Knowledge Management Subsystems By Aaron Cowan for OLIT 514

Definitions of Knowledge Knowledge attributes (Marquardt) “the most valuable asset of an organization” “corporate memory” “primary resource for innovation and success.” “the food of the learning organization” Managed through technology Most organizations incompetent at managing knowledge Knowledge Management (KM): “process of revealing and mapping the work activities, behaviors, and knowledge sources within an organization. (Conway & Sligar, 2002) “bodies of information, principles, and experience that actively guide task execution and management, decision-making, and problem solving” (Marquardt)

Types of Knowledge Knowledge Hierarchy Knowledge Character (Wiig) Data Raw, uninterpreted facts Information Contextual, meaningful, classifyable Knowledge Principles guiding task execution & decisions Expertise Appropriate application of knowledge Capability Capacity to create product or service Goal-setting “care why”, vision, motivation Systematic “know why”, knowledge for understanding Pragmatic “know how”, acquisition of advanced skills Automatic / tacit “know what”, work routines

4 Knowledge Creation Patterns1 Tacit to tacit Person-to-peron, master to apprentice Explicit to explicit Synthesize existing knowledge Tacit to explicit Personal knowledge used to create new shared resources Explicit to tacit Explicit knowledge is internalized/ mastered by employees 1 (Nonaka & Takeuchi , 1995)

Systems Model for KM Acquisition Internal External Benchmarking Creation Tacit Explicit Cycle Action learning, Systematic problem solving, Experimentation, demonstration Storage Categorization Processes Who needs what Analysis / Data Mining Clusters, patterns Relationships Application / Validation Transfer Dissemenate

Learning Support / Integration Systems model integrates learning at each stage Maps collective corporate intelligence/memory Operations facilitated by technological tools Builds culture of knowledge sharing Allows Just –in-Time Learning Rapid dissemination increasingly necessary Makes best of organization available Helps overcoming barriers & push boundaries Identify and eliminate bottlenecks Building Long-term Value Tracks what knowledge is really valid and applicable

Tools that might be used @ Zappos.com Selection of Marquardt’s 10 Strategies/Tools 1. Shared responsibility for collecting and transferring knowledge Already a strong culture of mass-participation 3. Organize internal learning events: “sharing rallies” Highly consistent with Zappos.com culture 4. Encourage creativity and provide opportunities and rewards Creativity is a core value at Zappos.com 8. Develop knowledge base around organizational values and learning needs Considers their culture their “greatest asset”, so this is natural organization scheme

Additional Tools from Marquardt CYLINA (Cybernetic Leverage Intelligent Assistant) If Bell Lab’s CYLINA and Auto-FAQ are available, it would support strategies 1, 3, and 8 in our organization. KnowledgeView from Price Waterhouse Cooper May help at zappos to organize blog discussion and twitter activity Otherwise internal systems can be adapted Accenture’s Point-of-Need Learning System Dynamic organizations producing lots of new, creative content, like zappos, would benefit from this kind of support

Other KM Support Resources The New Social Learning Bingham’s guide to using social media for learning support would be a natural fit at Zappos. Zappos employees already make extensive use of twitter, so may be able to adapt and share more knowledge in real time http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8233389-the-new-social-learning How Aha! Really Happens Intelligent Memory model of creativity may better support core creative commitment at Zappos. http://www.strategy-business.com/article/10405?gko=06d13

References Bingham, T., & Conner, M. (2010, August). The New Social Learning: A Guide to Transforming Organizations Through Social Media. ASTD Press and Berrett-Koehler. Retrieved from http://www.thenewsociallearning.com/: http://www.thenewsociallearning.com/ Conway, S., & Sligar, C. (2002). Unlocking Knowledge Assets. Redmond: Microsoft Press. Duggan, W. (2010, November 23). How Aha! Really Happens. Retrieved from http://www.strategy-business.com: http://www.strategy-business.com/article/10405?gko=06d13 Marquardt, M. (2011). Building the Learning Organization: Achieving Strategic Advantage Through a Commitment to Learning. New York: Nicholas Brealey Publishing. McLean, L. (2002). A REVIEW AND CRITIQUE OF NONAKA AND TAKEUCHI’S THEORY OF . Retrieved from http://mcleanglobal.com: http://mcleanglobal.com/public/MGC/publications/Nonaka%20and%20Takeuchi.pdf Wiig, K. (1994). Knowledge Management Foundations: Thinking About Thinking - How People and Organizations Represent, Create and Use Knowledge. Schema Press.