idea, practice or object that it supersedes  -Being compatible to the values, experiences and needs of potential adopters  -Lacking complexity, i.e. not being too difficult to understand and use 21

 Being trial-able, i.e. can be experimented on a limited basis before full-scale implementation  -Having results that are observable or visible to others, this may increase their decision to adopt 22

 One of the most important objective of knowledge utilization is creating value, so the effective use of knowledge must lead to changes in behavior, in practices, in policies and /or the development of new ideas, processes, practices and polices 23

 Pfeffer and Sutton (1999) noticed that each year hundred of business school in the United States graduate more than 80,000 MBAs and conduct numerous research studies on business topic in many countries around the world, yet the translation of this research and management education into practice proceeds slowly and fitfully. 24

 Each year billions of dollars are spent on management consultant by organizations seeking advice (one estimate was $ 43 billion) but that advice is seldom implemented.  And each year more than $ 60 billion on training, particularly on subjects such as TQM, customer service, organizational service, etc, however the result of these training is often ineffective in changing the organizational practices. 25

 So they recognized that organizations suffer from a gap between what they know and what they do, which termed as "a knowing - doing gap“  The reason of this gap is mainly related to the misapplying of what organizations know in practice 26

 to improve the knowledge application process and bridge this gap organizations must do some actions such as;  First : support learning by doing " which involve applying knowledge to a new scenario and gaining contextual learning from that application 27

 Second  because there is no knowing without mistakes, learning from knowledge application must involve post - analysis and critical evaluation  Third  organizations must facilitate some factors that may help in improving km processes at all and k application process in specific, we called them km infrastructure. 28

 In this chapter, we have reviewed existing literature related to the knowledge management process, we started with listing the mains km activities  Second we discuss how it is can be viewed as a dynamic capability of the organization,  Thin we explained in details three of the most important km process, in relation to organization’s ability to achieve and sustain competitive advantages. 29

First  knowledge management is not a discrete, or an independent process, it consists of a dynamic and continuous set of processes and practices embedded in individuals as well as in groups within organization. 30

Second however a variety of the authors' views of km processes, the most important processes for organizations to build and sustain competitive advantages are; k. creation- k. dissemination – k. utilization 31

Third  Empirically there is no a common or standard way of addressing knowledge process, 32

Fourth  There is a theoretical debate among authors on the relation between km processes and the OL. 33

34 Fifth The output of the effective KU is the innovation

The End 35