Using Information Technology Knowledge & Knowledge Management Addendum to Class 4 Outline: What Is Knowledge? Types of Knowledge What is knowledge management Management Thrusts Human & Structural Capital Knowledge Management Technology

2 Difficult to say, because knowledge is: Complex (more elaborate relationships between pieces than with data and information; includes concept maps, procedures, proofs, axioms, conclusions, etc.) Messy (goes beyond neatly polished theory to include experience, rules of thumb, intuition) Contradictory (competing axioms and theories that indeed make move knowledge development; contradictory data/info usually considered inaccurate) What Is Knowledge? More

3 Difficult to say, because knowledge is: Memory (we “know” something we can recall from our memory) and generative capability (we “know” when we can infer or deduce a conclusion, make a knowledgeable decision) Enabler for action (knowing [planning, predicting] can come before acting--a priori knowledge) A “thing” that can be taught – also we really know something when we can teach others (so, hard to differentiate from info) What Is Knowledge?

4 Types of Knowledge (Note: various classification criteria used) A priori (deductive, derived by reasoning beforehand) A posteriori (inductive, based on experience) Procedural (or “process”; how-to-do, set of steps; e.g., best practice) Semantic (about relationships between concepts, categorizing; e.g., the way we usually study) Episodic (piece of history; e.g., war story, best practice, case) Explicit (can be verbalized or in some way codified) vs. Tacit (cannot be verbalized easily, based on rich professional experience) (Source: Davenport & Prusak, Working Knowledge, 1998)

5 What is knowledge management 1/2 Knowledge management includes activities of Capturing (from organizational members; e.g., expert systems) Codifying (putting in a form that communicates to others; indexing; providing maps and guides) Collecting (from outside sources; e.g., technical lit.) Creating (internally; e.g., R+D) The management activities view (life cycle view similar to “information management”):

6 Storing (is systems, in organizational procedures etc.) Organizing (establishing relationships, classifying) Filtering (sorting out what’s not needed) Updating (work procedures, patents…) Transferring/Communicating (providing technology, incentives and occasions; what can really be transferred?) Utilizing (putting at wok, drawing value) Discarding (increasingly important, especially IT-related knowledge) What is knowledge management 2/2

7 Management Thrusts Bill Gates: Get information to the people who need it so that they can act on it quickly (e.g.; at Microsoft, 90% questions from the sales people must be answered by product managers within 48 hours); overlap between info & knowledge management Current management thrust: Knowledge management refers to transferring human capital into structural capital.  More

8 Human Capital: Knowledge stored in employees’ mind Structural Capital (“What’s left in organizations when people go home”, knowledge stored/materialized in artifacts): Knowledge stored in repositories, documents, information systems Knowledge embedded in organizational structure, technology, practices, products techniques -- work procedures, management methods tools/machinery (software, hardware--any) patents, copyrighted products, brand making/maintaining Innovation Potential (e.g., educational functions & processes) (Source: Edvinsson & Malone, Realizing Your Company’s True Value by Finding Its Hidden Brainpower, 1997) Human & Structural Capital

9 Knowledge Management Technology Communication technology (transfer) Groupware (storing, transfer) Educational applications, now Web-based (transfer) Expert Systems (storage, transfer, creation) Case Based Systems (storage, transfer, creation) “Knowledge discovery” technology (creation) - Older: data analysis tools - Newer: data mining; artificial neural networks