1. Knowledge Management Subsystems
By Aaron Cowan for OLIT 514

2. 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)

3. 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. 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)

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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
How Aha! Really Happens
Intelligent Memory model of creativity may better support core creative commitment at Zappos.

10. 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
Conway, S., & Sligar, C. (2002). Unlocking Knowledge Assets. Redmond: Microsoft Press.
Duggan, W. (2010, November 23). How Aha! Really Happens. Retrieved from
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
Wiig, K. (1994). Knowledge Management Foundations: Thinking About Thinking - How People and Organizations Represent, Create and Use Knowledge. Schema Press.