Knowledge Management Cultivating a Learning Organisation

Be constantly receptive to new knowledge; view ourselves as life-long learners – the Beginner’s Mind is an essential ingredient of success.

Part I What is Knowledge Management?

Reports? Extranet? s? Data? Website? Newsletters? INFORMATION? Function? Procedure?

Everyone uses the term yet there is no definitive definition of knowledge management because there is no definitive definition of knowledge!

Where is its source? Knowledge Management is in the Culture, Mindsets, Behaviour of an organisation.

What does it need to be? Effective Management of Knowledge is more than a value; it is more than a belief, to be really effective it must be an organisational ASSUMPTION!

Where lies the Significance? Because if we fail to understand knowledge in all its facets, then there is a danger that in doing so we miss out on the most valuable aspects of knowledge management and end up delivering a system-driven solution, rather than a cultural shift towards sharing and learning from experience.

Values v Assumptions Believing V Doing What’s the difference?

Value or Assumption? Flexibility Demand-driven Learning Organisation Capacity Building Reflection Consensus Building

Why is the distinction Important? It points to the gap in Knowledge Management Because If we’ve never: 1.Defined ‘It’ 2.Broken it down into its parts 3.Worked out the value it brings to our Mission To improve the Quality of Teaching and Learning Then…… We cannot apply it

Part II The Sum of its parts

Flexibility Adaptability Learning Agility Environments People Reflect Adapt

Outcome/Goal Setting There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently what should not be done at all! Outcome Activity

Outcome Strategy without Learning Agility Stage 1

Outcome Strategy without Learning Agility Stage 2

Outcome Strategy with Learning Agility

Reflection The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them. Albert Einstein

Barriers to Progress N E S L O S S

If I’m given 6 hours to cut down a tree I spend 5 of them sharpening my axe!

Part III Putting it into Context

Taking Stock Goals Objectives Strategy Approach Roles Responsibilities How do I know what’s important? Does it impact the following?

What V Why It is not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The real question is what are you so busy about? Thoreau

Levels of Learning Wisdom ‘Know – When’ ‘Know – Why’ ‘Know – How’ ‘Know- What’ ‘Know - Who’ Pay attention to the ‘why’ of what you are doing, not the ‘what’

Harnessing Knowledge Tacit experience and information Turned into knowledge that is useable Knowledge is used to innovate Knowledge is embedded in GeSCI’s services Value is added to GeSCI’s services as a result

Current Behaviour GeSCI’s KM is informal and tacit-heavy How can we transform it? Examples: Educationist Group Trip Reports

Facts, figures and external reports do not capture the organisational tacit knowledge that is invaluable to GeSCI as a facilitator of change. Subtlety, sensitivity and awareness must be finely-tuned. This knowledge is tacit and must be elicited internally.

Part IV Piecing it all together

A Knowledge Management Framework

The Big Picture The Learning Organisation

“Go to the people, Live among them, Learn from them. Start with what they know, Build on what they have. But of the best leaders, When their task is accomplished, Their work is done, The people will remark, “We have done it ourselves.”Ancient Eastern Saying