1. “Building the Infrastructure for
Learning & Knowledge Transfer”
Andy WoolerMBA (Open)
eLearning and Blended Learning Solutions for
Financial Institutions – Amsterdam
January 2006

2. The eLearning Organisation
 “ An Organisation that is continuously
expanding its capacity to create its
future”
Peter Senge, “The Fifth Discipline”

3.  “Implementing systems is no guarantee that
knowledge will flow any more freely around the
organisation than jam flows through a sieve”
James Mortleman, Business & Technology, 1998
“If you automate chaos, all you get is very fast
chaos!”
Marsha Sussman, William M Mercer Consultants

4. What is Knowledge Management?
 “The art of creating value from an organisation’s
Intangible Assets.”
Karl E Sveiby PHD, Author, Managing and Measuring Knowledge
 2 Tracks of activities:
KM = Management of Information knowledge = objects
KM = Management of People knowledge = processes
http://www.sveiby.com.au/KnowledgeManagement.html

5. Five Categories of Knowledge
 Competence – Knowledge in practice, techniques and
processes
 Catalogue – “Black & White” facts, reference material
 Concepts – Ideas, hypotheses, insights
 Context – the environment in which we are operating
 Contacts – knowing people, building relationships

6. Socialisation Externalisation
Combination
Tacit Knowledge Explicit Knowledge
TacitKnowledgeExplicitKnowledge
Internalisation
Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995 “The Knowledge Creating Company: How Japanese
Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation”

7. Knowledge & Learning
Knowing How Knowing Where
Caring Why Knowing Why
Tacit Knowledge Explicit Knowledge
TacitKnowledgeExplicitKnowledge
Source ©: Andrew Wooler 2000

8. “The only thing that gives an organisation a
competitive edge is what it knows, how it
uses what it knows, and how fast it can
know something new”
Larry Prusak, IBM,
1996

9. “Our challenge is to process data into
information, refine information into
knowledge, extract from knowledge
understanding, and then let understanding
ferment into wisdom”
Al Gore, 1980

10. Help from technology
 Learning Content Management Systems
 CBT/WBT
 Competency Management tools
 Collaboration tools – Synchronous & Asynchronous
 Course creation tools – easy to use vs external
vendors
 eLearning Standards – AICC, Scorm
 Performance Management, Talent Management

11. Why KM Initiatives fail
 KM not considered as a strategic issue, just another IT
project
 No Knowledge “Champions”
 No link between knowledge sharing and knowledge
application/innovation
 Downsize/outsource without retention of knowledge
 Cultural barriers remain, “knowledge is power”
syndrome
 Amidon & Skyrme, “Creating the Knowledge Based Business”, 1997
 Lack of fit to business objectives

12. Measuring success as a Learning
organisation
 Exhibiting top level commitment to learning
 Fostering continuous earning, unlearning and
relearning
 Practicing workplace democracy
 Undertaking environmental monitoring
 Utilising technology as an enabling tool
 Encouraging team learning
 Translating training and learning into practice
 Tie rewards to performance
Victor Tan, “Developing Learning Organisations” in New Straits Times, 1996

13. “Nothing in this world is as
powerful as an idea whose time
has come”
Victor Hugo

14. Andy Wooler
andy@awooler.demon.co.uk
http://www.andywooler.com
+44 (0)1273 882539 H
+44 (0)7940 527255 M