1 CAUL/CAUDIT/ACODE presentation Knowledge Management in the Learning Environment Ainslie Dewe Auckland University of Technology May 2003

2 “For countries in the vanguard of the world economy, the balance between knowledge and resources has shifted so far towards the former that knowledge has become perhaps the most important factor determining the standard of living – more than land, than tools and labour. Today’s most technologically advanced economies are truly knowledge-based.” World Development Report, 1999

3 Knowledge Management  Is about creating an environment in which knowledge is created, shared and utilised for business purposes by instinct and as part of daily work  Is about future earning capability  Has significant implications for organisations, people, roles and skills

4 NEW ECONOMY knowledge assets transdisciplinarity innovative cultures permeable boundaries OLD ECONOMY physical assets homogeneous disciplines fixed cultures defined boundaries Uncertainty Traditional Hierarchy Networked Companies Predictability

5 Key Trends in the Transformation of Manufacturing Processes Mearns, E. “Scottish Enterprise Network” Paper 19, 2000 Industrial Age Knowledge Age Value from efficiency Investment in plant Inventory Product orientated Mass production Mechanisation Long product life-cycles Local manufacturing Careful planning Early career training Competitive relationships Value from creativity Investment in innovation Information Consumer orientated Flexible production Digitisation Short product life-cycles Globalisation Change and innovation Lifelong learning Co-operative networks

6 Knowledge Management …..is the ability to create, enhance and share intellectual capital across the organisation. Professor Bill Martin, RMIT University

7 KM is used to overcome:  Ad hoc problem solving, reinventing the wheel  Loss of knowledge  Internal competition, non-collaborative behaviour  Disincentive to sharing knowledge. Professor Bill Martin, RMIT University

8 KM issues  Identification  Knowledge assets  Knowledge initiatives  Sharing  Cultural issues  Ownership  Vision  Implementation  Utilisation  Ability to use  Overload  Benefits  Metrics  Fad or future

9 KM – Verna Allee’s 3 levels  Strategic KM: Connect knowledge to business model How does knowledge create business value?  Tactical KM: Connect people to knowledge and each other How can we better create, use & apply knowledge?  Operational KM: Connect knowledge activities to business results How can we codify & share knowledge of routine tasks, etc?

10 Knowledge can be:  Tacit: personal, unarticulated knowledge, embedded in individual experience  Explicit: recorded knowledge, expressed in formal language and transmitted easily  External: e.g. publications, publicly available databases  Internal: e.g. financial records, customer records, online learning objects

11 Knowledge Conversion – SECI model Tacit Explicit Tacit Explicit SocialisationExternalisation InternalisationCombination Nonaka, I and Takeuchi, H. (1995). The knowledge creating company.

12 Comparing concepts of the learning organisation and knowledge management Rowley, J Journal of Information Science, 27 (4) Learning OrganisationsKnowledge Management Based on a building metaphorBased on a mining metaphor Learning as a processKnowledge as a resource Maintaining and developing tacit knowledge Knowledge processing in terms of tacit to explicit knowledge Key focus is human relations and community Key focus is knowledge distribution, and cognition Implemented through organisational projects including focus on culture and structures Implemented throughout IT projects, with attention to people issues sometimes being focused at the IT user level Systems-based view of the firmResource-based view of the firm

ContactsContacts ElectronicElectronic PrintedPrinted OrganizationsOrganizations Knowledge Exchange and knowledge flows Groups, Divisions, Management Marketing data Best practice Best practice CommunitiesCommunities ExternalExternalInternalInternal Knowledge Assets Map Contractual & legal Operational data Corporate Staff Clients Suppliers Alliances and Partners Technology Platforms

14 COLIS – functional view of system components

15 KM and the Managed Learning Environment “The development of the electronic campus and student-centred-learning have seen academic librarians becoming facilitators of the knowledge development process rather than guardians of resources” Abell, A. et al. (2002). Fad or future. Library + information update. 1 (7),

16 Information Landscape and the Learning Environment  Library a hybrid of print and digital resources  Library systems designed to manage both print and digital objects  Full text digital resources linked directly to online learning  Library shares responsibility for preparing students to be information literate in a digital world

17 Information Landscape and the Learning Environment  Requires technical interoperability in e-space, between:  Library systems and learning management systems  Other institutional systems such as student management, digital rights, finance, HR etc  Interoperability becomes a knowledge management issue (see COLIS)

18 Competencies for knowledge working Knowledge sharing ICT literacy Information literacy Managing Information

19 Information Literacy …..combines an awareness of the value of information and knowledge to the organisation with the skills and competencies that enable an individual to play a full, effective and rewarding role in knowledge environments

20 Information Literacy

21 Learning And Research Centres

22 Knowledge Management in R&D “Historically the focus was on capabilities involving tangible assets: now, knowledge is widely recognized as the source of competitive advantage, with the tangible assets representing the physical manifestation of but a fraction of this knowledge.” Armbrecht, F. M. R. et al (2001). Knowledge management in research and development. Research technology management, v. 44 (4):

23 KM in R&D – Priority issues  Culture that facilitates knowledge flow?  Capturing the knowledge of experts  Accelerating the R&D process  Expanding the creativity envelope in R&D Armbrecht, F. M. R. et al (2001). Knowledge management in research and development. Research technology management, v. 44 (4):

24 Library role  Information management rather than knowledge management  Manage external (worldwide) knowledge sources rather than internal organisational knowledge sources  Value of external knowledge often overlooked  Seen as more for academic purposes (scholarly communication), than business strategy

25 Library role (cont.)  External, explicit information becomes tacit knowledge when those who need it, can locate and use it for the benefit of their teaching, learning and research (internalisation)  Ability to identify, access, evaluate, organise and communicate information and knowledge (information literacy) is a core capability for the knowledge society

26 Library role (cont.)  Skills of managing external information (cataloguing, classification)  Transferable to managing internal information (metadata, taxonomies)  Librarians work with IT staff and educational designers to embed these skills into:  online courseware  intranet design  web refurbishment  portal development

27 Role for IT  IT specialists have expertise in  technology platforms used to share knowledge  codification of internal, explicit knowledge  Intranets and portal technologies encourage increase of explicit knowledge (combination)  Knowledge management platforms (eg groupware) encourage conversion of tacit to explicit knowledge (externalisation)

28 Role for learning technology  Share tacit knowledge of educational design (eg through communities of practice)  Online courseware combined with digital libraries, allows information provision and tuition to be brought together at the curriculum design stage  External, explicit information linked to internal, explicit learning objects  Increase the tacit knowledge of learner

29 Power of three – Library, IT, e-learning  Sharing expertise between Library, IT and e- learning will:  increase the effectiveness of online learning  create business value for universities  First step - map the knowledge management processes that underpin university teaching, learning, and research  Additional goal - leverage the University’s strategic knowledge assets and unlock the value of those assets

30 Knowledge Strategy Model What university must know Knowledge Gap Strategic Gap What university must do What university knows What university can do