KM MODULE 1 - Knowledge Management Overview PDF

**Module 1 - OVERVIEW OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT** =============================================== **LESSON 1:  WHAT IS KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT**      Before defining Knowledge Management, we have to distinguish first and define Knowledge and Management also if knowledge is the same with wisdom. Plato i...

**Module 1 - OVERVIEW OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT** =============================================== **LESSON 1:  WHAT IS KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT**      Before defining Knowledge Management, we have to distinguish first and define Knowledge and Management also if knowledge is the same with wisdom. Plato in his Meno (may-now),  Phaedo (fee-dow), and Theaetetus (thi-ay-tetus) first defined the concept of [knowledge as "justified true belief",]  which has been predominant during the history of western philosophy ever since.   [A. **What is Knowledge?**]  Knowledge is organized information applicable to program solving (Woolf,1990).  Knowledge is information that has been organized and analyzed to make  it understandable and applicable to problem-solving or decision making  (Turban, 1992)  Knowledge consists of truths and beliefs, perspectives and concepts,  judgments and expectations, methodologies, and 'know-how' (Wiig, 1993).  Knowledge is the whole set of insights, experiences, and procedures that are considered correct and true and which, therefore, guide the thoughts, behaviors, and communication of people (Van der Spek and  Spijkervet, 1997). Knowledge is reasoning about information to actively guide task execution, problem-solving, and decision-making in order to perform, learn and teach (Beckman, 1997). Organizational knowledge is processed information embedded in routines and processes which enable actions. It is also knowledge captured by an organization's systems, processes, products, rules, and culture (Myers,  1996). [Organizational knowledge] is the collective sum of human-centered assets, intellectual property assets, infrastructure assets, and market assets (Brooking, 1996)  **Beckman T. (1998), Knowledge management: a technical review. GWU Working Paper,  Washington.   ** **[John Dewey,] **the Proponent of Pragmatism defined Knowledge as the most logical and practical approach to problems and affairs. Dewey viewed **[Knowledge as arising from an active adaptation of the human organism to its environment.]** He said that students must interact with their environment in order to adapt and learn. (**Dewey, John/ Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.)** KM is of overwhelming importance to society yet difficult to grasp.  This presents an organizational problem - if knowledge is everything, then in practice, it becomes nothing.  And this is our central design challenge; if indeed, knowledge is everywhere, its design must be based on new and creative concepts so as to avoid becoming nothing. [Knowledge and technology] are substantially changing the way people think and behave. KM is a global phenomenon, characterized as the new Pangaea, with dimensions that extend well beyond the organization into virtually every human endeavor.  **(Retrieved From Handbook of Organization Learning and Knowledge Management, 2nd Edition Mark Easterby Smith & Marjorie A. Lyles e-Wiley)** **Knowledge VS Wisdom:** **What is wisdom?(karunungan)** In the video WHAT IS KNOWLDGE MANAGEMENT it says that wisdom is " when the knowledge we possess is being documented, shared, communicated and being taught to peers and others, we gain wisdom. We know when, where, and why to apply. " ** **It derived from its root word "wise" a  person who possess quality knowledge, experience and good judgement. It is the  ability to make  decisions based on acquired knowledge, experience, and intuitive understanding. Wisdom is a virtue (kabutihan/ kabanalan) that isn\'t innate, but can only be acquired through experience. **How to Become Wiser:**\ 1. Try new things. Wisdom cannot be gained if a person stays in his ordinary routine and hesitant to try new experience.  Be open to new opportunity to learn, to gain, to make mistakes and reflect on the experience. \ 2. Talk to people you don\'t know. Be a good listener.  Try not to judge people you just encounter instead talk to people from different backgrounds and with different perspectives from yours.  Reflect and learn from your mistakes and others and the more you empathize with others, the wiser you will be.\ 3. Do it the hard way.\ Do things in the hard ways. Make it harder for yourself and use your mind creatively.  Today, technology really helps us in so many ways but did you know that it is also the culprit for us not to use our brain and move because it makes our tasks easier.  (google, GPS) 4. Make mistakes. Sometimes we commit mistakes and wrong decisions in life, but we have to learn and reflect.  Do not commit the same mistakes but instead learn from it and be wise the next time.  You will know better in the future if you encounter same error.    5\. Share your wisdom with others. Try to share the experience and the wisdom  you gained.  Be the person who also tried to help you in the past.  Think of  the mentors who helped you along the way and play the role for other people who might be able to benefit from what you\'ve learned. If someone asks for advice, do your best to point them in the direction that seems right. Don't let your personal desires cloud your advice. **Sources: [WikiHOW], [Operation Meditation].Sources credited to** **[[https://mooshwalks.com/blogs/news/5-tips-to-increase-]](https://mooshwalks.com/blogs/news/5-tips-to-increase-)wisdom** [B. **What is Management?**] **Management -** The act or skill of controlling and making decisions about a business, department, sports team, etc.(Meriam Webster Dictionary) ***Management* **is part of the administration and vice versa, change, control, direction, handling, oversight, regulation, supervision, guidance, and governance. ***Management Organizational activities*** - is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources **efficiently and effectively.**  **Management** comprises planning, organizing, staffing, leading or directing, and controlling an organization or effort for the purpose of accomplishing a goal.  **For examples, let us look at the managerial role of a simple housewife and how she uses the managerial ingredients in managing the home:** First, she [appraises] her household and its needs. She [forecasts] the needs of the household for a period of a week or a month or longer. She [takes stock] of her resources and any constraints on these resources. She [plans and organizes] to obtain the maximum benefits out of these resources. She [monitors and controls] the household budget and expenses and other activities. In a large household, she [divides the work] among the members and [coordinates] their activities. She [encourages and motivates] them to do their best in completing  their activities. She is always [in search of improving] goals, resources and in means to attain these goals.       These ingredients, generally, are the basic functions of management. **[C. Knowledge Management]** ***The process of creating, capturing, developing, sharing, managing, and effectively using the knowledge and information of an organization. It refers to a multidisciplinary approach to achieving organizational objectives by making the best use of knowledge.*** **Knowledge Management "Guru" [Peter Drucke]r** first utilized the term KM in the 1980s but has been recognized since the 1990s.  Some would argue that it has been around for centuries and that the quest for understanding knowledge has always been central to human behavior. Through globalization, many competition began to experience new opportunities.  This led to increasing competition and many organizations responded by **"downsizing"** later renamed **"rightsizing"**.  Reducing the workforce became the norm, whilst looking for ways to boost productivity through computerization and networking technologies. It became later apparent that as people leave or resign from their work, experience and knowledge go with them.  This knowledge would prove difficult to replace and there was a sudden realization that they were losing, not just people but their Intellectual Property (IP) In other words "they now no longer knew what they knew". Then organizations began to look for ways of retaining this knowledge within the business and so KM began to be adopted.  For the last two decades, there have been numerous white papers, thesis, and experiments aimed at capturing IP within organizations. **Information and knowledge that somebody is keeping in her head and she does not want to share it with others or unless someone has asked for it.**   **The answer to the challenge of KM comes in many forms:  **  Conceptual and practical  Individual and organizational  Political and social   In 2003, the definition of knowledge management became a major source of confusion in differentiating 'knowledge management' (KM) and 'organizational knowledge' (OK). In its origins, [the term knowledge management w]as often used in conference programs and book titles, but seldom defined and incorporated in academic papers, where the concept of organizational knowledge was the one frequently used. Knowledge management has been defined as 'the explicit control and management of knowledge within an organization aimed at achieving the company's objectives (Van der Spek and Spijkervet, 1997: 43), '**the formal management of knowledge for facilitating the creation, access, and reuse of knowledge, typically using advanced technology (O'Leary, 1998: 34), 'the process of creating, capturing, and using knowledge to enhance organizational performance'** (Bassi, 1999: 424), and 'the ability of organizations to manage, store, value, and distribute knowledge' (Liebowitz and Wilcox, 1997: i).  As the field has evolved two main paradigms have emerged: a computational view of knowledge management which approaches knowledge management as a ***process of identifying empirically validated facts and managing them through technology, and an organic view of knowledge management which emphasizes the role of people, group dynamics, social and cultural factors, and networks*** (Argote, 2005). These two views have been combined in an integrated socio-technological approach to managing actual and potential flows of knowledge creation, transfer, and retention (Prieto and Easterby-Smith, 2006).   ### ** LESSON 2: 2 TYPES OF KNOWLEDGE** **1. [Explicit Knowledge ]**-- easily understood, easily transferred, it includes documents, code, manuals, websites, video presentations, procedures, etc. **2.  [Tacit Knowledge]**[ ]-- by contrast -- knowledge which is difficult to transfer to others.  **Explicit knowledge** is that which "can be expressed in words and numbers and can be easily communicated and shared  in the form of hard data, scientific formulae, codified procedures or universal principles" Thus, explicit knowledge in organizations is typically found in documents and databases,  while tacit knowledge is that which is in the heads of people. More than often, [tacit knowledge is even based on subjective insights, intuitions, and hunches and is deeply rooted in an individual's actions and experience and even ideals, values, and emotions.] According to **[Mikael]** **Polanyi** knowledge that can be expressed in words and numbers only represents the tip of the iceberg of the entire body of possible knowledge. **[Explicit knowledge]** is also sometimes called **formal knowledge** while **tacit knowledge **is called **informal knowledge**. However, it should be pointed out that, the associated names do not automatically suggest their different levels of importance. To put it differently, theoretical knowledge necessarily contains a 'personal coefficient' (Polanyi, 1962). Late modern knowledge-based economies certainly make great use of codified forms of knowledge, but that kind of knowledge is inescapably used in a non-codifiable (non-theoretical) manner. Ironically, it is the rapid proliferation of theoretical knowledge that has made us reflexively aware of its tacit presuppositions. **[Tacit knowledge] **is a particular challenge for knowledge management. Group or Team strives to make it accessible among co-workers and would like to prevent knowledge loss during employee turnover. Unfortunately, tacit knowledge almost always goes with the employee.  **Tacit knowledge** is also "highly personal and hard to formalize. Subjective insights, intuitions, and hunches fall  into this category of knowledge." The significance of tacit knowledge and/or cognate concepts (i.e. intuition, know-how, procedural knowledge) for the functioning of organizations has not escaped the attention of organization and management theorists since the early days of the field.   There is no space for tacit knowledge since the latter cannot be symbolically represented. By contrast, within a phenomenological framework (such as the one adopted here), tacit knowledge has a special place: it is a sine qua non-condition for explicit knowledge to exist. We get access to tacit knowledge through action and in retrospect. Aspects of tacit knowledge may be articulated, which, however, is not the same as 'converted' or 'translated' to explicit knowledge. To paraphrase Weick (1995: 18),** ["we do not know what we know until we see what we have done."]** ### **Lesson 3: Knowledge Management Taxonomy**       Taxonomy is all about organizing and classifying. The word "Taxonomy" is derived from two Greek terms : taxis and nomos. **Taxis** -- the arrangement or ordering of things **Nomos** -- anything assigned, usage or custom, law or ordinance.     The goal of Knowledge Management is to enable the organizations to improve the quality of management\'s decision making by ensuring that reliable and secure information and data is available throughout the service **life cycle.**        As the video on **What is Knowledge...** **Management **emphasized that KM is typically displayed within the data to information to knowledge to wisdom.   Terminology: data, information, knowledge, wisdom  Retrieved from the Youtube video of What is Knowledge Management.   **What is a data?**  Data is a set of discrete facts about events.  Data is a fact.  Data can be captured  through service management tools like remedy, service now in the form of incident change, request, and so on. Even configuration data can be used. Data always needs to be accurate to get the most appropriate information.    ##### ** What is an information?** Information is stored as documents, media and e-mail. The act or fact of informing.  Information usually comes as an outcome of data.  Analyzing the data gives you more information.  Analyzing the data could show some trends based on which we create a problem record for investigation. Data analysis provides relevant information. ##### ** ** **What is knowledge?**  Knowledge is the fact or state of knowing the perception of fact or truth Interpreted data, "understands" data and information to refine or fulfil a query Experiential data.  ** Knowledge comes from tactical experience, discussion with peers through ideas and innovations, and so on. Knowledge is usually content based and is dynamic.** Knowledge makes us to use the available information easily considering the problem example, the root cause or known error are examples of knowledge. Knowledge should be documented for better efficiency and sharing. **What is wisdom?** Wisdom is a virtue that isn\'t innate, but can only be acquired through experience.  "When the knowledge is being documented, shared, communicated and being taught to peers and others, wisdom is gained. We know when, where, and why to apply. "  When the data, information and knowledge has been enumerated, known and cleared -  the person has to use and initiate its wisdom in sharing, creating, managing, developing and implementing  what he/she has learned based on the experience. **Differences Between Knowledge, Information and Data** One of the confusing trends in the current practice of the knowledge management arena is that the concepts of knowledge and information tend to be used almost interchangeably throughout the literature and praxis. For example, the management of information captured on an organization's databases is often considered as an example of organizational knowledge and knowledge management. Information and data management are important pillars of knowledge management. However, knowledge management encompasses broader issues and, in particular, the creation of processes, environments, and behaviors that allow people to transform information into the organization and create and share knowledge. Thus, **knowledge management needs to encompass people, processes, technology, and culture. **Moreover, organizational databases and connectivity do not guarantee the sharing of information over time. In some instances, databases and connectivity result in too much information, or information overload, posing a threat to aspects of knowledge quality such as relevance. According to **Polanyi** (1967), **[explicit knowledge is articulated and specified either verbally or in writing, while tacit knowledge is unarticulated, intuitive, and non-verbal.]** In perceiving a simple object, there are clues that are unspecifiable, thus, all empirical knowledge has an indeterminate content. Building on this work, **Cook and Brown (1999) propose that explicit and tacit knowledge is not enough to understand the nature of knowledge and that to account for all somebody knows, it is necessary to add the notion of knowing.** For them, while explicit and tacit knowledge is 'possessed' by people, knowing is not about possession, but about 'practice' and about interacting with the things of the social and physical world. ***For example, when riding a bike, people use their explicit knowledge about the parts of a bike and the tacit knowledge about how to keep balance on a bike. People possess this knowledge even when they are not riding a bike. The difference is that while biking, people practice their knowledge, that is, they put knowledge into action.*** The structure of tacit knowledge has three aspects: **the functiona**l, the **phenomenal,** and the **semantic**. ◆ **The functional dimension:** From-to knowing: we know the particulars by relying on our awareness of them for attending to something else. ◆ **The phenomenal dimension** The transformation of subsidiary experience into a new sensory experience. ◆ **The semantic dimension** The meaning of subsidiaries (i.e. the focal target on which they bear).   First, knowledge can be obtained through the mind (learning by reflection, anticipatory learning) and through the body (learning by doing, experimental learning). Second, knowledge is accumulated in our minds (know what, declarative knowledge) and also in our bodies (know-how, procedural knowledge). Third, knowing is practice, it is something we do. *Knowing is not knowledge used in action, but the knowledge that is part of the action (Cook and Brown, 1999). *Last, learning is the change in knowledge and the change in knowledge, which involves, as mentioned before, changes in cognition and changes in behavior. Knowledge and knowing are the content of the learning process, **Sources:** Designing Knowledge Organizations: A Pathway to Innovation Leadership Joseph Morabito; Ira Sack; Anilkumar Bhate  An Introduction to \`Knowledge Information Strategy by Akira Ishikawa  Edition 0ISBN: 9789814513821World Scientific Publishing ** ** ### ** Lesson 4: Importance of KM**      There is an old chestnut that 'knowledge is power and recognize the truth of it in our everyday working and personal lives. However, in recent years it has become clear that globally, and that somewhat lacking in the technological and 'high-end' skills are obvious in many businesses and large organizations in which this is all required. To gain highly qualified employees takes a certain amount of investment. However, this takes many forms and one of the most important for modern enterprises is recognizing and fostering those that know the first place. **Knowledge Management **is important because it boosts the efficiency of an organization's decision-making ability. In making sure that all employees have access to the overall expertise held within the organization, a smarter workforce is built who are more able to make quick, informed decisions that benefit the company. With the knowledge, the economy comes a growing demand to commit to an education that fosters new knowledge, capabilities, and dispositions. Examples of this include responding positively to change, embracing technological understanding, developing critical awareness, thinking in new ways that cross traditional boundaries like culture or subject disciplines, and imagining many futures. Whilst this relates to the education system, it's also true of the enterprise. **Organizations need to be innovative to attract and retain staff (and the knowledge they possess now and in the future) that can move them forward. **These days, knowledge is not only power, it's also something that can be used within an organization to foster innovation. According to Gartner, "KM is a business process that formalizes the management and use of an enterprise's intellectual assets. KM promotes a collaborative and integrative approach to the creation, capture, organization, access, and use of information assets, including the tacit, uncaptured knowledge of people." With this in mind, in the modern organization, it's essential to ensure that this integrated approach is taken if it's to maintain an agile, productive, and innovative working environment. Happily, the technology that's required to do so is now easily assessable, more affordable than ever before, and simple to deploy. Databases, documents, policies: all of these are assets that an organization is accustomed to managing. The same can\'t always be said about an organization's employees though and for those that have thus far not seen them as business assets, it's time to ensure that they do. To do so though, organizations must give employees the tools to ensure that they can share the knowledge they possess. ### **IMPORTANCE AND BENEFITS OF KM**             We've all heard that old chestnut 'knowledge is power' and recognize the truth of it in our everyday working and personal lives. However, in recent years it has become clear that globally, we're somewhat lacking in the technological and 'high-end' skills that many businesses and large organizations require.             Of course, gaining highly qualified employees takes a certain amount of investment. However, this takes many forms and one of the most important for modern enterprises is recognizing and fostering those that know the first place.             With the knowledge, the economy comes a growing demand to commit to an education that fosters new knowledge, capabilities, and dispositions. Examples of this include responding positively to change, embracing technological understanding, developing critical awareness, thinking in new ways that cross traditional boundaries like culture or subject disciplines, and imagining many futures.             Whilst this relates to the education system, it's also true of the enterprise. Organizations need to be innovative to attract and retain staff (and the knowledge they possess now and in the future) that can move them forward. These days, knowledge is not only power, it's also something that can be used within an organization to foster innovation.             According to Gartner, "is a business process that formalizes the management and use of an enterprise's intellectual assets. KM promotes a collaborative and integrative approach to the creation, capture, organization, access, and use of information assets, including the tacit, uncaptured knowledge of people."             With this in mind, in the modern organization, it's essential to ensure that this integrated approach is taken if it's to maintain an agile, productive, and innovative working environment. Happily, the technology that's required to do so is now easily assessable, more affordable than ever before, and simple to deploy.             Databases, documents, policies: all of these are assets that an organization is accustomed to managing.             The same can\'t always be said about an organization's employees though and for those that have thus far not seen them as business assets, it's time to ensure that they do.             To do so though, organizations must give employees the tools to ensure that they can share the knowledge they possess.    **KM is very much relevant in:** 1. **The New Digital Workplace** 2. **The retaining of the Employees** 3. **The Social Intranet** ##### **[1. The New Digital Workplace]** To facilitate knowledge sharing is to ensure that it is retained within the workplace. For the most part, the problem that many organizations face is that the way we work and the demands put on modern organizations has changed beyond recognition. The workplace was once composed of physical office space with employees working face-to-face and through email during set hours between 9 am to 5 pm. Fast forward several years. It is now the norm for employees to be working across multiple locations, hours, and devices; the workforce is no longer confined to a single office environment. As these diversified workplaces emerge, the need for team-based and collaborative, digitally connected work environments becomes to knowledge sharing, retention, and access - aka the digital workplace. **Step Two Designs** 1.         It defines a digital workplace as a "holistic set of workplace tools, techniques, platforms, and environments, delivered in a coherent, usable, and productive way. It allows stakeholders to co-create content and work together with little to no friction, delay or challenge to perform their jobs more effectively". In this digital workplace, employers must give their workers the support that they need to facilitate sharing which can take the form of: · Training via intranet/cloud-based e-learning platforms · Online workspaces to ensure ease of collaboration · A voice within the organization All of this can be done by adding social and learning aspects to the intranet (which often forms the basis of an effective digital workplace) so that workers have an outlook for expression too. Using intranet social tools also allows employees to get to know one another, no matter what department they're in, thereby embedding them even further into the organizational culture.       If the knowledge management system is effective, it reduces the costs of inefficiency because it makes the company knowledge more accessible, available and accurate.      Effective knowledge management reduces operational costs and improves productivity ***       [[44 percent of employees]](http://www.docurated.com/importance-of-knowledge-management/) are either poor or very poor at transferring knowledge.*** **Benefits of knowledge management:** Ø  Get the information you need sooner Ø  Make fewer mistakes.  Ø  Make informed decisions Ø  Standardize processes Ø  Provide better service to employees and customers ##### **2. Retaining Employees** We\'re seeing the younger generation leaving jobs that don't live up to their expectations and this is something that organizations must recognize and attempt to halt. Whilst the global skills gap exists, it's an employee's market and this means that to satisfy and retain employees, enterprises must ensure they keep talented employees satisfied, but reducing any friction involved in letting them do their jobs efficiently and effectively. The intranet is a great facilitator of this as it provides a central hub to be set up to easily share and access resources and social aspects to be added for better communication of information between employees in different departments and locations. The social intranet is especially useful, as it can be used as a 'go-to' for those who are looking to further understand the organizational requirements which enable them to do their job effectively. **To do this, it takes a little knowledge gathering and pre-planning:** 1. Audit of the existing digital workplace to identify areas for improvement 2. Look at what areas can be expanded upon to increase value to clients and employees 3. Enrich that knowledge base with further information 4. Enable organization-wide sharing 5. Assess future knowledge sharing and look at how it can be taken to the next level. ##### **3. The Social Intranet** Much of this can be facilitated by adding social into the digital workplace mix. This means that everybody, from the most senior to the most junior employees, can add what they know about their jobs into the organization\'s knowledge pool, which can then be easily accessed by colleagues. **This can be done with the use of:** · Profiles for employees · Wikis · Blogs · Collaborative team workspaces Of course, who can add what to wikis and blogs will depend largely on the workforce and size of the organization? However, the ability for employees to do this means that the knowledge base of the organization is constantly growing and further, belongs to the organization, rather than an individual.   **It's necessary to plan with the following three key areas at the front of the pack:** 1. People/culture 2. Organization 3. Technology Technologies come and go and most organizations are somewhat resistant to change, which is essentially what creates the problem in the first instance, so it's highly necessary to place people in a centric position. Workers who feel that they are valued are valuable as they will essentially be happier in their work, something which leads to increased productivity. Organizations of all shapes and sizes can easily add aspects into the intranet to form an effective digital workplace, ensuring that the working culture becomes and remains more innovative and collaborative, providing excellent customer service, and retaining workers that become an asset 1\.         It plays a critical organizational asset in the future success of companies that as discussed by Peter Drucker. 2\.         KM centered on the importance of employees' knowledge for companies to sustain their competitive edge. 3.         KM is a powerful force that can put organizations at a competitive advantage and reach economic success. 4\.         KM  can give positive outcomes to the organization practicing  KM  and ignoring it may give deleterious effects on a firms' business.  **Nonaka and Takeuchi** reiterated that organizations can be successful if they can create new knowledge,  and put knowledge into their products, and services.  Due to the emerging trend of KM in organizations, new positions have been created in the organization such as Knowledge Management manager,  knowledge  management specialist,  and chief knowledge officer,  which focus on knowledge management are now in demand. **There are several reasons why knowledge management is important.**  It ensures all relevant information and resources can be accessed by employees when they need it  Important knowledge is kept within the business even after employees move on from the business  It avoids duplicated efforts  It ensures your organization effectively takes advantage of existing expertise  It standardized processes and procedures for knowledge management. ### **ASSIGNMENT 1** In a long bondpaper draw, illustrate or show how you understand knowledge.  Have a short explanation on the illustration. Be ready to present your [assignment 1] to the class. Best illustration will be rewarded.  Write your name, year level, name of the activity and date of the submission.  Late submission will not be accepted.  Please follow deadlines and due dates. **ACTIVITY 1** **Define and describe the relationships between knowledge, knowing, and learning. WRITE IN A YELLOW PAD WITH CITATION.** **MODULE 4: KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT TOOLS** ======================================== ### **Knowledge Management Tools** - - -    The term "knowledge worker" was first coined by Peter Drucker in his book, The Landmarks of Tomorrow (1959). Drucker defined knowledge workers as high-level workers who apply theoretical and analytical knowledge, acquired through formal training, to develop products and services.             Knowledge workers are differentiated from other workers by their ability to solve complex problems or to develop new products or services in their fields of expertise.              Knowledge workers undergo several years of formal training to master the information needed to perform certain specialized roles. At a minimum, most knowledge-based positions require a college degree and their learning process is continuous even after being hired.             Knowledge workers must know how to identify important information from a large database of information that they need to be familiar with.  **History of Knowledge Worker:**             Before the adoption of the term "knowledge worker," Upton Sinclair coined the phrase "white-collar worker" to refer to workers who performed administrative and clerical roles. These workers wore white-collared shirts that distinguished them from the blue-collar workers who performed manual tasks in the workplace.             Management writers such as Fritz Machlup and Peter Drucker first came up with the term "knowledge workers" in the late 1950s and early 1960s. During that time, the number of information workers began to outnumber the number of workers engaged in manual jobs.             Knowledge workers spend 38% of their time searching for information. They are also often displaced from their bosses, working in various departments and time zones, or from remote sites such as home offices and airport lounges. ### ** Lesson 2: Knowledge Management Tools** 1. **Content Repository** Allow users to manage and share knowledge content. 2. **Knowledge Search** Improves the value of your knowledge 3. **Communication Tool** Tools that communicate knowledge and capture the knowledge generated by the communication 4. **Social Software** Tools that facilitate the socialization of knowledge 5. **Knowledge Visualization** Tools that are used to visually communicate knowledge 6. **Decision  Support** Tools that seek knowledge enlarge of volumes of data 7. **Big Data** Class of tools that store, manage, and explore high velocity, variety, and volume data **The Benefits of Knowledge Management Tools Summary** - - - -      In the past, failed initiatives were often due to an excessive focus on primitive knowledge management tools and systems, at the expense of other areas. While it is still true that KM is about people and human interaction, KM systems have come a long way and have evolved from being an optional part of KM to a critical component. Today, such systems can allow for the capture of unstructured thoughts and ideas, can create virtual conferencing allowing close contact between people from different parts of the world, and so on. This issue will also be addressed throughout the site, and particularly in the knowledge management strategy section. ### **LESSON 3 : KNOWLEDGE TOOLS FOR INDIVIDUAL, GROUP AND ORGANIZATION** **Knowledge Tools for Individual and Organization** 1.    Content Repository Allow users to manage and share knowledge content. 2.    Knowledge Search Improves the value of your knowledge 3.    Communication Tool Tools that communicate knowledge and capture the knowledge generated by the communication 4.    Social Software Tools that facilitate the socialization of knowledge 5.    Knowledge Visualization Tools that are used to visually communicate knowledge 6.    Decision  Support Tools that seek knowledge enlarge of volumes of data 7.    Big Data Class of tools that store, manage, and explore high velocity, variety, and volume data       For every organization, people are the key asset. Their knowledge defines what the business knows and can accomplish. The knowledge of the staff is also constantly changing, and the knowledge needed for the organization is constantly changing too. This presents lab managers with several key knowledge management challenges, including how to identify: - - -                  Knowledge management is a set of processes and tools to address this organizational need. Here is a set of proven **[knowledge management processes and tools]** that will benefit most lab managers: **1. Identification of critical knowledge:** ##### **2. Knowledge-retention tools 3. Knowledge mapping 4.  Idea Management** - **    ** Critical knowledge is the knowledge that is valuable and durable enough to offer a sustainable, competitive advantage that justifies the cost of retaining it and transferring it from employee to employee. As a fundamental element of knowledge management (KM), knowledge identification is a crucial issue in contemporary business organizations.              **Identifying organization\'s critical knowledge**      Knowledge Management must be focused on critical business knowledge. It is important to identify what critical knowledge is all about.\ \ **Two dimensions to identifying the criticality** - -      To identify the **important** knowledge - start with the business strategy. Identify the activities needed to deliver that strategy, then identify the knowledge needed to deliver the activities. These could be activities (and knowledge) at all levels in the organization.  The important knowledge are those: · knowledge of how to enter new markets as well, as knowledge of how to sell products · knowledge of how to set production forecasts, as well as knowledge of how to operate a plant · knowledge of how to interact with host government environmental agencies, as well as knowledge of how to avoid pollution at your chemical plant This new knowledge needs to be acquired, cutting edge knowledge that forms the competitive advantage, or core knowledge that is needed to keep your income stream alive and to fulfill commitments. It can even be knowledge that is supplied by your partners and contractors but is still vital to your business. You identify the** important **knowledge through conversation with senior managers.\ \ While **urgent **knowledge is the knowledge that needs urgent attention from [[knowledge management]](http://www.knoco.com/knowledge-management.htm). There are at least four cases where knowledge can be in need of urgent attention. These are as follows. · When knowledge is importantly needed in an organization but they don\'t have it or don\'t have enough of it. The focus should be on the acquisition and development of knowledge - on innovation, knowledge creation, research, and [[action learning.]](http://www.knoco.com/business-drive-action-learning.htm) · Where knowledge exists widely in the company, but is being kept or stored, and not shared, or otherwise not properly managed. Here knowledge is used inefficiently - advances in one part of the business are not shared and learned from, in other parts of the business. Multiple, and inefficient, solutions exist, where one or two solutions would be better. Here the focus will be on the elements of knowledge sharing, and knowledge improvements, such as [[communities of practice]](http://www.knoco.com/community-launch.htm), [[lessons learned]](http://www.knoco.com/lessons-learned.htm), and development of [[knowledge assets]](http://www.knoco.com/knowledge-assets.htm), best practices, and standardization. · Where important knowledge is at risk of loss (perhaps through the retirement of key members of staff). Here the focus must be on developing and deploying a[[ Retention strategy]](http://www.knoco.com/knowledge-retention-strategy.htm). · When critical knowledge is held by a contractor, partner, or supplier, and they don\'t have knowledge Management. Here the focus is on defining a [[Knowledge Management Framework]](http://www.knoco.com/knowledge-management-framework-design.htm) for them to apply, to keep your knowledge safe.   To identify the urgent knowledge - a [[Knowledge Scan]](http://www.knoco.com/knowledge-scan.htm) of the important topics should be done and prioritized the ones in most need to attend. Those important and urgent knowledge issues are the ones that should drive to knowledge management strategy, [[tackling them one by one]](http://www.nickmilton.com/2011/06/implementing-km-at-rate-of-2-issues.html).  **Retrieved from: [[http://www.nickmilton.com/2012/05/how-to-identify-your-critical-knowledge.html]](http://www.nickmilton.com/2012/05/how-to-identify-your-critical-knowledge.html)** - Sharing knowledge with colleagues is an excellent way to retain knowledge within the organization. - Knowledge mapping enables the lab manager to choose a specific process important to the organizational knowledge mapping4 enables the lab manager to choose a specific process important to the organization and follow who requires specific elements of knowledge, who has it, and when it is needed. For many technical organizations, the knowledge map resembles other process maps that are familiar to technical staff and follow who requires specific elements of knowledge, who has it, and when it is needed. For many technical organizations, the knowledge map resembles other process maps that are familiar to technical staff. -      New challenges require new ideas. As lab managers, we need to have mechanisms to encourage, attract, and evaluate new ideas. There are many ways to ask for new ideas; for example, a physical idea box, a virtual idea box, email, dropping by to chat, the Internet, networking, and brainstorming. A management process that requires active management of ideas through submittal and workflow will work well for an organization. **De Bono's six hats**   All humans carry unintended bias into most decisions. Lab managers need ways to counter the natural bias. Some common biases that need to be addressed include: **Best-practice sharing** Best-practice sharing brings many advantages to the organization, including helping it:            Save money            Share best vendors and pricing            Rapidly share proven solutions to common problems            Rapidly input on possible solutions            Seek proven solutions            Rapidly share experience globally to related operations            Connect people from different areas, businesses, or regions            Rapidly share opportunities      As mentioned above in the discussion of knowledge retention tools, lessons learned can be a powerful tool to create and propagate a learning culture. A popular and highly effective process for the capture and fast transfer of lessons learned is the after-action review. Lessons learned are designed to enable individual and organizational learning. The tool can be utilized before, during, or after any event or project. The lessons learned approach is primarily a tacit knowledge tool; participation is the key. It brings insight to not only what, how, or when things were done but also why they were done. **Lessons learned tool consists of five questions:**            What did you expect to happen?            What actually happened?            Why did it happen?            What can we learn?            What do we need to do based on our learning? **\ Knowledge Management Practices**  A. **General Company Policy towards Knowledge Management**             Communicate the importance of knowledge management and knowledge sharing to your employees. Adopt knowledge practices and make them mandatory in the day-to-day operations of your company. B. **Knowledge Creation Guidelines**             Make sure that any material that enters your knowledge base does so in an organized fashion. Create for knowledge creation, communicate them to your employees, and make sure that they are followed. C. **Contacting the Subject Matter Expert**             The best practice in this regard is to have every expert pick a day of the week and set some time aside for consulting on that day at a specific time (make sure to communicate this information to your employees). Also, it is recommended for those seeking advice to clearly formulate their questions beforehand to save time. D. **Preserving Expertise Related To Solved Issues.** To that end, it is vital to preserve the information about the incident, as well as the steps are taken to rectify it. You will be wise to make it a rule in your organization that as soon as an issue has been dealt with, the following data must be entered into your knowledge base:            What was the issue?            What caused the issue?            How the issue was solved (if it was solved)? The contact information of the employee(s) who dealt with the issue so that they may be reached at short notice should the issue arise again. E. **Knowledge Bases**             It usually takes the form of an intranet portal or a wiki-based mini-site containing answers to the most frequently asked questions in the organization, descriptions of technical procedures, detailed use cases, and post-mortems of issues encountered in the past. F.** Communities of Practice**             These are professional communities where members are united by a common sphere of activity, a shared project, or a common goal. G. **Knowledge Map**             A knowledge map makes it easy for your employees to connect to an expert in a specific area of knowledge. It stands to reason that before you can ask for advice, you must first find someone who can give a competent answer, and this is where a knowledge map comes in handy. H. **Bank of Ideas**             Bank of ideas collects and stores the ideas and best practices generated in your organization. Companies known for their groundbreaking innovation don't simply get their brilliant ideas out of thin air - they actively solicit ideas from their employees and managers, and they listen. ** ** **KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES** 1. **Connecting People with Information and Knowledge** Knowledge owners are individuals who have the role of managing company knowledge in one specific area.  Retrieved from: **(By [[Sev1Tech  HYPERLINK \"https://www.sev1tech.com/author/sev1user/\"Newsroom]](https://www.sev1tech.com/author/sev1user/) Posted [[March 5, 2017]](https://www.sev1tech.com/2017/03/) )**   ### **Lesson 4: Institutional support for Knowledge Economies** ###          Modern Economies - are increasingly based on knowledge and more generally on the intangible assets that favor economic development. Knowledge-based economies are founded on increasing specialization, research, innovation, and learning. Knowledge economies - an economy in which growth is dependent on the quantity, quality, and accessibility of the information available, rather than the means of production.      The knowledge economy is a system of consumption and production that is based on intellectual capital. In particular, it refers to the ability to capitalize on scientific discoveries and applied research. #### Example of a Knowledge Economy      1. Academic institutions ####      2. companies engaging in research and development (R&D),          ####      3.  programmers developing new software and search engines for data,  ####      4. health workers using digital data to improve treatments are all components of a knowledge economy ####       #### **The Knowledge Economy and Workers** ####      The knowledge economy is considered the primary cause of the expansion of STEM jobs. A STEM job is any job in the fields of science, technology, engineering or math. With a foundation in these subjects, a STEM career allows you to solve problems, develop new ideas and conduct research. Occupational paths such as computer science, engineering, chemistry, and biology offer the greatest opportunities for career growth and executive leadership positions. Skills like data analysis, working with financial models, and the ability to innovate are in high demand in this economy. ####      In a knowledge economy, there is also an increased demand for teamwork, problem-solving, communication, and certain computer skills. These skills are seen as complements to education, not substitutes. Knowledge economy workers are typically highly-educated. However, a high level of education is not required.  ####      But do knowledge economy workers always need formal degrees in the subject area they are pursuing? While formal education is linked to increased rates of participation in the knowledge economy, highly literate people, or people with technical training in a specific area, participate at the [highest rates]. #### **10 Basic Characteristics Of The Knowledge Economy** - - - - - - - - - **Retrieved from - [[https://managementconsulted.com/knowledge-economy/]](https://managementconsulted.com/knowledge-economy/)**  #### ** \"Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. But teach a man how to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.\"** #### #### **   **  This saying means, provide him with technology and market linkages and you feed an entire region. The old development metaphor becomes---using the new language of the knowledge economy---the enhancing human, structural, and stakeholders' capital. New ideas or intellectual capital, more than savings or investments, are the new keys to prosperity and the wealth of nations. An example of how important knowledge can be in the development of countries is cited in the World Development Report of 1998/99.  #### **        **  This is how  Shyam Bajpai introduces the Knowledge Based-Economies in the Technical Note -Moving Toward Knowledge-Based Economies: Asian Experiences published in September 2007. ####           Bajpai was the Acting Director-General Regional Sustainable Development Department of the Asian Development Bank when the Technical Note was published and noted that \"something new is happening in local Asian economies. \" ####         At the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) 39th Annual Meeting in 2006, a seminar was held on knowledge-based economies (KBEs). The key message from the presenters was that developing countries that fail to transform effectively into knowledge-based economies will fall further behind more advanced countries, widening the disparities between developed and developing economies.  #### ####      To succeed in this increasingly competitive and global economy, countries must have advanced information and communication technology infrastructure, a highly educated workforce, dynamic research and innovation programs, and a supportive regulatory environment.  **(Retrieved from - [[https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/29699/knowledge-based-economies.pdf]](https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/29699/knowledge-based-economies.pdf))** **Activity** **Explain in an essay form: "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. But teach a man how to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime." (50 points)** **MODULE 5: INTRODUCING THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT** ===================================================================== ### **Introduction**  **     **This module will demonstrate the Knowledge Management model that consists of tightly interconnected building blocks representing interdependent activities. Building blocks are arranged in two cycles: the inner cycle which comprises building blocks of knowledge identification, acquisition, development, distribution, preservation, and the outer cycle that additionally includes knowledge goals and knowledge measurement.    ** Objectives: ** - - - -     At the** heart of knowledge, creation lies conversation, shared language, agreement on key distinctions, naming of prime concepts, sharing of experiences or beliefs, the explication, and testing of patterns.**    According to Probst  **"many knowledge problems occur because organizations neglect one or more of the knowledge management building blocks and interrupt the knowledge cycle.\" ** In his book, he mentioned that the building blocks of KM represent activities that are directly knowledge-related.  Their arrangement in the model follows certain principles.  An inner cycle consists of the building blocks of identification, acquisition, development, distribution, preservation, and use of knowledge.  On the other hand, an outer cycle consists of all these activities plus goal-setting and measurement.  This feedback cycle clarifies the importance of measuring the measurable variables in order to focus on goal-oriented interventions.    **Retrieved from: [[http://clipart-library.com/clipart/building-together-cliparts\_8.htm]](http://clipart-library.com/clipart/building-together-cliparts_8.htm)** **   ** ** [[Learning Organization]](https://flevy.com/browse/flevypro/learning-organization-5-building-blocks-3827) **for some scholars is an **organization skilled at creating, acquiring, and transferring knowledge, and at modifying its behavior to reflect new knowledge and insights.**  While [[organizational learning]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organizational_learning) is defined as** "the process of improving actions through better knowledge and understanding." It also categorizes organizational learning as "a process of detecting and correcting the error."** ** Learning Organization is a group of people working together **collectively to enhance their capacities to create results they care about. It tends to be more innovative by encouraging people to learn, develop, and by generating a more innovative environment.  Shared learning builds the corporate image of the organization and increases the pace of change within the organization.   Learning Organizations provide their people the ability to think insightfully about complex problems, take coordinated action, improve decision making, and instill a sense of community in them. To become Learning Organizations, simply employ various approaches that are actually needed to become proficient in translating new knowledge into new ways of doing things, and actively managing the learning process so that it gets ingrained into the [[organizational culture]](https://flevy.com/business-toolkit/organizational-culture). **Retrieved from: [[https://flevy.com/blog/the-5-building-blocks-to-developing-a-learning-organization/]](https://flevy.com/blog/the-5-building-blocks-to-developing-a-learning-organization/)** ### **Lesson 1: Building Blocks**  **Probst in (1998)  ** **            GILBERT J.B. PROBST **proposes an alternative [KM model that consists of tightly interconnected building blocks representing interdependent activities, which are arranged in** two-cycle - the inner and outer cycle.**  He was ]born in 1950 became an Honorary Professor and Director of Public-Private Partnership Center at Geneva School of Economics and Management at the University of Geneva. He got his Ph.D. as well as his Rehabilitation in business administration from the University of St. Gall, Switzerland. He is the founder of the Geneva Knowledge Forum as CORE. He is an award-winning author of several books, papers, and cases. **[TWO CYCLES ]** 1. **THE INNER CYCLE** comprises building blocks of knowledge identification, acquisition, development, distribution, preservation,  2.  **THE OUTER CYCLE** - additionally includes knowledge goals and knowledge measurement. **[\ TWO CYCLES ]** 1. **THE INNER CYCLE** comprises building blocks of knowledge identification, acquisition, development, distribution, preservation,  2.  **THE OUTER CYCLE** - additionally includes knowledge goals and knowledge measurement. **Inner Cycle:** **Knowledge Identification** Knowledge and expertise are available within the company and which exist outside needs to be carried out before making investments in the development of new KNOW-HOW             Knowledge maps can be used as an effective tool supporting knowledge identification within an  organization \-\-\-- BUT, at  the  same  time personal communication among employees should not be neglected (Probst, 1998) **KNOWLEDGE ACQUISITION**  Critical capabilities through knowledge MARKET distinguishes four main import channels of knowledge:    1. Acquiring knowledge held by other firms that mean via takeovers or            joint ventures    2. Is less expensive and deals with using stakeholders (e.g. customers) for        supplying new ideas about products  and  services    3. Organizations can employ  experts,  either  as  full-time  staff             members  or temporarily    4. Opportunity deals  with acquiring  knowledge products like software or patents, which developed  their properties via human action (Probst, 1998).  **Knowledge Development** Concerns Management  activities aimed  at - producing new internal and external knowledge on both -- individual and level             **EXAMPLE:**             Identification of the lessons learned at the end of each project with the purpose of  pass  this  experience  to colleagues. ** Knowledge Distribution** Rules deciding upon access rights and levels of detail available to certain employee groups. (not only sharing knowledge across the company it  is noteworthy that "efficient knowledge distribution can generate not only time and quality advantages, but a direct rise in customer satisfaction" (Probst, 1998). (Similar  to  the  concept  of  organizational  memory  in  Alavi  and  Leidner  (2001). **Knowledge Preservation** Deals with preserving valuable knowledge after it has been acquired or developed. effective way to prevent knowledge losses is incorporating regular storage of usable facts into the knowledge base so that they could be accessed in the future. ** ** **Knowledge Use**             "The productive deployment of organizational  knowledge in the production  process" emphasizes  the importance  of knowledge use  after  it has  been acquired,  distributed, and  preserved doesn't result from mere knowledge preservation, it needs to be  encouraged and finally provide a real benefit to the users. **KNOWLEDGE MEASUREMENT** **            **"The biggest challenge of KM" no standardized indicators or measurement processes for knowledge assessment exist. Measurement approaches used in each the company usually reflect its normative, strategic, and operational dimensions and can be based on the earlier defined knowledge goals, provided those have been appropriately and unambiguously formulated. ** ** **Knowledge Goal** **            **Normative  knowledge  goals  are aimed at -  creating  a  "knowledge  sensitive"  corporate  culture  that fosters effective  KM.  "Determine the desirable competence portfolio for the FUTURE. Defining normative and strategic goals obviously makes sense only if they are fulfilled. Operational goals for that reason serve to assure that normative and strategic goals "will be translated into action" (Probst, 1998).  ### **Lesson 2: Knowledge Market** **     Knowledge Market - is a meeting to match people who need learning, with people who can provide their learning.** Knowledge Markets are commonly used within Communities of Practice.   When business people are establishing a new company, they definitely face a variety of different struggles. After finding great clients or customers, there is a need to work to keep them. And once you have a loyal following, you must expand your base. If you have one part of the market cornered, you have to try to grab another piece. In order to maintain an advantage in your industry, you must ensure that your market knowledge is up-to-date. **Purpose of the Knowledge Market** The purpose of a Knowledge Market is to connect people who have problems with those that can potentially solve the problems. It connects knowledge supply to knowledge need, to stimulate knowledge transfer, make new connections, and identify new collaborative relationships. **Benefits:** **            **The benefit of the Knowledge Market is that it makes knowledge demand and knowledge supply visible and public so that opportunities for knowledge sharing can be identified for follow-up.  A knowledge marketplace is a way of identifying what people know and what they need to know on a particular subject, then connecting them appropriately. There are four types of knowledge services: generate content, develop products, provide assistance, and share solutions. A knowledge market is a mechanism for distributing knowledge resources. Two views on knowledge and how knowledge markets can function. 1) As a legal construct of intellectual property to make knowledge a typical scarce resource, so the traditional commodity market mechanism can be applied directly to distribute it. 2) As a public good and hence encouraging free sharing of knowledge. This is often referred to as attention economics.   **Brief History**     A knowledge economy includes the concept of exchanging knowledge-based products and services. However, as discussed by Stewart (1996) knowledge is very different from physical products. For example, it can be in more than one place at one time, selling it does not diminish the supply, buyers only purchase it once, and once sold, it cannot be recalled.      Further, knowledge begets more knowledge in a never-ending cycle. Understanding of knowledge markets is beginning to emerge. As would be expected, they are very different in form from traditional markets. Knowledge markets have been variously described by Stewart (1996) and Simard (2000) as a mechanism for enabling, supporting, and facilitating the mobilization, sharing, or exchange of information and knowledge among providers and users. This transactional approach assumes that knowledge-based products or services are available for distribution, that someone wants to use them, and that the primary focus of the market is to connect the two. This perspective is appropriate when the market has limited or no interest or control over either the production or use of the content being exchanged, as is the case for most traditional markets.      A provider-user perspective is also appropriate for emerging social networking \"ideagoras\" (Tapscott and Williams, 2006), in which the **primary function of the market is to match existing solutions with problems and problems with those who can find solutions. **From a production perspective, processes for creating wealth through the use of intellectual capital are explained by Nonaka (1991) and Leonard (1998). At the marketing end of the spectrum, a number of authors, including Bishop (1996), May (2000), and Tapscott et al. (2000) describe the architecture and processes necessary to succeed in a digital economy.**(Retrieved from:** **[[https://courses.aiu.edu/DATABASE%20SYSTEMS%20AND%20KNOWLEDGE%20MANAGEMENT/SEC%205/SEC%205.pdf]](https://courses.aiu.edu/DATABASE%20SYSTEMS%20AND%20KNOWLEDGE%20MANAGEMENT/SEC%205/SEC%205.pdf))** ### **LESSON 3: INCORPORATING KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT** **A. Changing organizational structures.**             According to Gupta and Sharma (2014), **"The nature of the organization is rapidly changing in the 21st century and they are expanding their operations nationally and globally in order to be competitive"** **To Gain Strategic success **              Ability to Create, transfer, assemble, integrate, and exploit Knowledge assets. **Customer References**       Organizations are searching for new markets and they are constantly developing new products to meet the changing needs of the customers to sustain competitive advantage. The need to provide efficient services      According to Rumizen (2001). Managing knowledge is very important as knowledge provide speedy services, managing knowledge on what to know, what to learn, how quickly to learn, and how effectively to use what is learned. **B. Benefits of Incorporating Knowledge Management**          **   1. Competitive Advantage**             According to Barney (1991), an organization's competitive edge largely depends on to what extent the resources it is using are valuable, rare, substitutable, and imitable.           Moustaghfir (2008) points out that knowledge is the resource that entails all the characteristics and thereby, is able to create a competitive advantage for a firm. In the 21st century, Knowledge has become the key resource for organizations to stay competitive in their business (Drucker 1998).         **    2. Enhance the Capabilities of Employees**             Chen and Chen (2006)  state that knowledge management helps create and develop competencies among the members of an organization as knowledge flows within the organization and members can access it as and when required to learn and develop their understandings.           Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) specify that knowledge is the outcome of socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization through which helps in enhancing the capabilities of organization's members to provide superior performance.          **   3. Employee Motivation**             Macintosh (1999) indicates that it is a matter of time to gain and experience knowledge.             According to Alavi and Leidner (1999), organizations that involve an effective knowledge management system recognize the expertise of their members and value them more and reward them for their effective contributions in creating, using, and disseminating knowledge.             **4. Improved Economic Performance**             The focus of knowledge management the system is to improve the economic performance of the organizations through effectively managing the intellectual property, patents, and the like and by resulting in the knowledge, which helps to lower the costs of the organizations (Davemport et al. 1998)             Alavi and Leidner (1999) illustrate that an effective knowledge management system accelerates the operational process by facilitating better and faster communication, employee involvement, and escalating overall efficiency whereas the organizational benefits entail improved economic results, better customer orientation, and better performance. ###  **Assignment:** A. **Reflect on this issue and answer in a 1-page essay with 200-300 words-double spaced. (100 points)** 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. B. Discuss in your own understanding the difference between Learning Organization and Organization Learning (50 points) **MODULE 6 - INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR KM** ============================================  The role of information technology (IT) in knowledge management (KM), is an essential decision for any company wishing to implement emerging technologies to manage their knowledge assets. The effectiveness of the technologies has also been explored, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of particular IT for KM. **Introduction:**             Research has been done and it revealed that conventional technologies, like the telephone, are being used frequently to manage and transmit knowledge, than in any other technologies like Groupware or video-conferencing. There is currently a compelling debate about the changing nature of business environments and the sources of competitiveness in advanced economies. It is asserted that knowledge is fast overtaking capital and labor as the key economic resource in advanced economies (Edvinsson, 2000). The intangible assets in an organization are widely celebrated as vital elements in improving competitiveness (Egbu, 2000; Edvinsson, 2000). KM has been extolled as "**one of the major driving forces of organizational change and wealth creation"** (Chase, 1997, p.83) but remains a source of ambiguity, both theoretically and practically.   ### **LESSON 1: USAGE & EFFECTIVENESS** **KM AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ARE INTERCHANGEABLE:** In the absence of a universal and comprehensive definition of KM, it is a common myth that KM and IT are conceptually interchangeable. However, KM means much more than IT and it is crucial to view them as mutually exclusive. This is because an organization does not have to employ IT for it to manage some of its knowledge assets. An example is in some smaller organizations, where 'Quality Circles', 'Story telling' and 'Lessons Learned Registers' are used for managing knowledge. **These approaches do not have to employ information technology as we know it.** KM should be understood to mean the processes by which knowledge is created, acquired, communicated, shared, applied, and effectively utilized and managed, in order to meet existing and emerging needs, to identify and exploit existing and acquired knowledge assets. There have been debates about the role of the 'whole system' of knowledge management, such as core competencies and knowledge building for achieving competitive advantage (Leonard-Barton, 1995). Other discussions have been leveled at the data -- information-knowledge typologies (Coleman, 1998). In this regard, information is viewed as organized facts and data, and 'knowledge consists of truths and beliefs, perspectives, concepts, judgments, expectations, methodologies, and know-how, and exists in different forms (Egbu, 2000). ***For Sanchez et al (1996), organizational knowledge is the shared set of beliefs about causal relationships held by individuals within a group.*** From Sanchez et al's definition, it could be inferred that strategically relevant knowledge is never certain, but rather only exists in the forms of belief. An extension of this viewpoint would suggest that knowledge is not absolute or deterministic, but consists of more or less firmly held beliefs based on probabilistic assessments of possible causal relationships between phenomena. Another take on their definition would suggest that knowledge originates with and exists within individual humans, but that organizations may also have knowledge that may exist in various forms understood by more than one individual within an organization. Sanchez et al's (1996) definition view the concept of knowledge as conscious mental processes (beliefs) as opposed to lower-level neural processes at the level of sensory-motor coordination. From the above discourse, it could be argued that knowledge adds value to data by providing selectivity and judgment. It is important, at the outset, to assert that the knowledge management paradigm is a complex one. Knowledge can also be considered as existing in arrays of forms, such as symbolic, embodied, embedded, and encultured (Collins, 1995). In a sense, this typology helps us to differentiate, for example, knowledge of information (such as catalog and explanatory knowledge) and context-dependent knowledge relating to skill and competence (e.g. process, social and experiential knowledge). Catalog and explanatory knowledge are symbolic in nature and therefore are more readily transmittable than the contextually sensitive encultured knowledge (e.g. process, social and experiential knowledge). **One explanation of this is because encultured knowledge is learned through socialization, or through immersion in communities of practice** (CoP). As a result, encultured knowledge is intrinsically tied to its context. The knowledge is 'situated' and produced -- in-use. **For such knowledge to be formally transmitted, it will need to be decontextualized, and may lose its 'special character'.** Knowledge within an organization may therefore exist at different levels of usefulness. This is to say that an individual or organization may have varying abilities to apply different forms of knowledge to carry out actions that help an organization to accomplish its goals. Egbu, Bates, and Botterill (2001) highlighted culture, people, process as well as technology as being worthy of consideration.  IT is important in its own right and remains a critical success factor in the development of an effective KM program. Browning (1990) contends that \"information technology is no longer a business resource; it is the business environment\". In the 1960s, IT has become an all-pervasive force in the business world, superseding more conventional tools for data storage and communication. It has been argued that IT has the potential to "redefine the management and control of innovation on a global basis through the removal of barriers such as time and distance" (Egbu, 2000, p.109).   It has been argued that IT has the potential to "redefine the management and control of innovation on a global basis through the removal of barriers such as time and distance" (Egbu, 2000, p.109) **USING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT** Many organizations employ IT in one form or another to manage their knowledge. It is primarily used to store and transfer explicit forms of knowledge. However, IT is not just about computers. Tools such as video-conferencing may also be useful for the transmission of tacit knowledge as it is, in crude terms, a form of socialization (as defined by Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995). **Capturing tacit knowledge and then storing it in repositories is vital for effective KM. **Many organizations have developed sophisticated methods for storing their intellectual capital, including patenting knowledge assets to protect trade secrets.  It is argued that KM is about mobilizing the intangible assets of an organization, which are of greater significance in the context of organizational change than its tangible assets, such as IT. While IT is an important tool for a successful organization, it is often too heavily relied upon as a guarantee of a successful business.  Edvinsson (2000) contends that such tools as the Internet are mere \'enabler \[s\]\' and that the true asset of an organization is the brainpower of its workforce. He stresses that it is the intellectual capital (IC) of an organization that is the key to success (as cited in Dearlove, 2000, p.6). Thus IT is not just about databases or information repositories. "In computer systems, the weakest link has always been between the machine and humans because this bridge spans a space that begins with the physical and ends with the cognitive" (McCampbell et al., 1999, p.174).  IT should be understood less in it\'s capacity to store explicit information and more in its potential to aid collaboration and co-operation between people Dougherty (1999) argues that IT should be seen as a tool to assist the process of KM in organizations. Such a process relies more on the face-to-face interaction of people than on static reports and databases (Davenport and Prusak, 1998). Some organizations have developed software to encourage social interaction in organizations in the hope that a unique forum for tacit knowledge exchange will be established.  For example, Teltech is a consultancy service offering KM services to businesses, including an Expert Network which brings together a network of thousands of technical experts to share and develop knowledge in technical areas (McCampbell et al., 1999). A more holistic approach to integrating technology and people is BP's Virtual Teamwork (VT) initiative connecting employees all over the world through IT, such as video-conferencing, Lotus Notes, electronic whiteboards, and a corporate intranet. In a global forum, knowledge can be shared instantly which leads to the development of an 'empowered culture' and a set of structures that transcends traditional boundaries (Chase, 1997). **IT AND THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY** IT is increasingly important to KM in construction organizations. However, the construction industry has been slow to recognize the benefits of IT as a major communications tool (Egbu et al., 2001). Transferring knowledge and information across projects is a major challenge for construction organizations. Much of construction work is project-based, characterized as short-term and task-oriented, promoting a culture where continuous learning is inhibited. Specialist and technical knowledge is lost from one project to the next stifling an organization's ability to develop knowledge and generate new ideas. Gann (2000) argues that IT can assist the transfer of knowledge and information between project teams, enabling the development of new knowledge for innovation.   The **concept of knowledge management technologies **is both broad and difficult to define (Egbu, 2000). Even some information infrastructure technologies that appear not to fall naturally within this concept can be useful in facilitating knowledge management. Examples are video-conferencing and the telephone. Although it is arguable whether these technologies capture or distribute structured knowledge, many would contend that they are useful at enabling people to transfer tacit knowledge. Companies and other organizations now used a desktop video-conferencing infrastructure to help people exchange knowledge across vast distances.  There are also **"Real-Time Knowledge Systems**". The technologies that fall under this category are useful where time is of the essence. An example is Case-based Reasoning (CBR) technologies. CBR applications require an individual or group of individuals to input a series of 'cases', which represent knowledge about a particular domain expressed as a series of problem characteristics and solutions. When the user of the technology is presented with a problem, its characteristics can be compared against a set of cases in the application, and the ITcon, Vol. 7 (2002); Egbu and Botterill; pg. 129  closest match is then selected. The technology can therefore be **useful **where the user is a 'limited expert', capable of understanding problems but not normally of solving them or classifying their symptoms. Such a technology could be adapted for use by large building materials suppliers who deal with many materials requisition from contracting organizations nationwide.  Other KM technologies include intranets, portals, semantic engines, and ontology-based tools. Strong proponents of these tools advance the view that the pattern identification and matching capabilities of the software can eliminate human intervention. It could be argued, however, that an intelligent human is required to structure the data in the first place, interpret data and understand identified patterns, and of course, make a decision based on the knowledge generated.  It could be argued that whilst technologies designed to manage data are structured, typically numerically oriented, and address large volumes of observation, knowledge technologies deal more frequently with text rather than numbers. **Technology alone will not make an organization a knowledge-creating company.** **The most frequently used techniques and technologies in construction organizations are**: 1.    **Telephone** - telephone is a simple and familiar tool for communicating and sharing knowledge. The telephone remains important for KM because it could be used to capture and distribute structured knowledge but also enable people to share tacit knowledge (Egbu, 2000). Although construction organizations are investing more in some aspects of IT, like the Internet, greater emphasis is put on the more traditional or familiar methods of capturing, sharing, transferring, and storing knowledge, such as the telephone, documents, and reports. 2.    **Internet/intranet (video-conferencing)** This technology is often perceived as a revolutionary technology and there may be reluctance among managers to take risks with new forms of IT. 3.    **E-mail **- used to share knowledge and ideas across the organization, and externally with clients and customers. With IT, the Internet, Intranet, and e-mail will be the most useful tool for the future, demonstrating that there is an awareness of the increasing significance of newer communication tools over conventional tools like a telephone. **4.    Documents and reports** 5.    **Face-to-face meetings** - one of the most effective techniques, supporting the notion that social interaction is a pre-requisite for successful KM (Davenport and Prusak, 1998. In construction organizations, traditional forums for collaboration, such as face-to-face meetings, are preferable to a more formal investment in sophisticated IT packages. This suggests that conventional techniques for acquiring, developing, sharing, and storing knowledge are still used frequently among construction organizations.  These were also seen to be the most effective tools and technologies for managing knowledge. One of the negative effects of IT is that any messages they send and receive at work **can** distract them from the job at hand, leading to a lack of focus and reduced efficiency. Companies that forbid text messaging during working hours often find that employee morale suffers. ### **LESSON 2: HOW DOES IT PLAY APART IN THE WORK THAT YOU DO?**      A corporate intranet is an efficient tool for the storage and flow of explicit knowledge. It has been argued that such a tool can improve company decision-making, quicken employee responses to inquiries about products, which can lead to greater innovation (Bennett and Gabriel, 1999).  "**Technology is good because you're progressing but you shouldn't lose sight of the fact that you've got to communicate with people."** But technology should not overshadow the capacity for people to interact. It is dangerous that over-reliance on IT may subdue the potential for interaction between people, creating a situation where **"our machines are increasingly lively, and we are increasingly inert**" (Haraway, as cited in Ruggles, 1997, p.3).  IT is being considered as an "integrator of communications technology, rather than solely a keeper of information" (McCampbell et al., 1999, p. 175) but there is a tendency to have a redundancy without an appropriate understanding of the tool. Storing explicit knowledge in repositories and databases is important for knowledge retention. "By putting the knowledge held by individuals into databases, companies \[can\] ensure much of their expertise \[is\] retained even if employees \[leave\]" (Rajan, 1998 as cited in Scarbrough et al., 1999, p.50).  ***Remember that staggered and inefficient use of IT can be detrimental to KM***, "creating a corporate 'Tower of Babel' where information drives out understanding" (Scarbrough et al., 1999, p.36).  It is clear that attitudes about IT can affect its effectiveness as a business tool. Anxiety surrounding the introduction of IT reflects a wider feeling of change. Some people may feel that IT will change working patterns to such an extent that their job will become redundant and they will be replaced by a computer. Anxiety among older employees about change is evident in other areas, such as the apparent reluctance to share knowledge or take up new ideas. Most tools and technologies were perceived to be of some use to KM in the next five years. This suggests that there is more awareness about the potential benefits of IT and that IT is becoming more important vis-à-vis with Knowledge Management. IT should be regarded as a tool to 'enable' people to work with greater efficiency and effectiveness, rather than an unshakeable panacea. Consideration should be given equally to the role of people as the creators, distributors, and storehouses of knowledge so that such knowledge can be successfully exploited to create a competitive advantage. IT is essential for the storage of explicit knowledge in databases and repositories but also as a communication device, through e-mail systems and Groupware. Information technology (IT) has become a vital and integral part of every business plan. From multi-national corporations that maintain mainframe systems and databases to small businesses that own a single computer, IT plays a role. The reasons for the omnipresent use of computer technology in business can best be determined by looking at how it is being used across the business world. **Communication Employees, Suppliers, and Customers** Many companies principally use email as a means of communication between employees, suppliers, and customers. It is one of the early drivers of the Internet that provides a simple and inexpensive means to communicate. Over the years, a number of other communications tools have also evolved, allowing staff to communicate using live chat systems, online meeting tools, and video-conferencing systems. Voice over internet protocol (VOIP) telephones and smartphones offer even more high-tech ways for employees to communicate. **Inventory Management Systems** - **Data Management Systems** - **Management Information Systems** - - **Customer Relationship Management** - - ** ** ### **LESSON 3: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND THE POSSIBILITIES FOR SHARING**      Knowledge work is still a relatively new and dynamic area of research that has emerged as a direct response to the changing organizing processes that pervade many organizations. Due to the emphasis on communication and information in knowledge work, information technology (IT) has been closely associated with the development of knowledge management initiatives (Zuboff, 1996; Hayes, 2001). Indeed, Easterby-Smith et al. (2000) estimate (The author would like to acknowledge the contribution of Geoff Walsham to an earlier version of this chapter) that seventy percent of publications on knowledge management have focused on the design of information technologies (ITs).      In the commercial arena, most knowledge management initiatives have a strong IT focus, where knowledge is seen as being capable of being leveraged through the development of shared databases and knowledge warehouses (Sambamurthy and Subramani, 2005). The objective of this chapter is to examine some of the challenges and opportunities that surround the use of IT in intra-organizational knowledge management initiatives. The chapter is structured as follows.       Following this introduction, I will review some of the key issues that have been reported in the literature to date. Informed by the literature review, section three outlines a conceptual framework for understanding knowledge working through IT. I then draw on this framework to critically review some of the key challenges that arose in a knowledge management initiative undertaken by a UK pharmaceutical company when making use of a leading groupware technology to support their knowledge management initiative.      Based on the literature review, framework, and case study, section five briefly discusses Enterprise 2.0 technologies (E2.0), a current category of technology that some claim offers new opportunities for knowledge working. Section six outlines some practical implications primarily with regard to long-established knowledge management technologies such as groupware and intranets, but also provides some discussion of E2.0 technologies. The final section presents some brief conclusions. **TECHNOLOGIES AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT**      Over the last decade and more a plethora of technologies have emerged that have been associated with knowledge management, and specifically with the articulation, storage, transfer, creation, and retrieval of knowledge. Though not exhaustive, Table 5.1 high- lights the most notable IT artifacts and platforms associated with knowledge management projects (Alavi and Leidner, 1999).      Drawing on Zack (1999a) I distinguish between two types of ITs that have been associated with knowledge management projects: integrative and interactive applications. Much of the academic literature and practitioner accounts have focused on integrative applications which take the form of structured databases that allow employees to store and retrieve information on past projects. They also comprise expert finders, electronic bulletin boards through to best practice reports, and working papers (Butler and Murphy, 2007; Zack, 1999b; Alavi and Leidner, 2001; Chua, 2004).      Interactive applications take the form of email, desk-top conferencing, and discussion forums allowing for interactions with other staff and the garnering of their views and experiences regardless of physical location (Moffett et al., 2003; Leidner, 2000; Alavi and Leidner, 1999). With regard to interactive applications, groupware, and intranet platforms have dominated the academic and practitioner accounts to date (they are also the focus of much of this chapter).      Most recently, interactive applications have come to include E2.0 platforms. E2.0 comprises a number of technologies that are typically associated with Web 2.0. The key difference being E2.0 technologies are put in place to support collaboration and knowledge working within the organization. Key technologies include wikis, blogs, social networking, and instant messaging, the ability to link out to other pages, and the categorization of data by users through tagging (McAfee, 2006).      Tags are furthered through extensions, which is a form of automated tagging through pattern matching algorithms (e.g. Amazon). Such technologies are attracting considerable current attention amongst practitioners and are claimed to offer new ways to document, distribute, and retrieve knowledge within organizations (McAfee, 2006). This is a theme that I will return to towards the end of the chapter. **UNDERSTANDING KNOWLEDGE AND TECHNOLOGY**      Within the academic literature, two contrasting epistemological approaches have under-pinned accounts of knowledge management: the content and relational perspectives (Scarbrough and Burrell, 1997; Tsoukas, 1996). This chapter adopts the latter perspective. From a content perspective, knowledge is defined as being a predictive truth as it prescribes what to do (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1994; Galliers and Newell, 2000).      Knowledge is viewed as being able to be codified and stored in repositories, so that knowledge can be shared, built upon, and retained regardless of employee turnover (Wasko and Faraj, 2000). This perspective is dominant in the information systems literature (see Sambamurthy and Subramani, 2005); and much of this literature has a practitioner orientation and has focused on collecting, distributing, reusing, and measuring existing codified knowledge (Lam and Chua, 2005; Bansler and Havn, 2004; Cohen, 1998; Knock and McQueen, 1998). Knowledge is considered to be an economic asset that can be codified, stored, and exchanged between individuals within a firm (Bohm, 1994; Shin et al., 2001; Pan and Scarbrough, 1999; Currie and Kerrin, 2004).      Relational writers are critical of this dominant view of knowledge (Lave, 1988; Blackler et al., 1997), and suggest that instead of treating knowledge as being a largely cerebral and tradable entity, knowledge should be viewed as being relative, provisional, and primarily context-bound (Scarbrough, 2008; Barley, 1996; Orr, 1990; Blackler et al., 1993). Critiques of much of the knowledge management literature suggest that knowledge is always embedded and as such can only be shared actively through social groups.      Rather than knowledge, relational writers argue that the focus of inquiry should be on the process of knowing and the capability to act (Schultze, 2000; Blackler, 1995; Brown and Duguid, 1998). Furthermore, many are critical of the content approach for its weak empirical base and prescriptive standpoint (Pan and Scarbrough, 1999). They suggest that exchanging knowledge as if it were an economic asset via IT does not relate to the actual experience of the use of knowledge management applications within specific contexts (Schultze, 2000; Galliers and Newell, 2000).      Within the literature, this focus on sharing explicit knowledge through IT systems has led to the terms 'information and 'knowledge' often being used interchangeably and uncritically by many authors (Sambamurthy and Subramani, 2005).   **TECHNOLOGY-CENTRIC**        One pervasive theme in the literature has been the dominance of techno-centric accounts, as is exemplified by Sambamurthy and Subramani (2005: 2) who suggest that knowledge management involves 'developing searchable document repositories to support the digital capture, storage, retrieval, and distribution of an organization's explicitly documented knowledge.'      Indeed, there has been a preoccupation with the problem of finding the location of knowledge (Sambamurthy and Subramani, 2005; Massey et al., 2002; Benbya, 2006; Gray and Durcikova, 2006). Such a position assumes knowledge can be codified and stored. Thompson and Walsham (2004) claim this has been at the expense of the more 'contextual elements of knowing.' Here they include a willingness to document and share information, attention to detail, and the establishment of software tools and methodologies to support such changes.      Similarly, based on his case studies of Technology Research Inc. and Buckman Laboratories, Zack (1999a) argues that technology focus is a major obstacle to engendering an organizational climate that values and encourages cooperation, trust, and innovation (Butler and Murphy, 2007; Butler et al., 2007). Knox et al. (2008: 290) are also critical of such techno-centric accounts, arguing that managers know that 'their claims to expertise rest on their ability to perform the reconnections between the systems outputs and other more contingent "upstream" practices, situations, and possibilities.      Thus, they argue that those that adopt a techno-centric perspective do not understand or appreciate the ways and the efforts to which the enactments of some people allow for such a perspective to 'work.'   **DOMAIN SPECIFIC KNOWLEDGE**      From a relational perspective, knowledge is viewed as circulating easily when people work within a similar domain of practice, or have experience of working with other knowledge domains. This provides for a shared sense of what practice is and what the standards for judgment are (Brown and Duguid, 1998). Zack (1999a) argues that due to the shared understanding of practice, integrative applications that allow access to data stored centrally are sufficient to support work between employees from the same domain of work, though others still advocate more interactive applications (Boland and Tenkasi, 1995; McDermott, 1999).      More recently Butler and Murphy (2007) argue that while technologies can assist knowledge creation and share within domains, they advocate the establishment of careful rules as to who can contribute posts to specific parts of the knowledge management system. This they claim ensures that only those who are experts are able to contribute and reduces possibilities for misunderstandings between staff from different domains. Orlikowski (2002) argued that the relative success that Kappa achieved with their knowledge management initiative was in part attributable to their ongoing reinforcement of a strong identity.      This identity formation, Orlikowski (2002: 267) argued, allowed people from across the organization, regardless of their group or location 'to internalize and identify with a common way of thinking about and engaging in their product development work. This facilitates the communication and coordination of hundreds of product developers across time (19 time zones) and space (15 geographic locations).' Orlikowski (2002) goes on to explain that it also allowed people across the organization to share a common language.      Importantly, such identity formation and the development of shared language were between staff from a similar knowledge domain, and consequently, they shared aspects of their practice with each oth**er.**  ** WORKING BETWEEN DOMAINS OF KNOWLEDGE**    **  Sharing knowledge between employees with different professional backgrounds is viewed as more complex **(Newell et al., 2000; Brown and Duguid, 1998; Ruhleder, 1995). Schultze and Boland's (2000a) study of the US The company, a manufacturer of building materials, found that the introduction of KnowMor, a knowledge management application that bridged the different functions and locations led to changing temporal and spatial work arrangements.      They provide an example of the Notes administrators being required to perform not only technical activities, as previously, but also to write accounts of their actions into shared databases. Work practice changed in that they would now point users to these entries rather than deal with requests themselves. Schultze and Boland (2000a) explain that the new work practices required them to perform a dual role of acting (in terms of the technical change) and accounting self (in terms of making explicit their technical work).      A further challenge relates to the limited understandings that can be developed when reliance is placed on IT to share knowledge between communities. Brown's (1998) insightful study of the use of the Internet to support knowledge working found that a reliance on technology as a means of transferring knowledge is insufficient. Instead, he contended that abstractions recorded and shared on the Internet need to be considered as being inseparable from their own historical and social locations of practice.     McDermott (1999) provided a detailed analysis of why reliance on abstractions is problematic. He cited the case of a diverse group of systems designers to illustrate what he termed the difficulties of thinking 'outside an expert's own territory.' He ascertained that, rather than needing each other's documentation stored on a common database, the system designers needed to understand the logic that other designers used in practice, such as the rationale behind the combination of specific software, hardware, and service plans. Similarly, Schultze's 2000